Diamonds are a transparent mineral, composed of carbon. The mineral is the hardest mineral known, and the word diamond comes from the Greek word adamas, which means invincible. Diamonds are naturally made and the value is measured by the 4 c’s - and sometimes also 5 c’s:
And finally some talk also about:
The first diamond was found in India more than 3000 years ago and the precious stone has since then become the preferred and most expensive of the jewellery stones.
Gold is a chemical element (Au). Pure gold is a very soft material, so when gold is used for jewellery it is often alloyed with other materials. The value and the purity of gold are calculated in carats. Gold without alloys is named 24 carats, while other gold jewellery is often described in:
The alloy are typical made with materials like silver or copper. A greater quantity of silver, palladium and nickel makes white gold while major use of copper makes rose gold.
Silver is also an element (Ag), a popular jewellery material after alloying it to sterling silver or 830 silver. Sterling silver consists of 92.5% pure silver, and 7.5% other materials - typically copper. The alloy makes silver harder and gives it a lower melting point, so it is easier to process.
Other silver alloys can be britannia silver or argentium-sterling silver.
