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The question of “How much does a 1ct diamond cost?” is something that I get asked often. Because there are so many factors that make up a diamonds price and quality. The usual answer here is how long is a piece of string. It is a common question that most men ask as they are about to embark on purchasing a new engagement ring.
At this point in time with the current exchange rate around the .82 cents. A beautiful 1ct F colour, SI clarity excellent cut grade diamond will typically cost around the $13000 all made up in a classic solitaire.
The rough rule of thumb is that under a carat the price will move about a $1000 for every ten points within a particular quality. So a 0.90ct F SI excellent cut grade round brilliant diamond will be approximately $11500 – $12000. The smaller the diamond the smaller the variation in price for the 10 points. Changing the size of a diamond always has a much bigger result on the price, than changing the colour or clarity of a diamond.
Are the difference between all the grades priced the same?
In nature anything that is rarer is also more valuable. So a pure white stone is going to carry more of a premium than a yellower diamond. Likewise a diamond that is flawless. Whenever you move to the top on any given scale the jump in price is going to be greater as that given stone becomes more rare and valuable. So while a jump in price from a G – F may be $300, going from an F to an E colour may be $350, and $400 to the top D colour
How much does the price change when changing the clarity of a diamond?
In todays market, changing the clarity of a diamond will have a bigger effect on the price of a given diamond than changing the colour.
For example moving from an SI2 to a VS2 may have roughly the same affect as changing the size by ten points. Depending on the size of the diamond, this could be as much as $800
How much does the price change for changing the colour of a diamond?
While changing this characteristic has the least impact on the price, the visual effect on the diamond can not be underestimated. Changing from a .50ct (half a carat) G to F will actually only cost around the $200 – $300. Which in my experience is well worth it, as most clients are able to tell the difference with their eyes.
The bigger the size of the diamond the larger the difference in colour is. Anyone who has been to a hardware store and had to pick out a colour for a wall will know this. Looking at colour as a postage paid stamp is much harder to visualise that looking at an A4 piece of paper. Diamonds are no different. The colour difference in a 1ct diamond is easier to see than a .50ct diamond. The difference in price however, because of the rarity will be more. Usually you can expect to pay around the $500 -$800 more for a jump in colour.
Always happy to help, if you would like to know “How much does a 1ct diamond cost” or another particular diamond size. Please email me, if you would like to compare the price of a particular diamond that you have been looking at.
Did you get a new years proposal? If the answer is no, and you have been together for what seems like “enough time”. Maybe it might be time to take an active role and plan for your upcoming engagement.
Plan to be engaged
Like anything in life, if you want something special you need to plan for it. Whether it is a new car, holiday or your dream engagement ring, the key is to lay some groundwork. Depending on your age and how long you have been together, you may do some, or all of these tips on how to get engaged.
I wish i could say that guys can take a hint. But the truth is, most of us will procrastinate when something seems a little difficult. For some guys not knowing what sort of engagement ring you want, can be a significant factor in putting off the engagement. Having some tips on how to get engaged and choose the perfect engagement ring can make the difference between having an amazing engagement ring that blows your away and something that you will love just because your partner chose it for you.
If you think your partner is putting off a proposal because he doesn’t know what you want in an engagement ring, then we can help. We have some great tips to help guide him through that initial “looking phase” to really find out what your style is and what will look amazing on your finger.
If that fails there is always our FREE arm twisting service to help get him across the line. You can try tweeting it here 🙂
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Love is a beautiful thing. It makes us do things we wouldn’t normally do. In the initial months of a relationship, even taking out the rubbish is done with a smile. In today’s world, more and more couples are living together before getting married – according to 2012 figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 75 per cent of couples are now living together before marriage. So having certain goals on your joint household ‘to do’ list is only natural.
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So whose decision is it really? Whether to get married or not is something most ladies have a say in. Now I’m not sure on the actual numbers, but it’s a well-known fact that, while us guys think we make most of the decisions, it is actually the ladies who are the main decision-makers. If you’re lucky, your lady may even let you ‘think’ that you are in control of making the decision.
This is often especially true when looking at decision relating to the home, with women having the final say on which house to buy, and basing their decision on the kitchen, bathroom and wardrobe space. Major renovating decisions are also often made by women. With the ever-increasing cost of organising a wedding, you may find yourself discussing with your partner whether to buy a ring, or a new kitchen. (If kitchens are not your thing, the choice might be between getting married and an overseas holiday or other significant purchase.)
Sometimes the decision really just comes down to which one your partner wants more at the time. If the fixer upper you just moved into, has a kitchen only good enough for takeout, and you get the feeling from your partner that it’s a new kitchen or moving back in with her parents. Then maybe it might be worthwhile postponing the pending engagement while you make your new home liveable.
For each couple, the timing of when to take the relationship to the next level is different. I have seen couples who have only been together for a matter of months before deciding to take the plunge. Likewise, I have seen couples who have been together for over 17 years, and maybe don’t really want to get married, but still choose to celebrate their relationship with a commitment ring. While there is no right or wrong length of time to ‘be together’ before marriage, one thing is for sure – once the decision has been made, it is time. A proposal is usually not too far away.
