Beauty of Gems
Although it is not one of the 4 Cs, cleanliness affects a diamond's beauty as much as any of the 4 C's (cut, carat, colour, clarity).
A clean diamond is more brilliant and fiery than the same diamond when it is "dirty". Dirt or grease on the top of a diamond reduces its lustre. Water, dirt, or grease on the bottom of a diamond interferes with the diamond's brilliance and fire. Even a thin film absorbs some light that could have been reflected to the person looking at the diamond.
Coloured dye or smudges can affect the perceived colour of a gem. Historically, some jewellers' diamonds were misgraded due to smudges on the girdle, or dye on the culet. Current practice is to thoroughly clean a gem before grading its colour as well as clarity.
Cleanliness does not affect the jewellery's market value, as jewellers routinely clean jewellery before offering it for sale. However, cleanliness might reflect the jewellery's sentimental value.
Read more about this topic: Jewellery Cleaning
Famous quotes containing the words beauty of, beauty and/or gems:
“Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell in written words. They are the hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all men for the beauty of the character, though few can decypher even fragments of their meaning.”
—Lydia M. Child (1802–1880)
“Since art is the expression of beauty and beauty can be understood only in the form of the material elements of the true idea it contains, art has become almost uniquely feminine. Beauty is woman, and also art is woman.”
—Rémy De Gourmont (1858–1915)
“Rich and rare were the gems she wore,
And a bright gold ring on her hand she bore.”
—Thomas Moore (1779–1852)