Marlows Diamonds Blog & Latest News » Precious Stones

How Diamond Rings Should be Cleaned

admin — Thu, 26 May 2011 14:20:37 +0000

No matter how careful you are with beautiful diamond rings, they will eventually need to be cleaned. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get your hands dirty very often. The skin contains natural oils that can get into the setting and diminish a diamond’s shine, and then there are the everyday substances hands come into contact with – soap, shampoo, dishwater, skin lotion, sun screen, dust, makeup, and food particles can all affect the way a piece of jewellery looks over time.

Like homes, rings are best cleaned regularly. Little and often is best. Some people recommend all kinds of household items for jewellery cleaning, from toothpaste to banana peel, but it really should be kept simple. Make a solution with a small amount of mild liquid detergent in warm water. Soak the ring for a few minutes, then rinse under a tap (with the plug in the sink just in case it slips out of your grip). Let the ring dry out naturally rather than hurrying it with a towel – small pieces of fabric can easily get caught up in the setting and they can be tricky to remove.

Stubborn bits of grit and grease can be very carefully removed with the end of a toothpick. Use a plastic pick if you can find one, as these are less likely to splinter and catch than wood. Don’t use the end of a pin or a metal needle or you’ll risk scratching the metal of the band. Multi-stone rings that contain gemstones other than diamonds are also vulnerable to scratching. Diamond is hard, but not all precious stones are as durable.

In some cases a more vigorous cleaning is required. If you see any grime or grease trapped in the setting of your ring, it may need to be removed with a soft brush. Take care- delicate settings are easily damaged and while diamonds are incredibly hard, precious metals can be very soft. Be especially cautious with solid yellow gold, because this is much softer than white gold, platinum, or most other metals. It can scratch very easily.

Prevention is better than cure – keeping your ring clean is certainly easier than cleaning it. When wearing your ring, avoid liquids with ammonia in them and steer clear of chlorine. If you do want to go swimming in a public pool or scrub something with a bleach solution it’s best to take the ring off. Store it somewhere safely and wash your hands thoroughly before you put it back on.

Unless you have the right skills and the right equipment, it’s not possible to repair scratches and re-polish the bands on wedding, engagement, and eternity rings yourself, but a jeweller can certainly do this. Small blemishes in the metal can be repaired and smoothed over and the original high shine restored. Once every six months, a professional cleaning is recommended anyway. As long as it has only suffered the usual daily wear and tear, a jeweller should be able to make a piece of diamond jewellery look just as beautiful as it did when you first opened the box and tried it on.

Conflict-Free Diamond Engagement Rings

admin — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:27:56 +0000

Not so long ago, the trade in conflict diamonds was a serious concern. It is an unfortunate fact that many of the world’s most productive diamond producing regions are not located in politically stable, well-administered nations. Because they are so small yet carry such a high value, precious stones are relatively easy to smuggle across borders and trade illegally. Until relatively recently these beautiful things were sometimes used to fund arms deals and support corrupt and undemocratic regimes.

It is a sad that some of the precious gems used to fuel bloody and terrible conflicts in the most troubled places on the globe ended up in Europe, and without doubt some of them made their way into diamond wedding rings that were bought and given with only love in mind. Something had to be done.

We are proud to state with absolute confidence that not one stone in our collection started life as a conflict diamond. Each one has a certificate of provenance and is certified to have been mined in a particular place and traded through legal, ethical channels all the way to the UK.

New EU legislation means the end of the trade in conflict diamonds. All stones coming into the region must now be certified to come from certain approved sites where trade is known to meet certain ethical standards. This is wonderful news for the places that have suffered from the dirty deals done with conflict gems and good news for you too- you can now buy engagement, wedding, and eternity rings without worrying about where those gorgeous diamonds came from.

Why Not Sparkle at Your Festive Parties?

admin — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 09:51:05 +0000

The festive season is fast approaching and you may well have been invited to a number of social gatherings to mark the fact.

Indeed, you might be in the process of organising such an event yourself.

After all, everyone loves a good excuse for a knees-up at this time of year. It can help you shed those winter blues and embrace the cheer of the celebrations.

Often there are work parties to attend, as well as family get-togethers and parties with friends and neighbours.

While the events themselves may be fun and a chance to unwind, the planning that occurs before can be stressful.

Particularly if you are a woman, it can be tricky to know what to wear.

You want to look your best and stand out from the crowd, but all of your outfits are a little tired looking and your accessories are in need of an overhaul.

Well, the important thing is not to panic. There are some simple ways to ensure you look gorgeous and are the envy of all who are present.

