As seen during the 2013 Oscars, vintage jewelry and diamonds continue to live in the spotlight, as evidenced by the Fred Leighton 19th Century oval and cushion cut diamond bracelet worn by Jennifer Aniston. But do you know the storied history behind your favorite vintage diamond cuts?

Centuries ago, diamond cutting was a slow process. The less material the cutter removed from the original rough diamond crystal, the more quickly he completed his work. Diamond cutters wages were penalized if they took too long or removed too much material. Therefore, the typical cut during this time was actually a squarish, sometimes slightly oval cushion-brilliant, or what most in the jewelry industry now refer to as an “old mine cut.” The defining characteristics are an often squarish shape and the diamond’s crown (top) and pavilion (bottom) are both much deeper than today’s standards.

Early mechanized, steam-driven factories in Amsterdam best illustrate how diamonds were cut in Europe and throughout the world at the time. Coster’s Amsterdam cutting house – in the mid-1800’s was the largest diamond cutting establishment in the world, still employed a labor-intensive process that included three phases of operation, each requiring workmen with specialized skills: 1) splitting or cleaving, 2) cutting, and 3) polishing.

Plot diagram.

Three events led to the more modern styles: in the 1870’s a “bruting” machine gave the diamond a round outline and the first angle gauges led cutters to use the angles associated with today’s modern cuts. In 1900 the circular saw came into use, making it far easier to split the typical octahedral-shaped diamond rough crystal into two pieces making it possible to cut the smaller top piece into a finished diamond, rather than just grinding it away. By 1902, many in the industry realized that using the saw saved weight from the common octahedral diamond crystals, which meant that the new proportions could be cut without expensive waste of diamond rough, shifting the emphasis from weight recovery to the beauty of the styles that we see today.

Natural yellow, old mine cut diamond.

These old-fashioned cutting techniques may have changed, but the gems from that era have a charm all their own, waiting for you to discover.

Discuss why you think vintage diamond cuts are a trend that is here to stay!

The post Vintage Diamond Cuts appeared first on GIA 4Cs Blog.

Our favorite leading ladies stepped onto the red carpet in vibrantly colored gowns bedecked with glittering jewels for this year’s 85th Academy Awards. Yesterday, we covered breathtaking blue gemstones, which enhanced bold sapphire-colored gowns worn by celebrities such as Lilly Collins and Jennifer Hudson. Today, we’ve compiled a list of colored gemstones in celebration of the glamorous demonstrations of color Oscars fashion has inspired.

Carmen Electra wearing Sutra Ruby and Diamond Earrings.

A perennial Oscars favorite, bold crimson hues were donned by Jennifer Aniston, Sally Field and Olivia Munn, just to name a few. GIA experts have selected some stunning red gemstones that could have elegantly amplified their ensembles.

Ruby

Fun fact: The color must be neither too dark nor too light to be considered finest quality. If the color is too dark it has a negative effect on the stone’s brightness. At the other extreme, if the color is too light, the stone is considered pink sapphire, even if color strength or intensity is high.

Ruby is the most valuable variety of the corundum mineral species and can command the highest per-carat price of any colored stone. Corundum has excellent toughness, and is harder than any other natural gem except diamond.  Color is the most significant factor affecting a ruby’s value. The finest ruby has a pure, vibrant red to slightly purplish-red color, and vivid color saturation.

Dona Dirlam, Director of GIA’s Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library and Information Center expresses her admiration for red gem varieties. “The world of red gems is fascinating, and each stone tells its own story. Ruby – the king of red gems – will always be a classic choice, while red garnet offers a durable alternative that is great for everyday wear.”

Red Garnet

Because rough is plentiful, rhodolite is often cut by designer lapidaries into buff tops and free-form cuts with curved surfaces instead of facets.

Garnets are a set of closely related minerals that form a group, resulting in gemstones in almost every color, although red garnets are the most well-known. Rhodolite is the most valuable of the red garnets, and ranges from a dark, purplish raspberry red to a light reddish purple. In the best gems, the tone is medium to medium dark. Pyrope and almandite combine to form rhodolite and other red garnet varieties, but can also exist as separate species. Although both pyrope and almandite were important as gems in the past, mixtures of these two garnet species fill the red garnet marketplace today. Garnets are often remarkably free of inclusions that might reduce clarity and brilliance.

