HOW CAN WE HELP YOU TODAY?
Here are some options to help you navigate based on common needs & enquiries.
Matching a wedding band to your engagement ring should be an easy process if your engagement ring has been designed with this in mind. Almost every engagement ring can be made to sit flush with a wedding band. It just takes extra time and precise direction to angle the wires to a small base. While some ladies might be inclined to change their engagement ring at one time or another, most feel extremely sentimental about their wedding bands. So it is important to choose a band that you can see your self wearing for the next 40 -50 years.
Having your wedding band compliment your engagement ring perfectly can make all the difference to the way the set looks. An expert craftsmen can shape the profile of the wedding band to match the engagement ring so it looks like the two were made at the same time.
1.Solitaire
The great thing about a classic solitaire engagement ring is that you can have either a classic wedding band or a diamond wedding ring. It really depends on whether you love the”traditional” look your mum used to have or whether you would like something that reflects a bit more or “your style” The traditional wedder will generally give a a constant level of wear all around that band, as it will constantly spin on your finger.
2. Engagement rings with shoulder set diamonds
If your engagement ring has diamond set shoulder stones, the best matching option is to hand make the matching diamond band with the same setting. For example – If you have channel setting in the engagement ring, then your perfect match would be a channel set wedding band. Ideally one that starts and finishes as the same spot as your engagement ring.
When choosing the size of the diamonds in your wedding band, I always recommend choosing the same size, and shape. Remember it is not just the wedding ring you have to think of, in a years time there will be an “eternity ring” on the other side. If you do want to go bigger in the diamond size, then make sure it is noticeably bigger. Otherwise it will look like you tried to make it matching but couldn’t.
Micro pave – the philosophy behind this setting style is to make the beads holding the diamonds in as small as possible to accentuate the diamonds. The problem with this is that the settings are not as secure and the diamonds are more likely to fall out. Unfortunately with this style it is not a case or IF your are going to loose a diamond it is a matter of WHEN.
If you are looking for some advice on the best wedding ring to compliment your engagement ring, our friendly and helpful staff are always on hand to offer guidance and help you pick the perfect match to your engagement ring.
Yes. All white gold, is essentially an alloy of pure (24ct) yellow gold, so it is natural to assume that it has a yellow tinge. The rhodium plating is a process which gives the white gold its ultra white colour by placing a coating over the existing metal.
2. How long does rhodium plating last ?
The rhodium plating on your ring should definitely last longer than a year. Although having said that, if the base colour of the white gold has a really yellow colour to it, then you might start to see the gold colour coming through at the base of the ring, before the end of the first year. Normally you should expect the plating to last 2-3 years.
3. How much does rhodium plating cost ?
Typically the cost for rhodium plating can range from $60 – $120 for a fine engagement ring. The price may vary depending on the quality of the rhodium solution, the skill of the jeweller, turnaround time, and the finished effect. Wider and heavier pieces soak up more rhodium out of the solution so will cost a little more.
4. Will the rhodium plating affect my diamonds or gemstones ?
No. The process of rhodium plating requires a current to run through the metal. The rhodium then binds to the elements in the piece which conduct the current, causing the plating to take affect. As diamonds and gemstones don’t conduct electricity, they will be safe from the plating.
5. Can you rhodium plate my yellow gold ring ?
Yes you certainly can. As mentioned above – any metal that conducts a current is able to be plated. However as your yellow gold is really yellow, you may find it only takes about 6 months for the gold colour to show through at the back of your ring.
6. Should I rhodium plate my ring every year?
Absolutely not !! This will only wear your ring down prematurely. Every time your ring is rhodium plated, your old plating must first be striped off, all the old scratches taken out, cleaned and be prepared to have the new plating applied.
7. How long does it take to rhodium plate my ring ?
Depending on the complexity of your piece, and whether there is any filigree or distinct work your ring, it usually will take around an hour and a half to complete the process.
If you have any questions i may have missed please feel free to email me. If you have found this post helpful or know someone that it could help, i would love you to share it on your favourite social platform.
Which diamond cut looks the biggest? Have you ever wondered if a 1 carat round brilliant cut diamond looks bigger than a 1 carat princess cut diamond? I am often asked whether round or square diamonds look bigger by many brides-to-be as they begin the journey of picking their perfect diamond engagement ring. While the sparkle and fire of a diamond are important, the physical size of the diamond can also play a part in your decision making process.
Here is the maths for the surface area of a 1 carat princess cut diamond versus a 1 carat round brilliant cut diamond.