For example, you can invest in diamond rings, pendant earrings, loose diamonds jewellery or other such products in order to ensure you arrive at the bash looking glamorous and sparkly.

Such delicate touches can turn an otherwise unimpressive outfit into a classy ensemble with minimum effort.

And thanks to retailers such as us here at Marlows Certified Diamonds, you can pick up products like this for very reasonable prices, meaning you do not have to break the bank to look good.

We can also customise your diamonds to fit your style, colour and diamond setting.

How are Diamonds Formed?

admin — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 08:32:56 +0000

When we think of diamonds, we think them worn on the hands of elegant film stars, or glamorous socialites; therefore it is easy to forget the origin of diamonds, which is just as spectacular. With a knowledge of where diamonds come from it makes them seem even more precious, even if it does betray their mystique somewhat.

In fact, diamonds are almost as old as the world itself and they have their origins way back billions of years ago, when the conditions on the planet where much more tumultuous than they were today. It was during these particularly hostile conditions that ore bearing diamonds was thrust up to the surface due to volcanic eruptions.

In fact, since the extreme conditions that brought diamonds to the surface, diamonds can be found in “blue ground”or kimberlite, which is still one of the most prolific sites to find rough diamonds – even billions of years later.

The rarity of a diamond is due to the fact that its formation takes some seriously extreme conditions, and only under intense pressure – between 45 to 65 kilo-bars – and incredibly high temperature – between 900 and 1300°C are diamonds formed. These particular conditions only occur in certain places, i.e. in the lithospheric mantle, beneath the continental plates and beneath meteorite impact sites.

So, next time you slip on that diamond eternity ring or white gold diamond eternity ring, you’ll know that not only is your item of jewellery beautifully rare, but it also has its origins billions of years ago – surely as close to eternity as you can get.

D.I.A.M.O.N.D.S.

admin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:59:08 +0000

Diamonds can dazzle us with their beauty and are graded according to the Four Cs; colour, clarity, carat and cut. The ideal stone is the flawless white diamond, which we at Marlows offer in our diamond engagement rings.

Inclusions are another name for the flaws that may appear in loose diamonds. Most are invisible to the naked eye and some may only be seen under ten times magnification.

Adamas is the Greek name for the stone, which means ‘hard’ or ‘indestructible.’

Mining is the means by which diamonds are brought to the surface. Mines are either open cast or deep, depending upon how the diamonds were formed.

Orlov diamond, the size and shape of half an egg, allegedly 190 carats, is in the Kremlin in Moscow as part of the Russian regalia. It was given to Catherine the Great by her lover, count Orlov.

Noor is the Arabic for ‘light’ and one of the most famous diamonds ever found, now part of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London, is named the Koh-i Noor, which means ‘Mountain of Light.’

De Beers, originally set up by Sir Cecil Rhodes in South Africa in the Nineteenth Century, is the dominating company in the diamonds business.

Star of Africa is the second largest diamond in the World, weighing 530.20 carats and set in the Royal Sceptre in the Tower of London. It is one of nine diamonds cut from the massive Cullinan diamond that was found in South Africa in 1905 and present to King Edward VII in 1908.

A Hand Full of Light

admin — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 09:54:20 +0000

When the sunlight catches brilliant cut diamonds, a burst of fiery light is produced; but this was not always the case. Diamonds have developed over the centuries, from rough cut stones to the polished brilliants in many diamond engagement rings. The development of the shapes and cuts of diamonds has a lot to do with technology but also, with light. The tools and lighting now available to modern diamond cutters, enabling finer cuts, are far advanced to those used by Antwerp diamond cutters in their workshops a couple of centuries ago.

It is only in the past hundred years or so that we have had bright electric light. Until then it was rush tapers and candles, a very soft glow. The first diamonds in Europe in early Medieval times came from India and were simply cut into symmetrical facets to make best use of the original shapes of the rough diamonds. The cushion cut, sometimes called the Old Mine cut, was developed in the Seventeenth Century to make better use of candle light at night when diamonds were increasingly worn at social events. It is a square cut, with brilliant facets, resulting in diamonds that catch the available low light. Since then, the brilliant cut has been refined with the best cut, the 58 faceted modern Round Brilliant cut, developed in the early Twentieth Century by Marcel Tolkowsky.

At Marlows, we are proud to supply exquisite loose cut diamonds to make up diamond engagement rings and jewellery to sparkle on any occasion and in every kind of light.

