Daniel Grunberger

There are a lot of factors that go into producing a great diamond, and while looks are obviously important, diamond transparency and traceability are just as crucial.

The diamond industry has a long and storied history, and unfortunately it hasn’t always been known for ethical practices. Consumers however want to know where the diamonds they are purchasing came from and how they were sourced. Jewelers who cannot answer these questions—or who cannot answer them in a satisfactory way—are going to lose these valued customers to those who can provide answers.

Here’s what you should know about transparency and traceability in the diamond industry, including why it’s an essential consideration to keep in mind when you purchase diamonds for your jewelry business.

The Importance of Working with Ethical Diamond Companies

At Grunberger Diamonds, ethics have always been a top concern. We provide melee diamonds for sale that come from areas where ethical sourcing is of the utmost importance. This means that we don’t source our diamonds from places like Russia where civil and environmental rights violations are par for the course, and that we provide our buyers with eco-friendly diamonds delivered on time, with the right specifications, and at a great price.

We are proud members of the Responsible Jewelry Council, which has established standards that promote better, fairer jewelry sourcing practices. As RJC members, we are accountable to the council’s codes of conduct, and have made a commitment to sourcing diamonds in a sustainable manner. This ensures that our buyers can get what they need without violating their own principles or the principles of their clientele.

Diamond Traceability and Transparency in a Changing World

Even the most beautiful of diamonds can have a backstory that is less than pretty. This may include human rights violations or violence against the environment. It may also mean sourcing from countries where these practices are accepted both within the diamond industry and outside of it.

Traceability is a way for buyers and their clients to know how each diamond got from earth to store, and answers a number of key questions that matter for diamond ethics. This includes:

• Where diamonds were mined
• How diamonds were transported
• How far the diamonds traveled
• How the diamonds were evaluated for quality

By getting more insight into the supply chain, buyers are able to trace the journey of their diamonds and pass that knowledge onto their customers. They also get transparency into the sourcing process and peace of mind that they are not supporting manufacturers or an industry that is contributing to abuses of humans, animals, or the planet.

Today’s jewelry buyers are more informed than ever about the impact of the industry, and they have high expectations when it comes to who they buy from. By prioritizing traceability and transparency, you help bridge the informational gap and give your customers confidence in their jewelry purchases. You also do your own part to support a diamond industry that’s rooted in ethics and sustainability—and that helps ensure eco-conscious diamond mining for many generations to come.

Do You Know Where Your Diamonds Come From?

Jewelers who partner with ethical diamond companies help amplify the importance of diamond transparency and traceability, raising the standards for the industry and providing their customers with pieces they can love for all the right reasons.

Grunberger Diamonds is a leading diamond manufacturer and supplier, and we offer ethically-sourced melee diamonds with the highest level of quality and precision to business owners in the jewelry industry. Learn more about our services, and contact our team for one-on-one guidance and information on getting started and opening an account. You can also easily request a quote online.

In the world of jewelry, melee diamonds are proof that the size of a stone doesn’t count for everything when determining the quality of a piece.

Melee diamonds are one of the most popular types of diamonds that a jeweler works with, even if they don’t always get the same focus as the larger centerpiece stones. Despite their smaller size however, it’s essential that they’re ideal cut, with perfect ratios that highlight their beauty and lend extra sparkle to the piece at large.

So, what are melee diamonds and why is their cut so important? Here’s what all jewelers—and all jewelry buyers—need to know.

What are Melee Diamonds?

Melee diamonds are tiny diamonds sized anywhere from 0.001 carats to 0.2 carats. They’re often used as ornamental stones around a centerpiece diamond or other gemstone, or as the primary stones encircling an infinity band. You’ll often find melee diamonds encircling larger diamonds as part of halo and channel settings.

Although they’re the smallest diamonds that you can buy, melee diamonds undergo the same cutting process as larger stones. In fact, a melee diamond is similar in all ways to a larger diamond, with the number of carats serving as the only difference. As such, jewelers need to make sure that their melee diamonds are produced with an ideal cut, just as they do for their large diamonds. Failure to do so will result in melee diamonds that are lacking in sparkle and shine, and can greatly reduce the overall quality and value of a piece.

Ideal Cut Diamonds of All Sizes

All diamonds have four main features: cut, carats, color, and clarity. Melee diamonds, which are small in carats, still must excel in cut, color, and clarity in order to be of the highest quality. Jewelers who recognize this make sure that their customers are getting the very best piece for the price that they’re paying—and that these ornamental stones stand out for all of the right reasons.

Melee diamonds can be single cut (17 to 18 facets) or full cut (57 to 58 facets). And like any other size and shape of diamond, they can also be ideal cut, meaning they’re cut with perfect precision to achieve just the right angles for maximum sparkle. When we talk about the best melee diamonds, we’re almost always referring to ideal, full cut diamonds that are crafted with all of the proportional accuracy that we expect out of larger stones.

