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Diamond History

Diamonds are thought to have been first recognized and mined in India, where significant alluvial deposits of the stone could then be found. The earliest written reference can be found in the Sanskrit text Arthasastra, which was completed around 296 BCE and describes diamond's hardness, luster, and dispersion. Diamonds quickly became associated with divinity, being used to decorate religious icons, and were believed to bring good fortune to those who carried them. Ownership was restricted among various castes by color, with only kings being allowed to own all colors of diamond.

In February 2005, a joint Chinese-U.S. team of archaeologists reported the discovery of four corundum-rich stone ceremonial burial axes originating from China's Liangzhu and Sanxingcun cultures (4000 BCE–2500 BCE) which, because of the axes' specular surfaces, the scientists believe were polished using diamond powder. Although there are diamond deposits now known to exist close to the burial sites, no direct evidence of coeval diamond mining has been found: the researchers came to this conclusion by polishing corundum using various lapidary abrasives and modern techniques then comparing the results using an atomic force microscope. At that scale, the surface of the modern diamond-polished corundum closely resembled that of the axes; however, the polishes of the latter were superior.

Until the late Middle Ages, diamonds were most prized in their natural octahedral state, perhaps with the crystal surfaces polished to increase luster and remove foreign material. Around 1300, the flow of diamonds into Europe increased via Venice's trade network, with most flowing through the low country ports of Bruges, Antwerp, and Amsterdam. During this time, the taboo against cutting diamonds into gem shapes, which was established over 1,000 years earlier in the traditions of India, ended allowing the development of diamond cutting technology to begin in earnest. By 1375, a guild of diamond polishers had been established at Nuremberg. Over the following centuries, various diamond cuts were introduced which increasingly demonstrated the fire and brilliance that makes diamonds treasured today: the table cut, the briolette (around 1476), the rose cut (mid-16th century), and by the mid-17th century, the Mazarin, the first brilliant cut diamond design. In 1919, Marcel Tolkowsky developed an ideal round brilliant cut design that has set the standard for comparison of modern gems; however, diamond cuts have continued to be refined.

The rise in popularity of diamonds as gems seems to have paralleled increasing availability through European history. In the 13th century, King Louis IX of France established a law that only the king could own diamonds. However, within a century diamonds were popular gems among the moneyed aristocratic and merchant classes, and by at latest 1477 had begun to be used in wedding rings. Popularity continued to rise as new cuts were developed that enhanced the diamond's aesthetic appeal, and has largely continued unabated to this day; diamonds have proven popular with all classes in society as their cost has become within reach. A number of large diamonds have become historically significant objects, as their inclusion in various sets of crown jewels and the purchase, sale, and sometimes theft of notable diamonds, have sometimes become politicized.

What is a Diamond?
Diamonds are one of the two best known forms of carbon, whose hardness and high disperation of light make them useful for industrial applications and jewelry. Diamonds are specifically renowned as a mineral compund with superlative physical qualities — they make excellent cutting and abrasives because they can be scratched only by other diamonds, fullerite in its ultrahard stage, or aggregated diamond nanorods, which also means they hold a polish extremely well and retain luster, hence their use in sparling jewelry. About 130 million carats (26,000 kg) are mined annually, with a total value of nearly 9 billion in USD.

The name ¡°diamond¡± derives from the Ancient Greek word adamas (or “invincible”). They have been treasured as the highest quality of gemstones since their use as religious iconography in India at least 2,500 years ago—and also as usage in drilling and engraving tools that dates to early human history. Popularity of diamonds has risen since the 19th century because of increased supply, improved cutting and polishing techniques, growth in the world economy, and innovative and successful advertising campaigns. They are commonly judged by the “four Cs”: carat, clarity, color, and cut. Although synthetics are produced each year at nearly four times the amount of natural diamonds, the vast majority of synthetic diamonds produced are small imperfect diamonds suitable only for industrial-grade use.

Roughly 49% of diamonds originate from central and southern Africa, although significant sources of the mineral have been discovered in Canada, India, Russia, Brazil, and Australia. They are generally mined from dormant volcanic pipes, which are deep in the Earth where the high pressure and temperature enables the formation of the crystals. The mining and distribution of natural diamonds are subjects of frequent controversy—such as with concerns over the sale of conflict diamonds by African paramilitary & crime groups.

