schwanke-kasten.com Archives | Schwanke Kasten

20 Nov

Green Diamonds | Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers

Gemologists rank green diamonds as among the most rare of the naturally colored diamonds. These marvelously beautiful and unique diamonds have been exposed to cosmic radiation over its million year formation. Other colored diamonds tend to have an additional element such as hydrogen as an inclusion. Please note, holding a green diamond will not make your finger fall off as the radioactive half-life has long since passed by the time it has been found. Diamonds with the natural colors of green, blue or red account for less that 0.07% of all diamonds examined by the GIA.

Green Diamond Formation

As we mentioned before, green diamonds form due to radioactive materials being present during its formation. Moreover, these materials could be uranium or thorium. Geologist have concluded that radiation penetrates the diamond crystal and can knock electrons or carbon atoms out of the specific crystal lattice. This often appears as a shallow “green” skin on the outside of the diamond, but uniform green throughout the diamond can exist although it is much rarer.

Furthermore, because electrons and carbon atoms are displaced in the crystal lattice, the way light enters and is refracted is affected. Hence the green portion of the visible color spectrum is reflected while the rest are absorbed and gives the diamond that appearance.

Additionally, diamonds can also have structural defects due to the presence of nitrogen, hydrogen or nickel atoms that may give the diamond its green appearance. However, natural irradiation is much more common.

Fancy Color Scale:

As for all natural colored diamonds, they follow a similar color grading scale: faint green, very light green, light green, fancy light green, fancy green and fancy intense, vivid and deep. For green diamonds, the more intense, vivid or deep the natural color is, the more expensive the stone is.

Diamond cutting:

As we mentioned before, often times green diamond color is very shallow, so this presents diamond cutters with a problem. How to maximize the natural green color in an exceptionally rare diamond.

Famous Green Diamonds

In fact, Christie’s Auction sold the Aurora Green diamond in 2016 for $16.2 million. The sale made it the most expensive green diamond as well as the largest Fancy Vivid Natural Green Diamond.

At Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers, we pride ourselves on being South Eastern Wisconsin’s go-to jewelry store for all natural diamond jewelry. Stop by our beautiful Whitefish Bay location just north of Milwaukee to see our beautiful selection of diamond necklaces, rings, and bracelets! Additionally, Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers also carries GIA certified diamond engagement rings.

02 Aug

Marquise Diamonds

One of the most unique and definitive engagement ring diamond cuts are marquise diamonds. Jewelers and fans also refer to marquise cuts as football cuts, cat-eye cuts and boat cuts because of the highly elongated elliptical shape. This 58 faceted diamond cut is actually a vintage style and looks great on long, slender fingers. Furthermore, this romantic cut breathes an aristocratic air and carries a royal pedigree.

According to the legend, marquise diamonds date back to the 18^th century where “King Louis XV commissioned a jewelry to design a diamond cut that resembled the lips of Jean Antoinette Poisson, his mistress”. Furthermore, these diamonds also signify a rank just below duke, where individuals would actually wear these diamonds to signify said rank.

Additionally, gemologist originally design marquise cuts for diamonds, however jewelers now use these cuts with emeralds, rubies and sapphires.

Custom Marquise Diamond Engagement Ring by Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers

Marquise Diamonds – TIPS

Marquise cuts are a fairly extreme cut when it comes to diamond cuts, so they are susceptible to chipping, so you may want to look for a mounting with protective prongs along the ends of the diamond.
A higher cut grade is important for the marquise diamond. Typically, elongated shapes tend to form a bow tie effect in the middle of the stone. Additionally, the symmetry of marquise cuts are very important.
One noticeable benefit is that marquise cuts tend to make the center stone look larger.

Do you like marquise diamonds? You know who else does too? Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, Ashley Simpson and THE Catherine Zeta Jones.

Ashlee Simpson Marquise Diamond Engagement Ring

At Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers, we can create the perfect marquise diamond (or other precious gemstone) engagement ring. Additionally, stop by our Whitefish Bay or Milwaukee location to talk with our in-house gemologist.

