What JannPaul Signature Cut Diamonds say about you?

Are you one of the lucky ladies who have a JP Signature Cut Diamond? Or are you one of the confused guys who don’t know which among the Signature series to go for?

Either way, do you believe that the type of diamond you chose could actually tell something about your girlfriend’s personality?

In my experience in the diamond industry, I’ve already encountered a lot of clients who came in alone, with friends, family or as a couple. And because of those circumstances, I became more conscious to some indication on what cut suits what character. If you’re still on your diamond ring search, you can use this as a guide in choosing the best diamond that complements your girlfriend’s personality. Continue reading and let me know if you agree. 😉

Super Ideal Cut: Simple but Elegant Woman

Classic round shape diamond has been very popular due to its simplicity, brilliance & timeless beauty.

Lady who prefers this diamond is said to be versatile. She’s a bit conservative and is a believer of traditional romance yet modern in her own ways. A woman who likes this cut is said to be very sophisticated and graceful.

Solasfera: Glamorous Bride

Solasfera, despite being round shape diamond, hold its own 
individuality to it.

A lady attracted to this shape is glamorous, confident, and adventerous. She has a very good sense of what she wants and what her goals in life are; but still knows how to have fun and is not afraid to show it.

Wearers of this like it due to the quiet elegance and regal feel it holds.

Brellia:  Fashionable and romantic Lady

Cushion Brellia is the choice of brides who are looking for a cushion cut diamond with a vintage appeal, but with a modern twist to it. So if you consider yourself to be stylish and lively, this shape is for you! 

This suits ladies who are contemporary and at the same time equally romantic and passionate to everything she does.  She will act as a leader and is very detail oriented.

 Octagon: Modern Chic

If you’re fashionable, modern and self-assured woman, Octagon would suit you best. This cut compliments woman who always stands out in a crowd and who will never back away from the spotlight.

It’s for women who love to be trendsetter, who’s creative, bold and innovative. They like how this shape makes them unique.

They’re said to be strong willed yet the sweetest lady you can come across. 

So which are you among these shapes???? 

Only you can tell!

Whether you're a simple but elegant, glamorous, strong willed or fashionable and romantic girl, one thing is for sure, you deserve no less than the JannPaul Signature Cut!

Do let me know guys, if the one you bought or you have matches your girls character.

Set an appointment with us today to learn more.

Our appointment timings are from Monday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm.

written by: Joy Barcelona

Add us on facebook: www.facebook.com/jp.joybarcelona

JannPaul Signature Cuts

Happy Holidays! It's already December and we're moving to the New year!

Still not decided on what diamond cut to go for?
Watch this video to know the basic differences of the 4 JannPaul Signature Cuts 
(Super Ideal, Solasfera, Brellia and Octagon)

It might help you decide or shortlist a few cuts you can consider for your proposal.

So there you go guys...

It's an Octagon for me! :)

I'd love to hear from you guys.. What's your current favorite?
This might help other guys out there in their decision.

Here's some other useful links you can check out, to know more about the JannPaul Signature Cuts

Difference of Super Ideal and Solasfera:

https://youtu.be/4q24_sChcK0?list=PLUhkL4hNsGwIi0f7xXCTgY74bVm72A2S9

More about Brellia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CunFAnkKufU

More about Octagon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40Uso0MBELE

Thank you!

-Joy Barcelona

JP Signature Cuts on a Hand

Showcasing our JP Signature cut diamonds on a hand. Each of our Signature cuts are meticulously handpicked to be the most brilliant diamond in its own class. Using the latest technology and tools, they are cut to maximize its light performance, surpassing the brightness, fire and scintillation of other traditional cuts.

JP Super Ideal Rounds are the traditional 57 faceted, 8 Hearts & Arrows diamond that is cut to the most exacting standard. Each Super Ideal Cut diamond goes through our stringent quality selection, involving several demanding criteria. All of our diamonds are handpicked to ensure that each is cut to the maximum light performance and is guaranteed to outperform any other 57 facets round.

JANNPAUL utilizes the latest technology such as the HCA tool, Ideal scope, ASET scope and Hearts & Arrows scope to analyze each diamond. No other jewellers in the world follow the same ambitious standards as JANNPAUL. Only a handful of diamonds are able to meet our uncompromising requirements. When you receive a JP Super Ideal Round diamond, you are guaranteed the most brilliant diamond. 

