Katherines Jewelry.com Blog

Where Diamonds Come From

2012-03-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

120 million carats of Diamonds are mined each year. There are currently two methods of mining diamonds: Alluvial Mining and Pipe Mining. The Alluvial mining method is done on beaches and in riverbeds. When using this method, the water and sand on the bank are held back with man made walls, or a bulldozer is used to move the beach until the level of earth containing diamonds is reached. The diamonds are not sorted right there, instead the sand that has the diamonds in it is loaded into trucks and taken to screening plants.

With pipe mining, the diamonds are extracted from the earth through volcanic pipes. These pipes are natural - not man made. Shanks are put in the ground next to these pipes, and then tunnels are driven into the deepest parts of the pipe. Using this method, gigantic rocks that are full of diamonds are taken out of the mine and then moved to screening plants for sorting.

There are many diamond mines in operation around the world. Some of the major ones include:
The worlds largest diamond mine is Orapa which is located 240 Km west of Francistown. This mine is owned by a partnership between the government of Botswana and DeBeers named "Debswana". The mine operates 7 days a week and is the oldest one owned by Debswana. It offers schools for its employee's children as well as a hospital and game park. Orapa began production in 1971.

The Argye mine I slocated in the Kimberley region in Western Australia. Owned by Rio Tinto, this mine has the distinction of being the world's largest single producer of volume of diamonds. Unfortunately there is a low proportion of gem quality diamonds so it is not the value leader. It does, however, produce 90-95% of the world's supply of pink diamonds.

Diavik is another mine owned by Rio Tinto and located in Canada. It is on an island north of Yellowknife and south of the Artic Circle. The island, connected by an ice road is an important part of the regions economy and employs more than 700 people. This mine produces more than 8 million carats annually.

Ekati diamond mine is located south of the artic circle in the Northwest Territories of Canada and owned by BHP Billiton. The Ekati is Canada's first operational diamond mine and the diamonds are sold under the Aurias trade name.

The Baken diamond mine is located in South Africa along the lower Orange River. It is owned and operated by Trans Hex. The average size stone for 2004 was 1.29 carats. In 2004, this mine produced a 78.9 carat D color flawless diamond that sold for more than 1.8 million dollars (US), as well as a 27.67 pink diamond that was sold for over 1 million US dollars.

The largest diamond ever was produced by the Premier mine in Cullinan, South Africa in 1905. Named The Cullinan Diamond it weighed a whopping 3,106.75 carats. This same mine also produced the Golden Jubilee diamond which weighed in at 545.67 carats. In 2003, this mine, owned by De Beers was renamed The Cullinan Diamond Mine.

Cleaning Cubic Zirconia Jewelry

2012-02-02T03:39:00.000-08:00

Cleaning Cubic Zirconia Jewelry is fairly easy. Cubic Zirconia gems nned to be cleaned to maintain their brilliance. Many things can dull the gem like body lotion, perfune, hairspray, perspiration or everyday wear.

A convenient way to clean your Cubic Zirconia Jewelry is to use a small brushing device with small bristles. Most likely a toothbrush, along with warm to hot water, mixed with mild dishwashing detergent such as Joy. Brush well to remove any scum buildup. Pat dry with a clean cloth. Don't expose your Cubic Zirconia Jewelry to abrasive substances such as household chemicals. Bleach, Amonia, Clorinated Water can damage you jewelry.

If you can't remove the dirt from your Cubic Zirconia Jewelry, take it to a jeweler where they can give it a high pressure steam clean.

Looking for Jewelry? Stop by Katherines Jewelry for all your jewelry needs. Here is the link.www.katherinesjewelry.com

Earring Joke

2012-01-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year. I heard an interesting Joke involving Jewelry and thought I would share with you guys.

Being the most conservative guy at work, when Jo walked in the office sporting his new diamond studded hoop earring, he made quite a scene. A colleague approached him to try and question him about his unexpected fashion statement. "Don't make such a big deal out of it!", said Jo, "It's just a diamond earring!". The colleague continued: "I'm just curious to know what made you decide to pierce your ear?". Jo replied: "The fact that my wife accidently found the earring in our bed."

History Of Rings

2011-11-30T14:16:00.001-08:00

I thought I would enlighten you guys with a little History of Rings. Once again this article is going to be short. I would like to see your comments. Please comment below.

During the medievil period all classes wore rings. Rings were typically made of iron, copper, silver, and gold. The material of the ring worn usually indicated the class of the wearer. It wasn't until around the 14th century that faceted jewels appeared in rings. Native Americans use silver and turquoise in their jewelry. Early Christians used the Greek symbol, the Icthus, which resembles a fish.

Rings are used for many reasons. The first one is adornment. There are rings given as a reward for a job well done such as the Super Bowl victory. They are given to represent commitment as in engagements and marriages. Women religious to signify their commitment to God also wear rings.

Rings can be made of almost any material now. They can be made from plastic, silver, gold, or copper, even wood. They can be made of ceramic materials as well. They can be of simple design or something as intricate as filigree. There are school rings, engagement rings, wedding rings, friendship rings and mothers rings (usually the birthstones of her children set on a band. The price range of rings can be anywhere from fifty cents (usually found in the toy machines you see in stores) to thousands of dollars and more or even higher

Choosing the Right Ring

2011-10-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog entry. It will be short and sweet.

We can be very picky when it comes to picking out jewelry. I would like to give some advice about choosing the right type of ring. Many people look at rings without considering their hands, fingers and comfort. Look at your hands. If you have big hands you might get a solid ring. If you have small thin hands go for the Celtic bands. If you have short fingers try a thinner band. I know this advice is short but I hope this helps. Don't forget http://www.katherinesjewelry.com/ has many different rings to chose from. Here are some examples below