In Pictures: America's Most Popular Diamond Cuts

Round

With one out of every three diamonds sold in the U.S. being a classic round brilliant diamond, this cut is far and away the most popular.

Scarlett Johansson and singer Fergie both sport classic rounds.
Princess

The princess diamond was created in 1980 but has catapulted into massive popularity, making it the second-most popular diamond cut in the U.S. Diamond analyst Kenneth Gassman estimates that princess cut diamonds make up approximately 13% to 20% of diamond sales.

Freddie Prinze Jr. proposed to Sarah Michelle Gellar with a princess cut.

Emerald

The third-most popular cut has long clear "step cuts," which emphasize the diamond's clarity and gives it a more subtle appearance than the "brilliant" cuts of most diamonds.

Nick Cannon proposed to Mariah Carey with a reported $2.5 million emerald-cut diamond.

Pear Shape

The pear shape, the fifth-most popular diamond, is also called a "tear drop" for its single point and rounded end.

The most famous pear-shaped diamond has to be the 69-carat pear-shaped diamond given to Elizabeth Taylor by her fifth and sixth husband Richard Burton. Taylor wore the Taylor-Burton diamond in a necklace.


Asscher

The Asscher cut has been around for a century but soared in popularity, especially in Hollywood, after being featured in an episode of Sex and the City in which nice-guy Aidan proposed to protagonist Carrie Bradshaw.

Kate Hudson and Elizabeth Hurley were both given Asscher cuts by their soon-to-be husbands.

Source: Kenneth Gassman, The Diamond Source of Virginia, Blue Nile.
source : http://forbeslife.nl/2009/04/17/engagement-weddings-diamonds-forbes-woman-style-retail_slide.html?partner=contextstory

World's most famous 'unseen' diamond

By Jane O'Brien
BBC News, Washington

The room was dimly lit. Armed guards stood at both entrances and enormous ironclad doors were slid shut to seal the gallery.

Nobody spoke above a whisper as we waited for the first glimpse in half a century of one of the world's most extraordinary gems.

The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond was last seen in public at the 1958 World Exhibition in Brussels. After that, it disappeared and its whereabouts remained a mystery until Laurence Graff, a billionaire diamond dealer, bought it at auction in 2008, appending his surname.

He and his son Francois were in the gallery of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC as the blue stone, was brought up from a secret vault and finally revealed.

Flawless beauty

"I've been privileged over the years to own some of the world's most important and famous diamonds, but I would say that the Wittelsbach-Graff is the most valuable and the most beautiful," he said.

Sitting unadorned on a silken white cloth, it glittered grey and blue in the low light. Classed as "internally flawless" it is said to have exceptional colour and becomes intense orange when viewed under ultraviolet light.

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Color Diamonds Dazzle New York

March 18, 2010, jevelry.com

The American Museum of Natural History has a natural color diamond exhibit so magnificent, they're extending the run until further notice.


The American Museum of Natural History knows a good thing when they see one. The Manhattan institution decided to extend its natural color diamond exhibit, featuring The Olympia Diamond Collection, following the positive response from its many visitors.

The Olympia Diamond Collection consists of five diamonds that have been graded as 'vivid', the highest level of color saturation possible, by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

The diamonds range in size from 1.01 carats to 2.34 carats and represent five of the strongest colors that naturally occur in a diamond, namely blue-green, orange-yellow, purplish-pink, blue and orange.

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Blinged Out Bluetooth

Jewelry.com, 05/12/2008

If you're not worried about little things such as a mortgage, bills, car payments, the price of gas or what your friends would say, Jewelry.com has found a little Bluetooth headset that might just be what you've never wanted.
Motorola knows that sometimes practicality can get rather staid, so they've thrown diamonds to the wind and come up with a bluetooth that every blinged out millionaire should have. The Motoral Motopure H12 is no ordinary headset. This one is made from either yellow or white gold and covered with 184 diamonds.
The price - a mere $17,000.

News : Red-Hot Rocks - July’s Birthstone

Jewelry.com, 07/16/2008

There’s a saying that the ‘price of wisdom is above rubies’. That is certainly true, but hey, you can’t wear wisdom on your finger or around your neck. Ok – so wisdom is probably somewhat more useful than a ruby or two – but this saying just goes to show how highly prized these little red gems have been throughout history. Read More