For more information about the Super Ideal Cut, click here.

The Solasfera Round is one of the very few modified round diamonds that manages to retain its Hearts & Arrows patterning. It is cut with an astounding 91 facets and 10 Hearts & Arrows. 

The exacting symmetry of Solasfera's cuts, which are crafted with unparalleled precision, creates a perfect optical patterning that makes a diamond's sparkle visible from afar. It is cut to obtain the maximum light return, showing a full red on the Ideal Scope, intensifying the brightness of the diamond. The additional Hearts & Arrows patterning in the diamond creates a breathtaking scintillation. Unlike others in the industry, Solasfera diamonds are always cut to maximize beauty, not size.

The most breathtaking diamonds exude the greatest brilliance (white light), fire (color light) and sparkle (scintillation). Every Solasfera diamond must measure off the charts in all three categories to earn its name. Each Solasfera comes with an independent light performance lab report (Gemex), to certify that it attains the highest possible grading in all 3 categories. 

For more information about the Solafera, click here.

The Cushion Brellia is the world's first Cushion Hearts & Arrows diamond. The sheer brightness of the Brellia even surpasses most rounds. It was made to have such brightness to enhance the whiteness, emphasizing on the arrows. It proved to be the most brilliant Cushion diamond to have ever been cut.

The Brellia has 57 facets in virtually the same pattern as the finest Super Ideal cut round, retaining the same scintillation. The pavilions (Arrows) of the Brellia are designed wider to create large bold flashes of fire that can be seen at further distance. 

Each Brellia diamond is cut and polished to the most exacting standards on earth. A standard known as "Super Ideal Cuts". It achieves the perfection of hearts and arrows with an AGS 000 cut grade, resulting in the highest brilliancy.

For more information about the Cushion Brellia, click here.

We are proud to introduce the world's first Octagon Hearts & Arrows diamond, also known as the D'amor. The Octagon Hearts & Arrows is intricately cut with 88 facets, 8 sides, 8 Hearts and 8 Arrows. The 88 facets increases the scintillation, creating a mesmerizing dance in the sparkle when you move your diamond ring finger. Despite the higher facets, it manages to retain the traditional 8 Hearts & Arrows patterning, maximizing the fire and colorful burst of light. It achieves the best of both worlds, optimizing the fire and scintillation, resulting in the most brilliant diamond in the world.

The unique shape of the Octagon adds playfulness to the diamond. It allows the wearer to create his/her own look. It can be set into a more squarish or roundish feature by simply rotating the diamond. The extraordinary octagon shape with the 8 perfectly symmetrical sides highlights the strong identity of the diamond. 

For more information about the Octagon, click here.

The Octavia diamond brings step cut diamonds to a whole new level. Unlike traditional step cut diamonds like the Asscher or Emerald cut, the Octavia achieves a superior brightness and contrast.

Its improved faceting structure gives it a stronger light return while maintaining a balanced contrast to optimize the fire and sparkle. The unique step cut faceting gives the diamond a more dimensional appearance. Any slight movement will create strong bursts of fire rippling throughout the diamond. The Octavia is the most brilliant and unparalleled step cut diamond in the world.

For more information about the Octavia, click here.

- Written by Casey Lai

The Solasfera Diamond

The secret to the Solasfera's brillaince lies in its facet structure and light performance. Unlike traditional designs, the Solasfera is cut with 91 facets and 10 Hearts & Arrows, maximizing its light return, fire and scintillation. 

The superior life and luster of a Solasfera diamond is immediately visible to the naked eye under all types of lighting. There are several scientific methods and tests that can help you understand why the Solasfera's light performance is above all. There is no other diamond like a Solasfera. 

During a side-by-side test, Solasfera has proven to outperform all other modifed rounds across every light performance tests available. 

Most diamond cutters, driven by profit objectives, cut a diamond to maximize its weight at the expense of ideal proportions, damaging the diamond’s light performance and beauty. Unlike others in the industry, Solasfera diamonds are always cut to maximize beauty, not size.

Generically cut diamonds tend to have light leakages. Solasferas are capable of grabbing hold of the light surrounding them and returning it to the eyes of the beholder. It manages to disperse light thoughout, allowing a wide dispersion of rainbow flashes.

