FEATURE
ANTIQUE JEWELRY COLLECTING:
PEARLS ABOUT DIAMONDS AND GOLD
AUTHOR Ken Henderson, MD
B
y way of introduction, I have only one
disclosure. I have no credentials on
this subject. The reader of this article
simply will be exposed to my best
effort to communicate what I have
learned on my own, or was taught the
hard way, over the past several years.
However, I cannot resist one bit of important
medical advice: If you are wearing any type of
ring that is too small, please have it sized. Sizing is easily done in
trained hands, is not expensive, will increase the value of the piece,
and may save unnecessary finger damage.
First, we will debunk the well-respected myth that diamonds are
rare. The only rare diamonds are nearly white and over one carat.
The supply of the rest is well controlled and diamonds last forever.
The good news is that the earth is still making diamonds. The bad
news is that it takes a diamond about 2 million years to surface.
Included diamonds do not contain coal, but poorly formed double
bonded carbon particles. The diamonds in use today were formed
before the earth’s vegetation.
Gold on the other hand is rare and is associated with outer space
and the formation of the earth. It has been estimated that all the
gold discovered to date would likely fill one large swimming pool.
The earth is not making gold. Most gold jewelry today is recycled.
I suggest that these facts have caused gold to be used as currency
and may give gold a spiritual quality. Gold may be stardust.
Any article on jewelry brings up the matter of the appraisal. In
my view, the appraisal is useful, in that, someone with training,
credentials and experience has made an estimation of a stone’s value
based on the issues of size, cut, clarity and inclusions. The gold in a
piece has a value that is easily calculated based on weight in grams
and karat percentage value. The value of the setting in terms of art
and craftsmanship is subjective. The appraisal is helpful in that the
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
dollar value of the piece is generally about three times the melt or real
value of the creation. Insurance value of a piece is a personal issue. I
would advise that since jewelry insurance is expensive, one should
insure closer to the actual value as opposed to the appraised value.
The most complex issue related to collecting any jewelry is the
carob, carat, and karat. These three words are a must to understand
and fix in the long-term memory. Like medicine, carat and karat
must be practiced to develop ones wisdom and art.
First, let us learn about the lowly carob seed and its role in the
size and weight of precious stones. However, the carob seed was
not the first grain to be used in weight measurement. The diamond
was first discovered in the rivers and streams of India. There, the
rice seed was first used as a balance weight for the measurement
for diamonds.
Arab traders around the Mediterranean and Eastern world
established the carob weight system for both gold and precious
stones. The common carob tree produced a pod of seeds much
like the common locust tree in Kentucky. The carob tree was also
known as the Saint John’s Bread Tree. Sweet bread and candy can
be made from carob seeds and has a taste similar to chocolate. As
impossible as it may sound today, the carob seed is 6mm in diameter
and weighs 200 mg. This is almost the exact size and weight of a
one carat round, brilliant modern cut diamond.
The origin of the use of karat as a unit of gold purity is not clear.
About the year 1,000 AD, the area that is now modern Germany
was united under one ruler, Otto the First. At that time, a pure gold
coin was called the Mark. The new Germans established trade with
Arab traders, and together they determined that the coin weighed 24
carob seeds. Exactly how pure gold became 24KT is not clear. Did
the Germans spell carob as carat, and carat as karat? Is this the way
they could establish the weight and purity as two separate issues?
At any rate this concept may have paved the way for modern gold
jewelry making. Pure gold is too soft for jewelry and benefits from