Confused by the diamond certificate?Have you ever looked at a diamond certificate and had no idea what all the numbers and percentages mean? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Starting out can be a bit daunting, not only do you have to find the ring that she likes but you need to make sure the rock you are putting your hard earned cash into is going to be worth it. The first thing that you are probably familiar with, if you have been paying attention to her subtle hints or done even just a little research is this thing called the 4C’s. They are Cut, Colour, Clarity and Cut Grade. The big question is which one is the most important? You can see my short video series here.
Is only talking about how well the diamond is cut – which ultimately means how much it is going to sparkle. It is that twinkle that her friends will see from across the room. Tip – Aim for an Excellent cut grade. Diamonds like a Passion8 diamond sit in the top 1% for diamond cut and will outsparkle normal excellent cut grade diamonds.
Is only talking about how white the diamond is. This is talking about the body colour of the stone and has nothing to do with the colour. The colour grade starts at D and goes down to Z. Tip – Aim for the top 3 colour grades – D, E, F. Any colour that is G in colour or lower will pull a lot of yellow.
Is only talking about the natural inclusions you can see with a 10x magnifying lens. Tip – Aim for eye Clean SI clarity. As everyone’s eyesight is different make sure you look at the diamond with a lens before purchasing it. Looking at the plot on the diamond certificate will not tell you how good or bad the inclusion is.
Is only talking about the physical size that you see. While this might seem like the most important to some ladies, it isn’t if it is coming at the expense of quality. Smaller more perfectly cut diamonds will actually have the same diameter as larger average cut diamond. Tip – Always go for a diamond that is slightly smaller of better quality. After all, do you want a diamond that looks better or one that weighs more? So now that we have that sorted, let’s look at what all the percentages mean. I wish it was as simple as looking at an excellent cut grade. The truth is the goal posts have widened significantly in the last 5 years. Today more and more diamonds are falling into the excellent category than ever before. 
In a recent price comparison on diamond certificates, I found as much as a 28% price difference between two identical diamonds (based on their paperwork). Both stones had been graded as a triple excellent cut grade. So it is vital to make sure you have a cut specialist look over your diamond. Just like going to a heart surgeon instead of a GP when you need specialist surgery, a diamond cut specialist will be able to show you where your diamond sits in the cut spectrum. Tip – Aim for a 57% table percentage – It will give the diamond more dispersion. (The blues, reds and yellows) If you want to make the best-informed decision on how to pick a stunning diamond and design a ring that will really blow her away – you can learn more about how to choose the perfect diamond by getting a free copy of the international award winning book and Amazon best seller – Rock Her World here.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett famously stated that “diversification is protection against ignorance.” At the moment it seems pretty hard to make money in most of the usual asset classes. Many of the most historically reliable investment vehicles, such as shares or property have failed to deliver spectacular results in the last few years. But you don’t have to be a billionaire like Warren Buffett to start investing in pink diamonds. The Pink diamonds have been increasing by 20%-30% every year for the last 5 years, which is a return that many fund managers would envy. What we have found is that the price of the investment pink diamonds has at least doubled over the last 5 years. Every year I go to buy pink diamonds I am always amazed at how much they have increased. Of course, it would be remiss of me if I did not mention that this is not legal or financial advice and you should seek your own advisor that can determine if this strategy is right for you. Clients today are looking to acquire Pink diamonds not just in their personal names, but in other investment vehicles such as a Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF). Whatever your reason, whether it is diversifying your portfolio, saving for your own retirement or looking to acquire a family heirloom, The Pink Diamonds can be a solid investment.
There are 5 main reasons contributing to the year over year price increases.
1. In 2013 Argyle Transitioned from an above ground mine to an underground mine. The Argyle mine and processing plant operate 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. All of these factors contribute to increasing running costs, which have an inflationary pressure on the rough cost of Pink diamonds. Furthermore, with underground mining, there is always the risk of a fatal accident which could see the mine close earlier than expected.
2. The kimberlite pipe where Argyle diamonds are found looks similar to a funnel. As they move further down the pipe, they are finding fewer and fewer diamonds. This leaves less rough to be cut into the desired round brilliant cut diamonds, which are in the highest demand.