A diamond itself is a transparent crystal of pure carbon consisting of tetrahedrally bonded carbon atoms. Humans have been able to adapt diamonds for many uses because of the material's exceptional physical characteristics. Most notable among these properties are the extreme hardness of diamond, its high dispersion index, and high thermal conductivity. These properties form the basis for most modern applications of diamond.

Hardness
Diamond is the hardest known naturally occurring material, scoring 10 on the relative Mohs scale of mineral hardness and having an absolute hardness value of between 167 and 231 gigapascals in various tests. Diamond's hardness has been known since antiquity, and is the source of its name. However, aggregated diamond nanorods, an allotrope of carbon first synthesized in 2005, are now believed to be even harder than diamond.

The hardest diamonds in the world are diamonds from the New England area in New South Wales, Australia. These diamonds are generally small, perfect to semiperfect octahedra, and are used to polish other diamonds. Their hardness is considered to be a product of the crystal growth form, which is single stage growth crystal. Most other diamonds show more evidence of multiple growth stages, which produce inclusions, flaws and defect planes in the crystal lattice all of which affect their hardness (Taylor et al. 1990).

Industrial use of diamonds has historically been associated with their hardness; this property makes diamond the ideal material for cutting and grinding tools. It is one of the most known and most useful of more than 3,000 known minerals. As the hardest known naturally occurring material, diamond can be used to polish, cut, or wear away any material, including other diamonds. Common industrial adaptations of this ability include diamond-tipped drill bits and saws, or use of diamond powder as an abrasive. Other specialized applications also exist or are being developed, including use as semiconductors: some blue diamonds are natural semiconductors, in contrast to most other diamonds, which are excellent electrical insulators. Industrial-grade diamonds are either unsuitable for use as gems or synthetically produced, which lowers their price and makes their use economically feasible. Industrial applications, especially as drill bits and engraving tools, also date to ancient times.

The hardness of diamonds also contributes to its suitability as a gemstone. Because it can only be scratched by other diamonds, it maintains its polish extremely well, keeping its luster over long periods of time. Unlike many other gems, it is well-suited to daily wear because of its resistance to scratching—perhaps contributing to its popularity as the preferred gem in an engagement ring or wedding ring, which are often worn every day.

Toughness
Unlike hardness, which only denotes resistance to scratching, diamond's toughness is only fair to good. Toughness relates to a material's ability to resist breakage from forceful impact. As with any material, the macroscopic geometry of a diamond contributes to its resistance to breakage. Diamond is therefore more fragile in some orientations than others.

Color
Diamonds occur in a variety of translucent hues — colorless, steel, blue, yellow, orange, red, green, pink, brown—or black. Diamonds with a detectable hue to them are known as colored diamonds. If the color is strong enough, a stone may be referred to as a fancy colored diamond by the trade. Colored diamonds contain impurities or structural defects that cause the coloration, while pure or nearly pure diamonds are transparent and colorless. Most diamond impurities replace a carbon atom in the crystal lattice. The most common impurity, nitrogen, causes a slight to strong yellow coloration depending upon the type and concentration of nitrogen present. The best color on a scale of diamond color is D, while the least desirable is Z, which is yellow. 

Thermodynamic Stability
At surface air pressure (one atmosphere), diamonds are not as stable as graphite, and so the decay of diamond is thermodynamically favorable (ΔG = −2.99 kJ / mol). Diamonds will burn at approximately 800 degrees Celsius, providing that enough oxygen is available. This was shown in the late 18th century, and previously described during Roman times. However, owing to a very large kinetic energy barrier, diamonds are metastable; under normal conditions, it would take an extremely long time (possibly more than the age of the Universe) for diamond to decay into graphite.

Electromagnetic properties

Optical Properties
Diamonds exhibit a high dispersion of visible light. This strong ability to split white light into its component colors is an important phpect of diamond's attraction as a gemstone, giving it impressive prismatic action that results in so-called fire in a well-cut stone. The luster of a diamond, a characterization of how light interacts with the surface of a crystal, is brilliant and is described as adamantine, which simply means diamond-like. This is owed to their high refractive index of 2.417 (at 589.3 nm), which causes total internal reflection to occur. Some diamonds exhibit fluorescence of various colors (predominately blue) under long wave ultraviolet light. Nearly all diamonds fluoresce bluish-white, yellow or green under X-rays and this property is used extensively in mining to separate the fluorescing diamond from the non-fluorescing rock. Most diamonds show no fluorescence although colored diamonds show a wider range of fluorescence than the blue fluorescence normally observed in clear diamonds.

