The oval diamond shapes was first introduced in ancient Egypt during the New Kingdom period (1550-1069 BC). This shape was often used to represent the sun god Ra, who was associated with light and life. In fact, the word "Ra" means "sun."
The oval diamond shape has been around for centuries, and it's still very popular in modern designs. It's also known as the "diamond cut" because of the way the facets appear when viewed from above.
The oval diamond shape has been used as a symbol of royalty since ancient times. It represents the sun, and thus, the power of the sun. The sun is also associated with the element fire, so the oval diamond shape is often used to represent the fiery nature of the sun.
There are several ways to make an oval diamond shape in jewelry designs. One method involves using two round diamonds set at different angles. Another option is to use a square cut diamond and then add a smaller round diamond to the top of the square. A third option is to use a rectangular-shaped stone and then add a small round diamond to each corner.
The oval diamond shape has been used since ancient times as a symbol of love and beauty. In fact, the shape was often associated with royalty and nobility. Today, the oval diamond shape is still considered a classic and timeless choice for engagement rings. The oval diamond shape can be found in many different styles and designs. From simple round diamonds to fancy marquise cuts, there are endless possibilities when designing an oval diamond ring.
Oval diamonds are among the most popular shapes in jewelry design. They're also among the easiest to create. Here's how to draw an oval diamond shape.
Draw a circle using a pencil. Then use a ruler to make two parallel lines across the top edge of the circle. These will become the sides of the diamond.
Now draw another line at 45 degrees from the first line. This will form the bottom of the diamond.
Next cut along the top edge of the oval. You should now have two triangles.
Now we need to finish off our diamond shape. We will do this by cutting along the bottom edge of the triangle. This will give us another triangle.
Next, we need to cut out the top part of the oval. You can use any type of cutter you would like. I chose my knife because it was easy to control.
The oval diamond shape is an elegant design that has been used for centuries in jewelry. It is also known as the "diamond cut" because it resembles a natural diamond.
This pattern is often seen in nature, such as in flowers, leaves, and even animals. It's also commonly used in architecture, art, and fashion.
The oval diamond shape pattern is one of the most popular patterns in jewelry design. It has been used since ancient times and continues to be used today.
Our Oval Diamond Shape purchasing overview has looked at various characteristics of oval cut diamonds, however, you might say the most important for numerous customers is just how much it sparkles.
Oval cut diamonds of sparkle, yet they lose to the round fantastic when it comes to many sparkles. This is due to the fact that the elements of the round cut are made to take full advantage of fire, radiance and scintillation. Nonetheless, as we have actually already discussed, the still substantial luster as well as a shimmer of the oblong cut ruby, incorporated with the considerably lower price tag, makes the oblong cut an amazing option.
The round brilliant cut diamond is by far the most popular diamond cut. It is estimated that 50-75% of all diamonds sold are cut in this way. As its name implies, it is circular and displays an even, symmetrical brilliance. It is the most brilliant diamond cut, showing the sparkle and fire that diamonds are prized for.
The original round brilliant cut diamond was developed in 1919 by Marcel Tolkowsky. His thesis, Diamond Design, established the ideal proportions that a diamond should have to maximize its brilliance and dispersion of light. The modern round brilliant cut differs slightly from Tolkowsky’s in that it has a larger table, smaller culet, and longer and leaner facets overall. These changes help to reflect the light that enters the stone, back out into the eye of the beholder.
The round brilliant cut has 58 facets or 57 if there is no culet. The culet is a facet on the very bottom of the diamond that removes the sharpest point. Not all round brilliant cuts have this. The top part of the diamond is called the crown. It could be described as a window and frame to the diamond. The crown consists of one table facet, eight bezel facets, eight star facets, and sixteen upper girdle facets. The bottom part of the stone is called the pavilion. Its job is to redirect the light back out of the diamond. The pavilion consists of sixteen lower girdle facets, eight pavilion facets and one culet (if it has one). The girdle is the ring that goes around the widest diameter of the stone. It separates the crown from the pavilion. Most girdles also have small facets on them, but these are not counted in the total number. The facet count on the round brilliant cut is standardized, but the actual proportions are not universally agreed upon.
GIA Grading
The Gemmological Institute of America (GIA) spent 15 years studying how the light behaves in a round brilliant cut diamond. Their research used advanced computer modeling to analyze over 10k+ possible proportion combinations. They validated this research with the human eye, with over 70k+ observations on actual diamonds. GIA’s research resulted in the GIA cut grading system of a diamond, a 5-point scale from excellent to poor. Only round brilliant cuts have a GIA cut grade, as it conforms to a mathematical standard. The other diamond cuts, called fancy shapes, are more subjective and don’t have a one size fits all formula. The GIA studies how the diamond looks face-up as if it were set into an engagement ring. The proportions of the diamond are key, as the crown and pavilion angles and the relative measurements of the facets contribute to the sparkle of the stone. The highest classification for cut is triple excellent, meaning that the cut, polish and symmetry are all excellent.
