Category: Jewelry

HPHT Lab Grown Diamonds

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HPHT is one of the earliest invented ways to make lab-grown diamonds, and this technology is already very mature. HPHT stands for High Pressure High Temperature, which we call high temperature and high pressure method for making cultivated diamonds. This tech copies the natural environment where real diamonds form deep inside the earth’s mantle. The machine used to make synthetic diamonds looks just like a huge pressure cooker. Inside a tiny sealed chamber, workers put carbon materials under extreme pressure, around 5 to 6 GPa, and high temperature from 1400 to 1600 degrees Celsius. Under such conditions, carbon atoms will rearrange and turn into brand new diamonds.

The production steps of HPHT diamonds

First of all, we need to get all raw materials ready. Inside a carefully built press chamber, we place high purity carbon sources, most of them are graphite, and a very small diamond seed crystal.

Next step is adding catalyst. People put metal catalyst into the chamber. It is usually alloy mixed with iron, nickel and cobalt. These metal materials can lower the energy needed for diamond to form under high heat and pressure. It helps graphite change into diamonds much easier.

Then we create the extreme growing environment. Turn on the big press machine. The chamber will get pressure as strong as the place more than 150 kilometers under the ground. The pressure keeps at 5-6 GPa, and temperature stays between 1400℃ and 1600℃ all the time.

After that comes melting and crystal growing. In this tough environment, the metal catalyst melts first, and then it dissolves the graphite carbon. The dissolved carbon atoms move through the hot liquid metal, and stick on the small diamond seed which has a little lower temperature. Little by little, the crystal grows bigger and bigger.

When the growth is done, we start to cool down and release pressure. The whole growing process can take several days or even weeks. After temperature and pressure back to normal, we take out the rough diamond crystal. At this moment, the raw diamond is always covered with metal catalyst on its surface.

The last work is cutting and polishing. Workers clean off all the metal stuff on rough diamonds. Then professional craftsmen cut and polish the crystals carefully. Finally, we get finished diamonds ready to sell.

Features of HPHT diamonds

The rough crystals of HPHT diamonds usually have a special shape, mixed with cube and octahedron form. It is totally different from natural diamonds which are mostly octahedron, and CVD diamonds that look like flat plates.

HPHT tech is really good at making colorless diamonds in D-E-F color grade, and blue diamonds too. The blue color comes from boron element inside the crystal. It can also produce many other fancy colored diamonds, such as yellow and yellow-green ones.

Because metal catalyst is used during production, tiny metal inclusions can be found inside some HPHT diamonds. If you look under a microscope, these inclusions are small dark dots with metal shine. What’s more, most of these diamonds have magnetism. You can use a strong magnet to test it, the stone will be attracted.

Famous gem labs like GIA and IGI can do full identification for finished HPHT diamonds. Every official certificate will clearly mark it as Laboratory-Grown diamond, and note HPHT as its growing method. The metal inclusions and unique fluorescence pattern are the main clues for experts to tell HPHT diamonds apart.

HPHT and CVD technology comparison

There are two main technologies to make lab diamonds in the market, HPHT and CVD. They work in different ways.

HPHT imitates the underground nature environment. It melts graphite carbon with high pressure and heat, then makes it recrystallize into diamonds. CVD uses gas as raw material. Carbon atoms separate from gas and slowly build up on diamond seeds.

Their crystal shapes are not the same. HPHT diamonds are cube or octahedron shape. CVD diamonds are flat and board-like.

In color performance, HPHT works best for colorless diamonds, blue diamonds and fancy yellow diamonds. Most original CVD diamonds have brown or grey tint. People often use HPHT treatment later to remove the bad color and turn them colorless.

For inclusions inside stones, HPHT has metal inclusions with magnetism. CVD diamonds contain graphite or other non-metal impurities, and they do not have magnetism at all.

When it comes to usage, HPHT is widely used for small diamonds, colorless stones and colored diamonds. It also acts as a color improvement process for CVD diamonds. CVD is more popular for big size diamonds and fancy shaped diamonds in the market.

HPHT is a steady and well-developed lab diamond technology. It gains great reputation for nice colorless and colored diamonds. When you plan to buy one, please check the official certificate first. Learn about its possible magnet feature, and choose honest and reliable sellers. In this way, you can get a satisfying HPHT diamond.

HPHT lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds. They share the same chemical composition, physical property, hardness and optical effect with natural diamonds. They are not diamond simulants like moissanite or cubic zirconia.

The price of HPHT diamonds is much lower. It is only one sixth to one thirteenth of natural diamonds in same grade. Even people with limited budget can afford big and high quality diamonds now. Always ask sellers for certificates from GIA or IGI. The papers can prove the diamond’s real 4C standard and confirm it is lab-grown.

Some HPHT diamonds have weak magnetism because of inner metal inclusions. You can test it with a strong neodymium magnet. This is a normal feature of HPHT diamonds, not a quality defect. But sellers should tell buyers this point clearly before deal. CVD diamonds never have magnetic property.