Formula for the surface of a square is length x width. square = a2 
For a perfect cut 1ct princess cut it would be – 5.5 x 5.5 = 30.25
Formula for the surface area of a circle = pi r 2 
For a perfect cut 1 carat round brilliant cut diamond with a 6.5mm spread – 3.252 x 3.14 = 33.16
From this basic analysis of the two different stones we can see that the round brilliant cut diamond is approximately 10% larger in surface area than the princess cut diamond. While this doesn’t take into account the effect of the claws, on face value it appears the round brilliant cut is winning the size debate. However, if you took the diagonal measurement of a 1 carat princess cut, it would measure approximately 7.7mm, which is more than 1mm wider than a 1 carat round brilliant cut diamond. So sometimes, when determining which one is bigger, it simply depends on how it appears in the flesh.
If you are about to set out on the hunt for your engagement ring and want to know how to get the biggest diamond for your buck, then read on. Ultimately, if you were to spend the same money, the princess cut diamond would actually give you a bigger physical diamond in comparison to the round cut diamond. This is because the rough crystal for a princess cut diamond is significantly cheaper and more economical to cut than that of the round.
Therefore, should size be an important consideration for you, you will be able to get a bigger diamond overall for your budget. On average, for well cut diamonds, there is at least a 25% price difference between a round brilliant and princess cut diamond. In the case of a 1 carat F SI1 round brilliant cut diamond, you would be able to buy a 1.3 carat F SI1 princess cut diamond.
From this we can see that if you were to spend the same budget, you would actually get a 10% bigger surface area by purchasing a princess cut diamond ring, instead of a round brilliant cut diamond ring.
While maths can be fun (well for some of us anyway), we are really passionate about finding the perfect diamond for you. Whether you have your heart set on a round brilliant cut diamond or a princess cut diamond, we will find the perfect ring for you. We are always available for a chat, and have an amazing selection of loose diamonds for you to have a look at. Please feel free to email me, if you have any questions or would like to make an appointment to view our diamonds.
SI2 diamonds that are eye clean are becoming harder to find. They are something that takes patience and experience to find. As a qualified diamond grader, I am always searching for the most perfectly cut SI2 diamonds with the best located inclusions. Looking at a diamond’s inclusion location is just like property, it is all about location, location location. The second most important thing to understand about diamond clarity and inclusions, is that they are expressed as a percentage of the diamonds size. So the bigger the diamond, the bigger the inclusions can be; becoming more evident in larger diamonds around the 1ct plus size.
There are four main locations of SI2 diamond inclusions:
White inclusion on the edge of the diamond (rarest and most desirable) Having a specialised and qualified diamond grader hand pick your diamond with an eye clean SI2 diamond will not only make it sparkle more, but will save you money as well. It will sparkle more because the inclusions are on the edge of the diamond and not interfering with the light as it travels through the centre of the stone. This gives the diamond more brilliance and sparkle. It will save you money because you won’t need to spend money needlessly on upgrading your clarity to a VS grade.
SI2 clarity inclusions can either be:
Inclusions in the table should be avoided if at all possible. The table facet or centre of the stone is the easiest place to see any inclusions. Like something sitting below a clear glass table, once you see an inclusion, you will always see it. Your eye is trained to find the inclusion and will always go back to the same spot; one of which can be seen here just off to the left of centre in the middle of the diamond.
Inclusions on the edge are definitely preferred. The combination of facets that run around the outside edge of the diamond (star facets, kite or mainfacets, and upper girdle facets) scatter the light as it exits the stone. This provides a unique camouflage effect, making the inclusions much harder to see. Inclusions are seen here at 10 o’clock and 7 o’clock, halfway to the edge of the diamond.
One big inclusion on the girdle (edge of the diamond) is the perfect location for an inclusion. Most claw settings will cover an inclusion, provided that they don’t come too far into the centre of the stone. Even if the claw doesn’t cover 100% of the inclusion, when an inclusion comes out of a claw, it is much less noticeable as the eye is not draw to a blank space. Inclusion here is near 12 o’clock, perfectly located to be covered by a claw.
At Xennox Diamonds, our specialty is hand picking eye clean SI2 inclusions. We are always aiming for the “perfect” inclusion that you can cover with a claw. This leaves more money in your budget for maximizing your cut grade, colour grade or size. Please make sure to always avoid “Clarity Enhanced” diamonds, as these do not follow the same guidelines outlined here. If you have any questions about this blog or about what to look for when choosing a diamond, please post a comment below as I always enjoy responding.
Last Saturday, 7th September 2013 was the Legacy Defence Force Charity Ball. It was a momentous day for many reasons; not only did we have a change of government and a Wallabies football game, but the annual Australian Aerospace Defence Charity Ball supporting Legacy as well. Over 700 guests were on their feet applauding the bravery of Ms Beckie McKinney, as she told her heroic story, and the invaluable support Legacy provided to her and her two children.