Under the Ideal Scope, it shows that the Solasfera acheives a full light return (full red). This gives the diamond a magnificent brightness, where light paths that are going into the diamond are being reflected back out towards your eyes. Hence, the Solasfera can appear ''whiter'' compared to another diamond with the same color grade due to its extrodinary brightness.

The Solasfera has exacting symmetry where each diamond is crafted with unparalleled precision. This can be seen under the Hearts & Arrows scope to analyze its 10 symmetrical Hearts & Arrows.

Being over the top in it's light performance, each and every Solasfera comes with a Gemex Light Performance Report. The Gemex is an independent lab that measures the Brilliance, Fire and Sparkle of a diamond. The Solasfera manages to acheive the highest possible grade possible. No other cut has been able to do so.

Scientifically proven, Solasferas has the ability to outshine all other round cuts in the market. It is available from 0.3ct onwards and we have assorted sizes for Solasfera melees that can be set on wedding bands. Each Solasfera diamond comes with a GIA or AGS report, Gemex report and scope images analysis (Actual, Ideal, ASET and Hearts & Arrows Scopes).

Visit us to experience the Solasfera brilliance yourself and set light free!

Credit: www.solasfera.com

- Written by Casey Lai

New Solasfera Shipment

Our new Solasfera shipment has arrived!

91 facets and 10 Hearts & Arrows - The unparalleled brilliance of the Solasfera. 
Ranging from 0.3 - 1.5ct.

Visit or email us at sales@jannpaul.com for more information.

A Crown-Ring Fit For His Queen

Published on The New Paper, 1st June 2014.

A Game of Thrones inspired ring customized by JannPaul, with a 0.87ct Solasfera diamond.

This video shows the making of the ring.

Below are photos of the actual ring.

In Shaping the Cut Choice

In Shaping the Cut Choice

Every woman wants to be unique and special. Like a diamond, every shape and cut is unique and specific to each of its own. Like each tier within the 4C’s, each sequence gives a unique combination to the diamond as a whole.

The above statements are enough to give you shudders in the choices and options you have to sieve through to your purchase. But fret not! 

To make life just that slightly easier, JannPaul allows you to get an idea of what shape and cut to consider in your choice of purchase through our HIPOSE imaging*, where you may view the various shapes and cuts of set diamonds on a photographed hand.

Step 1

·         Take a photo of the hand 20cm away from the camera; the picture of the hand should take up the entire the picture.

 Step 2

·         Choose your preference in JannPaul signature cut diamonds; the Super Ideal Round, Solasfera, Angel Cut or Brellia diamond.

   

Step 3

·         Email JannPaul representative or bring a copy of the picture to your next JannPaul appointment, for us to work our magic.

*HIPOSE imaging is a part of JannPaul’s consistent provision of quality service to customers

What makes a JP Diamond? (Part 3: Super Ideal Defined)

I talked about what makes a JP diamond in the basic 4 C's except Cut. Which is the most important and most elaborate of all the other C's, for the simple reason that there is so many things about it that it may not be even possible to cover everything on a blog.

Do note there are some things which I won't go into detail as well to prevent people from copying us. (The number of competitors that walk in to sit on our appointments  D:)

The Basic Cut

Excellent Polish/Symmetry/Cut on GIA

or ideal Polish/Symmetry/Cut on AGS

This is pretty much a prerequisite.

IDEAL VS SUPER IDEAL (Important)

Ideal

Let's first talk about what is an Ideal cut. I'd like to first say that there is no absolute definition. There should be, but there isn't. Why? Originally it should be defined as a proper set of proportions defined by Marcel Towlkowsky. However, you will find tons and tons of jewelers internationally and locally that sell "ideal" diamonds that fall way out of this set of proportions and then they brand it, and they laser inscribe it on their certificate, and they define ideal that way. So at the end of the day, how can we define what is Ideal?

The HCA / Hollow's Cut advisor is a great Tool to help you out with this. That's me and Mr Holloway at the Las Vegas convention, great man who developed this tool for free(also developed the idealscope)and for people to filter out the good diamonds from the bad. There are limitations in the HCA as well which is why its only a filtering tool, which I will cover later.

