Celebrating Wonderful Natural Diamonds
With Diamond being April's birthstone month, we are celebrating all the wonderful, natural diamonds that are amongst earth's greatest gifts!
There's so much to explore when you dive into the wonderful and diverse world of diamonds - their cuts, their structures, their colour and their unique attributes. From precious pears to divine old mines, from magnificent marquise to the fabulous Floeting®, there is so much to be in awe of and so much to celebrate about these precious stones.
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The wonderful, multi faceted world of Diamonds
In case you hadn't noticed, we are a wee bit obsessed with diamonds!
One of the reasons we love them so much is their intrinsic connection to this planet and the almost magical way in which they were formed billions of years ago. At depths of between 90 and 120 miles beneath Earth's surface and through a combination of tremendous pressure and temperatures of 1652–2372 degrees Fahrenheit, these wonderful crystals that we know as diamonds, were formed. Through volcanic activity and over time, diamond crystals are brought closer to the Earth's surface.
Rough diamonds appear as translucent, greasy-looking crystals with irregular shapes and a dull lustre. They are typically cubic or octahedral in structure and can vary greatly in size, colour, and clarity. Before a diamond is cut and polished, expert gemologists assess its quality to determine its potential brilliance and how best to shape it for maximum beauty.
At The Village Goldsmith we're committed to providing only natural diamonds of the highest quality, all of which are certified as ethically sourced. We choose to work only with reputable global natural diamond suppliers of whom we have personally vetted and verified for practises high in integrity.
We have over 100 pieces of jewellery that feature diamonds of all different cuts and colour. Explore some of our wonderful fancy cuts and their unique attributes below with so many more to be found on our website and in store...
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The Enchanting Emerald
Rising to prominence in the Art Deco era, the emerald cut diamond is truly captivating. It features long, parallel facets that create a 'hall of mirrors' type effect rather than a more commonly found sparkle. Featuring fewer, larger and concentric rows of facets, a staircase effect is created that plays with the light, often creating dramatic light and dark planes.
Most Emerald cuts are rectangular but some can be almost square.
The Emerald cut's sophistication and art deco romance has captivated royalty and celebrities, from Grace Kelly to Beyoncé for generations.
Be captivated by the enchanting emerald cut.
The Divine Old Mine
The world recently fell back in love with Old Mine Cut diamonds thanks to Taylor Swift 💫 And so it should! This wonderful cut of diamond was traditionally entirely hand cut, resulting in larger facets that are less uniform and create a softer candlelit glow rather than being intensely glittery ✨
The term 'old mine cut' originated in the late 1800s to differentiate the older mine cut diamonds from the newly sourced South African diamonds. The old mine cuts were from the historic 'old mines' of Brazil and the hand cut nature of them meant they had a higher crown, smaller table and deep culet (the bottom point). Old mine cuts are softer and more pillow shaped than other fancy cuts of diamonds giving them a soft vintage look.
Today, Cushion Cut diamonds share many similar attributes as the traditional Old Mine Cut.
Fall in love with the vintage romance of the stunning Old Mine Cut diamond.
The Fabulous Floeting®
Did you know that our very own The Village Goldsmith innovation, the Floeting® Diamond, is actually a GIA recognised and certified cut of diamond?
The Floeting® Diamond meets the highest possible industry certifications such as GIA's Triple Excellent grade. Unlike standard round brilliant cut diamonds which have 58 facets, our patented Floeting® Diamond features 50% more facets resulting in a maximisation of light return while ensuring a secure connection to it's setting.
When you purchase a Floeting® diamond you know you are getting a very high grade natural diamond that gives off ultimate light return while being unconstrained by the traditional setting of claws and prongs.