3. Similar to the above point, as they find less and less diamonds the number of high quality deep pink diamonds they are finding is getting less and less. This is causing the deep pinks to increase at a faster rate than the mid – light pinks.
4. The demand for pinks is ever increasing. With this stunning Australian product attracting more and more attention, locally and internationally, more clients are seeking them out, not just for investment, but for personal use as well.
5. Projected end date. With the well-documented end date of 2020 predicted by Argyle, there is a finite timeframe in which to acquire them. While no one has a crystal ball, the prediction is that they could increase markedly after this end date, or when the mine is exhausted.
There are 4 main colour grades when it comes to classifying Pink diamonds. Purplish Pink, Straight Pink, Pink Rose and Pink Champagne. The colour scale ranges from 1 -9, with one being the deepest pink diamond and 9 being like a decaf, skinny soy latte (or as I call it a ‘why bother’) Almost all pink diamonds have a primary colour and some have a secondary colour. Sometimes this secondary colour can give a little extra kick to the diamond. In the Purplish Pink scale, the purple hue can make a pink diamond look one shade deeper on the straight pink scale. So a 4PP pink diamond can sometimes look like a 3P. In the case of the Pink rose, it is often a brownish undertone that gives the diamond its stronger colour. A good tip when looking to buy a loose pink diamonds is to turn them upside down in a white sleeve to see the secondary colours.
If you are looking for Investment Pink Diamonds the ideal range that I recommend is to aim for a 4P or 4PP to a 5P or 5PP. This allows for capital appreciation and can still be an affordable entry point, not just for you, but the purchaser you wish to sell the diamond to down the track. While deeper pink diamonds might be rarer and also appreciate in value at a greater rate, the number of potential buyers down the track will be less. Budget permitting, if a portfolio of pink diamonds is something that you would be interested in the minimum amount that I recommend would be $100,000. The aim here is to put together a selection of diamonds that will allow you to sell certain portions of the portfolio at a future point in time if you so wished. That way you can either neutralise the initial investment or greatly reduce it, while still leaving a portion of diamonds to further increase in value.
If you are ready to take the next step in your pink diamond investment journey, please feel free to contact me for complimentary 10 min pink diamond investment call or request our Investment Pink Diamond report. Alternatively, visit us in our Queen St Mall Diamond boutique to see a selection of pink diamonds for yourself. About Karl
His international award-wining book, ” Rock Her World” is available now. If you would like help, in choosing the perfect diamond and would like an amazing experience around jewellery there is a lot of great information in “Rock Her World” Karl believes that choosing a piece of jewellery should be a phenomenal experience, and over the last 21 years has helped more than 5800 clients choose a special piece of jewellery that tells their story. Come and experience their brand new diamond boutique in the Queen St Mall.
Valentine’s day is one of the most romantic days of the year to propose. This Valentine’s day, to celebrate the launch of my newly published book “Rock Her World” – The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Perfect Engagement Ring. I designed and created a beautiful Valentines Day engagement ring for one lucky couple to help them on their engagement journey.
After welcoming everyone, I wanted to give them a little overview on all the things that they needed to know about creating the perfect engagement ring. Expert tips on finding a diamond that sparkles unlike any other and some great options on how to protect your engagement ring once its made. Especially for the guys there were some great pointers on how to deliver the ultimate proposal.
You can watch the slide show of the Rock Her World presentation here. We were even fortunate enough to be able to raise $1000 for the MASKS Foundation (Make a sick kid smile)
To make sure we kept the guys on their toes, we drew 3 lucky finalists. The three lucky gentlemen then had to go to the back of the room, where I could give them some proposal advice, on how to make the proposal moment memorable. The ring was under safeguard of our dedicated security guard. Who not only held the magic ring box, but two additional boxes without a ring in it. The lucky grooms to be, then had to each select a box.