Super Ideal

In a nutshell, an ideal cut is a given set of proportions of a diamond that returns majority of light. So what is a Super Ideal? A Super set of proportions of a diamond that returns majority of light?

Unfortunately the term Super Ideal is even more misused that the term ideal. Half the time jewelers will just use it for the sake of using it, even though they don't even know the definition to it.

This is probably a poor example, but it's more or less the best I can cook up in my head at this point of time, the Toyota MRS is an ideal sports car. To drive fast, top down, 2 seater, more or less gets the job done. The Ferrari is the super sports car. Does everything a normal sports car can do, but does everything better and looks better.

The ideal diamond gets the job done in returning light, however the super ideal diamond does everything better.

The difference is, between a MRS and a Ferrari there is a huge price difference. However a Super Ideal vs an Ideal can sometimes cost the same, cheaper or slightly more expensive.

Ideal Cut Diamond

- Ideal set of proportions to return majority of light

Super Ideal Cut Diamond

-A Tighter ideal set of proportions to return maximum light

-Every Facet alignment is taken into consideration

-Symmetry is taken into another level despite what the certification says. Tools are used to make sure the diamond is symmetrical from the bottom and top

-Overall light return is not enough, every facet of the diamond must perform to it's maximum potential in returning light

-Brightness/contrast patterning, fire, scintillation patterns must be taken in account. The diamond must be able to perform optimally under all lighting conditions

- Tools must be used to prove these claims. No tools, no claim.

In short, the super ideal diamond requires heavy scrutiny. Everything must be close to as perfect as possible.

In the next section I will cover these factors in detail

What makes a JP Diamond? (Part 2:The Basic 4)

The Goal

Each JP diamond had to possess the highest quality boundaries, in the world, period. What does this achieve? Customer satisfaction, as well as distinguishing JP from any other brand. Each ring a client possesses can proudly say they own one of the most beautiful diamonds in the world, each ring a client possesses is of the highest quality. This is the reason why we don't want to sell lower grade diamonds, sacrifice in anything to try to make extra cash. We have a reputation to upkeep!

The Carat Size JP Style

We never touch flat counts. like 0.30, 0.40, 0.50, 0.70 etc etc. Firstly, it's a bad investment for ourselves. Understanding how diamonds are priced in terms of it's carat size is a big advantage. Imagine this, if you happen to ever chip your diamond, and it falls in the 0.39 category(if your diamond was 0.40), you'd lose a significant amount of value to your diamond. But mainly, paying so much more for 0.40 is just a bad investment.

The Color Grade JP Style

In the American market, warm colors are pretty popular as people like to set it with yellow gold. In Asia however, white is THE diamond ring to go for. If you have ever placed a diamond D, E ,F ,G & H together in a row, You'd see the colors drop little by little, and when you reach the H, is where you realize the yellow tinge is something your eyes can't ignore. This sudden drop in color is the reason why we avoid it. We want our clients to own a white diamond, not an off white, not quite white, not pretty white, we want it, white white !

The Clarity Grade JP Style

Like I mentioned in the previous post, clarity is a big factor to my Dad, he's always focused so much on clarity because he's rather old fashioned. However, i agree to a certain point how important clarity is. By all means, we avoid SI1 and below because like the "H" color, it takes a sudden drop of being eye clean to not so eye clean anymore. Black carbon spots and cracks are obvious in this region, and the biggest factor in play here is: certain inclusions may cause your diamond to potentially chip or crack in the future. Who wants to buy a diamond that may potentially chip? 

Another factor is our filter on VS1 and VS2 diamond. Black spots and feathers/chips etc near the edge of the diamond are avoided. Sometimes we wonder how some diamonds make the vs2 or vs1 range when they rightfully should be placed under the SI range. These make poor purchases, and we avoid them. 

This is one of the best way i can illustrate this to you. Which do you think makes a better purchase? the left or the right? Both VS2 on GIA/AGS. This is why we filter our diamonds on clarity as well. The left diamond honestly is a recipe for disaster. You can argue that the black spots may be covered with a prong, but what about the feather at the bottom left? Cover it with a prong and the extra pressure may cause that crack to worsen. 

