The iconic white diamond, translucent, brilliantly sparkling, multifaceted. The classic white diamond is undeniably one of the world’s most famous precious gemstones. Long sought-after by financiers, royalty, and the elite, these luminous beauties have been ensconced in the jewellery collection of connoisseurs around the world and are the pivotal piece in almost every girls’ engagement ring. And since their discovery, these white diamonds – colourless to be precise – have adorned ornaments in many cultures throughout history and now are the centre piece in the design of the stunning modern engagement ring around the world. To get the most from your brilliant white diamond it is essential that it is accompanied by an international diamond certificate.
What is a White Diamond?
A white diamond is actually a pure or near pure clear diamond void of any visibly noticeable tint of colour. Though it is extremely rare to find a naturally pure white diamond, cutting techniques have been developed to expertly hide the slight tints of colourcommonly present in high quality diamonds to efficiently create the appearance that the diamond is white. Formed under the mantle of earth, a diamond is the result of pressure on allotropes of pure carbon naturallyarranged intoa crystalline lattice. In its essential form, diamonds of jewellery grade generally appearscolourless but will still contain small traces of Nitrogen atoms that cause the slight tint of yellow or brown in the diamond. Modern cutting techniques has allow for much greater tolerance of colour where the diamond will still appear white.
However, inclusion of additional natural elements in the carbon structure of the diamond can lend hints of other colour in the stone. For instance, the presence of boron turns a diamond blue and introduction of radioactive isotopes turns a diamond green. Alternatively differing levels of nitrogen in the crystal lattice that disrupt the white diamond appearance can then create a very pretty fancy yellow, brown or orange coloured diamond.
Buying a Loose White Diamond
The white diamond is sought after for its strength, durability, practicality, and spectacular ability to refract light for a magnificent sparkle. For common buyers, the most important query before investing in a white diamond is how to understand authenticity and the quality of the diamond. Ever diamond is different and for each diamond there is someone who will be match to its quality, it is just a matter of correctly making the match. Due to their high purity and value a universal identification and grading system for appraising the characteristics of diamonds was developed. The key four parameters or4Cs – colour, cut, clarity, and carat weight – each is vital to evaluate a diamond and determine its quality and price.
Your personal preference and requirements definitely decide the type of diamond you look for. Nevertheless, to avoid any confusion and unwarranted hassle, it is recommended that you invest in diamonds that have been certified by a reputed diamond grading laboratory and that you enlist the help of an expert diamond consultant to assist with your purchase.
Certified White Diamonds
To be able to accurately distinguish the grading variations between white diamonds it is suggested that all quality diamonds above 0.25ct should be purchased with an accompanying international diamond grading certificate. The certificate for a white diamond means that you can with high accuracy compare similar quality diamond without the need to view them together as they will appear essentially the same.
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