Electrical Properties
Except for most blue diamonds, which are semiconductors, diamonds are good electrical insulators. Blue diamonds owe their semiconductive property to boron impurities, which act as a doping agent and cause p-type semiconductor behavior. Blue diamonds which are not boron-doped, such as those recently recovered from the Argyle diamond mine in Australia that owe their color to an overabundance of hydrogen atoms, are not semiconductors.

Thermal Properties
Unlike most electrical insulators, diamond is a good conductor of heat because of the strong covalent bonding within the crystal. Most natural blue diamonds contain boron atoms which replace carbon atoms in the crystal matrix, and also have high thermal conductivity. Specially purified synthetic diamond has the highest thermal conductivity (2000–2500 W/(m·K), five times more than copper) of any known solid at room temperature. Because diamond has such high thermal conductance it is already used in semiconductor manufacture to prevent silicon and other semiconducting materials from overheating.

Natural history

Formation
Diamonds are formed by prolonged exposure of carbon bearing materials to high pressure and temperature. On Earth, the formation of diamonds is possible because there are regions deep within the Earth that are at a high enough pressure and temperature that the formation of diamonds is thermodynamically favorable. Under continental crust, diamonds form starting at depths of about 150 kilometers (90 miles), where pressure is roughly 5 gigapascals and the temperature is around 1200 degrees Celsius (2200 degrees Fahrenheit). Diamond formation under oceanic crust takes place at greater depths because of higher temperatures, which require higher pressure for diamond formation. Long periods of exposure to these high pressures and temperatures allow diamond crystals to grow larger.

Through studies of carbon isotope ratios (similar to the methodology used in carbon dating) except using the stable isotopes C-12 and C-13, it has been shown that the carbon found in diamonds comes from both inorganic and organic sources. Some diamonds, known as harzburgitic, are formed from inorganic carbon originally found deep in the Earth's mantle. In contrast, eclogitic diamonds contain organic carbon from organic detritus that has been pushed down from the surface of the Earth's crust through subduction (see plate tectonics) before transforming into diamond. These two different source carbons have measurably different 13C:12C ratios. Diamonds that have come to the Earth's surface are generally very old, ranging from under 1 billion to 3.3 billion years old.

Diamonds occur most often as euhedral or rounded octahedra and twinned octahedra known as macles or maccles. As diamond's crystal structure has a cubic arrangement of the atoms, they have many facets that belong to a cube, octahedron, rhombicosidodecahedron, tetrakis hexahedron or disdyakis dodecahedron. The crystals can have rounded off and unexpressive edges and can be elongated. Sometimes they are found grown together or form double "twinned" crystals grown together at the surfaces of the octahedron. This is all due to the conditions in which they form. Diamonds (especially those from secondary deposits) are commonly found coated in nyf, an opaque gum-like skin.

Diamonds can also form in other natural high-pressure, high-temperature events. Very small diamonds, known as microdiamonds or nanodiamonds, have been found in impact craters where meteors strike the Earth and create shock zones of high pressure and temperature where diamond formation can occur. Microdiamonds are now used as one indicator of ancient meteorite impact sites.

Surfacing
Diamond-bearing rock is forced close to the surface through deep-origin volcanic eruptions. The magma for such a volcano must originate at a depth where diamonds can be formed, 90 miles (150 km) deep or more (three times or more the depth of source magma for most volcanoes); this is a relatively rare occurrence. Below these typically small surface volcanic craters are formations known as volcanic pipes, which contain material that was pushed toward the surface of the earth by volcanic action, but did not erupt before the volcanic activity ceased. Diamond-bearing volcanic pipes are most commonly found in the oldest regions of continental crust, which relates to the fact that these areas are the coolest portions of the earth's crust, and therefore diamonds can form at the shallowest depths.

