Celebrities Jewelry Trends

Do any of you remember Marilyn Monroe sexily purring “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend?” Do you have any idea what that did the engagement ring market. Guys are still paying for that statement. Sure back in the 50s women knew it wouldn’t be sensible to wear such a large engagement ring but that didn’t mean a gal couldn’t yearn for it. Today a women wouldn’t feel in the least bit guilty about wearing such a diamond, in fact there are many a women that judge how well they are loved by the size of the rock they are wearing because they “know” what Marilyn knew, that “diamonds are in fact a girls best friend.”

When we see the engagement rings worn by stars like Madonna or Catherine Zeta-Jones we take notice and their choices influence the trends that follow. Celebrities are the leaders in setting fashion and jewelry trends. Madonna with her Edwardian engagement ring and Catherine Zeta-Jones’s antique styled 10 carat diamond ring has revived the desire to own a beautiful antique engagement ring. In fact it’s one of the hottest engagement ring styles in 20 years. The size of the diamonds in current styles has also grown from the average one carat to over three carats. That’s a pretty big rock that’s going to set you back a bit. But girls know they deserve it!

If you aren’t sure whether bigger is better than have a look at the jewels at this years Oscars which are said to total over $50 million dollars in value. Wonder how many vaults it took to keep those locked up for the night? With bling being the in thing one has to stop and wonder how the heck normal average working guys plan to pay for these rings. When their fiancés are asked the standard answer is “doesn’t matter I’m worth it. That’s great if your guy is earning a 6 figure salary but wait what if he’s not. What if he’s joe average living from pay day to pay day. What should he do move into the bush and give up his home, perhaps take up walking and sell his car?

Wait guys maybe you can get away with a really good quality cubic zirconia. No guarantees but it might be worth a try. Most of the high end ones can only be identified by a quality jeweler. Then again maybe she won’t care as long as it’s big and impressive. Ok girls lets be real here. Dreaming and lusting for that big 5 carat rock is just fine. No problem with dreaming, but when it comes time for your man to buy that ring remember that the ring is not what you are marrying so perhaps it’s time to consider the quality and quantity of the husband to be rather than the ring. Big diamond or little diamond it doesn’t matter as long as the two of you are blissfully happy. Let the celebrities wear their big diamonds and let them sparkle and shine in the lime light. It doesn’t matter because you got your man! That’s what counts!

Diamond Wedding Rings For Men

Diamond wedding rings are no longer just for women. Many grooms today choose to purchase a man's diamond wedding ring to match the bride's. Still others enjoy the social status that comes with wearing a diamond wedding band. Purchasing a diamond wedding ring means that the groom must consider not only the material and design of the ring, but also the quality of the diamonds.

Although often not considered to be as important as the diamonds in the bride's engagement and wedding rings, the groom's diamonds should also be purchased with care. The man should take the same "4 Cs" into consideration: carat weight, clarity, color, and cut.

A carat is exactly 200 milligrams, but very few men's bands will sport a diamond of this size. Most bands will instead have several smaller diamonds that may of may not equal one full carat. A full carat is also equal to 100 points, so a jeweler may refer to a ring as having several 10 point diamonds (each of which would be equal to one tenth of a carat).

While the clarity of a diamond is often considered the least important of the 4 Cs, it is still a key consideration in your diamond purchase. The clarity of a diamond measures the number and extent of the flaws in the diamond. For the most part, a more valuable diamond will have fewer flaws. It is extremely rare that you will find a completely flawless diamond; only a couple hundred "FL" diamonds are produced a year. Although there are several grading systems used to determine a diamond's clarity, the Gemological Institute of America's (GIA) score is by far the most popular. It ranks diamonds as Flawless (FL), Internally Flawless (IF), Very Very Slightly Included (VVS), Very Slightly Included (VS), Slightly Included (SI), and Included (I).  (Note: “inclusions” are slight specks, cracks, or other flaws in a diamond).  These ranks are not subjective; the scale has extremely specific criteria that are used to differentiate between the grades.

The color of the stone, referring to how yellow the stone is, can also be graded on a GIA scale. An ideal diamond is completely colorless, being ranked as a D. The alphabetical scale ranks nearly colorless stones as I and J , increasingly yellow beginning with M/N, and a Z is a completely yellow stone. The average color for engagement diamonds in the United States is G to H. 

The cut of a diamond is possibly the most confusing of the "4 Cs," since it can refer to the cutting style, the shape of the stone (round, square, heart-shaped, etc), its proportions, or the workmanship and the diamond-cutting process. The brilliant round cut is the most common cut for diamond engagement rings and wedding bands.

Diamond Valuation - Easy Ways to Determine the Value of a Diamond

There are four “C’s” in determining the valuation of a diamond:
<i>Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat weight.</i>

1. CUT: Judging the ‘cut’ of a diamond refers to the pricing of a diamond in accordance with how that diamond is sculpted and shaped to allow for a maximum shine and a heightened ability to reflect light. Cut can be difficult for a layperson to evaluate, so it is important to get your diamond professionally appraised and to obtain a AGS or GIA Certificate to verify the quality of the cut. A diamonds cut can also affect its durability.  

2. COLOR: If you are shopping for a diamond wedding ring or a diamond engagement ring, then it is important that you pay close attention to the value of a diamond’s color. A Diamonds ability to refract light is dependant on its degree of whiteness, making the whitest of white diamonds considerably more valuable than there lesser-white counterparts. Many experts name color as the number one criterion to consider when purchasing a special diamond for a special occasion.

3. CLARITY: Real diamonds generally tend to have small flaws such as tiny inclusions, air bubbles, or traces of other minerals inside the stone. While the presence of these tiny imperfections become the key factor in determining a real diamond from a fake, the quality and value of a diamond depends very much on a diamonds clarity. The best kinds of real diamonds have imperfections that can only be detected under a skilled diamond graders 10-power microscope.
   
4. CARAT WEIGHT: The ‘carat’ is the common unit weight measurement for diamonds, where one carat is equal to 200 milligrams and 142 carats equal one ounce. The bigger the rock, the more carats it has, and the more carats it has, the more expensive it becomes. Many feel that the size of the diamond is just as important as the other ‘C’ criterion.