John Betts - Fine Minerals, New York, NY
212-678-1942
Dealers of Fine Minerals and Natural Crystal Clusters since
1989.
Natural Diamond Crystals for Jewelry - Uncut Rough Diamonds
Crystals with natural sparkle making them perfect for use in jewlery without
faceting
Below is a gallery of my natural diamond crystals for use in jewelry . These
uncut rough diamonds are crystals with natural sparkle making them perfect
for use in jewlery without faceting. These are real diamonds that gemstones
are made from - not Herkimer Diamonds that are common quartz.
Using rough diamonds in jewelry is a major trend in jewelry today. Of course
the practice of using raw diamonds dates back at least to Roman times when
they were commonly found in men's rins. But recently major diamond jewelry
companies have created their own lines. DeBeers introduced their line called
Talisman in 2006.
A new company Diamond in the Rough
introduced a large 305 carat rough diamond necklace was prominantly feateued
in Neiman Marcus 2007 Christmas Book for $1 million.
The success of these top teir jewelry companies marketing rough diamond jewelry
has created demand from independent jewelry designers that are interested
in the lower overhead cost possible because the expense to have each diamond
faceted by a mester diamond cutter has been eliminated.
If you are considering buying a diamond for use in jewelry,
here are some following suggestions:
-
In general, add 50% to the carat weight for an uncut diamond because they
are more bulky than faceted diamonds. A 1.00 carat brilliant cut facted diamond
is 6.4 mm in diameter around the girdle. A similar sized 6.5 mm uncut diamond
will be in the 1.5 carat range.
-
The exception to rule number 1 above is a macle diamond.
These are triangular diamond crystals that are the result of crystal twinning
and they resemble trillion-cut faceted diamonds. Because they frequently
are shallower than comparable uncut diamonds of equal weight, they appear
much larger for a given carat weight. A 6 mm (on each of the triangular edges)
macle diamond will weigh approximately 1.00 carat.
-
Look for a diamond crystal with natural sparkle - lots of
small reflections of light caused by the crystal faces bouncing light internally
throughout the crystal. Some diamonds have flat, planar faces (glassies)
and look dull. Other diamonds have a satin-like surface luster that is often
attractive, but kills the internal sparkle. The best crystals for natural
diamond jewelry will have complicated crystal faces with striations, trigons,
or simply a unique shape that gives them an internal sparkle.
All diamonds on this page were selected for their
natural sparkle.
-
Consider the the color of the surrounding setting when selecting
the color of the diamond. It is best to contrast yellow or brown diamonds
with a white metal such as platinum, titanium or white gold. Yellow gold
settings look best with green, red, white diamonds.
-
When designing the final setting, spend time under good illumination to determine
the best orientation for the crystal. Rough diamonds are asymmetric and
appearance can vary greatly depending on which faces you are looking through.
Identify the best faces and then design the setting accordingly.
|
To place an order, go to the online
order form.
#39330, Diamond (1.78 carat yellow-green octahedral
crystal), Jwaneng Mine, Botswana (t) $1295 |
#39012, Diamond (1.27 carat gem-grade pale-yellow
dodecahedral crystal), Premier Mine, South Africa (t) $1825 |
#30191, Diamond (0.67 carat yellow-green octahedral
crystal), Orapa Mine, Botswana (t) $425 |
#37705, Diamond (0.84 carat yellow-gray complex
crystal), Orapa Mine, Botswana (t) $500 |
#38949, Diamond (2.12 carat gem-grade pale-yellow
octahedral crystal), Premier Mine, South Africa (t) $3950 |
#38789, Diamond (2.13 carat gem-grade pale-yellow
octahedral crystal), Premier Mine, South Africa (t) $3975 |
#38785, Diamond (1.03 carat pale-yellow octahedral
crystal), Orapa Mine, Botswana (t) $565 |
#40795, Diamond (0.59 carat fancy-yellow complex
crystal), Venetia Mine, South Africa (t) $475 |
#30191, Diamond (0.67 carat yellow-green octahedral
crystal), Orapa Mine, Botswana (t) $425 |
#39069, Diamond (2.95 carat gem-grade colorless
irregular crystal), Venetia Mine, South Africa (t) $2950 |
#37251, Diamond (0.79 carat pale yellow dodecahedral
crystal), Orapa Mine, Botswana (t) $525 |
#40635, Diamond (0.58 carat fancy-yellow dodecahedral
crystal), Premier Mine, South Africa (t) $500 |
#39058, Diamond (0.83 carat pale-yellow octahedral
crystal), South Africa (t) $475 |
#39336, Diamond (2.11 carat gem-grade yellow
octahedral crystal), Premier Mine, South Africa (t) $4995 |
#33239, Diamond (1.23 carat macle-twin
crystal), Premier Mine, South Africa (t) $1475 |
#35675, Diamond (0.90 carat yellow dodecahedral
crystal), Diamantino, Brazil (t) $495 |
|
#41143, Diamond (2.09 carat light-fancy yellow
complex crystal), South Africa (t) $4000 |
|
|
|
Online order
form
Visit our other galleries with the links below:
Weekly New Listings 1A-
1B - 2
- 3 - 4
Featured Galleries
My Best Minerals - Classic
Minerals - Gem Minerals -
Natural Diamond Crystals -
Historic & Pedigreed Minerals -
Crystal Oddities
- Overlooked Treasures -
Large Decorator Sized -
Books & Magazines
Locality Galleries
New England - New York &
New Jersey - Mid-Atlantic -
Midwest - Arizona & New
Mexico -Rocky Mountain States -
Western States - Canada
- Mexico - Brazil & South
America - Britain & North Atlantic Islands
- Europe - Russia and former
Soviet Republics - India, Pakistan &
Afghanistan - China, Japan & Pacific Rim
- Africa - Tsumeb Mine,
Namibia
Mineral Categories
Apatite & Other Phosphates -
Barite, Celestine & Other Sulfates -
Calcite - Azurite, Malachite
& Other Carbonates - Fluorites -
Garnets - Gold, Silver &
Native Elements - Magnetite, Hematite & Other
Oxides - Quartz -
Silicates - Galena,
Pyrite & Other Sulfides - Tourmalines -
Zeolites and Associated -
Wulfenite & Lesser Categories -
Fluorescent Minerals -
Pseudomorphs
Sorted Lists of all Minerals on this site
Sorted by Price - Sorted
by Size - Sorted by Mineral Species -
Sorted by Number
Home -
Search
This Site - Customer Comments
- Articles - Purchase
Info - Contact Information
© John H. Betts -
All Rights Reserved.