HPHT has great advantages on cost and efficiency when producing small melee diamonds and colored diamonds, especially blue and yellow ones. A large number of colorless CVD diamonds on sale today are processed by HPHT heat treatment to get rid of unwanted color tone.

Jewelry Others

CVD lab-grown diamond

CVD lab-grown diamond is one of the most popular technologies for making lab diamonds right now. It is a kind of gem made by modern advanced technology, and it is exactly the same as natural diamond in all aspects. It gives people a good choice to get bigger and better quality diamonds at a much lower cost. When you plan to buy one, remember to pick reliable sellers and check official certificates carefully.

CVD stands for Chemical Vapor Deposition, its Chinese name is chemical vapor deposition method. This tech can create a natural-like environment inside a lab, and let diamond grow layer by layer. Many people describe it as growing diamonds like planting crops. Workers put a tiny diamond seed into a sealed chamber. Then they fill the space with carbon-rich gas such as methane, and add energy with microwave equipment. The carbon atoms in the gas will fall down on the seed little by little, just like snowflakes. After a period of time, these atoms build up and turn into rough diamond crystals.

The production steps of CVD lab-grown diamonds

First step is preparing the diamond seed. People place a thin slice of natural diamond or existing lab-grown diamond as the base seed, and put it into a sealed vacuum growth chamber.

Next is gas injection. The chamber will be heated up to a high temperature, around 800 degrees Celsius. Then workers pump carbon-containing gas like methane and hydrogen gas into the closed space.

The third step is gas ionization. Microwave energy is used to ionize the mixed gas, turning it into plasma with high chemical activity. In this state, carbon atoms are separated from methane molecules completely.

Then comes carbon atom deposition. Those free carbon atoms float in the chamber and settle on the diamond seed slowly, one layer after another just like fine dust.

After that is crystal growth. All carbon atoms arrange themselves following the standard diamond crystal structure. They keep stacking day after day. This process usually takes several weeks or even longer, until a complete rough diamond crystal is formed.

The last step is cutting and polishing. The rough diamond is sent to professional cutting factories. Experienced craftsmen cut and polish it in the same way they deal with natural diamonds. Finally, the raw stone becomes finished diamond products.

Main features of CVD diamonds

CVD diamonds usually have high clarity. The whole growing process is easy to control, so there are fewer metal catalyst inclusions inside. But they may have special inclusions, such as black carbon or graphite spots.

Most raw CVD diamonds show light brown or grey color tone. Most of them need extra HPHT high pressure and high temperature treatment later. This common industry process can turn them into colorless diamonds graded D to F, or near-colorless ones from G to J. This kind of post-treatment is widely used and well known in the diamond business.

This technology is good for making flat-shaped diamond crystals. It is perfect for producing fancy shapes like princess cut, cushion cut and radiant cut diamonds. However, if people want to make large round brilliant diamonds with CVD method, it will waste more raw materials.

Professional gem labs such as GIA and IGI can fully identify CVD lab-grown diamonds. They will issue formal grading certificates, which clearly mark that the diamond is lab-grown and produced by CVD technology.

CVD VS HPHT, two main lab diamond technologies

CVD and HPHT are the two leading ways to create man-made diamonds in the market. Their working principles are quite different.

For CVD technology, carbon atoms separate from gas and deposit on the seed crystal. It is like growing diamonds from gas. As for HPHT, it simulates the deep underground environment of the earth. Workers melt carbon sources like graphite under extreme high temperature and pressure, then let carbon recrystallize into diamonds.

CVD diamonds mostly form flat plate-shaped crystals. HPHT diamonds often appear in cube or octahedron shapes.

In color performance, original CVD diamonds often carry brown or grey shades. They almost need post treatment to improve color. HPHT diamonds tend to show blue or yellow hints because of boron and nitrogen elements inside, while it is also easy to make colorless HPHT diamonds.

In terms of clarity, CVD diamonds generally have better clarity, and their main inclusions are carbon spots. HPHT diamonds may contain metal catalyst inclusions. Some of them can be slightly attracted by strong magnets.

Nowadays, CVD takes a larger share in the market, especially for medium and large sized diamonds. HPHT is a more traditional method. It is widely used for small diamonds and color enhancement treatment.

It is very important to know that CVD lab-grown diamond is real diamond. It shares the same chemical composition, physical features and optical performance with natural diamonds. Both are pure carbon cubic crystals. Its Mohs hardness reaches level 10. The fire and sparkle of CVD diamonds are no different from natural ones at all.

The price of CVD lab-grown diamond is only one sixth to one fifteenth of natural diamond with the same 4C grade. It has an extremely high cost performance. When shopping, always choose diamonds with official certificates from GIA, IGI and other authoritative organizations. These certificates can prove the true quality of 4C standards, and clearly label the stone as Laboratory-Grown diamond.