Pricing
The round brilliant cut diamond is the most expensive cut by weight, in comparison to the fancy cuts. There are two different reasons for this. One is the law of supply and demand. As mentioned, the round brilliant cut is by far the most popular, and this high demand helps drive up the price. The second reason is because of how much of the rough diamond is lost during the cutting process. The natural diamond crystal is an octahedron shape, basically looking like two pyramids attached at the base. To manufacture a round brilliant cut, between 28-38% of the rough diamond is removed and wasted, raising the costs.
Despite the higher cost, the round brilliant cut remains at the height of its popularity due to its incomparable brilliance and fire. If you are in the market for a diamond and have trouble deciding which cut to get, you cannot go wrong with the round brilliant cut. It is a timeless classic that will never go out of style and is the diamond shape with the most sparkle!
Since time immemorial, Natural Diamonds have been associated with royalty and aristocracy. They are one of the most precious gems held close to their hearts by people worldwide.
But have you ever wondered how humans discover these glamorous pieces of stones?
The easy answer to this question is "mining." Like every other precious element, diamonds too are excavated from the earth's surface employing mining.
However, just like the gems themselves, their mining also has a very interesting history.
Believed to have started somewhere around the 4th century BCE in India. Every continent in the world today is mining diamonds. And each one of them has a uniquely fascinating story of its own.
So without further ado, let’s dive into it.
The word “mining” might sound like a recent phenomenon. Something born from the European Industrial revolution, but that’s not true.
Humans have been mining for extracting precious metals long before the inception of the Industrial revolution. The methods applied at that time, however, were simpler and more manageable. Especially in comparison to the ones used today.
The mining of diamonds in ancient India falls in the simpler category.
Diamond mining in Ancient India
It doesn’t come as a surprise that India was the pioneer in mining Diamonds, considering that the Indus Valley civilization is one of the oldest civilizations on our planet.
Indians have been mining diamonds since the 4th Century BCE.
According to the ancient texts of that time, like Arthashastra by Kautilya, the prestigious stones, were washed ashore by water bodied like rivers and lakes. Later, people recognized these stones as precious diamonds.
The Indians employed the alluvial mining method to excavate the rough diamonds from the mud, stones, and other underwater elements. Royalties later used these diamonds to make jewels.
Such was the proficiency of Indians in mining that they came up with their own system of grading the gems. A Sanskrit scripture named Ratna Parikshan taught the science of testing gemstones.
History credits the Macedonian king Alexander the Great for becoming the first diamond trader.
According to historians, after his defeat at the hands of Porus, Alexander took a hefty amount of Diamond with him in 327 BCE.
However, a proper trade route was not established until the medieval age. This resulted in a tremendous surge in the mining works in India.
Marco Polo has mentioned the drastic effects of demand on supply in his book in 1292. Polo was a famous European traveller, also known for his writings . In one of his works, he has mentioned a diamond mining site in India that employed more than 60,000 people at a time.
Fast-forward to the 17th century, and India had already become the hub for diamond merchants. Britishers introduced more mining projects to meet the demands of the European market.. And the foreigners found a new reserve in South India to fulfill this demand.
The Golconda region became one of the most prominent sites in India. The Kollur mine present in this region produced some of the best diamonds known to men. Yes, you have guessed it right. The Koh-I-Noor also belongs to the Golconda region.
The quality of the diamonds mined from this site was such that the name Golconda Diamond became a benchmark in Europe. It was renowned worldwide as the Diamond capital of that time.
Even today, the word Golconda is present in the English dictionary. The word now means “a source of great wealth.”
Westerners exhausted the Indian mines in the coming time. As a result, they started running out of diamonds to meet the requirement of the Europeans.
That is when Brazil slowly took centre stage as one of the biggest diamond producers.
Brazil had already made a mark on the map of the miners by the end of the 17th century. Its rich deposits of element like gold had already lured several Europeans to establish colonies in this new world.
The Diamonds are said to have been discovered in the early 1700s in the province of Minas Gerias. However, the natives were not really aware of its significance at the start. Instead they used them as dibs for playing cards. It was only after a clerk who had worked at the Golconda mines recognized the priceless gems.
After this discovery, the Portuguese started mining the water body of the Minas region. And discovered a vast deposit of alluvial diamonds.
The first consignment of diamonds was moved out of Brazil to Lisbon in 1728. The exerts there examined and found these diamonds to be of high quality. As a result, more excavation missions were launched in the Minas province. Which resulted in disvovery of more diamonds.
Brazil was the first western country to produce diamonds. It dominated the market for 150 years until the discovery of diamonds in Kimberley, South Africa.
Like Brazil and India, the first diamonds found in South Africa were also alluvial. Kymberlite deposited precious gems on the banks of water bodies.