In my experience, the three-year mark is usually a rough guide for couples looking to get engaged. However, this time frame usually becomes shorter as you get older – some couples in their forties wait less than a year.
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So you have decided that it is finally time to choose an engagement ring. Whether you are the future groom to be and have popped the question, or choosing to find the dream engagement ring together as a couple, here are the 5 steps you need to follow when choosing an engagement ring.
Advice for the guys when choosing an engagement ring – This is ground zero and the first thing you should try and tie down. If you are going alone, try and choose a style that compliments her current jewellery tastes. If her style is vintage, then look for Art Deco designs. If she is more of a traditional girl, then a classic solitaire design is likely to be the winner. If you really get stuck, have a look at her Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram profiles. You are sure to find plenty of pointers there, about the style of ring she loves.
For the ladies – When choosing an engagement ring, try on as many different styles as you can. Look for the things you love in each design. A skilful designer will be able to combine all the different things you love into your one dream ring. You will know when you find “THE ONE” it will be the design that makes your heart skip a beat.
Advice tip – Don’t worry if you can’t find your dream ring in any of the stores you visit. If you could find it everywhere, it probably wouldn’t be as special and you wouldn’t love it as much.
At this stage of your journey forget about the diamond size, quality and budget. If you only ever look at a particular budget you might miss your dream ring. Once you have found your dream engagement ring, a professional jewellery designer should be able to customise your dream ring design to suit any budget or stone size.
In the beginning when you are choosing an engagement ring you really want to just focus on what shape diamond. Do you love the traditional round brilliant cut diamond? Or are you looking for something a little more modern in the princess cut? If your partner has long slim fingers than maybe a fancy cut diamond like the pear, oval or marquise cut diamond might be ideal.Also consider whether it is a single stone ring you are after, or whether you would like to have shoulder stones. If you are wanting to have shoulder stones in your engagement ring, explore all the options. Whether to match the shape of your centre stones to your shoulder diamonds is really a personal preference.
This can sometimes be one of the most challenging elements to balance. Do you go for a larger diamond of lower quality? Or choose a diamond that is slightly smaller and more brilliantly cut? At the end of the day, where the diamond sits on the 4C’s will not only tell you how beautiful the stone is, but ultimately how much it costs. While everyone’s preferences might be slightly different, it is important to compare a number of stones side by side, to see which diamond appeals to you the most. As a rough guide, try and stick with an excellent cut grade, D – F colour, VS – SI clarity, and wherever the size fits within the budget. If you really want to learn more about why one diamond appears more brilliant than another, the best advice is to go to a jewellery store with a qualified diamond grader. Someone who can break down exactly where your diamond sits in the cut and quality spectrum.
One of the common questions raised when choosing an engagement ring is whether to go with platinum or white gold. The usual advice that I give to new clients choosing their engagement ring is “Do you have a spare $1000 dollars?” As this is usually how much the upgrade to platinum will cost. If the answer is yes, then by all means upgrade your metal choice to platinum. If No, then 18ct white gold is still an exceptional metal choice. For some clients, it might make more sense to upgrade their diamond to a larger or better quality stone, rather than upgrading their metal.
This is the last thing I often go through with couples and men that I see when they are choosing an engagement ring. Once you have found the design that you love, it is really easy to make it with a different size centre stone. While some might have you believe that you need to spend 3 months salary (before tax and including bonuses), the truth is that you just need to pick a figure that you both feel comfortable with. This is something special that you are going to have for a very long time, and you want to make sure that it is something that you can be proud of for many years to come. Whatever your maximum budget is, spend it and try and get the best quality you can. In the years to come, you will never regret the money that you spent.
Above all else, enjoy the process of finding and choosing an engagement ring. Your diamond consultant is there to help guide you through your journey. It should be an experience that you will never forget, and one that will bring you happy memories for many years to come. If you would like someone to help guide you through your journey of finding your perfect engagement ring, we always on hand to help you. If you would like to make an appointment to see one of our diamond consultants, please feel free to email us
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.
One thing that a lot of guys are missing after they purchase the engagement ring is a proposal guide. There are a few main ingredients when planning the perfect proposal to make it magical. The first element, is to PLAN. Failing to plan, is planning to fail. A misconception from some guys is to just”wing it”, and the perfect moment will just present itself. While spontaneity is important, the key to a magic proposal is to do your researchand create a magical moment for your lady.
PROPOSAL GUIDE STEP 1 – RESEARCH
Understand that the proposal moment is something that your partner has been dreaming about for some time, maybe even before you met. So it is crucial to find out how she would like to be proposed to. If she would like an intimate and private setting, proposing in a crowded restaurant isn’t going to go down well.
PROPOSAL GUIDE STEP 2 – PLAN
A well thought out plan is always a beautiful thing to see unfold. Make sure that everything is organised and that that you build in a few contingency plans, if your plan A doesn’t come off.
