My Perfect Union: our way of saying Thank You

By Megan Reynolds, AJP (GIA)

To set the scene, Union Diamond was founded on September 11, 2001, one of the darkest days in our nation’s history. Some would say that it wasn’t a very auspicious day to start a business, but we, along with the rest of America, survived with one might say, a greater sense of national pride and gratitude to the wonderful country that we call home. As the ten year anniversary of our company and the ten year anniversary of September 11^th drew nearer we felt the need to do something special for someone in our society who is frequently overlooked, but deserves our utmost in respect and gratitude. We wanted to do something special, for a member of the U.S. military.

For as long as our country has been in existence, there has been a group of people dedicated to protecting it. They leave their homes and their families, putting themselves in harm’s way, so that we can live our lives in freedom. I’m sure that all of you out there know someone who has served or is currently serving in the military. And you know that they are special, because it takes a certain strength, to put the wellbeing of a nation before the wellbeing of yourself. And that’s just what they do, every day. And they ask for nothing in return. But we at Union Diamond, would like to give something, to one deserving member of our armed forces.

As an online retailer, we see countless diamonds a year. However it is exceedingly rare to see a diamond that is perfect in color, and perfect in clarity. They are more valuable than almost anything else on the planet, and I have one sitting on my desk right now. It is over a carat in weight, D in color, and Internally Flawless in clarity. It is a diamond that is unparalleled in purity and beauty. Such a stone needed an equally perfect mounting. So we chose an exquisite ring by Natalie K, done in precious platinum. Now, as readers of this blog will know, platinum is unparalleled in rarity, strength, and purity. Like our perfect diamond, platinum is the perfect metal, protecting our perfect diamond from harm.  Platinum and diamond are, together, a perfect union.  

       

                                                                                       

It’s this way with our soldiers. At first glance, they are very much like the rest of us. They have families, they complain about the traffic, and sometimes, like my dad, they spend a month of weekends building a pink playhouse in the backyard for their daughter. But deep within them, there is something more. There is a hidden strength that many will never see. But it is that strength that calls them to serve, to protect. It calls them to leave everything they love behind, so that strangers all over the country can spend time with their families, complain about the traffic, and build playhouses in the backyard. These men and women show a strength of character and purity of heart in the sacrifices that they make every day. Inspirational courage and selfless giving are their perfect union.

So it is important that we give back, with something equally as pure and strong. An extraordinary diamond set in rare platinum is only fitting, because those who protect our country do extraordinary things every day of their lives.

We ask you to go to www.myperfectunion.com and tell us about your soldier. Tell us their story, how they went above and beyond in service to their country. Tell us how they inspire you and everyone else around them to be a better person. Because we are looking for one, truly deserving person, to award this special gift, as our way of saying thank you.  

La Peregrina - The Legendary Pearl

By Megan Reynolds, AJP (GIA)

This week we will continue our tribute to the Crown Jewels of Hollywood with the tale of La Peregrina, The Legendary Pearl. La Peregrina is a pear shaped-pearl weighing 203.84 grains. An African slave on the isle of Santa Margarita earned his freedom when he discovered the pearl in the mid 16^th century. At the time of its discovery La Peregrina was the largest pearl ever found and weighed 223.8 grains, or around 55.95 carats, it was drilled in 1913 to more securely keep it in its setting, reducing it to its current size. To this day La Peregrina is one of the largest perfectly symmetrical pear-shaped pearls in the world.

After its discovery, the pearl was carried to Spain and given to Philip II who in turn gave it to his English bride Mary I. She loved the pearl so much that she wore it for several of her portraits, including the one below. One thing though, with all of those jewels, etc. don’t you think she could have looked a little happier?

After her death in 1558, the pearl was returned to Spain and became a part of the crown jewels where it remained for the next 250 years. It was a favorite piece for Spanish Queens including Margaret of Austria, the wife of Philip III, and both wives of Philip IV who can be seen wearing the famous pearl in portraits by Diego Velazquez.

1808 marked the end of the pearl’s Spanish heritage when Joseph Bonaparte became king of Spain where he ruled for five years. He was then forced to leave the kingdom when he was defeated at the battle of Vitoria. Of course he took some of the crown jewels with him, including La Peregrina. It was during this period of time that La Peregrina earned its name, which means, the wanderer.

