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Diamonds - Diamond Jewellery

Diamond is the hardest mineral known to man. This, combined with its natural lustre, brilliant fire when polished and its rarity make it the most valuable of all gemstones.

Diamonds form under extremes of temperature and pressure at 50miles or more under the Earth's surface. Originally, the main producers were India and Brazil but most of their diamonds came from secondary deposits such as river gravels after the diamonds had been bought to the surface by natural means.

Since the discovery of diamonds in the kimberlite rock in South Africa around 1870, diamonds have been mined much more extensively. Today, diamond mining involves processing huge quantities of rock.

Approximately 250 tons of kimberlite ore must be mined and processed to produce one carat of polished diamond of gem quality. This is partly why diamonds are so expensive, but this is only the start of the process by which the diamond becomes part of a piece of jewellery.

From the mine, the diamonds have to be sorted, cut and polished, adding value to the diamond along each stage of the process. Before these last processes, the rough diamond looks just like a pebble. It is the skill of the diamond cutters and polishers which unlocks the fiery beauty of the diamond.

The beauty of a diamond depends on the way it reflects and refracts light. The best cut stones reflect as much light out of the top of the stone as possible giving it the unmistakable fire and brilliance associated with the most beautiful gemstone on the planet.

Diamond Grading

Diamonds are graded by the four C's; Carat, Cut, Colour and Clarity.

Carat Weight

In simple terms this is the physical weight of the diamond. A one carat diamond will weigh 0.2g. One must be careful however not to confuse carat weight with the size of the diamond, they will be a correlation but it will also depend upon the quality and shape of the cut.

Cut

The cut of a diamond is the factor that is directly influenced by man, it is very important as it can account for around 40% of the diamonds price! The 'cut' refers to the proportions and symmetry of the diamond; something which requires the skills of a highly trained gemstone craftsman, as a poorly cut stone will lack brilliance and fire.

Diamonds need to be cut to perfect proportions to ensure that as much light as possible is reflected out of the top of the stone. A diamond that is cut too deep or too shallow will lose light through the bottom of stone, diminishing its sparkle. It is then the polisher's skill that determines whether its full beauty is released.

There are many different varieties of diamond cut, with some of the standard ones listed below:

• Brilliant Cut
• Princess Cut
• Marquise Cut
• Pear Cut
• Emerald Cut
• Baguette Cut

The most popular cut for diamond rings always has been and always will be the round Brilliant Cut. With fifty seven facets on its surface it provides a fantastic look that never dates. Princess Cut diamonds offer the same sparkling look that round Brilliant Cut diamonds offer but with a slightly more modern square look. Marquise and Pear Cut stones offer a great variation in shape and Emerald and Baguette Cut diamonds exude finesse with their simple look and stunning rectangular, angled look.

Colour

A diamonds colour plays a major part in both its price and its beauty. The colour of diamonds can vary hugely from white (completely colourless) through to strong yellow, it is however very rare that a diamond is found to be totally colourless. The closer a diamond is to being totally colourless the more valuable it becomes, although it can be very difficult to determine the true colour at a glance due to interfering factors such as ambient lighting.

'Fancy' coloured diamonds can also be found such as pink and blue, but these are extremely rare and expensive!

Clarity

Nearly all diamonds contain small flaws or inclusions such as air bubbles, cracks, scratches etc. The majority of inclusions are not visible to the naked eye and require magnification. These flaws may make every diamond unique but the fewer there are the more valuable the diamond.

Other factors which can also affect the value of the diamond are where the inclusions are found and how visible they are - a fissure deep within the diamond will not be as important as one present near the surface for obvious reasons.

Diamond Jewellery

The culmination of these factors can result in stunningly beautiful diamond jewellery such as diamond engagement rings, diamond pendants, and so on.

John Hollins Fine Jewellery stocks a superb range of diamond jewellery of the finest quality. From 18ct gold Diamond Rings to Diamond Pendants, all available at highly competitive prices.

Niche marketing has been around for years, but what many don't realize is how lucrative it can be when applied to a new online business. Many people today are working from home with a niche business. Some are earning thousands of dollars per year, some even millions! There are stay-at-home moms that have etched their way into a small corner of the Internet market to make money online. There are whole families that work from home together selling niche products and services. So, there's definitely room for you!

A niche online Internet business is one that focuses on a very specific, targeted group of people. The customers are looking for a specific type of product or service, and nothing else. Niche marketing doesn't focus on the general audience within certain markets, but gets down to the "nitty gritty" of target audiences. For example, there may be millions of people online that want to start a new online business; however, only about 5,000 of those same people might want to start a mortgage business. Even more specific than that, a couple of thousand might want to specialize in only office building mortgages.

A niche business works like a specialty within a general business field. You will specialize in one or several areas and ignore general marketing. To put it into perspective, think of a brain surgeon, a business check printing company, a laser hair removal specialist, a wedding photographer, a decor lamp retailer, a chocolate-covered strawberries retailer, or a patio construction specialist. These all have a very marketable niche business, and offer no other services or products besides perhaps a few complementary products to go along with their business.

Discovering Your Niche

When choosing a niche business, write down a list of skills you implore and some of your favorite business ideas. Use online resources to research business possibilities, and find those that you have the ability to do. You might also sign on with a company that can help you get started with a niche business. Such a company can provide the start-up website and tools you need to make money online.

Find a niche that is growing in popularity, not diminishing. Look for opportunities that have not saturated the Internet already, but are in great demand within your field. This will allow you to enter the market without fighting thousands of competitors.

Promoting Your Niche Business

To promote an online Internet business, especially a niche, you must first find out who is your target customer. Ask yourself, "What would my customers type into the search engines to find my products or services?" Or, "What else might my target customers buy on the Web?" You need to know where your customers are and how you can reach them in the most cost-efficient way.

Once you gather needful information about your target audience, you'll need to do the most difficult part - ignore the masses! Target only your specific group when marketing, and no one else. You'd rather have 1,000 potential buyers than 30,000 people who are not even remotely interested in your products. Promote to bring results, not lots of visitors.

Find a mentor for your niche online Internet business. A mentor can help you avoid pitfalls, and also help you build and make money on the Internet with effective tools and resources that would normally take you months or years to discover. You can seek out business opportunities online easily to find the niche that's right for you. Once you find an appropriate niche, it's time to start earning that extra income or full-time salary from home that you've always dreamed of!

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Learn more about Niche - Make Money on the Internet or Majon's Business and Entrepreneurs directory.