Asscher, princess, brilliant, emerald; flawless, colorless - there are many descriptors that make diamonds the most intriguing of all gemstones. Four C’s - color, cut, clarity and carat - define each piece.  Every natural diamond is hundreds of millions to two billion years old. Cutting styles have changed over the centuries as technology advanced, and the styles continue to evolve: when a new interesting rough stone is discovered today, expert cutters can take a year or more to plot the final outcome.

Estate jewelers seek out Old Mine and Old European cuts, which are the styles in which round diamonds were cut pre- 1900s. These styles feature a higher table and larger culet, and are now scarce compared to today’s more popular brilliant cut.

Diamonds are 58 times harder than any other material on earth. As the hardest gem, they are the only stone with a 10 on the Mohs scale of hardness, and they are the only gem made of one element only, being 99.95% carbon. If trace elements are present, they are not essential to the diamond's composition and may alter color or formation.

Diamonds were first discovered and traded in India around 400 BC. Stones were found by the riverbeds and were quickly idolized for their beauty before even being cut. Indian diamonds were taken on the trade route by caravan to Europe, where they were traded until Medieval times. As finds became scarcer and demand grew in the higher social echelons, Brazil became an important source for the ensuing 150 years.

In the 1860s, the first diamond was discovered in a South African farmer’s field. Cecil Rhodes then began mining and commercializing diamonds, beginning the De Beers company which controlled around 90% of the world’s diamond market for many decades - and introduced the famous and memorable marketing slogan “Diamonds are forever”.

A natural diamond is formed under extreme heat and pressure about 100 miles under the earth’s surface. Its name originates from the Greek word Adamas, which means invincible or unbreakable. As the hardest material on earth, a diamond can only be scratched by another diamond. Graphite is also composed of only carbon, but its differences lie in the arrangement of the carbon elements: diamonds have a tight grid in all directions, whereas graphite’s grid is only in one direction.

The best quality diamond one can ask has several qualities: “D color” meaning it is absolutely devoid of any color; “IF clarity” meaning it is Internally Flawless with no inclusions; excellent cut meaning perfect symmetry, and, of course, carat meaning the size (weight) of the stone.

Diamonds that have another distinct color are referred to as “fancy vivid”. These are often yellow, blue, or pink (from Argyle mine in Australia). Other colors, such as red or green, are extremely rare. You may also find shades of yellow or brown diamonds described as champagne or cognac.

When purchasing a diamond, look for brilliance - how the light plays and reflects the stone, showing pinks, greens, and blues. Diamonds are wondrous, enhancing any piece of jewelry and suiting everyone.

Emerald is one of the few gemstones whose name is also used as a color: Emerald green, the Emerald Isle… its color makes you think of the beautiful greens of spring and represents renewal. Some even feel that emeralds define green.

Emerald is part of the beryl family, and therefore shares characteristics with aquamarine and morganite. Emerald is one of the three most important gems alongside ruby and sapphire, due to the saturation and vividness of the stone’s color. The first qualitative factor of emerald is color, followed by clarity and cut. Emerald is the only one of these three stones in which visible inclusions or surface reaching breaks are an expected and acceptable state of the stone. Emeralds with excellent color and few inclusions are rare, making them significantly more expensive. It is common practice to “fracture fill” an emerald, which means the fissure is filled with a substance (usually a resin, wax, or polymer) that improves the look and durability of the stone.

Emerald comes from the Greek word Smaragdos, meaning the color green. Emeralds were first discovered in Egypt, where Cleopatra collected them. They were believed to enhance wisdom and to have healing powers, as well as to improve eyesight.

Today, the finest emeralds come from Colombia and have a deep green or bluish green hue. Other important sources are Brazil, Zambia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Faceted stones are often cut in an emerald step-cut, as the elongated column of this cut shows color well.

Classic and timeless, emerald jewelry is always elegant and admired.

Ruby is one of the most coveted gem stones, its deep red color is mesmerizing and jewelry featuring this stone creates an elegant piece of art.

Both ruby and sapphire are a variety of the mineral “corundum”. Both stones are composed of aluminum oxide, and are the second hardest gemstone after diamond. All other gemstones fall below 9 on the Moh’s scale of hardness. To be called a ruby, the stone must have a dominant red hue, though it can have hints of pink, orange, or purple as a secondary color. Blue corundum is called sapphire. Fine examples of rubies will often command higher prices than many other rare and beautiful gemstones.

The red hue of ruby comes from the presence of chromium oxide. The more chromium, the redder the stone will be; and, the redder the stone, the higher the value. Finding a well- saturated, vivid red ruby is rare. The most desirable rubies were mined in a region of Burma (now Myanmar) called Mogok. Stones were found in that region as early as the Stone Age and the mine has since been depleted and it closed around the 1980s.

The finest red color has been referred to as ‘pigeon blood’ red. The Swiss gemologist, Edward Gubelin, was quoted as clarifying this description as “the hue of the first two drops of blood which appear in the nostrils of a freshly shot pigeon”. Rubies are also found and mined in other parts of Burma, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Thailand, Vietnam, Madagascar and East Africa.

Since ancient times the ruby has been associated with passion, the life force, health, fortitude. Warriors believed it could make them invincible in battle.

Jewelry featuring rubies look beautiful in both white and yellow gold and often are enhanced by smaller white accent diamonds. Art Deco pieces made out of platinum in fine geometric patterns with rubies and diamonds are exquisite as are more modern styles where rubies are set in heavy yellow gold.