As an ex-defence force member myself, supporting Legacy is something that I am very passionate about. For the second consecutive year running, Xennox Diamonds was again proud to support Legacy and the Defence Charity Ball by donating a $10,000 diamond tennis bracelet. More than 500 tickets were sold on the night and the winner was one very lucky lady.
Don’t worry if you missed out on winning the bracelet. We have decided to offer everyone that attended the Ball and entered our second chance draw the chance to win a $2,000 pair of diamond stud earrings as our way of saying thank you for supporting Legacy.
Jessica Ward
Legacy is a voluntary organisation providing services to Australian families suffering financially and socially after the death of a spouse or parent during or after their defence force service. Legacy currently cares for over 100,000 widows and 1,900 children and dependents throughout Australia. Legacy Week runs from Sunday 1st to Saturday 7th September every year, with the Legacy Defence Charity Ball held as the finale to a fantastic week of fundraising.
At Xennox Diamonds we are proud to support our troops. To give back in the one way we know how and thank them for their service, sacrifice and strength, we wish to extend a 10% discount to all the defence force men and women who have served our country. Please call us or email us to find out more about our defence discounts and special offers.
A diamond engagement ring is one of a ladies most precious prized possessions. It symbolises a couples love and the start of their life journey, called marriage. Like a new car, that people try and keep clean for the first few months, the cleaning of a diamond engagement ring, is something that sometimes get put to the bottom of the to do list. The great thing about your diamond engagement ring is that when it is properly cleaned and cared for it will look like the day you picked it up from the jewellery store.
1. Clean it with hot water and dish washing detergent. I generally recommend to add just off boiling hot water and detergent into a coffee cup. Don’t worry – The melting point of gold and diamonds is much higher than 100
degrees, so your diamond engagement ring should be safe. After it has been sitting there for around 3 -5 minutes, use an old toothbrush to dab in and around the settings. A dabbing motion is preferred to scrubbing. Dabbing allows the bristles to find their way in and behind the setting, whereas scrubbing may affect the polish of the metal, causing it to dull.
2. Don’t use hand cream while wearing your rings. One of the biggest causes for diamonds to dull, is the use of hand cream. To understand what hand cream does to your diamond, imagine smearing hand cream over your bathroom mirror. After a day or two, the general everyday dirt would stick to the cream, forming a layer and preventing the light from getting through. As diamonds require light to sparkle, anything that prevents the light from interacting with the stone, will cause the diamond to dull, like this one.
Have it professional cleaned at least once a year – While cleaning your diamonds and jewellery at home will certainly make a marked difference to the performance of your diamond. To achieve the best result, we recommend that you bring it to a qualified jeweller at least once a year for a professional clean. Jewellers will generally have an ultrasonic cleaner. Most professional ultrasonic cleaners cost in excess of $1000. Ultrasonic’s are great for getting into all the really hard to reach places and shaking the dirt out. At the same time your jeweller can check all your settings to make sure that all your diamonds and gemstones are secured. This is a complimentary service that we offer to all our clients, even if the piece is not from us.
1. Toothpaste – Ideal for cleaning your teeth, not your diamonds. I am sure that the original inventors of toothpaste did not envisage a lady cleaning her diamond engagement ring with it.
2. Vodka – Great for drinking, but unnecessary to use to waste on cleaning your diamonds. While pure alcohol is sometimes used for cleaning diamonds, i am sure that you can find a much better use for Vodka than cleaning your diamond engagement ring.
3. Cloudy ammonia – there are a lot of websites advising to use cloudy ammonia when cleaning your diamonds and jewellery. The origin of this most likely came about when jewellers used a polishing compound called rouge. This red polishing paste was notorious for sticking to the gold. The cloudy ammonia was an excellent solution for removing this paste for the metal. These days jewellers use a much more refined compound which is cleaner and dissolves faster in water, making the cloudy ammonia unnecessary.
1. Emeralds – almost all emeralds have been oiled. Placing them in hot water, causes the oil to come out of the stone, and the hot dirty water to go in. When this happens the usually invisible feathers and inclusions can sometimes become visible. This will have a detrimental effect on the value of the stone. While the process can be reversed, it is not an easy or cheap one.
2. Opals – Opals are known as a hydrated silica. They have a reasonable amount of water in them. Placing opals in any environment which is hot, can cause the opals to crack, making them effectively worthless.
3. Pearls – being the product of a once living organism, pearls are also to be kept away from heat. When pearls are used in jewellery, they are usually always glued in. As the heat from a flame would destroy them. When cleaning pearls, it is recommended to use cold water, with a soft cloth similar to a glasses cleaning cloth. (non abrasive)
