Diamonds
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Types Of Diamonds
White Diamonds
White diamonds are produced by mines all over the world in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.The white diamonds recovered from the Argyle mine are particularly brilliant and of high quality.
Pink Diamonds
The pink diamond is the world's most rare and valuable diamond.The Argyle mine is the world's foremost source of unrivalled intense pink diamonds, producing 95% of the world's supply. However, an extremely small proportion of Argyle Diamonds production is Pink colour, in fact less than one tenth of 1% is classified Pink.
Champagne Diamonds
Champagne diamonds are naturally coloured diamonds that are produced in a wide range of colours from light straw to rich cognac.
The 4C's of colour, cut, clarity and carat weight apply to coloured diamonds just as they do to colourless diamonds except the intensity of colour, not lack of it, plays a greater part in the valuation.
Yellow Diamonds
Fancy yellow diamonds come in a broad range of shades ranging from light yellow to a rich canary colour.
A limited quantity of fancy yellow diamonds is recovered from the Argyle mine.
Blue Diamonds
Fancy blue diamonds are available in a wide range of shades, from the blue of the sky to a more "steely" colour than sapphire.
Limited quantities of fancy blue diamonds are recovered from the Argyle mine.
Green Diamonds
Fancy green diamonds are also available. Usually, penetration of the colour is not very deep and is often removed during the fashioning of the stone.
A limited quantity of fancy green diamonds is recovered from the Argyle mine.
A limited quantity of fancy green diamonds is recovered from the Argyle mine.
GOLD
In 1792 the U.S. Congress adopted a bimetallic standard (gold and silver) for the new nation's currency - with gold valued at $19.30 per troy ounce. This remained essentially unchanged until 1834, when the price of gold was raised to the $20.67 level which held for the next 100 years. It was not until 1934 that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt devalued the dollar by raising the price of gold to $35 per ounce.
Relative to today's world economic conditions, it is imperative to remember that F.D.R.'s stated purpose for dramatically increasing the value of gold was to boost commodity prices (especially farm products) and create more employment for the millions who were suffering the devastating effects of the Great Depression.
In December 1971 representatives of the ten most industrialized nations met in Washington D.C. It was their express purpose to take whatever measures in order to improve international economic conditions. The now famous Smithsonian Agreement accorded an immediate hike in the value of gold from $35 to $38 per ounce. President Richard Nixon hailed it as "the most significant monetary agreement in the history of the world." Unfortunately, it resulted in a measure too little and too late. International economic conditions continued to deteriorate, forcing the U.S. Government in 1973 to devalue the dollar a second time by raising the official price of gold to $42.22 per ounce. Finally, all international currencies were allowed to "float" freely against gold. By June of that year the London Gold Fixing had risen to an unprecedented $120 per ounce. Exploding demand during the following months set the stage for the creation of gold futures trading on the COMEX in January 1975.
A worldwide feeding frenzy for gold cannonballed its price to an all-time high of $850 per ounce on January 21, 1980. Obviously, speculative excess had carried too far. Since that date the price of gold has been in a downtrend for more than 13 years. Naturally, there have been periods of respite, when prices rebounded slightly. However, on balance the long-term bear market remained intact until April 23, 1993. On that date the June 1993 COMEX Gold futures contract closed at $347.50 - which, in our opinion, heralded a reversal of the 13 year downtrend, and thus the return of Virgil's echo: "Auri Sacra Fames"
Relative to today's world economic conditions, it is imperative to remember that F.D.R.'s stated purpose for dramatically increasing the value of gold was to boost commodity prices (especially farm products) and create more employment for the millions who were suffering the devastating effects of the Great Depression.
In December 1971 representatives of the ten most industrialized nations met in Washington D.C. It was their express purpose to take whatever measures in order to improve international economic conditions. The now famous Smithsonian Agreement accorded an immediate hike in the value of gold from $35 to $38 per ounce. President Richard Nixon hailed it as "the most significant monetary agreement in the history of the world." Unfortunately, it resulted in a measure too little and too late. International economic conditions continued to deteriorate, forcing the U.S. Government in 1973 to devalue the dollar a second time by raising the official price of gold to $42.22 per ounce. Finally, all international currencies were allowed to "float" freely against gold. By June of that year the London Gold Fixing had risen to an unprecedented $120 per ounce. Exploding demand during the following months set the stage for the creation of gold futures trading on the COMEX in January 1975.