Deposited on the banks of water bodies after being carried to the surface by Kymberlites.
In fact, the first diamond here was discovered by a 15-year-old boy named Erasmus Jacob. He found it on the south bank of the Orange River.
However, later these diamonds started appearing in places far from water bodies. They were first discovered in yellow soils and later below hard rocks called blue grounds.
This discovery led to the start of the world's first underground mining of diamonds.
In an article, the Mining Council has mentioned has mentioned the history of first diamonds in South Africa. According to that article, the first one of them were found on the Vooruitzich farm in 1871. It belonged to the De Beers brothers. And British government forced them to sell it to a merchant named Alfred Ebden.
Workers dug the first underground mine by bare hands. This site was named "The Big Hole," spreading over a surface area of 273 hectares. It was 463 meters wide and had a depth of 240 meters, making it the biggest diamond mine excavated by hands in the history of humanity.
One other mine operated on the same farmland was named De Beers mine. It later served as an inspiration to the formation of the famous diamond company De Beers.
In the next 15-20 years, around 50 thousand miners worked upon these excavation sites. And curated almost 2,720kg or 13,600,000 carats of diamonds.
This was more than the diamond produced in India over the past 2000 years.
The world of diamond mining has expanded drastically in the last 100 years. All courtesy to the discoveries made in South Africa.
The studies based on the mining done in Africa opened doors for other countries to determine and discover new sites. As a result of which, around 25 countries across the seven continents today are producing diamonds.
The major production however is being controlled by Australia, Botswana, Russia, Congo, and South Africa. These countries are mining in a manageable and sustainable manner to ensure the consistent supply of these marvelous gems worldwide.
Nobody has to tell you that diamonds are unique. That’s just one of the many reasons why they’re so special.
While natural diamonds have long been coveted for their value and beauty, there’s a new “product” in town.
Lab-grown diamonds are exactly what they sound like. Rather than being mined from the earth, they’re grown in a lab.
With the global market value of lab-grown diamonds on the rise, it’s more important than ever to understand the differences, misconceptions, and options as a consumer.
At first glance — especially if you don’t know any better — you may assume that natural and lab-grown diamonds are one and the same.
However, as you learn more, you’ll come to find that there are a variety of differences.
Let’s start with the main one: Natural diamonds occur in nature. They’re also very rare. You won’t find these just anywhere in the world.
This is in contrast to lab-grown diamonds that are made in a factory. They’re only limited by production capacity, which has resulted in a large number of them making their way to market over a relatively short period of time.
As technology improves, lab-grown diamonds become cheaper to produce. Subsequently, prices continue to drop.
Add this to the fact that lab-grown diamonds are flooding the market, and it’s easy to see why consumers are taking notice.
Here’s the bottom line: Even though natural and lab-grown diamonds are the same material and composition, there’s no replacement for those that are found in nature. Rarity will always win out over mass production.
There are many myths and misconceptions associated with lab-grown diamonds, especially when compared to their natural counterparts.
The most common misconception is that lab-grown diamonds are identical to natural diamonds. This isn’t true no matter how you look at it. One comes from the ground, while the other is produced in a factory.
There’s also the myth that lab-grown diamonds don’t have a carbon footprint.
While it’s true that traditionally mined diamonds produce carbon, lab-grown diamonds don’t entirely eliminate this.
There are two ways to grow a diamond, both of which produce carbon:
It’s true that there’s a smaller carbon footprint for lab-grown diamonds, but it still exists.
Natural Diamonds Do Good
We all know that natural diamonds are unique, beautiful, rare, and so much more. But that’s just the start.
There’s a not-for-profit organization — Diamonds Do Good — “whose mission is supporting programs that develop and empower people in natural diamond communities and sharing these stories of positive impact.”
Consider the following:
There’s even a film that details how Botswana benefits from the diamond industry.
To the naked eye, there’s no difference between natural and lab-grown diamonds. They look exactly the same.
But that doesn’t mean that they are.
An experienced gemologist can tell the difference between the two. They do this by searching for the presence of nitrogen, which is found in natural diamonds but not lab diamonds.
Also, many lab diamonds have unique fluorescence and/or a laser inscription, which are telltale signs that they did not come from the ground.
If you have questions or concerns about a diamond you own or a diamond you want to purchase, consult with a professional gemologist. It won’t take them long to examine your diamond and explain its origins.
Final Verdict
Despite the recent growth in lab-grown options, natural diamonds remain the king of the industry.
While natural diamonds hold their value — or increase over time — lab-grown diamonds continue to experience significant price declines.
For now, people are buying lab-grown diamonds for everything from fashion jewelry to engagement rings. However, as prices continue to drop, there’s a strong possibility that these diamonds will be associated primarily with lower-priced fashion jewelry and related items.
Simply put, there’s no replacement for a natural diamond. And that’s why (natural) diamonds are a girl’s (or guy’s) best friend!