The pearl was handed down through the Bonaparte family until it was sold to James Hamilton, Duke of Abercorn who bought it for his wife Louisa. Now, La Peregrina is a very heavy pearl, so heavy in fact, that it fell out of its setting, at least two times! Luckily it was found both times, once in a sofa at Windsor Castle, and the second time, on a woman’s train as she was walking into dinner.

In 1969 the pearl was sold again, this time to Richard Burton for the relatively small amount, for him, of $37,000. He gave the pearl to Elizabeth Taylor who, true to the pearl’s history, immediately lost it. She tells the story in her book Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry. She and Burton were staying at a hotel and she was walking around her suite when she noticed that the pearl was missing. She very carefully retraced her steps, first around the bedroom, then the living room. She then stopped to pet one of her puppies when she noticed that it was chewing on a bone. Now, she knew that no one gave bones to the puppies, and at that point I would have had a heart attack because we all know what it was in that dog’s mouth. Yes, it was La Peregrina, and thankfully there was not a single scratch on it. Elizabeth Taylor was a very lucky woman indeed. And a smart one as she immediately had the pearl re-set into the more elaborate, and more importantly, more secure setting that we know today.

Photo: Christie's Images LTD

The necklace is expected to sell for between $2 and $3 million dollars when it comes to auction in December. Not a bad price for a piece that Elizabeth Taylor herself once said was “the most perfect pearl in the world”. Perfect indeed.

Fluorescence… Does your diamond have a secret?

By Megan Reynolds, AJP (GIA)

Fluorescence is defined as “the emission of visible light by a diamond when it is stimulated by invisible ultraviolet rays”, or in English, when a diamond glows under a UV light like a black light. The glow can be many colors from blue, to green, yellow, orange, even red, and lasts as long as the diamond is exposed. Over 95% of diamonds that are fluorescent show the blue color. Let’s play a quick game. Can you tell which of the diamonds in this set are fluorescent? I’ll let you know the answer towards the end of this post.

Photo: Harold and Erica Van Pelt

The GIA regards fluorescence as an identifying characteristic and categorizes it into five groups from diamonds that show no fluorescence, to those that show faint, medium, strong and very strong fluorescence. Of all diamonds, only 25-35% shows any fluorescence at all, and only 10% of those fall into the medium to very strong groupings.

The relative popularity of fluorescence has fluctuated over the years. In the early 1900’s, diamonds in the D to F color range with strong fluorescence were called ‘blue white’ and demanded a 10% increase in price. This sales strategy unfortunately, was the beginning of the end for fluorescent popularity. In efforts to raise profits, less than scrupulous jewelers attempted to attach the term and it’s matching premium to lower colored gems as well and ultimately the FTC was forced to step in and ban the use of the term ‘blue white’.  

In the 1970’s these glowing gems took another hit when enterprising jewelers started selling what they called ‘milky D’s’ at steep discounts. What they were referring to, were D color diamonds with very strong fluorescence. The ‘milky’ part of the name comes from the unfortunate effect found in an extremely small percentage, less than .02%, of diamonds with very strong fluorescence. In these diamonds a hazy or oily appearance is noted, called ‘over-blue’, which is only present in light sources containing UV light. However, the marketing strategy did nothing but hurt the reputation of fluorescent diamonds. Shoppers assumed that the effect must be present in lower color stones as well and the negative impact eventually spread down to stones with weaker fluorescence.

The stigma against fluorescent diamonds continues to this day and in order to combat the negative stereotypes, the GIA performed a study of thousands of diamonds. They placed them into groupings by color and clarity and had both average consumers and experts examine them for fluorescence in both the table up and table down position. It was found that for the overwhelming majority of diamonds, the strength of fluorescence has no widely noticeable effect on appearance or transparency when viewed by the general public. For experienced observers, fluorescence only had a discernable effect in the table up appearance, and it was overwhelmingly positive. The effects were most pronounced in the lower color grades including colors I and K. The reason being that blue fluorescence in lower colored stones can create a ‘false white’, which is a stone that looks much whiter than it is due to the blue fluorescence and the faint yellow body color cancelling each other out. Even near colorless diamonds can have their face up appearance improved by blue fluorescence. In fact, many consumers tended to prefer the look of diamonds with medium or strong blue fluorescence.