A worldwide feeding frenzy for gold cannonballed its price to an all-time high of $850 per ounce on January 21, 1980. Obviously, speculative excess had carried too far. Since that date the price of gold has been in a downtrend for more than 13 years. Naturally, there have been periods of respite, when prices rebounded slightly. However, on balance the long-term bear market remained intact until April 23, 1993. On that date the June 1993 COMEX Gold futures contract closed at $347.50 - which, in our opinion, heralded a reversal of the 13 year downtrend, and thus the return of Virgil's echo: "Auri Sacra Fames"
Gold Historical Background
Gold has a long and complex history. From gold’s first discovery, it has symbolized wealth and guaranteed power. Gold has caused obsession in men and nations, destroyed some cultures and gave power to others.
Archaeological digs suggest the use of Gold began in the Middle East where the first known civilizations began. The oldest pieces of gold jewelry Egyptian jewelry were found in the tomb of Queen Zer and that of Queen Pu-abi of Ur in Sumeria and are the oldest examples found of any kind of jewelry in a find from the third millennium BC. Over the centuries, most of the Egyptian tombs were raided, but the tomb of Tutankhamen was discovered undisturbed by modern archaeologists. Inside the largest collection of gold and jewelry in the world was found and included a gold coffin whose quality showed the advanced state of Egyptian craftsmanship and goldworking (second millennium BC).
The Persian Empire, in what is now Iran, made frequent use of Gold in artwork as part of the religion of Zoroastrianism. Persian goldwork is most famous for its animal art, which was modified after the Arabs conquered the area in the 7th century AD.
When Rome began to flourish, the city attracted talented Gold artisans who created gold jewelry of wide variety. The use of gold in Rome later expanded into household items and furniture in the homes of the higher classes. By the third century AD, the citizens of Rome wore necklaces that contained coins with the image of the emperor. As Christianity spread through the European continent, Europeans ceased burying their dead with their jewelry. As a result, few gold items survive from the Middle Ages, except those of royalty and from church hordes.
Archaeological digs suggest the use of Gold began in the Middle East where the first known civilizations began. The oldest pieces of gold jewelry Egyptian jewelry were found in the tomb of Queen Zer and that of Queen Pu-abi of Ur in Sumeria and are the oldest examples found of any kind of jewelry in a find from the third millennium BC. Over the centuries, most of the Egyptian tombs were raided, but the tomb of Tutankhamen was discovered undisturbed by modern archaeologists. Inside the largest collection of gold and jewelry in the world was found and included a gold coffin whose quality showed the advanced state of Egyptian craftsmanship and goldworking (second millennium BC).
The Persian Empire, in what is now Iran, made frequent use of Gold in artwork as part of the religion of Zoroastrianism. Persian goldwork is most famous for its animal art, which was modified after the Arabs conquered the area in the 7th century AD.
When Rome began to flourish, the city attracted talented Gold artisans who created gold jewelry of wide variety. The use of gold in Rome later expanded into household items and furniture in the homes of the higher classes. By the third century AD, the citizens of Rome wore necklaces that contained coins with the image of the emperor. As Christianity spread through the European continent, Europeans ceased burying their dead with their jewelry. As a result, few gold items survive from the Middle Ages, except those of royalty and from church hordes.
Casting Gold
Like wax - resist ceramics, gold working seems to have begun in peru, perhaps as early as 1500 B.C.Kwonledge of casting, hammering, repouse, and inlay spread from peru and possibly colombia northword, passing through panama and costa Rica on its way to Mesoamerica, where it finally arrived in the 10th century A.D.These same method are still in use today for the making of fine jewelry.
Types of gold
and other precious metals
and other precious metals
Most people are familiar with jewelry made in 14k gold (18k is the standard abroad) known as yellow gold or white gold. Gold for jewelry is also milled in subtle shades of green and red (also called rose). Red gold looks like brightly polished copper but doesn't tarnish like copper. Green gold is very close in shading to 14k yellow but has a slight greenish cast. White gold is silverish with a touch of yellow or in the case of our palladium white gold the color is a greyish silver (RIGHT).
Platinum is not a gold but is a precious metal becoming more popular in fine jewelry. Heavier than gold, platinum has a pure silver gray sheen and is a very strong metal.
Sterling silver is a much beloved affordable metal with a whitish, silvery shading.
We can weave any of our ring styles in combinations of any of these metals. If you are interested in using combinations of metal or different-colored golds for your ring(s), please give us a call or email us with your request. Visit our gold combinations page for a look at some possibilities.
Platinum is not a gold but is a precious metal becoming more popular in fine jewelry. Heavier than gold, platinum has a pure silver gray sheen and is a very strong metal.
Sterling silver is a much beloved affordable metal with a whitish, silvery shading.
