Properties

Our loose diamonds provide a base material and inspiration for those looking to create something unique. All rough diamonds created are grown individually, While having its own 'diamond personality'. It remains 100% true to the atomic structure of a natural diamond, repeating the optical, physical and chemical properties of an earth grown diamond. To grow a diamond crystal we apply the method known as HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) that recreates the conditions close to those found in the earths mantle. This makes New Life Diamonds the same as earth grown gems at the very christalline level.

Click here to see a comparison of the properties of earth and lab-grown diamonds.

Cut

All New Life Diamonds loose stones are cut and polished in accordance with high industry standards. The cuts are carefully chosen for every diamond by our specialists in order to bring forward the best qualities of each crystal. The cuts offered by New Life Diamonds are: round, princess and emerald. All other cuts are available upon request.

In order to best utilize a diamond gemstone's superlative material properties, a number of different diamond cuts have been developed. A diamond cut constitutes a more or less symmetrical arrangement of facets which together modify the shape and appearance of a diamond crystal. Diamond cutters must consider several factors, such as the shape and size of the crystal when choosing a cut.

The most popular of diamond cuts is the modern round brilliant, whose facet arrangements and proportions have been perfected by both mathematical and empirical analysis. Also popular are the fancy cuts which come in a variety of shapes. Many of which were derived from the round brilliant. A diamond's cut is evaluated by trained graders, with higher grades given to stones whose symmetry and proportions most closely match the particular "ideal" used as a benchmark. The strictest standards are applied to the round brilliant; although its facet count is invariable, its proportions are not.

The modern round brilliant consists of 58 facets (or 57 if the culet is excluded); 33 on the crown (the top half above the middle or girdle of the stone) and 25 on the pavilion (the lower half below the girdle). The girdle may be frosted, polished smooth, or faceted. In recent decades, most girdles are faceted; many have 32, 64, 80, or 96 facets.

Clarity

Clarity is one of the characteristics that are applied when discussing the quality of a diamond. While F1 is the best in the grading scale, they are incredibly rare. Similar to a naturally grown diamond, a lab grown crystal may have inclusions, because an absolutely pure diamond without any defects is mostly a theoretical concept rather than natural phenomena. Cultured diamonds are are graded (on average) between I, SI, VS and VVS.

I - INCLUDED. Contain some inclusions that can be seen by the naked eye but they are so small and tiny that it can be easily hidden in finished jewelry. The cost of such stones is traditionally much lower, which still makes them very appealing.

SI - SLIGHTLY INCLUDED. Contain some small inclusions that are slightly more noticeable under 10x magnification but still cannot affect the brilliance and clarity of the gem.

VS - VERY SLIGHTLY INCLUDED. Inclusions or flaws are hardly seen under 10x magnification loop.

VVS - VERY VERY SLIGHT INCLUSIONS. These gems have difficult or very difficult to see inclusions under a 10x loop.

Diamond clarity is a quality of diamonds relating to the existence and visual appearance of internal defects of a diamond called inclusions, and surface defects called blemishes. Clarity is one of the four Cs of diamond grading, the others being carat, color, and cut. Inclusions may be crystals of a foreign material or another diamond crystal, or structural imperfections such as tiny cracks that can appear whitish or cloudy. The number, size, color, relative location, orientation, and visibility of inclusions can all affect the relative clarity of a diamond. A clarity grade is assigned based on the overall appearance of the stone under 10x magnification.

Most inclusions present in gem-quality diamonds do not affect the diamonds' performance or structural integrity. However, large clouds can affect a diamond's ability to transmit and scatter light. Large cracks close to or breaking the surface may reduce a diamond's resistance to fracture.

Diamonds with higher clarity grades are more valued, with the exceedingly rare "flawless" graded diamond fetching the highest price. However, minor inclusions or blemishes are sometimes considered to have some value, as they can be used as unique identifying marks analogous to fingerprints. In addition, as synthetic diamond technology improves and distinguishing between natural and synthetic diamonds becomes more difficult, inclusions or blemishes can be used as proof of natural origin.

FL - FLAWLESS. These stones have no imperfections inside or on the outside of the stone under the magnification of a loupe of 10 power.

IF - INTERNALLY FLAWLESS. These stones have no inclusions under a loupe with a 10 power magnification.

VVS1, VVS2 - VERY VERY SLIGHT IMPERFECT. These stones have very small inclusions which are very difficult to see under a loupe with a 10 power magnification.

VS1, VS2 - VERY SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT. These stones have small inclusions which are slightly difficult to difficult to see under a loupe with a 10 power magnification.

SI1, SI2 - SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT. These stones have inclusions which are fairly easy to see under a loupe with a 10 power magnification, or visible to the naked eye.

I1, I2, I3 - IMPERFECT. These stones have inclusions which range from eye visible to very easily seen by the naked eye.