The magma in such volcanic pipes is usually one of two characteristic types, which cool into igneous rock known as either kimberlite or lamproite. The magma itself does not contain diamond; instead, it acts as an elevator that carries deep-formed rocks and material upward. These rocks are characteristically rich in magnesium bearing olivine, pyroxene, and amphibole minerals which are usually altered to serpentine under near surface conditions. Certain indicator minerals typically occur within diamondiferous kimberlites and are used as mineralogic tracers in the search for diamond deposits by prospectors. These minerals are rich in chromium (Cr) or titanium (Ti), elements which impart bright colors to the minerals. The most common indicator minerals are chromian garnets (usually bright red Cr-pyrope, and occasionally green ugrandite-series garnets), eclogitic garnets, orange Ti-pyrope, red high chromian spinels, dark chromite, bright green Cr-diopside, glassy green olivine, black picroilmenite, and magnetite. Kimberlite deposits are known as blue ground for the deeper serpentinized part of the deposits, or as yellow ground for the near surface smectite clay and carbonate weathered and oxidized portion.

Once diamonds have been forced to the surface by magma in a volcanic pipe, they may erode out and be distributed over a large area. A volcanic pipe containing diamonds is known as a primary source of diamonds. Secondary sources of diamonds include all areas where a significant number of diamonds, eroded out of their kimberlite or lamproite matrix, accumulate because of water or weather action. These include alluvial deposits and deposits along existing and ancient shorelines, where loose diamonds tend to accumulate because of their approximate size and density. Diamonds have also rarely been found in deposits left behind by glaciers (notably in Wisconsin and Indiana); however, in contrast to alluvial deposits, glacial deposits are not known to be of significant concentration and are therefore not viable commercial sources of diamond.

Diamonds can also be brought to the surface through certain processes which may occur when two continental plates collide forcefully, although this phenomenon is less understood and currently assumed to be uncommon.

Famous Diamond

Tavernier's diagram of the Hope's 112-carat rough form.
Legend has it the diamond came from the eye of an idol in a temple on the coleroon River in India. If that is so, one can only conjecture that the eye must have had a mate, but the fate of "the other eye" has never come to light. It would not be the first famous diamond that started it's notoriety in a religious idol. The Idol's Eye and the Orlov both came from idols, according to legend. Tavernier purchased the stone and smuggled it to Paris, where he later sold it to King Louis XIV. It was cut there into a triangular-pear-shaped stone weighing 67.50 carats, and was then known as the French Blue or the Tavernier Blue.

The legends of the ill-fortune following the possessor of the Hope Diamond are many. From the start Louis XIV, for whom Louisiana was named by La Salle, who claimed the lower Mississippi in his name, (and was killed by his own men) had ill-fortune follow him, perhaps deservedly.
Louis XIV gave the diamond to Madame de Montespan, but she soon went into royal discard. Then came a day when a great festival was given in honor of the King. The Director of Finance, Nicolas Fouquet, had planned well for the occasion, hoping to impress the court. What matter if France was tottering on the brink of revolution, and the nation’s finances none too stable. Was not he, Nicolas Fouquet, reputedly a wealthy man?
So he would borrow the diamond, and the king, he though, would be pleased with such a man of impressively good taste. It didn’t work out that way. After the party, Louis XIV had Nicolas arrested for embezzlement, regained the diamond, and Fouquet was made a “quest” of the Crown at the Fortress of Pignerol where he died 15 years later. Perhaps the idol laughed.
If it did, Louis XIV paid no heed. He continued his harsh rule. It was little wonder that when he was taken to his final resting place, the only lackeys accompanied his funeral carriage down the rutted road to St. Dennis.
Other wearers of the jewel at the Court of France might well have given credence to the legendary curse. Princess de Lamballie, and Marie Antoinette whole followed, both were guillotined during the French Revolution.
The diamond disappeared, and for many years it was not heard from at all, but in 1830, a large steel blue diamond of a different shape, and weighing only 44.50 carats appeared on the market in England was purchased by Henry Thomas Hope, an English banker. In 1851 the diamond was shown at a London exhibition and was insured for a million dollars, an INSANE amount of money for the time period, but then again, this was the largest diamond of it’s type in the world. It was later inherited by a descendant, Lord Francis Pelham Clinton Hope. His wife, formerly a prominent American actress, May Yohe, and a stage star at the beginning of the 20th century, ran away with another man. She died in Boston, Mass., in 1913, practically penniless and forgotten. She had little reguard for the Hope Diamond, and wrote the then owner, Evalyn Walsh McLean, commenting unfavorably on the jewel and the misfortune of it’s owners. Lord Hope eventually went bankrupt and again, the diamond vanished, only to be discovered by the estate trustees after it had been sold as a piece of costume jewelry and lightly reguarded.

