Shenoa & Co Diamond Grades For All Budgets

By Author: Michael Price
Total Articles: 114
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In business since 1980, the diamond and fine jewelry online retailer, Shenoa & Co, knows its business. This means that people who buy Shenoa diamonds and diamond jewelry can be confident that they are getting exactly what the company says they are getting. Unfortunately, there are many disreputable jewelers who try to pass off diamonds as being higher grade than they actually are. Shenoa & Co, however, are backed by this company's reputation, which it has built over the years through honesty and reliable in doing business. The jewelers who work for this company are well trained, and the customer service representatives are knowledgeable and helpful. From the buyers who are constantly looking for the best deals to representatives who help customers customize their jewelry, the expertise in this company shines through.

Diamonds can come in many different grades, and grade is part of what determines how expensive they are. Though Shenoa & Co always have to meet a certain standard, these standards can differ according to the grade. To help meet the needs of customers who are working with different budgets, Shenoa ...
... & Co makes sure that they can provide diamonds in a wide variety of price ranges. In order to do so, they first have their diamonds evaluated, graded and certified by independent laboratories. This is an important part of ensuring that the diamonds they sell are the grades that they say they are. When a diamond is appraised, it should not be by a retailer's in-house appraiser. This can set the stage for bias. Shenoa makes sure that all of the grading and appraising of its diamonds are done objectively.

About Gemstones:

Gemstones

A large trade in gem-grade diamonds exists. Unlike precious metals such as gold or platinum, gem diamonds do not trade as a commodity: there is a substantial mark-up in the retail sale of diamonds. Contrary to popular belief, there is a well-established market for resale of polished diamonds (e.g. pawnbroking, auctions, second-hand jewellery stores, diamantaires, bourses, etc.). One hallmark of the trade in gem-quality diamonds is its remarkable concentration: wholesale trade and diamond cutting is limited to just a few locations. 92% of diamond pieces cut in 2003 were in Surat, Gujarat, India. Other important centers of diamond cutting and trading are Antwerp, where the International Gemological Institute is based, London, New York, Tel Aviv, and Amsterdam. A single company—De Beers—controls a significant proportion of the trade in diamonds. They are based in Johannesburg, South Africa and London, England. One contributory factor is the geological nature of diamond deposits: several large primary kimberlite-pipe mines each account for significant portions of market share (such as the Jwaneng mine in Botswana, which is a single large pit operated by De Beers that can produce between 12.5 to 15 million carats of diamonds per year), whereas secondary alluvial diamond deposits tend to be fragmented amongst many different operators because they can be dispersed over many hundreds of square kilometres (e.g. alluvial deposits in Brazil).

The production and distribution of diamonds is largely consolidated in the hands of a few key players, and concentrated in traditional diamond trading centers. The most important being Antwerp, where 80% of all rough diamonds, 50% of all cut diamonds and more than 50% of all rough, cut and industrial diamonds combined are handled.[citation needed] This makes Antwerp the de facto 'world diamond capital'. New York, however, along with the rest of the United States, is where almost 80% of the world's diamonds are sold, including auction sales. Also, the largest and most unusually shaped rough diamonds end up in New York.[citation needed] The De Beers company, as the world's largest diamond miner holds a clearly dominant position in the industry, and has done so since soon after its founding in 1888 by the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes. De Beers owns or controls a significant portion of the world's rough diamond production facilities (mines) and distribution channels for gem-quality diamonds. The company and its subsidiaries own mines that produce some 40 percent of annual world diamond production. At one time it was thought over 80 percent of the world's rough diamonds passed through the Diamond Trading Company (DTC, a subsidiary of De Beers) in London, but presently the figure is estimated at around 40 percent.[32] De Beers sold off the vast majority its diamond stockpile in the late 1990s - early 2000s[33] and the remainder largely represents working stock (diamonds that are being sorted before sale). This was well documented in the press but remains little known to the general public.

The De Beers diamond advertising campaign is acknowledged as one of the most successful and innovative campaigns in history. N. W. Ayer & Son, the advertising firm retained by De Beers in the mid-20th century, succeeded in reviving the American diamond market and opened up new markets, even in countries where no diamond tradition had existed before. N.W. Ayer's multifaceted marketing campaign included product placement, advertising the diamond itself rather than the De Beers brand, and building associations with celebrities and royalty. This coordinated campaign has lasted decades and continues today; it is perhaps best captured by the slogan "a diamond is forever".
Further down the supply chain, members of The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) act as a medium for wholesale diamond exchange, trading both polished and rough diamonds. The WFDB consists of independent diamond bourses in major cutting centres such as Tel Aviv, Antwerp, Johannesburg and other cities across the USA, Europe and Asia.

In 2000, the WFDB and The International Diamond Manufacturers Association established the World Diamond Council to prevent the trading of diamonds used to fund war and inhumane acts.

WFDB's additional activities also include sponsoring the World Diamond Congress every two years, as well as the establishment of the International Diamond Council (IDC) to oversee diamond grading.
Shenoa & Co is the internet's premier destination for jewelry and diamonds. Shenoa & Co knows high quality.