What Is a Lab-Grown Diamond?
In searching for an eco-friendly engagement ring, you may have come across something called a “lab grown,” “synthetic,” or “man-made” diamond. While the concept of a man-made diamond may seem peculiar, lab-grown diamonds are virtually indistinguishable from natural diamonds. Unlike diamond imitations (like cubic zirconia or mossanite), lab-grown diamonds share the same optical, physical, and thermal properties as natural diamonds. The only difference is that instead of being mined, they were grown in a lab.
Diamonds vs. White Sapphires
These days, engagement rings aren’t limited to diamonds alone. It’s becoming increasingly common to see colorful stones stealing the show in nontraditional ring settings. But colored gems aren’t for everyone—there’s something classic about a clear gem dazzling your left ring finger. White sapphires are a beautiful, economical choice for a clear gems.
What Is A Bezel Setting?
The bezel setting, also known as a rub over setting in diamond rings, is one of the most secure ways to wear a precious stone. Simply put, a bezel setting is little metal cup that surrounds the edge of a stone while the rim of the metal cup holds the stone in place. The setting is soldered into place on the rest of the piece.
What Are Black Diamonds?
In recent years, the mysterious and alluring black diamond has caught the interest of many a jewelry lover. These glossy dark stones often appear alongside white diamonds for a striking contrast. On their own, black diamonds make a modern, slightly edgy statement.
If you’re looking to purchase a piece with black diamonds, it’s helpful to understand the difference between natural black diamonds and natural diamonds that have been treated to have a uniform dark color.
Vintage Diamonds - Why They Are So Alluring
Diamonds have been sparkling in jewelry since the days of the Romans. As the hardest crystal on earth, fashioning them to reveal their brilliance has been a technological challenge. From the beginning, diamonds have been valued for their extreme hardness. They were considered divine and thought to impart invincibility. Perfectly formed crystals were very rare and prized above all other possessions.
The earliest known diamonds came from India where they were used as whole uncut crystals. Perfectly symmetrical crystals with lustrous facets were the ideal. It was taboo to cut them.
Over time, as new cutting techniques were developed in Europe, the taboo against cutting diamonds fell away. Stones were cut by eye and hand resulting in idiosyncratic gems with unique shapes and irregular facets. Preservation of carat weight was often the most important consideration. These “old mine” cut diamonds were characterized by fewer and larger facets that reflected light more softly. Light was drawn into the stone and less was reflected back to the eye. The resulting gems were beautiful, lively and unique.
Gem Hardness
If you’ve ever watched a minute of TV in your life, you’re probably familiar with the famous “A Diamond Is Forever” campaign. It isn’t just clever marketing—there’s some truth behind that catchy phrase. Combined with their beauty, the hardness of diamonds makes them a natural choice for investment and everyday jewelry.
All minerals vary in hardness and are measured on Moh’s scale. Hardness refers to the mineral’s resistance to being scratched. The softest mineral, talc (think eye shadow and baby powder), is one moh. At 10 mohs, a diamond is the hardest mineral and can only be scratched by another diamond. Apatite—the stunning blue-green stone pictured below—is 5 mohs. It could be scratched by harder minerals like diamond and quartz (7 mohs), but softer minerals like talc won’t scratch it.
What This Means for Selecting a Gem - Despite its hardness, a diamond isn’t always a girl’s best friend. We’d miss out on so many beautiful gems if we only wore diamonds. Nonetheless, it’s important to keep hardness in mind when selecting which gems to set in which types of jewelry. Apatite, for example, would fare best in lightly used items like earrings or pedants—as opposed to jewelry that takes more abuse like rings and bracelets. Just think about how much a bracelet bumps your desk while you clack away at the keyboard! Not ideal for maintaining the beauty of softer stones.
What are champagne diamonds? Or, how to make lemonade with carbon....
The term champagne diamond is used to describe untreated diamonds that are yellowish brown in shade. Intensity can vary from soft yellow to deep brown. Once, not so long ago these diamonds were regarded as inferior industrial grade stones and they were sold to machinery manufacturers to be used for making drill bits, files and blades. 