With Nik finding himself the lucky winner, it was now time to propose. It was his turn to ask his special partner that question she had been waiting to hear. Nik did a fantastic job, and had many of the ladies (and some of the guys) in tears. Having told Joanne that win or lose, he was already a winner, he got down on one knee and proposed.
As the first one was created for Valentines day, I have decided to call this one VALENTINO. It also featured an Pink diamond set into the side of the setting, and a high performance 1 carat Passion8 “Hearts and Arrows” diamond in the centre.
If you would like to know more about this beautiful ring, please don’t hesitate to email me. We can make all our rings to suite any diamond size or quality.
Finding your jewellery story is one of the most beautiful parts of my job.
If a photo tells a thousand words, then surely your jewellery is like a novel filled with a lifetime of stories and memories.
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When it comes to jewellery, I have a photographic memory. Everytime I see a piece of jewellery, I can remember everything about it, how I designed it, where I sourced the stones from, how the master jeweller made it, and the look on the clients face when they saw it for the first time.
We all have our different motivations in our life, things that inspire us and things that light us up. For some it might be a handbags or shoes. Regardless of what it is, we all have our vise’s. What I wanted to do today is share with you my thoughts on what my vice – jewellery, means to me, and the jewelley story I see every day.
My wife and I have triplet 8 year olds (one boy and two girls) and a 10 year old. Thats four children under two, for those of you who are doing the math. To celebrate the birth of our 3 beautiful children, I wanted to do something special for my wife. So I designed a special maternity ring for her to create a jewellery story for her. 
It had a white diamond in the centre and two pink diamonds on each side. White for the boy and two pinks for the two girls. Every time I look at her maternity ring, I can remember not only how I designed the ring, but where I sourced the diamonds from, how I helped the master jeweller to make it, and most importantly – the look on her face when she saw it for the first time.
But looking at my wife’s maternity ring reminds me of so much more than the physical creation of her ring. It reminds me of the journey leading up to that point. I remember going into the obstetricans room at our 8 week scan and being told that we were expecting twins. Being a male and a serious planner, I was a little taken back, to be honest. This wasn’t how I thought things were going to happen. In my mind, we were going to have one child, then two years later another, then after a few more years another. I found out later, that babies don’t follow the timelines that we adults plan out in our minds. I can distinctly recall our 12 week scan at the obstetrician, where pausing for a moment he uttered those words i will never forget “wait a moment, there is another one” . By that time I figured, in for a penny, in for a pound. My wifes maternity ring story doesn’t just end there. I remember lots of little stories along the way leading up to her final days, where she spent the last few weeks in hospital before the triplets were born. Seeing my wife’s maternity ring I can remember our little triplets in hospital as they came into the world.
When you look down at your hand, what do you see? Is it a piece of yellow metal or is it yellow gold or platinum? Is it a piece of carbon, or a diamond? Do you see your jewellery story when you look at your engagement ring? Can you remember the first time you met your partner. Where you went on your first date and how he proposed? Did he get down on one knee? and did you cry ? Can you remember what he said? Interestingly 60% of brides can remember what their partner said during the proposal.
When you look at your wedding ring, can you remember wedding day jewellery story? Getting into your wedding dress on the day of your wedding, walking down the isle, and then looking at your partner as you said your vows and said “I DO”
Do you have a piece of jewellery that you bought for yourself? Was it to mark a special occasion? or a goal that you achieved? was it to celebrate a promotion at work? More and more women today are choosing to celebrate their own special life achievements with a piece of jewellery and create their own jewellery story. Every day when they look in the mirror, they see their jewellery, they see all the hard work they put in, the sacrifices that they made, the long hours they put in and importantly the final result that they achieved. Seeing this jewellery story every day, gives them an immense sense of achievement and desire to achieve new heights.
What i would love for all of you, is to have your own story wrapped in jewellery. Something that symbolises a special moment in your life. It doesn’t matter what the item is, it just needs to be something special that has meaning and a story for you. Would love to hear of your jewellery story, please post below as I read all the comments.
Here is the audio from the day, if you would like to listen to my story.
