Lab Simulated Diamonds Hot this Christmas

With Christmas budget cuts, people are looking for ways to buy fancy jewelry for their loved ones. People are now finding that they can still purchase diamonds for their loved ones, thanks to lab simulated diamonds. Diamonds are being created in labs and are identical to mined diamonds but half the price. If you are having trouble affording diamond jewelry, look into lab simulated diamonds.

Selling Gold Online Without Getting Ripped Off

Many people ask how to sell my gold jewelry online. TurnGold2Cash.com has a great article with tips on selling gold online without getting ripped off. With the current state of the economy, people need to get the most cash for their gold. TurnGold2Cash has actual case studies of gold buying companies so you can see who is paying the most.

How to Be an Eco-Chic Bride

Even though it's your wedding day, you can still do your part for the environment!

Follow these eco-chic tips for planning an environmentally conscious, or "green," wedding:

• Consider a Hemp Dress - GetConscious.com has beautiful hemp dresses for each member of the wedding party.
• Look for a Green Hotel - Choose a hotel who has adpoted sustainable practices.
• Recycle - Ask your caterer to recycle leftover bottles and paper products. You can also print invitations and thank you notes on recycled paper.
• Donate - Leftover food can be donated to homeless shelters.
• Propose with an Eco-Friendly Diamond - JewelNet offers beautiful, eco-friendly, lab created diamonds for your engagement or wedding ring.

GIA's 4Cs Brochure Now Avaliable in 10 Languages

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) announced that its “Four Cs of Diamond Quality” brochure is now available in ten different languages: English, Spanish, Italian, Thai, Korean, Japanese, traditional (or formal) Chinese, simplified Chinese, Hindi and Gujarati.

The Four Cs brochure is designed to educate the public about the main characteristics of diamonds: Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight. This information is crucial to buying the perfect diamond and ensures that the diamond's price corresponds with its characteristics.

Blood Diamond Update

In the diamond-mining industry, a blood diamond (converted diamond, conflict diamond, hot diamond or war diamond) refers to a diamond mined in a war zone, usually in Africa, and sold to finance an insurgency, invading army’s war efforts, or a warlord’s activity.

However, the concept of a blood diamond was not popularized until the 2006 Leonardo DiCaprio movie, 'Blood Diamond'. The movie's vivid images and touching storyline hit the mined diamond industry hard - all of a sudden consumers wanted to know how much blood someone may have shed for their engagement ring. This resulted in diamond lobbyists needing to clear their name, and start cracking down on the blood diamond market.

But how far have these lobbyists and PR firms come?

In 2004, Amnesty International and Global Witness conducted a survey of diamond jewelers to see if they were living up to their promises to stop the trade in conflict diamonds. It was discovered that while some efforts have been made, many retailers were not doing enough: Only 18% of stores surveyed could provide a copy of their conflict diamond policy and 22% said they had no policy at all.

This is why Renaissance Diamonds exclusively offers lab-created diamonds. You can be sure that our diamonds were not mined in conflict areas - because our diamonds were never mined!

Alch-emy: Turn Tequila to Diamonds

A team of Mexican scientists were experimenting with ways to create lab diamonds from common organic solutions when they stumbled upon tequila.

As it turns out, tequila has just the right amount of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen needed to make diamonds. Cheap, white tequila returned fantastic results: tiny, spherical diamonds.

This discovery could greatly improve the industrial production of hard, heat-resistant diamond films. Large scale production will begin in 2011.

Trend Alert: The Diamond Pave

One of the most popular jewelry trends right now is the diamond pave ring.

Stars like Jessica Alba, Ashlee Simpson, Mariah Carey and Jennifer Hudson all have been seen wearing rings featuring diamond pave accents.

A pave setting is characterized by multiple, evenly spaced diamonds usually surrounding a center stone. These smaller stones are held in place by fine prongs which enhance the sparkle and fire of the diamond ring.

Check out Renaissance Diamonds' Diamond Pave Rings.