Almost all colorless CVD diamonds sold on the market have gone through HPHT post-treatment to remove brown color. This is a normal and acceptable optimization method in the industry. Honest and trustworthy sellers should take the initiative to tell customers about this treatment. On GIA certificates, there will be notes saying Indications of post-growth treatment to record this situation.

As a high-tech product, producing CVD diamonds causes much less damage to the environment compared with traditional diamond mining. It also avoids the problems of conflict diamonds. It fits the eco-friendly and ethical consumption ideas of modern people.

Jewelry

How to Choose Wedding Bands

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Post date September 11, 2025
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Wedding bands, also known as wedding rings, are exchanged by couples during the wedding ceremony and worn every day after marriage. They stand for marital promises, eternal love and the lifelong bond between two people.

Differences Between Wedding Bands and Engagement Rings

An engagement ring usually features a large center diamond or other gemstones. It has an elegant and fancy look, and people use it for proposing marriage.

In comparison, wedding bands adopt simpler and more understated designs. Comfort and durability are the top priorities, since they are meant to be worn all day long throughout married life.

Key Points to Choose Wedding Bands

There are many factors to think about when picking wedding bands. Here are the most important tips for you.

1. Metal Type

The metal you choose decides durability, color and total price.

18K gold comes in rich colors, including yellow gold, white gold and rose gold. It looks brilliant and carries great value. However, this metal is relatively soft, so scratches are easy to appear during daily wear. It suits people who value metal quality and diverse colors, and do not do heavy work regularly.

14K gold has higher hardness and great wear resistance. It is cost-effective and also offers various color choices. Its gold content is 58.3 percent, so its color is a little lighter than 18K gold. This is the first choice for most buyers. It balances beauty and durability perfectly for daily use.

Platinum is the most durable and rarest precious metal. It keeps natural pure white color forever and hardly causes skin allergies. Its downsides are the high price and heavy weight. It is ideal for people who pursue top durability, have sensitive skin, or love the solid feel of platinum.

Palladium looks quite similar to platinum. It is lighter and much cheaper, and also friendly to sensitive skin. But it is not as rare as platinum and not widely available on the market. It is a nice pick if you like platinum’s appearance but have a limited budget.

Titanium and tungsten metal are extremely hard and wear-resistant. They are lightweight and low-priced as well. Yet rings made of these two materials cannot be resized. Their styles are quite limited, and they do not have the collection value of precious metals. They fit people with physical jobs, those who want maximum durability, or shoppers on a tight budget.

Suggestion: 14K gold and platinum are the most classic and practical choices for wedding bands.

2. Style & Design

Plain bands have no diamonds or carvings on the surface. They are super comfortable, timeless and never go out of style. A lot of couples love this classic design.

Half pave bands are set with small diamonds on the front half of the ring, while the inner side stays plain. They shine beautifully and cost less than full pave styles. It is a great balance of sparkle and budget.

Full pave bands are fully covered with tiny diamonds all around the band. They are the most eye-catching and glamorous. But you cannot resize rings of this style. What is more, the small stones may get loose after long-time wear, so regular inspection is necessary.

Engraved bands allow you to carve meaningful dates, words, fingerprints or special patterns on the inside or outside. This makes your wedding bands unique and full of personal memories.

You also need to consider matching effects if you plan to stack your wedding band with an engagement ring. Make sure the two rings look harmonious when worn together.

3. Comfort

Wedding bands are worn for almost the whole day, so comfort is very important.

Choose rings with curved comfort fit inner band. The curved inner edge fits fingers much better than standard flat bands and will not feel tight or uncomfortable.

Band width and thickness also matter. Wide bands over 6mm have a strong presence, which may not suit people with slim fingers. Narrow bands between 4mm and 5mm look delicate and graceful. It is always wise to try on different widths in person.

Try on rings! This point cannot be stressed enough. You and your partner should visit physical stores and test real products. Rings may look totally different in pictures and when you actually wear them.

4. Ring Size

Finger size changes slightly all day, affected by temperature and water intake. It is recommended to measure your size in the afternoon or evening, when fingers are usually a little swollen. In this way, your ring will never feel tight at any time.

5. Budget

The price of wedding bands varies a lot, ranging from a few thousand to over one hundred thousand. Set a proper budget in advance, and it will help you narrow down choices quickly.

Recommended Shopping Process

First, communicate with your partner. Talk about your ideas on metal, style and budget.

Second, collect information. Browse official brand websites or local jewelry stores, and save pictures of styles you like.

Third, try on rings in physical stores. This is the most important step. Book an in-store appointment, wear your favorite styles, and feel the comfort, weight and overall look.

Fourth, make the final decision. Take wearing experience, price and after-sales service into consideration. Check standard marks inside the ring, such as metal logo and brand stamp. If you plan to buy from online stores like Blue Nile or James Allen, record your exact ring size clearly.