Carat

Once you have decide on color, cut and clarity, you know have to decide on the size of the ring. The question you will have to ask yourself is what your budget is. It will be simple to figure out the carat once you get a price line.

What is minimum individual carat weight?

Minimum individual carat weight is the minimum carat weight of one diamond in a piece of jewelry. If a pair of diamond stud earrings has a total diamond weight of 1/2 carat, the individual carat weight of each diamond would be 1/4 carat. The actual diamonds you purchase may weigh slightly more or less than the fractional weight specified. The Federal Trade Commission has strict guidelines about the disclosure of the range of carat weight that a fraction can represent. The chart below outlines acceptable ranges for carat weights expressed as fractions. Some diamonds may be cut into sizes between these more common fractions. Because it is more unusual for diamonds to be cut into these in-between sizes, ranges are not defined for these sizes. These sizes would have their specific carat weight (e.g., 0.62 carats) listed under minimum individual carat weight.

• 1/4 carat total weight may be 0.21 to 0.29 carats
• 1/3 carat total weight may be 0.30 to 0.36 carats
• 1/2 carat total weight may be 0.45 to 0.59 carats
• 3/4 carat total weight may be 0.70 to 0.84 carats
• 1 carat total weight may be 0.95 to 1.10 carats
• 1 1/4 carats total weight may be 1.20 to 1.29 carats
• 1 1/2 carats total weight may be 1.45 to 1.55 carats
• 2 carats total weight may be 1.95 to 2.05 carats

Color

Color diamonds are incredibly rare in Nature. So few are their numbers and their prices so high that any new and affordable opportunity to include color diamonds in our jewelry is an exciting prospect.

Currently New Life Diamonds offers gems in four colors: light sparkling green, deep pomegranate red, brilliant blue, and various tints of yellow from light canary to vivid orange. These color diamonds retain all the head-turning radiance, luster, brilliance that belong to natural diamonds.
Our Cultivated color diamonds do not fade and continue to blaze their magnificent fire throughout the years.

The beauty and rarity of colored diamonds in nature pushed us to learn more about the properties of their color in order to be able to reproduce those colors in the labs. Over the past decades, scientists explored and introduced methods to bring color onto cultivated diamonds. While some methods change the color only temporarily, others bring about permanent change with no damage to the structure of the crystal. Irradiation and HHHP are the methods that provide the best results.

In order to explain how we create our color diamonds we must take a step back and look at how colors occur in natural diamonds. The presence of color in a diamond is often defined by structural anomalies and the presence of other mineral atoms in the crystal. Those atoms become part of the crystal matrix lattice during its growth and in the end will affect the light absorption within the crystal. Tints of naturally colored diamonds will depend on those extras in the lattice and will be seen as one of the following colors: steel grey, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, red, purple, brown or even black.

Tints of yellow, orange and brown often appear due to the presence of a higher nitrogen content in the atomic structure. So whether or not nitrogen was added "accidentally" by nature or on purpose by a scientist, the result is the same - the diamond has a yellow color that may vary from slightly yellow to intense orange or brownish colors. All our yellow to brown colored diamonds acquire their color in the same way as natural crystals do, simply by having nitrogen added at a very early stage of formation.

Similarly the blue colored diamonds get their stunning gentle blue color due to the presence of baron atoms in their structure.

To bring green to a diamond, some extra thermo baric treatment is applied that will result in a lively, sparkling light green color. For our deep red colored diamonds we use the method of irradiation, which has been developed and successfully applied throughout recent decades.

All colored diamonds grown in our lab have a lively intense color that will last and will not fade with time.

Diamond Shapes

	Round Diamond The round diamond is one of the most popular diamonds and most commonly analyzed diamonds available. The nice thing about the round diamond is that it give you the most flexibility when determining the color, clarity and cut.
	Princess Diamond This unique cut is very popular for engagement rings. Traditionally square in shape, when you are choosing a color you should look for a color above a J. Anything J or below may allow you to see color in the corners
	Emerald Diamond Pavilion is a cut that creates the unique optical appearance with rectangular facets. Clarity is your biggest concern with an Emerald cut. Anything lower then a SI1, should be reviewed closely to make sure there are no visible black spots.
	Oval Diamond Oval diamonds are very similar to round cut diamonds. If you have long, slender fingers the long look of the oval diamond can accentuate the beauty of the female hand.
	Marquis Diamond If you are looking to maximize carat weight then the marquis diamond may be the answer for you. The cut allows you to get a bigger diamond and it looks amazing with round or pear shape side stones on each side
	Pear Diamond Also known as a "tear drop", the pear shape diamond is a brillant cut and is used in a variety of different pieces of jewelry. The pear diamond also has a slimming effect on the finger.
	Heart Shape Diamond Show her that you love her and the heart shape diamond leaves no doubt. When choosing a heart shape diamond you need to be looking at a color of J or better. Any color lower then a J could show up along the side.