The Star Malaysia - Star2

The perfect cut

Dazzling diamonds make for beautiful jewellery as seen in the latest Hearts on Fire collection.

- By SANDRA LOW star2@thestar.com.my

DO all diamonds sparkle?

“They don’t,” according to Bart Ware, sales manager and trainer for Hearts On Fire for Australia/New Zealand.

With more than a decade in the diamond business, Ware has been buying and selling diamonds and it’s his job to scrutinise each diamond.

“It wasn’t until I saw a Hearts On Fire (HOF) diamond that I knew I needn’t check ev ery piece because all their cuts are perfect,” said Ware.

Ware was in town to lead a Diamond Workshop and introduce HOF’s newest collection that is currently av ailable at Habib jewellers.

HOF, exclusiv ely distribute­d by Habib in Malaysia, is a luxury diamond jewellery brand founded in the US in 1996 and is known for the world’s most perfectly cut diamond.

“At HOF we hav e our own facility to cut all our diamonds and not ev eryone has that,” he said.

Ware explains that they purchase directly from the mine and cut, polish and finish the jewellery.

“To qualify as a HOF diamond, the structure of the crystal has to be completely pure in terms of optics, the way it reflects the light and it has to be a beautiful shape.”

“When diamonds are being formed, they twist and turn like a tree reaching towards the sunlight. As a result layers are formed from pressure stacking on top of each other, resulting in different shapes.”

He says they hav e a big cutting wheel, which, aided by oliv e oil, Vaseline and diamond dust, spins and cuts the diamonds.

“Our diamond cutting wheels are v ibration free as this affects the cut. Most diamond cutting wheels spin so rapidly that they hav e a subtle v ibration. Vibrations cause drag lines along the facets of the diamonds, resulting in poor light reflection.

“When all facets are lined correctly, patterns of beautifull­y formed heart shapes appear. This doesn’t exist in ev ery diamond but it does in HOF.

The newest diamond jewellery by HOF are the Aerial Regal, Copley Tassel, Illa Cosmic and Lorelei collection­s.

When introducin­g HOF’s stunning piece, the Aerial Regal diamond brooch, Ware said that their designs offer a fashion approach to jewellery.

“If you are going to spend thousands on jewellery, then you want a piece that is v ersatile and relev ant. The Aerial Regal diamond can be disassembl­ed and worn indiv idually as pendants.”

Ware pointed out that chokers, tight necklaces and yellow gold are some of the current jewellery trends.

“Layering and stacking your jewellery is currently fashionabl­e. You can create gorgeous looks with multiple layers of chunky or thin jewellery, or by stacking jewellery as well,” Ware said.

Habib recommends a mix and match of different metals when stacking rings, but keeping a similar element to pull the look together. Rings with the same gemstone, design or theme will look natural and cohesiv e when layered.

Remember to av oid stacking bracelets with too many metal pieces or it will be noisy and can be scratched when they mov e against each other.

So, try to av oid piling your entire jewellery collection onto yourself and keep a limit of one to two metal bracelets per arm!

 ?? — Photos: HOF ?? Stacking diamonds is currently all the rage.
— Photos: HOF Stacking diamonds is currently all the rage.
 ?? — SAMUEL ONG/The Star ?? Ware spoke about diamonds at a recent workshop.
— SAMUEL ONG/The Star Ware spoke about diamonds at a recent workshop.
 ??  ?? Illa Cosmic Double Finger are two rings in one.
Illa Cosmic Double Finger are two rings in one.
 ??  ?? The Aerial Regal Scroll diamond brooch.
The Aerial Regal Scroll diamond brooch.
 ??  ?? Aerial diamond earrings.
Aerial diamond earrings.

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