Finally, learn about after-sales policies. Ask about free cleaning, regular maintenance, diamond setting checks, resizing service and lifelong support terms.

Choosing wedding bands is a warm journey filled with love. There is no such thing as the best ring, only the most suitable one for you and your lover.

These rings carry your unique stories and lifelong promises. Personal preference and daily practical use should be your top concerns. Wedding bands are not only symbols of love, but also daily jewelry you wear every single day. Wish you find the perfect pair to witness your sweet love.

Jewelry

Are lab grown diamonds real diamonds?

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Post date September 11, 2025
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Lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds share identical chemical, physical and optical properties. They are real diamonds, totally different from diamond simulants such as moissanite and cubic zirconia.

Here is a simple analogy to help you understand. Natural diamonds are like wild flowers growing in nature, valued for their natural origin and rarity. Lab-grown diamonds are similar to flowers cultivated in greenhouses, which come with a much lower cost. As for diamond imitations like cubic zirconia and moissanite, they are just artificial flowers made of plastic or resin. Some of these fake stones even look brighter and more vivid than real diamonds. All of them look like flowers in appearance, but they differ greatly in growing environment, formation time and the degree of human intervention.

Why are lab-grown diamonds real diamonds?

World-renowned gemological institutions, including the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the International Gemological Institute (IGI), issue official certification reports for lab-grown diamonds. These organizations use the exact same 4C grading standards — Carat, Color, Clarity and Cut — to evaluate both lab-grown and mined natural diamonds.

Lab-grown diamonds and mined natural diamonds have many similarities as well as clear differences.

They are both made of pure carbon (C) and feature the same cubic crystal structure. This basic composition defines what a real diamond is. The identical crystal structure gives them the same level of hardness and high thermal conductivity. Their physical traits are fully matched, so ordinary professional diamond testers cannot tell them apart. When it comes to visual performance, lab-grown diamonds deliver the same fire, sparkle and brilliance. Human eyes and most common testing tools fail to find any visual difference between the two kinds of diamonds.

The biggest gap lies in their formation process. Lab-grown diamonds are created in laboratories by simulating underground high temperature and high pressure environments. The two mainstream production methods are HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) and CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition). In contrast, natural diamonds form deep underground over billions of years. One is a product of modern technology, while the other is a gift from nature.

Their sources also lead to a huge price gap. Lab-grown diamonds are sold at a much lower price, generally only one third of the price of mined diamonds or even cheaper. With the same budget, buyers can get a larger stone or a diamond with better quality. Mined diamonds are extremely expensive in comparison.

Both types of diamonds contain inclusions, but the included materials are different. Lab-grown diamonds may have metal catalysts or cloud inclusions inside. Natural diamonds often have crystal inclusions or feather traces. These tiny features can only be distinguished by professional gemologists under a microscope.

In terms of rarity, lab-grown diamonds can be produced in large quantities endlessly, so they are not rare at all. Mined diamonds are limited natural resources, which makes them relatively scarce. A large part of the value of natural diamonds comes from their rarity and unique natural formation story.

Lab-grown diamonds are widely recognized as an eco-friendly choice. The production process consumes less water and causes less land damage. They also help people avoid ethical issues related to conflict diamonds. However, traditional diamond mining may lead to environmental damage, excessive carbon emissions and various ethical controversies.

What are the main differences between natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds?

The most obvious differences are origin and rarity.

For formation time, lab-grown diamonds can be fully produced within just a few weeks in a lab. Natural diamonds take billions of years to form deep inside the earth.

Since natural diamonds are limited natural resources and lab-grown diamonds have unlimited production capacity, their market prices vary hugely.

When it comes to resale value, natural diamonds usually hold value better in the second-hand market, thanks to their natural scarcity and long history. As lab-grown diamond technology keeps improving and output keeps rising, their replacement cost and resale value stay relatively low for now.

The main production areas of lab-grown diamonds are India and China. They adopt two mainstream technologies: CVD and HPHT.

Jewelry

14K vs 18K Gold Core Differences

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Post date September 11, 2025
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When pick gold jewelry, 14K and 18K gold are always the two most popular choices on the market. The biggest difference between 18K gold and 14K gold lies in their gold content. This simple gap in pure gold percentage brings out many changes, including color, hardness, how long they can last, price and skin reaction. All these factors make the two types of gold fit different wearing needs.

To put it in a easy way. 18K gold has more pure gold inside, so it looks more valuable. This material is a little soft, and the color is more vivid, especially the bright golden tone. But one small downside is that it gets scratched more easily after long use.

As for 14K gold, it contains less pure gold. It is much harder and stands wear and tear really well. Its price is also much friendly for ordinary buyers. That is why it becomes a great pick for jewelry you wear every single day. For most people’s daily rings and bracelets, 14K gold strikes a perfect balance between practical use and cost. If you love classic style, high-end feel and worry less about skin allergies, 18K gold will be your better traditional choice for fine jewelry.