This weeks Feature Engagement Ring is a princess cut diamond engagement ring with Pink shoulder diamonds. The centre diamond was a 0.59ct D VS2 Passion8 and the shoulder diamonds were 4 = 0.17ct 4P Pink diamonds.
One of the special requirements of this design was that it had a setting that didn’t protrude too high above the band. Although the lady had small fingers it was important that the ring wasn’t set too low either. We were aiming for a medium height of 5.2mm.
Coming from central North Queensland the ring had to stand the test of time, as a short trip down the road to the jeweller would be a little more challenging to achieve.
We also incorporated an extra thickness in the band to make sure that the ring was as strong as it could be. Having a thicker circle means that the ring is less likely to flew, and make the stones loose.
The four claw corner claw setting is the most secure setting for a princess cut diamond. The corner metal also has the added feature of squaring off the princess cut diamond, which accentuates its shape.
For the band we used a channel setting to give extra strength to the shoulder stones. Having the pink shoulder stones also created a striking contrast to the white metal.
With princess cut diamonds it is incredibly important to make sure that the engagement ring sits flush with a straight wedding band. The straight lines of a square diamond clash with a curved or fitted wedding band.
When using pink diamonds it is really important to use as white a diamond as possible. With the centre diamond being a “D colour”, we used “E coloured” shoulder diamonds to create a strong contrast effect.
One of the challenges with this design was to have the shoulder diamonds running all the way up to the centre stone. The setter had to push the shoulder diamonds between the two claws to create the full flow effect.
If you would love to know more about Pink diamonds or have an engagement ring custom made, please email me at design@xennoxdiamonds.com.au. I would be happy to answer any questions you have or talk about having your dream ring designed.
Pink Diamonds, are know throughout the world, not just for their beauty, but their rarity as well. Not many people believe that their diamond engagement ring is an investment, however with pinks this is certainly the case. Pink diamonds have been know to increase in value 20% – 30% every year. Certainly they are a stone that you will not only enjoy now, but future generations will also enjoy as they are handed down. While light pink diamonds are found in other countries around the world, such as Russia and Brazil. The Rio Tinto Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia was the only consistent supplier of deep pink diamonds in the world.
Pinks are graded into 5 main colour types. Purplish Pink, Pink, Pink Rose, Pink Champagne, and Red. The red is considered the most rare, followed by the purplish pink, pink, pink rose and lastly the pink champagne. When talking about pinks, it is quite common to not mention the clarity, as their value is much more heavily weighted in its depth of pink than its clarity.
When purchasing a pink diamond, ensure that the stone comes properly certified by Argyle. All stones over 0.20ct should have an Argyle certificate with a registered lot number, so the origin of the stone can be traced. An Argyle certified stone is generally considered more valuable than a pink diamond from another country. 
Anything in nature that is extremely rare, is also generally considered quite valuable. The Argyle mine’s pink production accounts for only around 0.1% of all the diamonds that are mined there. It has been said that if a giant mining truck was filled with all the diamonds that Argyle produces, then the deep pink diamonds that it finds each year, would only fill the ashtray.
When it comes to Pink diamonds there is not always a level of predictability with regards to price. You might find that the price difference between certain grades of pinks is only 20%, whereas with others the price difference may be 50%-80% different.
Another reason that pinks are always increasing in value, is that with the closure of the mine their demand has now far exceed their supply. Which basically means that more people want them, than there are stones available. I often use the analogy, that pink diamonds are like water front property. You might look at these properties (like the pinks) and think, that the prices are ridiculous. and that someone would be crazy to pay that much for them. However if you could fast forward ten years, you will wish that you could buy them at the old price. Unfortunately once the price moves up, it never comes back down again.
At Xennox Diamonds, we have the largest selection of pink diamond jewellery as well as loose pink diamonds. Whether you are looking to have an engagement ring made with a pink center stone, or you would like a wedding band with pink and white diamonds in it. We even have a number of clients that purchase their pink diamonds in self managed super funds as an investment. We can even help you store them in our safe, free of charge. The only draw back with this option though is you are not allowed to wear them. If you would like to know more about buying pinks and some prices, please email me at info@xennoxdiamonds.com.au
