What does the course teach?
We will introduce you to several trading platforms. RapNet, IDEX online, and Diamdax giving you the tools to be able to see what diamonds are going for what prices, after the course completion, you will be able to come up with a rough estimate of what your gemstones are worth, and how to sort price and place into different diamond type categories.
Were do I source diamond raw material?
Natural rough, uncut, raw diamonds. Emergence and origin will be covered in the course, how many tons of kimberlite rocks must be unearthed to find one carat diamond, we will share sources for purchasing raw diamonds and introduce you to diamond processing factories within the diamond centre complex were you can manufacture your rough diamonds.
What is the Study of diamonds is called?
The study of diamonds is known as diamond Gemmology or Gemology.
In the early twentieth century, gemologists developed methods of grading diamonds and other gemstones based on the characteristics most important to their value as a gem.
Four characteristics known informally as the four Cs are now commonly used as the basic descriptors of diamonds: carat, cut, color, and clarity.
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office issued the trademark ”The Fifth C Is For Conflict Free” on July 9 to Market Street Diamonds Inc. also know as Blood diamonds, The Kimberley Process started when Southern African diamonds-producing states met in Kimberley, South Africa, in May 2000, to discuss ways to stop the trade in ‘conflict diamonds’ and ensure that purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments.
In December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution supporting the creation of an international certification scheme for rough diamonds. By November 2002, negotiations between governments, the international diamond industry and civil society organisations resulted in the creation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) . The KPCS document sets out the requirements for controlling rough diamond production and trade. The KPCS entered into force in 2003, when participating countries started to implement its rules.
This system was developed by Gemological Institute of America in 1953 as internationally recognized standard to evaluate diamonds characteristics.
Most gem diamonds are traded on the wholesale market based on single values for each of the four Cs; for example knowing that a diamond is rated as 1 carat, VVS1 clarity, G color, excellent cut round brilliant, is enough to reasonably establish an expected price range.
More detailed information from within each characteristic is used to determine actual market value for individual stones. Consumers who purchase individual diamonds are often advised to use the four Cs to pick the diamond that is “right” for them.
Other characteristics also influence the value and appearance of a gem diamond. These include physical characteristics such as the presence of fluorescence as well as the diamond’s source and which gemological institute evaluated the diamond. Cleanliness also dramatically affects a diamond’s beauty.
Who grades Diamonds?
There are two major non-profit gemological associations which grade and provide reports, referred to by the term certificate or cert, carat weight and cut angles are mathematically defined, the clarity and color are judged by the trained human eye and are therefore open to slight variance in interpretation. These associations are listed below.
- Gemological Institute of America (GIA) was the first laboratory in America to issue modern diamond reports, and is held in high regard amongst gemologists for its consistent, conservative grading.
- Diamond High Council (HRD) Official certification laboratory of the Belgian gem industry, located in Antwerp
There are many other internationally accepted diamond certificates listed below just a few,
- AGS American Gemological Society and it is also a US based laboratory The laboratory is renowned for their scientific approach and research into diamond cut grading. Instead of using an alphabetical rating system, AGS uses a scale of 0-10 for rating a diamond’s characteristics, with 0 as the best and 10 as the worst.Like GIA, AGS is also known for their ethical standards and consistency in their grading system. In the US market, the AGS lab is the second most widely used lab service after GIA. They are also globally consolidated through offices in Israel, Belgium, India, China and Hong Kong.
- EGL is an abbreviation for European Gemological Laboratory. It is a European founded grading agency and has a big global presence – with offices in London, Paris, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Johannesburg, among others. EGL is known for pioneering diamond grading techniques for stones weighing less than a carat. They are also notoriously known for the introduction of the ‘SI3’ clarity rating for diamonds and have a fairly large market share in Europe.
- IGI is the International Gemological Institute that is based in Antwerp, Belgium. After GIA, they are properly the 2nd most well-known lab in the world. A significant amount of polished diamonds in the market are actually graded by IGI and they are very popular in Asian countries.
Diamonds are the best gemstone for wear and tear but they will break if you hit them just right. There is a myth that diamonds cannot be broken. Diamonds have a hardness of 10 on the Mohs scale, a purely ordinal scale. For example, corundum (9) is twice as hard as topaz (8), but diamond (10) is four times as hard as corundum, Its hard to do but they can broken.
What to learn more and enter this profitable exiting industry we offer the following courses:
Short Courses:
- Rough Grading and Evaluation – Learn to Grade, sort and Value Raw Rough Diamond, This course teaches you how to sort a mine run of rough diamonds into different categories according to various criteria such as size, colour, clarity and morphology. The course focuses on practice approach with a theoretical background.
- Cutting and Polishing– Learn to Polish and process diamonds, South Africa is known for its master diamond cutters, Jewel City Johannesburg has some of the best diamond polishers in the world, learn how to master the art of polishing during this 12-week course you will learn all the facets of how to polish diamonds.
- Polished Grading– Learn how to grade diamonds. Our lecturer will guide you through the 4 C’s Carat, Colour, Clarity and Cut of grading.