15 Mar

Diamond Halo Engagement Rings

Simply put we love diamond halo engagement rings! The added sparkle and light play are indescribable with words! In fact, diamond halo engagement rings are the second most popular style of engagement rings, behind solitaire rings.

History

In fact, halo rings can be traced back to the Georgian era in Europe (1714-1837), where round diamonds and pearls were surrounded by smaller stones. During the Victorian era (1837 – 1901) the style grew even more popular with the rise of colored gemstones as engagement rings. Finally the modern sense of a halo ring arose during the Art Deco Movement.

Benefits

Aside from adding additional fire, sparkle and light play, the biggest benefit of a diamond halo engagement ring is to enhance the size of the center stone. This benefit is a great way to stretch your engagement ring budget!

Milwaukee Diamond Halo Engagement Rings

At Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers, we have a full range of semi-mounted engagement rings as well as ready to go ones! Additionally, we are also able to fully customize an engagement ring to your liking! Here are a couple of our favorites!

martin flyer diamond halo engagement rings

Classic Round Halo Engagement Ring

Accentuated by 41 micropave set diamonds in a halo and on the shanks, this round brilliant cut, 0.71 carat, I color, SI2 clarity diamond center stone is a thing of beauty! Beautifully made by Martin Flyer as a part of their FlyerFit range, this ring is set in 14k white gold and sized as a 6.5. The suggested retail is $5000, including the center stone.

Rahaminov Cushion-Cut Engagement Ring

World-reknowned diamond jewelers, Rahaminov consistently create remarkibly beautiful diamond jewelry. This stunning cushion-cut brilliant engagement ring from Rahaminov is almost as beautiful as your true love! Additionally, the GIA certified center stone is 2.01 carats, F color and SI1 clarity. Accompanying the center stone is a melody of diamonds totaling 0.64 carats that form a halo and continue down the shanks. Furthermore, the designer set the ring in platinum and in a size 5. Moreover, this ring is valued at $43,575.

Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers' in-house Marquise Cut Diamond Engagement Ring

SK Marquise Diamond Engagement Ring

We especially enjoy unique engagement rings, which is why we created this gorgeous one-of-a-kind engagement ring , set in 18K white gold, has a Marquise center diamond with 1.57 carat weight, D color and SI1 clarity. Additionally, the side diamonds have a 1.43 total carat weight. Valued at $16,500.

Pear Cut Engagement Ring by Martin Flyer

Pear Cut Halo Engagement Ring

Recently, a lot of celebrities (i.e. Paris Hilton and Cardi B) have been opting for the ever-fashionable pear cut engagement rings. Furthermore, this Martin Flyer ring mounted in 14k white gold, the center stone is 0.70 carats, E color and SI2 clarity. Moreover, the designer set 38 micropave diamonds around the ring. Valued at $5,000. Price includes center stone and sized as a 6.5.

Schwanke-Kasten in Whitefish Bay and Milwaukee

Stop by Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers in Milwaukee and Whitefish Bay today to explore our wide range of beautiful and unique diamond engagement rings. Additionally, our highly trained sales team is eager to make this as enjoyable and personalized as possible!

01 Aug

New Website – New Brands & New Look

After 15 years, Schwanke-Kasten will be launching a new website. Our goal is to provide you with the best and most convenient online shopping experience, which is what this new website will allow us to do. In addition, we’ve expanded our selection of jewelry designers with exclusive selections from Graymoor Lane Designs, Dilamani, Platinum Born and FOPE.

In the bottom right corner, there is now a click to chat/text function. The function will allow us to answer your questions in real-time (during business hours). We’ve added better mobile functionality to accommodate the increasing trend of mobile searches. In addition, we’ve improved our jewelry filters to allow you to search by stone, purity, and metal color.

We hope you enjoy our new website and the updated Schwanke-Kasten experience. As always, should you have any special requests, please let us know.

Schwanke Kasten - Wedding Rings

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