Diamonds & Everything You Need To Know About Them

It’s never too early to start learning

On June 7, Town & Country held an event with the help of Globe Platinum that revolved around a girl’s best friend—diamonds. The guest speaker, Brett O’ Connor, is one of Sotheby’s jewelry experts and he taught us a thing or two about the priced material.

Sotheby’s Brian O’Connor

About 50 percent of a diamond is lost in the shaping

As rare as they are, diamonds actually lose about 50 to 60 percent of themselves during the shaping and polishing process. This means that any real diamond you hold has gone through an extensive and careful method of getting into the shape you hold.

It’s more valuable than plutonium

Plutonium is a radioactive chemical that is used in the creation of nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors. With as much intrinsic power as it has, you can imagine just how expensive it would be. And yet, diamonds are more valuable than plutonium per gram.

Prices go up once the diamond breaks through a carat bracket

Diamonds are usually measured in carats and of course they become more expensive as the carats go up. But there is a notable jump when a diamond breaks through the 5 carat, 10 carat and 20 carat brackets—and there are very few items that go beyond 20 carats.

No one diamond is the same as another

The shape may be the same and one might look identical to another to the untrained eye, but a diamond is very much like a fingerprint. When you’re holding one, there is not one other diamond in the world like it.

Colored diamonds are rarer

Once upon a time, the world didn’t understand colored diamonds. But now we know that colored diamonds are rarer and therefore more valuable than the more common white diamond. Likewise, there is an art to the coloring. It can’t be too light, but it can’t be too dark either.

They’re an investment with a quick turnaround

Diamonds are expensive, and there’s no way around it. But if you ever want to sell them, they will fetch you a pretty sum. Brett talked about one particular 3.32 carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond ring that sold in 2014 for USD1.614 million/carat. By 2017, that same ring was sold for USD2.047 million/carat.

 Choosing to purchase a diamond is no joke, especially because of the finances it takes to get your hands on one. But the more you learn, the more secure you should get with the idea. Time to start saving!
 
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