An interesting illustration of the medalion setting the Hope was in before the platinum and diamond necklace setting (made by Cartier around 1910) in which it now resides.
The world contains many gems of great repute. But by all standards of comparison, for fame or infamy, no other jewel so captured the imagination as did the Hope Diamond and it’s predecessor the French Blue. Truly it is the Queen of the Court of Jewels. Source: Lapidary Journal, August 1961.

Photo from the formal presentation of the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian on September 10th, 1958. From left to right:
Mrs. Harry Winston, wife of the donor; Leonard Carmichael, Secretary of the Smithsonian; Dr. George S. Switzer, Curator of Mineralogy.

In 1975, the stone was removed from it’s setting to be cleaned and weighed. It turned out to actually weigh 45.52 carats rather than 44.50 carats, which is what was previously thought. Many people also believe the Hope is the largest blue diamond in the world, this isn't true, though. It's actually the 4th largest. It is however, the largest dark blue. The others are lighter shades. Source: (odds and ends, misc. books)

Cut

Math is the determining factor in deciding the cut of a diamond. Every diamond is cut according to an exact mathematical formula.
The most common cut, the round brilliant, has 58 facets, or small, flat, polished planes designed to yield the maximum amount of light to be reflected back to the viewer.

This reflection, known as brilliance, is an extremely important factor in evaluating the quality of a diamond. A poorly cut diamond will actually lose light and appear dull. The two most common mistakes in cutting a diamond are:

Brilliance?
Determining a diamond's cut grade, however, goes beyond simple measurements of width and depth. Using an optical measuring device, a three-dimensional model is created to determine the diamond's proportions and angles. The interrelations between these various dimensions will greatly affect how light reacts once it enters and how it behaves once it exits; by using sophisticated computer modeling, it is possible to trace light behavior and measure its levels of brightness, fire and scintillation - the face-up appearance.

Diameter: The width of the diamond as measured through the girdle.
Table: The largest facet of a gemstone.
Crown: The top portion of a diamond extending from the girdle to the table.
Girdle: The intersection of the crown and pavilion which defines the perimeter of the diamond.
Pavilion: The bottom portion of a diamond, extending from the girdle to the culet.
Culet: The facet at the tip of a gemstone. The preferred culet is not visible with the unaided eye (graded "none" or "small").
Depth: The height of a gemstone measured from the culet to the table.

Polish and Symmetry
Polish and symmetry are two important aspects of the cutting process. The polish grade describes the smoothness of the diamond's facets, and the symmetry grade refers to alignment of the facets. With poor polish, the surface of a facet can be dulled, and may create blurred or dulled sparkle. With poor symmetry, light can be misdirected as it enters and exits the diamond. The polish and symmetry grades are clearly listed in each diamond detail page and within the GIA or AGSL diamond grading report. For the most beautiful diamond, look for a symmetry grade of excellent (EX), very good (VG), or good (G) for a GIA graded diamond, and ideal (ID), excellent (EX), very good (VG), or good (G) for an AGSL graded diamond. Avoid diamonds with symmetry grades of fair (F) or poor (P), as the alignment of their facets may misdirect light so severely that it affects the brilliance of the diamond.

Clarity

A diamond's clarity is affected by any detectable external irregularities and internal imperfections created by nature when the diamond was formed. Imperfections such as spots or lines are called inclusions. The less inclusions, the higher the clarity and thus, the greater brilliance and ultimately, value. exact quality of a diamond is critical to its value. A diamond improperly graded by only the slightest margin could dramatically affect its perceived value.
Inclusions can interfere with the passage of light through the stone, diminishing the sparkle and value of the diamond. According to the quality analysis system of the Gemological Institute of America, clarity is graded on a scale ranging from internally flawless (IF) to included (I).
To be graded flawless, a diamond must have no inclusions visible to a trained eye under a 10x magnification in good light.

What is the best clarity grade?
We recommend that you select an "eye-clean" diamond — one that has no inclusions visible to the unaided eye. An excellent value, diamonds of this clarity are much less expensive than IF- or FL-grade diamonds and typically do not contain visible inclusions that detract from the beauty of the diamond. If you're considering an SI grade diamond, call to speak to a diamond and jewelry consultant who will review the diamond to ensure the inclusions are not visible with the unaided eye. But, if you'd rather not compromise on clarity yet are budget conscious, choose a diamond with a good cut and G or H color.