The Cut Grade JP Style

This is where it gets really really complex. I will continue this on Part 3

stay tuned! Here: http://jannpaul-diamonds-paul.blogspot.sg/2012/07/what-makes-jp-diamond-part-3-super.html

What makes a JP Diamond? (Part 1: Introduction)

     Introduction

I'm going to talk about what makes a diamond a part of the JP collection, why we only choose to sell these kind of diamonds, and out of all the diamonds in the world, why these?

The Beginning

Some of you may know, my father has been in the jewelry line for more than 40 years. I remember the days where he used to throw me a set of tweezers and diamonds in the size of 0.01 and tell me to find the inclusions on those diamonds. Not cool Dad!

Anyway, it became more of a chore than enjoyment, I really did not understand the point of it. Black spots, white spots, clouds, cracks, chips etc. The fact they were not certified made it worse; I could not cheat and look for the plot inclusions. Later i realized the importance that diamonds both in the same set of VS2 range, can look entirely different, one being much better than the other(which makes a much better buy). Why does this exist? If you set through one of our appointments you'd know this already.

As time passed by, I became ultra super spectacular spectacularly bored of looking for inclusions in tiny miniscule diamonds. I started looking for other things to pick on diamonds, and i used to show my dad

"HEY. WHY ARE THESE 2 DIAMONDS LOOKING SO DIFFERENT?" - i'm writing this in caps because i was very loud when I was young.

He used to tell me "it's the make of the diamond.... the make"

 I didn't really understand that. Diamond dealers used to pop by my father's desk and say " this diamond, wonderful make, wonderful material"

I later learnt that make referred to the proportion of the diamond, material meant where the rough was from.

I started picking out diamond which had as close "Specs" on a certificate as possible. One always tend to look more brilliant than the other. Though on the tags they had the same price. General mentality of a kid would be "that ain't fair!" or rather "THAT AIN'T FAIR!"

The Learning Phase

Back then, what was used to measure the Light Return of the diamond was called the firescope. It's still available today, but just less popular than the Ideal Scope or Aset Scope. I learned abit from a few dealers here and there, about the light return of a diamond. You learn this in GIA too, but not in that much detail, there isn't tools either to measure light return in GIA since they are all proportion based grading.

So there is much more to it that just the certificate of a diamond. More things to understand than the simple 4 C's that any jeweler or sales assistant can tell you about. Which brings this question; Why?

Right now, there are poor, fair, good, very good, excellent. Can you imagine if there was:

Poor, Fair, good, very good, excellent, extremely excellent, almost perfect, super ideal?

This would cause a real big problem in the market, excellent diamonds would not sell for the good profits that people are currently making, very good cuts will fall out of even consideration, and super ideals would have prices sky rocket so high because of it's rarity and difficulty in cutting them. So the industry leaves it as it is. What works for them, works. As long as profits are good for them, they don't want to change a thing. AGS tries to help in this area and came out with the platinum light report. Even so, the Ideal cut grade has a large quality variation, not as much as GIA's excellent though.

The Ideal Scope

The first time I got my Ideal Scope, I started looking through all the diamond in my father's old inventory. From what i've learned, white = leakage. And man, was there alot of leakage. Many years ago, diamonds were not exactly polished or cut for maximum light return. There was so little education on this that Cutters maximized weight and focused on other aspects like increasing the clarity.

Finally, there was one diamond in Towlkosky's proportions that made the cut of a nice ideal scope. The light return was great... and then i noticed the arrows were crooked, I took out the hearts and arrows scope and turned the diamond around and...

BAM! Honestly, what on earth is that. Can you believe back in the day, they used to call this Hearts and arrows? In fact, you still find many jewelers and diamond dealers calling this hearts and arrows.

The Quest To Find the Perfect Diamond

The question pops in mind, can a diamond, have great light return, superb hearts and arrows symmetry, and simply, be the best 57 facet diamond possible? The fact that 2 diamonds of the same "spec" certification can look so different, must mean that there's endless of reasons how a cut can affect a diamond's appearance.

I used to jump from shop to shop, locally and internationally, to see if such diamonds exist, to my dismay most "hearts and arrows" diamonds were more or less like the above. A little better, or much worse.

To be continued! here: http://jannpaul-diamonds-paul.blogspot.sg/2012/07/what-makes-jp-diamond-part-2the-basic-4.html