The Colour of Love

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:36:19 +0000

The colour of diamonds is a very important part of their appeal and value with the pure white flawless being the most desired. In fact, white diamonds are not white, they are colourless and vary from that to yellow. The degree of colouration is a degree of tints and is measured on a scale from D to J (colourless to nearly colourless). We at Marlows are dedicated to producing the finest diamond engagement rings and do not sell diamonds colour graded lower than J in our standard range.

There have been many famous diamonds of colour, and the more intense and rare the colour, the more valuable the diamond. The blue Hope diamond, on display in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, springs to mind as one of extreme rarity. A coloured diamond is referred to as a fancy diamond. The main colours are brown (or champagne), canary (yellow), pink, black and blue. It is rare that imperfections add value to an item, but this is the case with fancy diamonds. The colours are a result of trace elements reacting with the carbon atoms of diamonds at formation over 1.5 billion years ago. Hydrogen creates pink diamonds, graphite black, nitrogen yellow and boron blue diamonds.

Flawless examples of these fancy diamonds are so rare, that not even one is found for every 100,000 flawless D white loose cut diamonds. The flawless white diamond is certainly the perfect stone for diamond engagement rings, representing as it does, a pure and flawless love.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:00:44 +0000

Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. Some find beauty in the hustle and bustle of city life, while some find the most amazing beauty in nature. We at Marlows Certified Diamonds fall just in-between both categories. The nature we see beauty in is the earth’s formation of a diamond, and craft the raw material into something elegant and stunning for everyday life.

We’re diamond specialists at Marlows. If you’re looking for diamond engagement rings, diamond earrings or just a plain loose diamond; we have a broad selection of jewellery, diamonds and rings for you to browse at our store and website.

Diamond jewellery is mystical in its own right, capturing not just your imagination, but the very essence of your heart and soul. The gift of a diamond or diamond jewellery is a thoughtful and loving one to give to somebody special. If you really want to connect with a loved one, then what better way to connect than the beauty of nature, refined for a beautiful person?

You be the judge.

From its rawest forms extracted from the ground, to our most tastefully processed diamonds and diamond jewellery, whether it be a diamond necklace, pendant, wedding ring or simply just a cuff-link, our collection of stylish diamond jewellery is bound to leave you mesmerised.

Here at Marlows, we are known for our services to offer inclusivity and we strive to make what you may have thought of as your impossibility, a possibility.

Simply diamonds

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:00:13 +0000

It is a simple fact that a woman wants more than one diamond in her life. Everyone is quite conversant with the traditional diamond engagement ring. Yes, women do love diamond engagement rings and accept them with gratitude. That is not the only diamond in a woman’s life though. Think about it for a moment; a diamond is the perfect gift when a young woman graduates from university.

Nothing can be more beautiful than a diamond pendant or a pair of diamond earrings for a 21st birthday celebration gift to mark this special date. Then there comes the day she becomes engaged. A diamond engagement ring is the most appropriate for that.

Then follows a diamond wedding ring to seal her vows to her beloved. Each step in the life of a woman can be marked perfectly with a diamond. There is the diamond eternity ring when a man shows how much he appreciates his wife. A diamond can mark the celebration of a much-wanted child’s birth or as a special gift for an anniversary.

Signposts of a life well spent

It is clear to see that there is a diamond too that is suitable to mark each milestone in the life of a woman and each occasion that is truly special to her. We understand the need that women have for different diamonds.

That is why we strive to bring our clients the perfect diamond gifts to mark each occasion with a diamond set in yellow gold, white gold or platinum. The guarantee of quality and authenticity we give is the fact that each diamond we sell is a certified diamond.

Extreme pressure creates ultimate beauty

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:00:31 +0000

It’s akin to holding the stars in your hands when you have a handful of them. To acquire a handful of them can be as rare as getting a star in your hand. And yet, for all its beauty, the diamond is but a carbon based stone that has been put under extreme pressure.

The romantic ideals of the diamond are far too many to mention. We find them in modern day jewellery as a status of wealth. Now, be that as it may, the diamond does have other more practical uses. In engineering it is used in laser technology.

It is an amazing and inspiring story about the way in which the diamond is naturally produced. Amazing amounts of pressure and heat exert force on carbon deposits and the result is a beautiful, sparkling diamond. The diamond is one of the most indestructible stones in existence today.

A great investment

The diamond is amongst one of the most durable and most durable stones in existence today. It is because of this fact that the diamond is one of the most expensive purchases for anyone to make, but because it will last forever, your investment will never dwindle.

There is some controversy in certain parts of the world regarding how some of the world’s diamonds are acquired and the human labour that is utilized, but Marlow diamonds are not acquired in this illegal manner.

At Marlows we guarantee that any diamond purchased from us is safe and has been lawfully acquired.

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