While diamonds don't lose their sparkle, they do tend to get dirty. Use the following tips to keep your diamonds
Keep the diamond clean.
This is probably the most important (and affordable) tip. A diamond that's dirty will not sparkle. Diamonds have an affinity for grease, so it's important to clean them regularly. Find out how to keep your diamond clean.
A diamond that has not been cleaned for a while can look milky due to a buildup of film and dirt on its facets. Cloudy diamonds can also have diminished transparency from inclusions or other characteristics intrinsic to the crystal from which they are cut.
If the cloudiness of your diamond is caused by external factors, such as a greasy film or dirt, it's possible to fix it and regain its original sparkle. The way to do so is by simply cleaning the ring using warm water, soap, and ammonia-based cleaners. If you can't do it yourself, take it to a professional cleaner.
Repolishing is a great option for a scratched diamond; a surface level scratch is easily rectified through repolishing with minimal impact on the carat weight.
Leaving a damaged diamond in its current state isn't a good idea unless it's locked away in the safe. Since there is always an extra risk of aggravating the damage, re-polishing a diamond is a good preventive measure to undertake.
If your stone fogs up quite a bit and takes time for the condensation to evaporate, then it is most likely fake. Real diamonds do fog up, but only a little and the condensation evaporates quickly.
Cloudy diamond prices are usually lower than non-cloudy diamonds. Because a clear, brilliant diamond will be more eye-catching, a cloudy diamond is priced lower. In our eyes, the lower price of a noticeably cloudy diamond is not worth it.
This structure is produced by a series of complex chemical reactions that happen deep within the earth. And since it's impossible to change a diamond's chemical makeup, it can't change color over time. In other words, diamonds do not yellow with age.
Expect to pay around 20% to 30% less for a milky or cloudy diamond. Depending on the degree of haziness in a diamond, prices will vary for any given diamond size. Keep in mind that colour and cut also contribute along with clarity. Some buyers forgive a small degree of haziness in their diamond.
Hand sanitizer is also known to leave a cloudy film over your diamonds so definitely wash your ring frequently! Luckily, you don't have to take off your ring while you're washing your hands-which is a big plus right now as we are all washing our hands extra often these days.
Most diamonds will reveal blue florescence under a black light; therefore, you'll see a medium to strong color of blue, which means the diamond is real. If you don't see the blue color and instead see a slight green, yellow or gray fluorescence then this usually indicates the gem is not a real diamond.
However, the diamond is less likely to shine if it doesn't have a good cut. As a result of a poor cut, the diamond will have much more of a dull appearance that can make it appear hazy, taking away from that shine that people often want when investing in diamond jewelry.
A dirty stone doesn't sparkle because light simply can't enter the diamond and causes it to appear dull. So, if you notice your diamond jewelry getting cloudier overtime, it's likely due to a dirty surface and there's an easy fix to restore their luster.
Because diamonds reflect white light, colorless diamonds produce the best sparkle and fire. In fact, the more color a diamond has, the less likely it is to reflect white light. And as a result, will produce less sparkle. A D-color diamond is the highest quality, and will offer the greatest sparkle.
Because they are less rare, yellow diamonds can cost much less per carat than other colored diamonds. Some light yellow diamonds can even cost less than a colorless diamond of similar size. On average, you can expect to pay $3,000-5,000 per carat on a yellow diamond of decent clarity and color.
A well-cut diamond will reflect much more light than a poorly cut one, resulting in a more substantial, more visible sparkle. It is recommended to limit your diamonds to a high-quality cut grade. Also, the more facets a diamond has, the more reflective surfaces there are to spring back and scatter light.
It appears larger to us because of glare and atmospheric magnification at sunrise and sunset. An ideal cut diamond shows only a few intensely bright flashes in direct sunlight. A diamond that actually looks good in sunlight splits those few flashes up into ten or twenty smaller sparkles.
If you have a loose diamond to test, fill a regular glass about ¾ of the way full with water. Gently drop the diamond into the glass. If the diamond sinks to the bottom, it's real. If it floats at the surface or just underneath, it's likely a fake.
Do Real Diamonds Sparkle? Two other quick and simple ways to spot a real diamond is by looking at how it sparkles in light and how much you can see through it. A real diamond appears gray and white inside (brilliance) when held to the light and can reflect rainbow colors (fire) onto other surfaces.
Place the gemstones in a glass of water and watch. If it floats, then it is probably a fake stone. Real diamonds will sink to the bottom of the glass, while cubic zirconia will float to the surface.
Remember, diamond switching doesn't happen very often. But if something doesn't feel right when you're dropping off your repair, leave! Take the time to find a jeweler you can trust, and you'll have a jeweler for life.
No, you can't clean your engagement ring too much when it's being done the right way. But, if you're using all kinds of harsh chemicals regularly that's when you're doing too much. Those chemicals will end up damaging the metal and stones, affecting the overall look of the ring.
Chlorine bleach or abrasives (such as household cleansers or toothpaste) should never be used when cleaning diamond jewelry. Chemicals like chlorine can damage some of the metals used to alloy gold for diamond settings and abrasives can scratch gold and other metals.