According to fashion reports, a pastel palette took the Oscar for red carpet fashion this year. Amy Adams, Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence all wore stunning gowns in muted pastel shades, sure to spark Spring fashion trends moving forward. Commenting on the trend is no less an authority than GIA’s museum curator, Terri Ottaway.

“Pastel-colored gems such as aquamarine and morganite – both varieties of beryl – are a great way to lighten up a spring wardrobe. They’re popular gems and can really make a fashion statement.”

Below are some spectacular pastel-colored gemstones selected by GIA to pair with your favorite spring pieces.

Aquamarine

Fun fact: Aquamarine’s blue colors are reflected in its name, which comes from the Latin for “sea water.”

Aquamarine is the green-blue to blue variety of the mineral beryl. Its color is usually a light pastel greenish blue. The color of untreated aquamarine is often strongly greenish; heat treatment usually gives it a more bluish appearance. Aquamarine crystals are known to be large in size and relatively clean and well-formed, making them particularly valuable to collectors of mineral specimens.

Morganite

Fun fact: George Kunz, then-Tiffany’s colored stone specialist and a noted gem scholar, named the discovery after J.P. Morgan, an American banker and gem enthusiast.

Pink beryl is known as morganite in the gem trade, or even “pink emerald,” although many in the trade consider the latter term to be misleading. The gem was first discovered in Madagascar in 1911. Strong hues in morganite are rare, and gems usually have to be fairly large to achieve the finest color. Morganite’s color range includes pink, rose, peach and salmon. The gem is almost always heat-treated to improve the pink color. The resulting color is stable and won’t fade.

Which is your favorite red carpet-worthy gemstone option for Spring?

The post Colored Gems at the Oscars: Part 2 appeared first on GIA 4Cs Blog.

Dazzling gemstones lit the red carpet at this year’s 85th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 24^th. Striking gowns enhanced by colored gems topped our list of favorite styles. Bold shades of blue, like those worn by Robin Roberts and Lilly Collins, were flawlessly paired with brilliant blue sapphire jewelry. Here are some interesting facts about sapphires and other blue gems provided by our GIA experts that every colored gemstone lover should know.

Actress Lily Collins wearing an array of beautiful diamond and sapphire jewelry.

Fun fact: The name “sapphire” can apply to corundum of any color (and there are many besides blue, including yellow and pink), as long as it’s not red, which would then likely be qualified as ruby, another corundum variety.

Sapphire

When the trace elements of the mineral species corundum are iron and titanium, the corundum is blue sapphire. It can be a pure blue, but ranges from greenish blue to violet blue.  Only a few hundredths of a percent of iron and titanium can affect the color, and the more iron the corundum contains, the darker the blue.

Russell Shor, GIA’s senior industry analyst, says that blue gems are a constantly evolving trend: “While sapphire will always be popular, high-quality blue sapphire is scarce in the market right now, so tanzanite has regained much of its past popularity for consumers tapping into the trend of vibrant blue gems. In addition, favorably-priced stones such as blue topaz have become in vogue.”

Tanzanite

Fun Fact: Tanzanite is mined commercially only in one area of the world: the Merelani Hills of Tanzania, where it gets its name.

Another magnificent blue gemstone option boasting bold shades of blue is Tanzanite. This gemstone is the blue to violet-purple variety of the mineral zoisite. Its appearance is influenced greatly by its pleochroism, which is the ability of a gemstone to show different colors when viewed in different crystal directions. Tanzanite can be violet blue—similar to a sapphire color—or much more purple. Often, both the violet blue and purplish colors are readily visible in a fashioned stone when it is gently rocked and tilted.

Blue Topaz

Fun fact: Since the 1970s, treatments have brought blue topaz to a broad market.