Unfortunately these findings haven’t had much effect on the buying strategies of the general public. And it’s almost entirely due to fear of the ‘over-blue’ diamond. However, when the GIA looked to expand its study to include these ‘over-blue’ diamonds, they could not find enough to make a sample. They are exceedingly rare, so much so, that many diamond enthusiasts seek them out for their collections.

The truth is, in real life, it is almost impossible to tell whether or not a diamond is fluorescent just by looking at it. For example, I have a three stone engagement ring. All of the stones match perfectly with regards to color and clarity, but writing this post made me curious. So I went into our supply closet with a black light and turned the lights off. One of my side stones immediately glowed bright blue! And the funny thing is, even though I know that one of them is fluorescent, I could not tell you right now, which one it is. They look exactly the same. In fact, diamonds in a range of fluorescent strengths and colors are routinely placed next to inert diamonds, and yet the piece maintains a uniform overall appearance under normal lighting. Remember the necklace and earrings from the beginning of this post? Here’s the same set under black light. How did you do?

Photo: Harold and Erica Van Pelt

The Crown Jewels of Hollywood

By Megan Reynolds, AJP (GIA)

It’s official, Hollywood’s own crown jewels are going up for auction. Famed auction house Christie’s of New York announced earlier this week that the long awaited sale of the late Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s jewels will take place over two days in December. There will be a special Evening Sale containing 80 iconic pieces on the 13^th followed by the final 189 pieces in two Day Sale sessions on the 14^th. In total 269 pieces will be sold with an estimated value of around $30 million dollars. Highlights of the collection will also be going on a world tour starting today, September 15^th, in Moscow. Locations for the tour will also include London, Los Angeles, Dubai, Geneva, Paris, Hong Kong, and finally New York where they will displayed until the auction.  

It has been said that Elizabeth Taylor “possessed an expert’s eye for craftsmanship, rarity, quality, and history” with regards to her jewelry.  From the “It’s Tuesday, I love you” presents, to rings won in a match of ping pong, and her own self-proclaimed passion for all things that sparkled, she was able to amass the “greatest private collection of jewelry ever assembled in one place”. And when they labeled the collection The Crown Jewels of Hollywood, they weren’t kidding. Aside from the sheer volume, rarity, and value of the pieces, which is staggering, many items had been part of actual crown jewels at one time or another.

Such is the case with the first piece of our Crown Jewels of Hollywood series, The Prince of Wales Brooch.

Photo: Christie's Images LTD



While not technically a part of the official crown jewels, this diamond brooch, which depicts the three feathers and coronet of the Prince of Wales’ royal insignia, was made for a king. It was originally created as a gift from the former King Edward VIII to his wife, Wallis the Duchess of Windsor. Elizabeth, as a friend to the royal couple, had seen and admired the brooch on a number of occasions. However she turned down Wallis’ offer to let her make a copy of it. When the Duchess’ estate was put up for auction following her death, Elizabeth bid for, and won the piece as a remembrance of her friend, reportedly outbidding members of the royal family. She said of the pin, “It’s a royal piece that I save for very special occasions, because it means so much to me”.  

The piece is expected to achieve between $400,000 and $600,000 when it comes to auction in December.

Want to see more of The Crown Jewels of Hollywood? Stay tuned for our next installment, La Peregrina, The Legendary Pearl!

A New Reason to Buy Diamonds

By Megan Reynolds, AJP (GIA)

So, we know that diamonds are beautiful and can be used in all sorts of things from beautiful jewelry to precision scalpel blades. However, a pair of researchers has dreamed up a whole new use for those sparkly gems that we love so much. Researchers Steven Shirey and Stephen Richardson had the idea that inclusions locked within diamonds could be used to date the diamonds themselves, as well as to get a glimpse into what Earth may have looked like billions of years ago.