A deeper look at the differences between 18K and 14K gold

1. Gold Content

This is the root of all the differences we talked about. People use the unit “Karat” (short for K) to mark gold purity.

24K gold means almost 100 percent pure gold. It is extremely soft, so craftsmen hardly use it to make wearable jewelry.

18K gold is mixed with eighteen parts pure gold out of twenty-four total parts, which equals to 75% gold content.

14K gold has fourteen parts pure gold, so the gold percentage is about 58.3%.

The rest parts are other metals like silver, copper, zinc and palladium. We call these mixed metals alloys. People add alloys into pure gold on purpose. These mixed metals can make gold harder, and also create different colors, such as white gold and rose gold.

Common gold types have different ratios. 22K gold has 91.7% gold, 10K gold only has 41.7% pure gold. The more extra metals added, the lower the gold purity will be.

2. Color

Both 14K and 18K gold can be made into yellow gold, white gold and rose gold. Still, you can tell small color differences because of their different gold content.

18K yellow gold owns a richer and deeper golden shade. It looks much closer to the color of full pure gold, thanks to its high gold percentage. 14K yellow gold looks a little pale in comparison, since more alloy metals are blended in.

When it comes to rose gold, makers can put more copper inside 18K gold. Copper gives out a reddish tone, so 18K rose gold shows a brighter and more obvious pink color.

White gold of both kinds needs a thin layer of rhodium plating on the surface to get that shiny silvery look. The base color of 18K white gold is a light yellow, while 14K white gold has a dull grayish base. After wearing for months or years, the rhodium layer will wear off little by little, and the original pale base color will show up. At this point, you need to re-plate rhodium to bring back its bright white shine. Both types have this problem, so there is no big gap here.

3. Hardness and Durability

This point is super important when you decide which one to buy.

14K gold is clearly tougher and more resistant to scratches. It has a large amount of alloy metals, which greatly improve its overall strength. It is the top choice for rings, bracelets and other jewelry worn daily. These pieces often hit hard things or rub against surfaces, and 14K gold will not bend or get damaged easily.

18K gold is softer by nature. If you wear it every day, scratches and wear marks will appear sooner. Even so, its soft feature has an advantage too. When setting gemstones, especially big diamonds, the soft metal prongs can wrap around stones more tightly. It holds gems firmly and lowers the risk of falling out.

4. Skin Allergies

Pure gold is one of the safest metals for human skin, it rarely causes allergies. Since 18K gold has a high gold content, the chance to get skin irritation is really low.

14K gold contains far more alloy metals. In the past, some alloys had nickel inside, which is a common allergy trigger. Though most brands stop using nickel now, a small number of people may still feel uncomfortable if their skin is sensitive to other mixed metals. Luckily, most people can wear 14K gold without any bad reactions.

5. Price

The price of gold jewelry mainly depends on pure gold value. So 18K gold always costs more than 14K gold. For two pieces of jewelry with the same weight and craft work, the one made of 18K gold will have a higher production cost and selling price.

How to make your final choice

If you value high gold purity and the luxurious feeling of jewelry, or your skin is easy to get allergic to metal products, go for 18K gold. It is also perfect for luxury ornaments, classic wedding rings and jewelry set with big main stones.

If you need jewelry for daily wear, which has to face frequent friction and bump, 14K gold is more suitable. It lets you get similar designs at a cheaper price. Some thin and complicated jewelry designs also need hard metal to keep the whole structure stable. What’s more, if you often do hand work, sports or other activities that may hurt your jewelry, 14K gold is the practical pick for you.

Jewelry

Organic Gemstones: Amber and Beeswax

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Post date September 19, 2017
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If you often walk around jewelry markets, you must have heard lots of old sayings. One famous line goes, “A diamond is forever.” There is another jade proverb too: To judge jade, you check its three outer layers; you must look close to see if its texture is smooth and fine. People also say, “Amber takes a thousand years, beeswax takes ten thousand years.” Now, amber is the lightest gemstone on earth. Is this old saying really true? Is amber truly one thousand years old, and beeswax ten thousand years old? Let us learn all about this together below.

Amber comes from resin that pine and cypress trees leak out. It stay buried underground for roughly five thousand years, going through full petrification and the evaporation of its organic substances to take shape. Every drop of resin fell in different natural surroundings back then. This is why each piece carries unique flow lines, plus totally different shapes and outlines. Some pieces still hold the faint sweet scent of ancient tree resin. Many even trap prehistoric tiny plants and bugs inside their bodies. For this reason, people also name amber resin fossils. It give huge help to archaeologists when they study ancient natural history. Different underground environments create amber with diverse colors and textures. People split amber into many types based on its looks: insect amber, golden amber, blood amber, blue amber, green amber, beeswax and more. You might notice insect amber get mention twice here, as many sellers always highlight bug-filled pieces to customers.

