Diamonds are among the hardest of all minerals. Still, they require special care to keep them looking their absolute best.

The brilliance of any diamond depends on the amount of light that can enter the stone and reflect back to the human eye. However, the smallest deposit of grease on the surface of a stone can dull its reflection. Even a touch from a finger will leave a smudge of natural oil, according to De Beers, one of the world's leading diamond companies.

Clean your diamonds with a simple mix of six parts water to one part ammonia and apply with a soft, natural bristle brush. If you have no ammonia in the house, you can substitute with a mild liquid detergent. Rinse with fresh water and dry with a soft, non-abrasive cloth. If your diamond has a crack or inclusion, De Beers advises owners not to use ultrasonic cleaners, as the vibrations of the cleaners can enlarge flaws.

A few words of warning. De Beers recommends that jewelry not be cleaned in or near the sink. If there is no better location for the cleaning, be sure the plug is in, to avoid the jewelry going down the drain. If you are using a brush, be gentle: diamonds can work loose from their settings if treated roughly, warns De Beers. If you use hand lotion, wait for at least 10-15 minutes before putting your rings back on, as the ring might easily slip off.

While most people believe that diamonds are impervious to scratches, that simply is not the case. Indeed, another diamond can easily scratch another. To prevent such scratches, separate diamond jewelry in your jewelry box, advises De Beers. Diamonds also can scratch other gems or jewelry, especially soft items like pearls. And even though diamonds are hard, they can be brittle, especially along thin edges. Try not to wear your diamond when it might be struck sharply, and if you have an especially thin cut, keep it protected. If you are traveling, use a secure travel pouch, which will keep individual pieces safely apart, according to De Beers.

De Beers recommends having important pieces of jewelry checked quarterly to be sure the stones are secure in their settings.

It's been a long time coming but members of the De Beers class-action lawsuit settlement might finally get a payout next spring. National Jeweler reported on the recent meeting of the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of America in New York City. At that meeting president Ronald Friedman provided an update on the eight-year-old case and read a letter from one of the attorneys involved. The letter says that several consumers filed various objections to the settlement and a hearing on these appeals is set for January. Once an opinion on those hearings has been reached and provided that the court overrules the objections, payouts could begin next spring.

The De Beers class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of two classes: jewelers and other direct purchasers of diamonds (both rough and polished) between Sept. 20, 1997 and March 31, 2006 and indirect purchasers of diamonds (resellers and consumers) who bought diamonds, diamond jewelry or other products containing gem-quality diamonds between January 1, 1994 and March 31, 2006. The suit claimed that De Beers charged anticompetitive prices for the rough diamonds it sold, monopolized the rough diamond market, and disseminated false and misleading advertising. The $295 million settlement has been divided so that $22.5 million will be distributed to the direct purchaser class and $272.5 million to the indirect purchaser class. Given the number of claimants (said to be as much as $60 million) the payout per person will be pretty small.

South African rare wildflowers bedecked in diamonds makes up De Beers Wildflowers Collection. As a tribute to their mining facilities in that very geography, De Beers' collection is made up of necklaces, bracelets, pendants, earrings, and rings all highlighting this simple floral design that is both whimsical and sophisticated. Most of the collection is composed of white gold and diamonds but some pieces feature chocolate diamonds paired with yellow gold -- the second jewelry feature I've written about with chocolate diamonds included -- delicious!

De Beers is famous for their ad campaigns around specific jewelry designs like the three-stone ring and the journey pendant. The latest "big idea" is the Everlon Diamond Knot. The knot jewelry includes earrings, rings and pendants with a Hercules knot, with two metal intersecting loops held together by a diamond.

The ad campaign will tout the idea that the only thing stronger than a diamond is love itself. Television ads are set to begin on November 16 and there will be print ads and a web campaign. Various retailers including Sam's Club, Zale, Macy's, J.C. Penney, Ben Bridge and tohers have signed up to be part of the program and sell the jewelry. The pieces are now available on the J.R. Dunn website where the ring shown at right, a 14K yellow gold ring with a .5 carat center stone (color grade-- H-I, clarity--I1) sells for $1.820.

De Beers is bullish on the concept. They say that in a survey of American consumers, 61 percent of females and 58 percent of males expressed interest in acquiring an Everlon piece. I'm ambivalent about the potential popularity of the design so I decided to conduct my own survey. Vote below on what you think of the concept or let me know in the comments.

Diamond company De Beers is looking for more than just weddings and other lifechanging events to sell their stones in this economy. The Financial Times says that De Beers has created a global campaign to pitch investors on diamonds as a good, safe investment similar to gold. They have been in touch with brokers who are "linked to sovereign wealth funds and wealthy individuals" to further the cause of diamond investing. It seems a desperate search for people to buy in a stones in a time when jewelry stores around the world are reporting plummeting sales and De Beers has been struggling to turn a profit.

Are diamonds really a good investment? Yes and no. Rare stones, like that big blue diamond that sold for $9.5 million recently will always find their purchasers. Big stones, stones of unusual color or clarity, stones with a unique historical provenance, these stones will likely grow in value over time. These stones are not the norm however.