Think of it like this. Remember the movie Jurassic Park? Well early on in the movie, before all of the dinosaurs went rogue and started eating everything in sight, there was a scene set in an amber mine. The scientist was shown a piece of amber with a small, perfectly preserved mosquito trapped inside, and from that mosquito, they were able to extract dinosaur DNA. And then, as I said earlier, a lot of people got eaten. But I’m drifting off point. 

Photo: Didier Desouens

With this research Shirey sought to answer an age old question, “how far can we extend the current knowledge of processes that shaped the surface of the earth”? Well, thanks to diamonds, pretty far.  Diamonds form deep underground, under immense temperature and pressure and are then catapulted to the surface via violent eruptions. This is an amazing thing when you think about the fact that if the temperature and pressure aren’t exactly right, or it takes too long for the diamond to reach the surface, all that’s left is graphite. And while graphite is super useful in a #2 pencil, it’s not really all that lovely, or helpful to our researchers.  They were more interested in when everything did go right.  You see, when a diamond forms, it can form around various other minerals, thus trapping and preserving them forever. Much like the mosquito we were discussing earlier, these impurities were essentially frozen in time. They remain exactly the same as the day they were interred, like mini time capsules. This phenomenon is the key, since most of the rocks of that age are either trapped miles underground, or have been destroyed by the ravages of time, which make the mineral inclusions within diamonds an invaluable source of information.

So, this is great, Shirey and Richardson had an easily accessible subject matter and could get straight to work. Well, not quite. It turns out that research isn’t cheap, and purchasing a large quantity of diamonds ranging from .5 to 1 carat just wasn’t a possibility. Also, finding diamonds with the right types of inclusions was a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. It took three years for the duo to obtain just ten diamonds of the correct size, and having the proper type of inclusions worth studying. The pair also used previously published data on more than four thousand silicate inclusions and around one hundred sulfide inclusions to round out their results.

Now that the researchers had their stones, the real work could begin. The first task, sadly, was to take a laser and cut into the diamond to harvest the tiny inclusions. Once the particles had been collected, they were placed into a mass spectrometer for analysis. Now a mass spectrometer is a machine that scans a sample and tells you exactly what it is composed of. It’s the same type of machine that they use on the TV show CSI. They feed an unknown substance in, out pops a sheet of data that says the substance has specific chemicals in it, and they immediately recognize it as a very obscure hand cream, meaning that the butler did it! Yeah, that part always seemed a bit far-fetched for me as well, but the science is sound. Anyways, back to our researchers. Using that data from the mass spectrometer, the researchers could then date the samples to see when they were locked within the diamond.

For example, diamonds form from carbon released by either peridotite or eclogite rock when it melts, miles below the surface of the earth. When the diamond forms, it sometimes forms around a tiny piece of its host rock. Using the mass spectrometer, our researchers were able to tell exactly which host rock that the diamond formed around, thus dating the diamond. They discovered that before 3.2 Ga (Geologic Age), only diamonds with peridotitic inclusions were found, however after 3.0 Ga, diamonds with eclogitic inclusions were found. This means, that somewhere in between 3.2 and 3.0 Ga, something happened to the structure of the earth. Shirey and Richardson hypothesize that this change was caused by the beginning of the Wilson Cycle, which is the cyclical opening and closing of ocean basins caused by the movement of the earth’s plates. This causes something called subduction, where one plate runs into the other forcing an overlap. As one plate is forced under the surface of the other, it dissolves and its contents (including eclogite rock) are redistributed. This process causes the eclogite to release carbon, making diamond formation possible. According to their theory, the eclogite diamonds formed after the beginning of the Wilson cycle, and peridotitic diamonds formed before, allowing the Wilson cycle to be dated in a way that it never has been before.

Unfortunately, as so often happens with science, we can’t be certain that the Wilson cycle had begun by 3.0 Ga. We simply don’t know enough to be sure that plate tectonics, as we know them today were in action at that point. However, the data obtained by Shirey and Richardson is a big step in the right direction. The duo now hope to study diamonds from other areas of the earth to see if the data obtained is different based on geographic location. Only time will tell, but I know one thing for sure, they’re not getting their laser wielding hands on my diamonds!