This means beeswax is only one single category under the big amber family. No matter it is clear amber or opaque beeswax, both form tens of millions of years ago. If the petrification time is too short, the material will stay soft, just like modern copal resin you can buy in craft shops. Beeswax is the opaque kind of amber. The Baltic Sea area is its main producing place, and most top-grade beeswax all come from this region.

Beeswax has many different quality grades. The most well-known grade is chicken oil yellow beeswax. Chicken oil yellow beeswax owns soft, delicate texture. The whole gem block is fully opaque with clean, pure warm yellow tone. Top-grade pale beeswax have a special name—white wax. White wax have three sub-types: porcelain white, bone white and ivory white. One important tip for buyers: do not spend high money buying surface white wax. This fake-looking wax only has a thin white outer skin, while its inner body is common low-quality yellow beeswax. Many new collectors make this costly mistake without careful observation.

Amber

Old Beeswax

Nowadays more and more beeswax lovers chase old beeswax crazily. Many people mix up its definition, so here is a clear explain. Old beeswax do not refer to beeswax that formed millions of years earlier. It describe beeswax jewelry that human already wear, use or collect for a very long time. If a beeswax pendant or bead have been held and polished by human hands for one hundred years, it counts as real old beeswax, compared with brand new beeswax goods just finished by craftsmen last month. Long-term hand rubbing will leave soft warm patina on old beeswax surface, a feature new wax can never own.

Reconstructed Beeswax (Second-Generation Beeswax)

Natural beeswax need millions of years to finish petrification, so every full natural beeswax stone is extremely rare and valuable. Many shoppers wonder why lots of cheap beeswax decorations fill the market. A large part of these low-price goods are second-generation beeswax. Workers make it by pressing tiny broken natural beeswax crumbs and leftover edge scraps together under high pressure to reshape solid ornaments. It still count as material made from real natural beeswax, not plastic or full chemical copies. Its production cost cut down a lot because makers use waste fragments, so its selling price is much lower than whole raw natural beeswax pieces. New beginners can choose reconstructed beeswax for daily wear, but experienced collectors always prefer pure whole natural beeswax for long-term collection and value preservation.

Beeswax

Jewelry

Signet Acquires James Allen Blue Nile

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Post date August 25, 2017
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Updated ：After buying James Allen, Signet purchased Blue Nile in 2022. It also bought The Clear Cut in 2026. All these brands are put under Blue Nile’s official website. This move make Blue Nile much more competitive in the jewelry market.

As the world’s largest diamond jewelry retailer, Signet always put customer experience as its core value. It wanted to lift users’ immersive shopping feelings and build a full one-stop shopping channel that connect online and offline stores smoothly. On August 24, US local time in 2017, Signet officially said it would buy R2Net. R2Net is the parent firm of James Allen, a famous online diamond seller. The whole deal was finished with pure cash, and the total value hit 328 million US dollar. There is a old Chinese saying that strong teams join hands, this phrase fit this acquisition perfectly.

》》》Payment Methods of James Allen and Blue Nile, Tips to Buy Diamonds with Lower Costs《《《

Signet owns many well-known sub brands, such as Kay, Blue Nile, Jared, H.Samuel, The Clear Cut, Peoples, Piercing Pagoda, The Galleria Of Jewelry, Zales and Pagoda. It runs more than 3,600 physical stores around the whole world. James Allen is one of the biggest online diamond retailers on earth. It own a landmark 360-degree high-definition diamond display technology. Website visitors can check over 150,000 loose diamonds without any block. The two sides share different resources and tech skills, this complementation help Signet grow stronger in the global jewelry industry.

Virginia C. Drosos, the chief executive officer of Signet, gave her comment on this deal. “This is a amazing acquisition for Signet. James Allen has great market reputation and mature technical system. These strengths can fast improve our jewelry display functions, and build a exclusive shopping environment for every buyer. We can mix all these new functions into our online shops and physical retail locations without obvious breaks. We are really looking forward to welcome all staff from James Allen to our big Signet family. Actually, their team already supply tech support for our Jared Design-A-Ring platform for a long time. After joining us, James Allen and James Allen teams can work together to redefine the way people buy jewelry, and push our customer-first business strategy forward in all sides.”

Basic Introduction of Signet and James Allen

Signet is a multinational jewelry company registered in Bermuda, United States. Its stock ticker on New York Stock Exchange is SIG, short as NYSE:SIG. Its business cover United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Its annual sales revenue reach 6.4 billion US dollars according to public financial reports.

James Allen is a online diamond retailer with headquarters in New York City, it provide service to buyers all over the world. Its 24-hour seven-day customer service center locates in Frederick, Maryland. The technology research and development base set up in Israel. A new customer experience center also open in New York City recently. Because of its good word-of-mouth and comfortable shopping experience, James Allen’s sales number grow at exponential speed year by year.