On March 23rd, online jewelry retailer Bidz.com will auction off a gold and diamond tiara designed by the late Gianni Versace to benefit the Aid for AIDS charity. The one-of-a-kind tiara, which contains over 1,200 diamonds and is worth an estimated $3 million, has been worn by celebrities including Madonna, Amber Valletta and Donatella Versace. The opening bid for the precious piece is $699,000. The Versace Tiara won the famous De Beers Diamonds International Award in 1995 due to the meticulous detail and craftsmanship Gianni Versace put into creating the piece.

The tiara, the star of Versace's famous Atelier Collection, has previously been held only by private collectors. This is the first time in the history of the piece that it is being made available to the public for purchase. A substantial amount of the funds raised from the online auction will go to Aid for AIDS, a non-profit premier service provider for Los Angeles County whose mission is to provide direct financial assistance and critical support for the necessities of life to those impoverished and disabled by HIV/AIDS. Click here for more info.

The other day I questioned whether a diamond investment fund was a good idea and now here's more news that suggests you might not want to put your money in diamonds right now. The grandaddy of all diamond companies, De Beers, has announced plans borrow $500 million from Anglo American Plc and other shareholders to bulwark itself against a falling gem market. The loan is a preventative measure in response to the fact that jewelry sales are plunging around the world. Diamond prices have already dropped, some say by as much as 50 percent and exports are down across the globe. De Beers has already cut the amount of rough stones it is offering to clients by half until April and has enacted production slowdowns at several of its mines. It is being predicted that diamond demand might not rise until the end of 2010 and even that may be optimistic.

A couple of big diamonds will be showing up at Christie's during their October 15 Jewel sale in New York, Two rectangular cut stones, of approximately 102 and 70 carats diamonds will be sold. They were cut from the Ponahalo diamond, a 316-carat stone which came from the De Beer's Venetian mine in South Africa. The name comes from the word for vision in Sotho, the language spoken by the Venda tribe which lives in the area.

The Ponahalo yielded four polished diamonds and one which was left rough. The two being sold at Christie's are the biggest two. National Jeweler reports that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Ponahalo diamonds will be donated to Russell Simmons' Diamond Empowerment Fund, benefiting educational programs in Africa.

Jewelry sales often flounder in the face of a rough economy but so far that hasn't hit De Beers. The company recently reported that total sales increased 10 percent in the first half of the year. The company's retail division which been expanding their amount of stores over the past couple of years had double-digit growth over 2007 pushed by the sales of high-end pieces like the Dragonfly necklace shown above and bridal jewelry. Still the company has expressed concerns over the second half of the year because of the struggling U.S. economy which has already impacted mass-market retail sales. De Beers, like many other companies that do businesses on the global playing field, is looking to Russia, China and the Middle East to help make up some of the shortfall from any potential purchasing dips in the U.S.

De Beers is making big moves into the retail market. The diamond company which was once more on the back end of diamond transactions, providing diamonds to jewelers, is now planning to have around 50 stores by the end of the year. In an interview in the Wall Street Journal, De Beers Group Managing Director Gareth Penny said that the company's retail business is still in its "start-up phase and is rapidly expanding, seeking to be in one of the top five jewelry retailers in the world. De Beers currently has seven stores open in the U.S. in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, New York and Washington D.C.

This is part of a big shift in De Beers over the past few years. Recently De Beers created their Forevermark diamond brand. They are putting their substantial marketing muscle behind Forevermark and planning to build into one of the world's leading diamond brands.

People who have bought diamonds any time between January 1, 1994, and March 31, 2006 may be in for a little return on their purchase. De Beers has settled a class action lawsuit for $295 million. Under the terms of the settlement individual consumers and members of the diamond trade can make a claim. The settlement is the result of a lawsuit which said that the South African company charged anticompetitive prices for the rough diamonds it sold, monopolized the rough diamond market, and disseminated false and misleading advertising. De Beers has not admitted to any wrongdoing. The rewards can be substantial, WNBC reports that a consumer who bought a $2,000 ring could get as much as $640 back. There is a settlement website for claims, which provides details on who might be eligible and those interested in filing must do so before March 19.

Diamond company De Beers has put its new watch collection online. The watches continue the De Beers Talisman collection which mixes faceted and rough diamonds in a variety of whites, yellows and browns. Perhaps the flashiest watch in the line is the Talisman Suntime watch. It has an 18K gold 40mm dial set with 58 brown and white polished brilliants and one rough diamond in the center (a total of 2.35 carats). The watch uses a quartz movement and sells for $15,000. Other watches in the line are in white gold and feature various sizes of rough diamonds interspersed with faceted stones.

Two years ago I wrote about the start of De Beers attempts to use a zeppelin to detect diamonds in Botswana. The experiment is now at an end. The airship has been permanently grounded by De Beers after heavy winds shook the ship from its mooring near the Jwaneng mine injuring its crew. The zeppelin was too badly damaged to be put back to work and De Beers has decided to use other methods of diamond exploration.

It was recently announced that Starbucks is at long last moving into Moscow. Muscovites are also getting another new retailer, this one a little more upscale. De Beers will open a store in the GUM Russian shopping mall in Moscow. The store is set to open in November and De Beers' Russian partner will manage it. No other details have been made available yet but it will obviously be luxurious, perhaps more so even than De Beers stores in other cities such as New York and Beverly Hills since some of the world's biggest spenders lately have been Russian billionaires.