As you are getting down on one knee to ask your partner to spend eternity with you, you may feel a few butterflies in your stomach. Don’t worry – this is perfectly natural. The best thing you can do here, is make sure you rehearse a few times, the important things you want to say. There generally isn’t a do-over button, so you want to make sure you say everything right the first time.
In a recent study, 37% of women surveyed said the biggest proposal mistake you can make, is proposing without a ring. While i am sure she won’t say no, it will certainly add the experience if you have a ring specially chosen for her. Any reputable jeweller, should have an exchange policy, if she really doesn’t like the ring you have chosen.
If you follow these steps, you are sure to have a moment that she will always remember, and believe me, you will definitely, be the man of the moment, when she tells all her friends about the effort you put in. Make sure you don’t do any of these proposal mistakes.
Resizing rings is something of a daily occurrence for manufacturing jewellers. However it never ceases to amaze me how many times I hear from clients who have been to other jewellers that a ring can not be resized to suit their fingers. While it may be difficult at times to resize a ring, it is rarely impossible. The following is a list of some of the rings that we often resize.
If you ever have any questions about resizing your diamond engagement ring, please don’t hesitate to email me, or post a comment below. If your ring doesn’t sit well, don’t put up with it, come and see us.The Xennox Diamonds team are always here at your disposal to answer any of your jewellery questions. With our onsite master jewellers there is almost no ring that we can’t resize.
Passion8 diamond engagement rings don’t just have the most perfectly cut diamonds but they also have an excellent manufacturing standard. Today’s engagement ring review is on model Passion8 model 5294 in 18ct white gold with a 0.70ct F SI princess cut diamond. This engagement ring features a grain set halo surrounding the claw set princess cut diamond in the middle. One of the distinguishing aspects of this design is the diamond grain set band that comes up over the halo setting.
Pro’s
A definite advantage of this halo design is that the main head setting sits on top of an under rail, which is perfect for a straight wedding band to sit next to. While the shoulder diamonds to interrupt the halo feature, this design is a perfect choice if you want the centre diamond to stand out as a feature. The extra fine 2.2mm wide band gives the centre diamond a bigger feel. The grain set diamonds surrounding the main diamond, help to create a contrast effect to further highlight the brilliance of the centre stone. Weighing in at over 5 grams, this ring certainly has a weighty feel to it that you will enjoy.
Cons
If you are looking for that really big diamond look, this may not be the design for you, as the shoulder diamonds do break the continuous circle of diamonds around the centre diamond.
Conclusion
This style is definitely a statement piece designed to showcase the amazing Passion8 princess cut diamond. Passion8 diamonds are arguably one of the world’s most perfect cut princess cut diamonds on the market at the moment. With the manufacturing standard backed by Passion8, it is a ring that will really stand the test of time.
If you love this design, or have any questions about this engagement ring review, please feel free to post in the comments section below.
10 things you must ask your jeweller to make sure you are getting the best advice
Is the ring made locally or overseas ? Hand made rings manufactured locally are not only better quality, but will last longer as well. A master jeweller is someone who has spent their whole life perfecting the art of making jewellery. The quality of the piece created by a master jeweller is far superior to that of a mass produced ring.
A lot of the overseas made rings are of lightweight manufacturing design and are not built to stand the test of time.
This is a must. Having a ring specially designed by a professional jewellery designer is incredibly important. Almost every ring can be designed to sit flush with a wedding band. It just comes down to the skill of the designer. Make sure it is drawn for you in 3D before having it made.
Russian and Belgian diamond cutters are the best in the world. While they usually cost a little extra, they will definitely sparkle more . If you are trying to compare apples with apples, it is important to find out where the diamond was cut.
All diamond grading is done by the human eye, which is not infallible. It is vital to have a strict diamond grader with knowledge on diamond cutting check your stone to ensure you get what you pay for.
Any reputable jewellery manufacturer should be able to stand behind the quality of their work. A lifetime manufacturing warranty gives you the greatest piece of mind.
Most jewellers have ultrasonic machines specially designed to keep your rings clean. The ultrasonic literally shakes the dirt out from all the hard to reach places. This should be a free service that comes with all your jewellery.
Longevity and legacy in a business is essential in building credibility and trust. Look for jewellery stores that have ideally been around more than 10 years. Jewellery stores have been known to come and go. A warranty is not worth anything, if the business is not around to fulfill it.
If a minor stone falls out for no apparent reason. Most reputable jewellery stores should replace the stone free of charge. To a manufacturing jewellery it is usually obvious why a stone has fallen out. If it is not due to wear and tear the stone should be replaced free of charge.
It is quite normal for a stone to come loose through every day where. For a jewellery store with a professional diamond setter, it is a simple task to secure your stone. This should also be checked every time the ring is cleaned.
Because jewellers are often dealing with insurance companies through the claim process, they generally have a good idea about which insurance company is going to look after you the best, in the event of a loss.
Would love to hear from you. What questions did you ask your jeweller ? Please post your questions below.