A diamond is an investment, regardless of its size. Therefore, jewelers who want the best for their customers understand the importance of ideal cut melee diamonds, and go above and beyond to ensure that every single stone is worthy of inclusion on a piece.

Learn About Our Melee Diamond Prices and More

Melee diamonds may serve a supporting role, but they still have to be perfect. As a leading diamond manufacturer and supplier, our team at Grunberger Diamonds is committed to providing all business owners in the jewelry industry with the ultimate quality and precision in every diamond that we cut. Our ideal cut melee diamonds are available for purchase, with care taken to ensure that each stone is a cut above what you’ll find elsewhere.

Please visit our service page to learn more about what we can do for your business, and head to our homepage for further information on getting started and opening an account. While you’re browsing, feel free to contact us with any questions, or request a quote and get the top-tier wholesale diamonds that you need to create truly awe-inspiring jewelry for your customers.

Whether you’re a novice or an expert in gemology, people love knowing what makes a diamond sparkle—and determining whether or not that sparkle is real, or fake. Diamonds are the most sought after gem on earth, and nothing is quite as brilliant as their shine. However, achieving this brilliance is entirely dependent on the cut itself, and a gem that elegantly reflects light is a sure sign of expert craftsmanship. Still, with the amount of synthetic and faux diamonds floating around the market, which can often look the part as the real thing, it’s always the right move to take it a step further, and know the signs between a real diamond sparkle vs. a fake one.

Real Diamond Sparkle vs. Fake

To properly analyze the difference between a real diamond sparkle vs. a fake, let’s start with a little bit of science. What makes a diamond sparkle comes down to the cut, and the way a beam of light reflects off of a gem. When a beam of light hits a diamond, its speed slows down significantly more than in the air, and this difference of speed bends the light into various rainbows of color and streaks of brilliance. The sparkle you see when looking at a diamond is merely a reflection of this light, and those dark spots you see… well chances are that’s your own reflection blocking some of the light. So, how do we tell the difference?

Perhaps the easiest way to determine a real diamond sparkle vs. a fake is to have it surveyed by an expert, who should easily be able to tell the difference. However, many at-home diamond sparkle tests exist to help you determine the legitimacy of a gem without the need for professional help. These tests can be completed with minor inconvenience and at little cost, and most of the time are extremely accurate if performed correctly. Some of these tests include:

• Diamond Sparkle Test – The way a stone reflects and refracts light is a good indication of its authenticity. Since this natural light refraction cannot be altered, you should look for shades of gray in your sparkle analysis. If your stone is reflecting an array of iridescent colors, it most likely is synthetic.
• Sandpaper Test – For this test, simply rub the gritty side of a piece of sandpaper against the stone in question. Since diamonds are one of the world’s hardest materials, a real diamond will not be affected by this scratching. However, a fake diamond will show signs of wear.
• Read-through Test – This is a simple test that only calls for a piece of paper with readable black text. To perform, turn your stone upside down, and look through the upturned diamond to attempt to read the words. If the diamond is real, it will be impossible to see or read any of the text. If it’s fake, you will be able to make out the words to some extent, or read it completely.
• Water Test – All you need to do is here is place your diamond in a cup of water. If it sinks, it’s real, as diamonds have an incredibly high density. If it floats either at the top or somewhere in the middle, it very likely is fake.

What Diamond Cut Sparkles the Most?

The various types of diamond cuts have a large role to play in how well a diamond sparkles, and even the slightest difference in cut can bring massive changes to the shine and elegance. Two of the main cut styles that produce this sparkle include brilliant cut and step cut. A brilliant cut is where angular facets radiate out from a center point, and will most of the time be more sparkly than their counterpart. Step cuts, which have long, rectangular facets arranged in a square or rectangular fashion, have a more subtle, sophisticated flash. 

Hearts and Arrows diamonds also have a particularly brilliant shine. For this diamond cut, it has a particular cut pattern of faceting that you can see reflected in a diamond’s light return with a special scope, appearing in the shapes of hearts and arrows. These are among the most difficult cuts to achieve, and truly create a brilliant sparkle often unmatched with others.

Grunberger Diamonds

Grunberger Diamonds is the world’s producer of ideal cut diamonds, with over four generations of passionate precision that make our ideal cut diamonds pure perfection. Our Grunberger Precision Cut® diamonds are available in more than 40 different qualities, including Melee cut and other brilliant shines.

Our precision cut diamond services also extend to Hearts and Arrows, a unique cut considered among the hardest to achieve in the industry. Since these exclusive diamonds take three times longer to craft and much greater skill than other cuts, Grunberger Diamonds is proud to bring our experience and expertise, and maintain a commitment to excellence and precision in creating Hearts and Arrows diamonds along with our other services.

As a top-tier diamond service company, we provide personalized service by taking the time to understand each customer’s needs. With four sales offices across the world, our diamonds are delivered to each customer in the most efficient and safest way. 

If you’re interested in the ideal cut for your diamond, contact Grunberger Diamonds today to request a quote, or for any information regarding our products and services.