dossier | DIAMOND DUSTED
DIAMOND DUSTING - EXPLAINED
You’ve probably heard me talk a lot about our diamond dusted collection and chances are that if you’ve been following along you know they are our beautiful, subtly sparkly pieces. But I’m sure you probably wonder what the heck does diamond dusted mean and what is it exactly. The name DIAMOND DUSTED as well as the technique of adding our signature texture to each piece is unique to CHRISTINA KOBER DESIGNS.
Here's the inside info on DIAMOND DUSTED.
When I started making jewelry about 15 years ago, one of the first things I learned was metal is malleable.
It can be bent to be curved and rounded (think the classic ring or narrow inspiracelet cuff), it can be hammered and shaped to change form, and it can also receive a texture through hammering or high pressure from something that is stronger than the metal, leaving the metal with not only the texture but the finish of the material.
The malleability of metal is one of my favorite parts of jewelry making, because the options of what you can do are really endless. I had so much fun when I first started out, pushing the limits of the metal and getting creative with the different textures that could be produced. (I EVEN WENT SO FAR AS TO TAKE A PIECE OF STERLING SILVER AND HAMMER IT ON THE CEMENT CURB.)
So why am I telling you about this?
Because diamond dusted is actually a texture.
Before I explain how we do it, you need to understand a little more about diamonds. Bear with me here, diamonds are the hardest known natural material - on a 1-10 scale, 1 being the softest and 10 being the hardest - they are a 10. Silver and gold range from a hardness of 2.5 - 3.
Diamonds can be cut in multiple ways, but the most common is the brilliant cut (round). The brilliant cut diamond has a highly shiny finish and has a cone shaped bottom with facets that come to a tiny point at the very tip, which is called the culet. The culet is very sharp but also has a lot of sparkle that originates from its facets, which is where some of the brilliance of the brilliant cut diamond begins. Ok - I’m done with the technical stuff
You now know:
- Diamonds are much harder than metal
- Metal will take the texture and finish from a material that is harder than it when a lot of pressure is put to it (like hammering)
- Diamonds have a very sharp culet with tiny facets and a high shine finish
So imagine for a minute, if you took the culet of the diamond and hit the metal with it. A tiny impression of the point of the diamond and it’s facets radiating from it would be left in the metal, right? So guess what, that is LITERALLY how we make the diamond dusted texture. We hit the metal hundreds of thousands of times with the culet of the diamond, leaving behind teeny-tiny little culet shaped dents all over the metal.
As light reflects off the facets of the texture, the piece comes to life with shimmering waves of illumination, making it look like it’s been dusted with diamonds…
I love creating pieces for the diamond dusted collection because I can push my imagination to create unique & interesting designs that showcase the diamond dusted texture. I hope you enjoyed our little lesson! Let us know if you liked it & want us to do more technical emails like this one. And don't forget to shop our diamond dusted collection now and pay later with afterpay!
YAY! WE HAVE AFTERPAY
We are so excited to announce that CHRISTINA KOBER DESIGNS now offers afterpay! Afterpay is a secure, hassle free, interest free, user friendly alternative that allows you to pay in increments of 4 every 2 weeks. I have actually used it myself when purchasing from other online retailers & I love it! To shop now & pay later, select afterpay at checkout.
