DIAMOND FEVER

What woman would not like to own/possess/have beautiful diamonds?

What man would not like to his woman a sensual gift that never loses its
magic?

Why are diamonds so fascinating? Are they simply beautiful objects or do
they represent something more?

By Malou Vilselius Rydin

One of the driving forces for men has historically been different ways of
adorning his spouse and ways to strengthen his position in the hierarchy.
This was done to mark territory and to deter potential competitors. Even in
today's world, an adorned woman will strengthen a man's position as an alpha
male. However, it wasn't that long ago when things were different. A few
examples:

- In fourteen century France, only kings were under law allowed to
wear diamonds.

- During the Middle Ages, diamonds were only worn by men, symbolizing
courage and virility. Diamonds were thought to have a protective, healing
force and were often carried as talismans.

- A diamond in the mouth was said to eliminate the bad habits of
liars, scoundrels, and swindlers.

Today, most women buy their own diamonds. Men, don't fret. In a future
matriarchal society, men will again wear diamonds, adorned by us - your
alpha females.

 

Fascinating, irresistible time capsules.

 

Why are these irresistible time capsules so captivating? A diamond has a
unique position in society; it has always been a symbol for the elite and is
made to adorn the privileged. Humans are naturally drawn to what it
represents; Love, ambition, and extravagance - a luxurious lifestyle.
Diamonds represent power, youth, and durability. A diamond can even have
been in the possession of people from other civilizations and traveled
through time to tell us a story.

 

A diamond is a piece of carbon that survived the pressure.

 

Diamonds are born in the center of the earth and are mostly made of
crystalline carbon. Deep under the earth's surface and under enormously high
temperatures, the pieces of carbon are compressed to create a strong and
durable structure - the strongest material available in its natural form.

 

What determines the value of a diamond? Anna Pettersson, GIA, (Gemological
Institute of America) explains the four components; the four C, that
comprise the value and quality of a diamond: color, clarity, cut, carat.

 

Color: River is ranked number 1, closely followed by Top Wesselton,
then Wesselton, Top Crystal, Crystal via Cape, Light yellow and the
simplest, Yellow.

GIA has a different ranking system based on an alphabetically falling scale
from D to R.

 

Clarity: FL and IF are pure stones, and VVS having very small inneslutningar
(vet inte vad det ordet är på svenska)not visible to the naked eye. After
these top quality stones, the scale falls from VS, SI down to P1, P2 and P3.

 

Cut: The cut is of course very important. This is what is called the "fire"
in the diamonds. Diamonds reduce the speed of light by half, and it's the
intensity of the reflections that determines the quality of the cut.

To achieve the right cut and right proportions are the determining factors
in the diamond's ability to reflect light.

 

Carat: The last C stands for weight. A carat equals 0.2 grams. The
measurement of weight has its roots from the ancient Arabic custom to use
seeds from the Johannesbröd (vet inte detta ord heller) tree as counter
weights. These seeds were considered having a very uniform weight: about
0.196 grams. This number was rounded to 0.2 grams for practical reasons by
the diamond industry in the beginning of the last century.

 

The rule of thumb is: better a smaller, but better quality diamond than a
monster rock.

Something to keep in mind regarding the size - the words that may never have
been said:

 

Darling, may I have a smaller diamond?

 

In essence, it's the human eye that determines the value and how rare and
sought after the diamond is perceived.

And all the men who are worried about gifts this year: Relax! A diamond is
never wrong.

 

Jeweler to the stars.

 

A hot tip for a true diamond fetishist is to visit the House of Harry
Winston, nicknamed Jeweler to the stars. He has made a name for himself from
his irresistible and attention grabbing pieces of jewelry. When you see one
of the stars on the Academy Awards, there is a big likelihood that she is
wearing jewelry by Harry Winston. Celebrities are lining up to borrow
jewelry for these flashy events. A piece of jewelry from the King of
Diamond, as he is also called is thought to bring luck and success.

For decades he has adorned the world's super stars and jewel dependent, from
Elisabeth Taylor and
Marilyn Monroe to today's stars, Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer
Lopez. Ben Affleck bought a 6.1 carat pink diamond wedding ring to Jennifer
Lopez from Harry Winston for US$ 1.5 million!

The ring was to be thrown in his face when the marriage fell apart. Who
wouldn't want to be in the way when that projectile flew by?

After this episode, pink diamonds became even more sought after.

 

Pink diamonds? All the rage!

 

Pink and especially red diamonds are the most valued and rare diamonds in
the world. Only a handful are found each year in Argyle Diamond Mine in
Australia, the world's largest diamond mine, and the only one that produces
pink and red diamonds. Why the color is pink, nobody knows. It strengthens
the magic and makes this courier from the inner earth even more beautiful
and more valued.

Red and pink diamonds baffles the industry. The red ones cost up to $1
million per carat and are sold on the Exclusive Pink Diamond Tender in New
York every year.
A few chosen diamond traders who all have to have these very original and
irresistible gems visit these very private auctions.

These gems reflect violent forces, catch one's eye, and are impossible to
resist. People let themselves be spellbound by these magic pink-red
glittering stones.

Its destiny is to through a series of violent explosions travel thousands of
miles from the earth's interior, be thrown out of a high speed volcano, and
land in a beautiful piece of jewelry somewhere in the world.

 

However, the most spectacular aspect of a diamond is that it is like a
sparkling window to our past and our history. In the perfect diamond, a
force is preserved. For ever.