Birthstone Jewelry

Aquamarine & Sapphire

Aquamarine is a member of the beryl family. Its chemical makeup is silicate that has aluminium and beryllium inside. The color of aquamarine looks as deep as the ocean. Old people long ago named it water stone. They believe this pretty stone must come from the secret sea. It is the birthstone for March. Aquamarine stands for happiness, brave and wisdom. Sailors take it when they go sailing. They think it can keep them away from danger and bad luck. Aquamarine counts as a precious gem. If you put it under your pillow while sleep, it can make your sleep more quiet and sweet. People often put aquamarine and emerald together, they are the two most valuable beryl gems.

Old stories tell people aquamarine carry nice love and good wishes. Long long ago, there live many mermaids in the dark blue sea. Aquamarine is their jewelry. When trouble come, let the stone touch sunshine, it will get magic power to help mermaids. So people also call aquamarine mermaid stone. There is another old tale too. Beautiful aquamarine grows under the sea, it is the soul of ocean. That is why sailors always bring one with them, they pray for safe trip on water. Aquamarine’s color range from sky blue, sea blue to blue-green.

Aquamarine

Many people mix them up, but sapphire and aquamarine are totally different gems. Sapphire’s main chemical element is alumina. It belong to corundum family same as ruby. The word sapphire come from Latin word Spphins, it mean blue. In real nature, all gem-grade corundum stones except ruby are called sapphire, no matter their color. They can be light blue, green, yellow, grey or clear white. Sapphire symbol loyalty and firm mind. Some sapphires have lots of rutile inside, they turn into rare star sapphire. Star sapphire also named stone of fate. The star lines on stone can move when you turn it. Ancient men said star sapphire bring safety and blessing to people who wear it.

Sapphire

Sapphire is top-level gemstone. It is one of five famous precious stones, take the third place, only behind diamond and ruby. People see sapphire as lucky sign. Long time ago in ancient Egypt, Greek and Rome, people use sapphire to decorate mosque, church and abbey. It was very popular noble ornament back then.

Now we can tell the big difference between these two stones clearly. Aquamarine is March birthstone, its mineral type is beryllium aluminium silicate. Sapphire is September birthstone and part of corundum group. The brand Blue Nile sell jewelry made of sapphire and aquamarine. Their goods have good quality, you can go there pick some pieces you like.

Differences between Aquamarine and Sapphire

Many people often mix up aquamarine and sapphire, but they are completely different gemstones in many ways. Firstly, they belong to different mineral families. Aquamarine is a beryl gemstone with aluminum and beryllium silicate as its main chemical composition. It is the birthstone of March, symbolizing courage, happiness and wisdom. It only has blue and blue-green tones, and it is also known as the mermaid stone with beautiful ocean legends.

By contrast, sapphire is a corundum gem made of alumina, and it is the birthstone of September. It stands for loyalty and firmness. Unlike aquamarine, sapphire has rich colors including blue, yellow, gray and colorless. It ranks third among the world’s top five precious gems, much more valuable. In short, they differ in mineral type, color range, symbolic meanings and market value.

Birthstone Jewelry

Ruby

Post author By Review
Post date June 17, 2017
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Ruby is one of the four major precious gems, together with diamond, sapphire and emerald. It is the most popular red jewelry stone and a type of natural corundum. Ruby owns special shine, strong wear resistance and low reserves in nature, so it is extremely valuable. The main chemical makeup of ruby is aluminum oxide. The chromium element inside it create its bright red color. It scores 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, only softer than diamond.

Perfect clear ruby without any flaw is really hard to find, that’s why natural rubies carry high price tags. But making lab created rubies is not a hard work, you can see man-made rubies widely used in many industrial areas. A natural ruby can only hold real collect value if its transparency reach semi-transparent or higher. Those rubies that are semi-transparent to fully opaque are often made into common jewelry, they do not worth much money at all.

Basic Knowledge You Must Learn About Ruby

The word “Ruby” comes from Latin word： ruber, which means red.

Ruby and sapphire belong to the same gem group, they crystallize in trigonal crystal system, people also call this whole family corundum.

The red shade inside rubies all come from chromium elements. Some people make a mistake here, they say the main component is chromium oxide, actually it is aluminum oxide with chromium impurity. The chromium content usually ranges from 0.1 percent to 3 percent.

Ruby ring

The most costly type of ruby shows a pure bright red tone with rich chromium content. People name this top grade pigeon blood red ruby.

It is almost impossible to dig out a ruby with zero inclusions or surface blemishes in the world. Flawless natural rubies cost far more than diamonds of the same carat weight.

Burma produce lots of top quality rubies, stones from this origin always sell for very high prices. Collectors and jewelry lovers chase Burmese rubies crazily all over the global market.

Nearly all natural rubies go through different enhancement treatments to boost their look and durability. This processing method is super common inside the jewelry trade, almost every merchant will do this step before selling rough rubies to customers.