We can weave any of our ring styles in combinations of any of these metals. If you are interested in using combinations of metal or different-colored golds for your ring(s), please give us a call or email us with your request. Visit our gold combinations page for a look at some possibilities.
An Overview of Gold
Gold is the mostly highly prized of all metals. Its bright yellow glitter and malleability has made it, since the dawn of history, the metal most treasured. The earliest craftspeople used gold to fashion decorative pieces of all kinds. In the Middle Ages, artisans were trained as goldsmiths to create jewelry and ornaments of the highest order, some surpassing work done by the craftsmen of today.
Gold found in its native state is rarely pure 24k, but is usually associated with silver and often with mercury. In its natural state of pure gold, the substance is very malleable and can be hammered into very thin sheets. When the silver content is a high percentage of a naturally-occuring gold mass, the metal is called electrum, a natural alloy. Gold is also found in tellurides and ore containing quartz wherein it is either visible, or enclosed in particles of sulfide minerals such as chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, and arsenopyrite. In some high-production gold mines, the gold is not visible and can be seen only on a highly polished surface when viewed through a high- powered microscope.
Gold has no oxides and is not affected by oxygen in the atmosphere as are other metals. This is why gold does not tarnish -- tarnish is the result of metal reacting with oxygen in a process called oxidation. Gold is malleable to the point that it can be hammered into a leaf or sheet of foil 3/1,000,000 inch thick (0.000003 inches) on an area approximately 6 square feet. The thin sheet is translucent and transmits a greenish light through the leaf.
Since gold alone is too soft to hold a form, gold is alloyed (combined with other metals) in order to make jewelry. When gold is alloyed, its ductility is diminished, but its malleability remains constant, except when large percentages of copper are added to the alloy. Nickel used in a white gold alloy has the same characteristics as silver. Zinc is added to the white gold alloy and lightens the color, but amounts in greater percentage than 14% of the entire alloyed mass will change the color to red and make the alloy brittle. The reason for using zinc in gold alloys is to absorb the oxygen to prevent silver and copper oxides in the mix.
Gold found in its native state is rarely pure 24k, but is usually associated with silver and often with mercury. In its natural state of pure gold, the substance is very malleable and can be hammered into very thin sheets. When the silver content is a high percentage of a naturally-occuring gold mass, the metal is called electrum, a natural alloy. Gold is also found in tellurides and ore containing quartz wherein it is either visible, or enclosed in particles of sulfide minerals such as chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, and arsenopyrite. In some high-production gold mines, the gold is not visible and can be seen only on a highly polished surface when viewed through a high- powered microscope.
Gold has no oxides and is not affected by oxygen in the atmosphere as are other metals. This is why gold does not tarnish -- tarnish is the result of metal reacting with oxygen in a process called oxidation. Gold is malleable to the point that it can be hammered into a leaf or sheet of foil 3/1,000,000 inch thick (0.000003 inches) on an area approximately 6 square feet. The thin sheet is translucent and transmits a greenish light through the leaf.
Since gold alone is too soft to hold a form, gold is alloyed (combined with other metals) in order to make jewelry. When gold is alloyed, its ductility is diminished, but its malleability remains constant, except when large percentages of copper are added to the alloy. Nickel used in a white gold alloy has the same characteristics as silver. Zinc is added to the white gold alloy and lightens the color, but amounts in greater percentage than 14% of the entire alloyed mass will change the color to red and make the alloy brittle. The reason for using zinc in gold alloys is to absorb the oxygen to prevent silver and copper oxides in the mix.
Sterling silver
The standard alloy of sterling silver is composed of .925 parts pure silver and .725 parts pure copper. Mexican silver is alloyed with .950 parts silver and the remainder in copper. Prior to 1965, United States coin silver was .900 parts silver and the balance copper. Both types of silver are subject to oxidation when heated; however, in normal atmospheric conditions, the silver alloy reacts much sooner than the pure metal. The normal oxide occurring on the metal when heated is a sulfide film produced by the torch. Silver alloys also produce oxides, cupric and cuprous, formed by the presence of copper in the alloy. Tarnish on silver is produced by sulfuric oxides in the atmosphere and by certain foods or body salts..
SILVER
Silver: Used in photography, jewelry, in electronics because of its very high conductivity, as currency - generally in some form of an alloy, in lining vats and other equipment for chemical reaction vessels, water distillation, etc., catalyst in manufacture of ethylene, mirrors, electric conductors, batteries, silver plating, table cutlery, dental, medical, and scientific equipment, electrical contacts, bearing metal, magnet windings, brazing alloys, solder. Silver is mined in approximately 56 countries. Nevada produces over one-third of the U.S. silver. Largest silver reserves are found in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Peru, and China.
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