Blue topaz is an additional blue gemstone alternative. In nature, topaz is most commonly colorless, and naturally strong blue gems are extremely rare. In the marketplace, however, strong blue shades are plentiful because they have been treated with a combination of radiation and heat to produce blue hues in topaz.

Opals and Emeralds

While blue jewels complemented the Oscars’ stunning couture, several A -listers donning blue gowns opted for other spectacular colored gemstone choices. Jenna Deway-Tatum and Jennifer Hudson wore blue gowns completed by white and black opals, which exhibited a magical blue iridescence. Black opals are rare and considered the most valuable opal variation. Learn more about opals.

Isla Fisher in David Webb carved emeralds and diamond drop earrings.

Isla Fisher was stunning in Emerald earrings, which created a striking contract with her deep blue gown. For more information about Emeralds, check out our post ‘How to Wear and Identify Emeralds’.

Which one of these Oscar gemstone looks was your favorite? Please join us tomorrow for the next segment of our two-part series on Oscar jewels!

The post Colored Gems at the Oscars: Part 1 appeared first on GIA 4Cs Blog.

The 300-year-old Spanish Inquisition Necklace in the collection of the Smithsonian National Natural History Museum has 15 emerald beads and more than 360 diamonds. © Chip Clark, Smithsonian Institution.

1947: Katharine Hepburn, Spanish Inquisition Necklace.
Katherine Hepburn wore the Spanish Inquisition Necklace, borrowed from famed jeweler Harry Winston, for the 1947 Academy Awards. Winston purchased the necklace, comprised of 374 diamonds mined in India and 15 Colombian emeralds, from the son of the Maharaja of Indore and named it the Inquisition Necklace because he believed it had once been owned by Spanish royalty.

“In the 16h century Spanish explorers in what is now Colombia plundered emeralds, which had been used in jewelry and for religious ceremonies for hundreds of years. It’s certainly a possibility that this particular piece was once owned by Spanish aristocracy,” said Dona Dirlam, director of GIA’s Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library and Information Center. The necklace is currently on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.

1957: Elizabeth Taylor, The Mike Todd Diamond Tiara
Elizabeth Taylor, then queen of the silver screen, wore an antique (1880) tiara to the 1957 Academy Awards. A gift from her husband, theater and film producer Mike Todd, the tiara featured old Mine cut diamonds mounted in platinum and gold. “Antique cut diamonds can enhance the beauty of an elegant setting. The old Mine cut is generally a cushion shape, with the facet arrangement of the typical brilliant. The lower half facets are much shorter than modern cuts, and there is often a fairly large culet,” said Al Gilbertson, GIA research associate and diamond cut expert.

The tiara was auctioned by Christie’s in December 2011, and realized over $4.2 million. “When the jewels of a celebrity like Elizabeth Taylor come up for auction, the world clamors for a piece of their fame, with resulting prices that often far exceed their gem value. Miss Taylor’s diamond tiara was valued between $60,000 and  $80,000, but sold for much more because collectors around the world furiously competed for this galmorous part of cinematic history,” said Russell Shor, GIA’s senior industry analyst.

Elizabeth Taylor, The Mike Todd Diamond Tiara (C) Getty Images

1999: Whoopi Goldberg, Elizabethian Jewels.
Whoopi Goldberg wore a record-breaking $41 million worth of Elizabethan-style jewels for her opening skit at the 1999 Oscars, the most value ever worn by one person. Goldberg crowned herself  “the African Queen” as a nod to the two actresses nominated for their portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I:  Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth and Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love.

“During Queen Elizabeth’s reign (1558-1603), women often wore multiple necklaces, several rings and the carcanet – a wide collar-like necklace or headband. Valuable metals and gems were often reserved for the upper class and nobility… Whoopi’s jewelry during the 1999 Academy Awards would certainly have received a nod from Elizabeth herself,” said Dona Dirlam, director of GIA’s gemological library and information center.

Whoopi Goldberg, Elizabethian Jewels. (c) Getty Images

Are you looking forward to seeing more spectacular jewelry at this year’s Oscars?  Sound off in the comments!

The post Oscar History: A Look at Noteworthy Jewelry appeared first on GIA 4Cs Blog.