Clarity	Description	Price
FL	Flawless No internal or external finish flaws.	$7,500
IF	Internally Flawless No internal flaws.	$7,200
VVS1 VVS2	Very very slightly included Very difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification.	$6,900 $6,600
VS1 VS2	Very slightly included Difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification, typically unable to see inclusions with unaided eye.	$6,100 $5,600
SI1 SI2	Slightly included Easy to see inclusions under 10x magnification, may not be able to see inclusions with unaided eye.	$5,000 $4,300

Color

The most popular Color for Diamonds is "white" or colorless. Whilst Diamonds come in every Color
of the spectrum, for "white" Diamonds true colorless examples are extremely rare and therefore demand the highest value. Regular "white" Diamonds are graded by Color and are given letter designations dependant upon how far they deviate from the purest "white." Put simply, just a small amount of Color can diminish a stone's "brilliance & fire" and therefore ultimately negatively effect the overall value of any given Diamond. Diamonds deemed to be truly colorless are awarded the Color grading of D. Color grading then continues down through the alphabet, with each letter designating a slightly yellower tint.

The progression is:
D: Absolutely colorless. The highest color grade, which is extremely rare.
E: Colorless. Only minute traces of color can be detected by an expert gemologist. A rare diamond.
F: Colorless. Slight color detected by an expert gemologist, but still considered a "colorless" grade.
    A high-quality diamond.
G-H: Near-colorless. Color noticeable when compared to diamonds of better grades, but these grades 
       offer excellent value.
I-J: Near-colorless. Color slightly detectable. An excellent value.
K-Z: Inferior and never offered by us.

　

D E F	G H I J	K L M	N-Z
Colorless	Near-colorless	Faint Tint	Light to Dark Yellow

What is the best color grade?
- For the purist, look for a colorless diamond with a grade of D-F and a fluorescence rating of faint, 
   inert, none, or negligible.
- For an excellent value in a diamond with no noticeable color to the unaided eye, look for a 
   near-colorless grade of G-I, and a fluorescence grade of medium or strong blue.
- Or, if you'd rather not compromise on color but would like to stay on budget, choose a diamond 
   with a good cut, SI1–SI2 clarity, and consider going with a strong fluorescence. It will still be 
   beautiful to the unaided eye and you may prefer the unique effect of a strong fluorescence.

	Colorless D                E                 F				Near-Colorless G              H              I              J
Ideal	$8,000	$7,600	$7,200		$6,800	$6,000	$5,200	$4,300
Very Good	$7,500	$7,200	$6,900		$6,200	$5,600	$4,700	$4,200
Good	$7,200	$6,800	$6,700		$6,000	$5,200	$4,600	$4,000
Fair	$7,000	$6,700	$6,600		$5,200	$4,700	$4,200	$3,700

Carat

A Carat is the unit of measurement for a diamond's weight - it is equal to 200 milligrams, and there are 142 Carats to an ounce. Carats are referenced by dividing them into points - there are 100 points in a Carat.

A half Carat diamond may be referred to as a 50-point stone (about 100 milligrams). Because large diamonds are rarer, they generally have a greater value per Carat than smaller sized stones.

This word for the measurement of a diamond's weight Carat - is derived from the carob seeds that were used to balance scales in ancient times.

Today, it is important to evaluate all of the factors (all the C’s) and not just size. A large sized diamond with poor clarity, color and cut does not have the value of many smaller stones. C’s like clarity, cut and color determine the visual brilliance of the jewelry.

What is the best size/weight?
To choose the best carat weight of diamond, consider her style, the size of her finger, the size 
of your setting, and your budget.

- If you have a set budget, explore all your options and you'll find that there is a wide range of 
  diamond carat weights and qualities available in your price range.
- If your recipient is very active or not used to wearing jewelry, she may find herself bumping or 
  nicking her new ring. Consider a smaller size diamond or a setting that protects a larger 
  diamond from getting knocked against doors and counters.
- Also keep in mind that the smaller the finger, the larger the diamond will appear. A 1½-carat 
  diamond solitaire looks much larger on a size 4 finger than a size 8.
- If you have already chosen a setting, make sure you choose a diamond to fit. Look for the 
  diamond size specifications of your ring or ask your Blue Nile diamond and jewelry consultant 
  what size diamond you should look for.

Certificates

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