Important Reminders When Buying Ruby Jewelry Online

I want to share a sincere warning to every buyer. If you travel abroad and spot luxury ruby jewelry in tourist scenic spots, do not buy them easily. Nine out of ten gem goods sold there are fake items. One of my friend took a trip to Thailand years ago, he bought a loose ruby stone and set it into a ring later. After professional lab testing, people told him the stone was totally artificial counterfeit.

Ruby Ruby

If you plan to shop rubies on internet, pick well-known large suppliers first. Two famous platforms are James Allen and Blue Nile. Recently BN and JA merge into one single company, their overall strength become much stronger now. Buying rubies through these official brands can better protect your consumer rights.

Before you place any order, take enough time to read the full gem certificate carefully. Double check if the stone’s shape, carat weight and color match the description listed online. If you still have doubts, send messages to sellers and ask for more specific details. The way staff reply your questions can tell you whether they respect every ordinary customer sincerely.

Also, do not only fix your eyes on ruby size. Larger rubies normally have higher prices, but two other factors decide its value just as important: color saturation and how many inclusions trapped inside the stone. Even a big ruby with pale red tone or full of cracks will not worth a high sum.

Ruby jewelry

Ruby hold a sacred status in the Bible, it is recorded as the most precious gemstone. It also acts as the birthstone for people born in July. Its bright fiery red color stands for energy and vitality. Old beliefs say wearing ruby for a long time can bring happy marriage, smooth life and long healthy years to the owner. European royal families also treat ruby as a necessary jewelry piece in all grand wedding ceremonies.

People use the standard called 1T4C to judge and grade rubies. The letter T short for Transparency, the four Cs represent color, carat weight, cut and clarity. Blue Nile’s colored gem section stocks hundreds of rubies and finished jewelry sets. Every stone page support 360-degree rotating view, so shoppers can check every corner clearly. The color selection range is very wide, you can choose stones from deep pigeon blood red to soft light red at home, no need to visit offline jewelry stores in person.

Diamond Recommend Jewelry

Bluenile支付寶電匯教程手機匯款

如果打算購買Bluenile的鑽石，支付方面遇到了難題，可以考慮使用支付寶電匯，其實很方便，一起看下步驟吧。

首先，打開手機支付寶的應用程序。

支付寶電匯教程

進入頁面，點入“更多”，在資金往來這個標籤裡，會發現上銀匯款，點入上銀匯款。更新：由於支付寶軟體升級，上銀匯款服務遷移至轉帳頁面，點擊進入可以找到。或者在支付寶首頁蒐索欄鍵入“上銀匯款”找到。

就可以開始向bluenile的匯款操作了，把bluenile電郵你的匯款信息複製過去就可以了，是不是很簡單呢？

Bluenile支付寶電匯

PS，最近上海銀行將匯款的單筆限額由3萬人民幣改為了1.8萬人民幣。單筆手續費是50元人民幣，約等於大概60元港幣。匯款到賬時間為1-3個工作日。

支付寶的上銀匯款現時僅支持美元貨幣的匯款，所以在Blue Nile提交訂單的時候貨幣選擇為美元。

如果輸入後提示收款人地址不能有/？空格等以外的標點符號，可以嘗試把Suite 202之後的回車符換成空格符。

匯款用途選擇個人選項的因私旅遊度假，如果選擇匯給公司或者機构，匯款被拒絕的概率很大。

如果訂單金額超過單筆匯款上限，可以分多筆匯出，因為有單日匯款次數和最大額度限制，需要提前做好匯款安排。

香港的blue nile自提點：

對於購買Blue Nile鑽戒後出差等原因，家中沒人簽收UPS快遞的顧客，可以把包裹暫存在UPS自提點，等有時間後再去提貨。聯合包裹運輸服務公司是一家全球性的快遞公司，可以將你的包裹在香港的自提點暫存5個工作日。當去取貨時，需要提供政府出具的有效身份證家（內地顧客需要提供港澳通行證），和收貨人的名字對應才能提貨。提交訂單輸入收貨地址時在公司名字一欄加上“UPS Hold for Pick Up”，下面是bluenile鑽石在香港的三個自提收貨詳細地址。

1，UPS Parcel Pro Office – Unit 1105-1106, 11/F, Tower A, Hung Hom Commercial Centre, 39 Ma Tau Wai Road, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong 工作時間：週一到週五（9:00-18:00），週六（9:00-13:30）

2，UPS KBCC Center – Basement, Sunshine Kowloon Bay Cargo Center, 59 Tai Yip Street, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong 工作時間：週一到週五（11:00-20:00），週六（11:00-19:00）

3，（距離捷運比較近，Blue Nile自提首選推薦）UPS Lai Chi Kok Service Center – Ground Floor, Manley Tower, 828 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong 工作時間：週一到週五（09:30 – 19:30），週六（09:30 – 18:00）