 | Jerry Burnell has been a driving force in the jewelry industry of Kansas for the past 30 years. Jerry is a native of Wichita and a graduate of Wichita State University. He jokingly says that he had a degree in business, almost a masters in business, almost a degree in chemistry, with heavy studies in physics, math, and biology and he just quit college, that he figured that with 239 credit hours he should be able to make a living somewhere. Actually he was already deep into the motions of starting the most respected jewelry design team in this part of the country. Jerry is highly regarded and considered an expert in many fields, three of which are Precious gemstones, jewelry manufacture, and jewelry design. Jerry is presently president of The Kansas Jewelers Association and holds a position on the advisory board of Jewelers of America. You may contact Jerry at Burnell’s Jewelers, (316) 634-2822, or find Burnell’s Jewelers on the web at www.burnells.com |
Gold, Silver, Diamonds & Jewelry
2004-04-01 14:46:00
Qs & As on synthetic diamonds
: Are the properties of the "new" synthetic diamonds the same as natural diamonds? ANSWER: All the properties but two match a natural diamond. Some recent articles have suggested that even your jeweler cannot tell the difference in the "new" synthetic diamonds from a natural. If your jeweler is legally blind he just might have a hard time telling the difference. The main difference is: the new vapor depositation diamonds that we are talking about are all bright brownish yellow. They are not white at all. I personally spoke with one of the two companies producing these synthetic diamonds and examined the stones in February 2004. The price for a one caret was about $4000 to $4800 per caret. I would not advise buying one though, because the price will come down. QUESTION: Will Larger faceted diamonds ever reach anything like $5 per caret? ANSWER: No, the production costs are simply too high. There are plenty of them right now though, because not many people are buying them. Will it cause the price of natural gem quality diamonds to fall? No. After all synthetic rubies were first produced in the 1880s, they are plentiful and very inexpensive today. The price of natural high quality rubies is still very expensive.QUESTION: Are synt
ANSWER: Yes. "Wired" magazine recently stated that by January of this year that there would be diamonds of a caret or larger that could be lightened to a white color that would sell for five dollars a caret. Is this correct? No, it is not. And probably will not be in our lifetime. This is a prediction that is much like the prediction many years ago that there would be an airplane in every driveway by the year 2000."Synthetic diamond" means that is a man made diamond that is chemically and physically the same as a natural diamond. Many persons get this mixed up with "Simulated Diamonds" which are materials that look somewhat like diamonds but are NOT chemically and physically the same as a diamond. CZs (Cubic Zirconium) YAG (Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) Mossianite (man made silicon carbide) manmade white sapphire, Paste (glass with foil on the back) and many other materials have been used to "simulate" diamonds. But none have lived up to the physical or chemical properties of the hardest substance on the earth, diamond.QUESTION: Are the properties of the "new" synthetic diamonds the same as natural diamonds? ANSWER: All the properties but two match a natural diamond. Some recent articles have suggested that even your jeweler cannot tell the difference in the "new" synthetic diamonds from a natural. If your jeweler is legally blind he just might have a hard time telling the difference. The main difference is: the new vapor depositation diamonds that we are talking about are all bright brownish yellow. They are not white at all. I personally spoke with one of the two companies producing these synthetic diamonds and examined the stones in February 2004. The price for a one caret was about $4000 to $4800 per caret. I would not advise buying one though, because the price will come down. QUESTION: Will Larger faceted diamonds ever reach anything like $5 per caret? ANSWER: No, the production costs are simply too high. There are plenty of them right now though, because not many people are buying them. Will it cause the price of natural gem quality diamonds to fall? No. After all synthetic rubies were first produced in the 1880s, they are plentiful and very inexpensive today. The price of natural high quality rubies is still very expensive.QUESTION: Are synthetic diamonds new?ANSWER: The first synthetic diamonds were produced in about 1930 and General Electric started producing very small diamonds with the high temperature and high pressure technique in 1953. Today 70% of all diamonds used in industry are man made. That is why you can purchase a diamond fingernail file for a few dollars. It is why your dentist only uses diamond drills and they don't get dull.13 years ago a talk was given to the Society of Manufacturing Engineering about the "New" technique of plating diamond on a substrate, which is the "new" process that we are talking about. The newer production techniques will probably change our lives in the long run. Your surgeon's knife will be sharper; your dentist's drills will be less expensive. Your computer may someday be extremely faster, and your car engine may be coated on the inside with diamond and never wear out. However, But I would not be looking for a fine white inexpensive synthetic diamond setting on your finger any time in the near future.
