Signature Diamonds

Passion FirePassion Fire™ is the premium product for David Nygaard Fine Jewelers and springs from his personal passion for perfection in diamond cutting. David has searched the world to build this collection. The collection includes both loose diamonds in traditional round and square shapes as well as finished jewelry. A Passion Fire™ diamond challenges the general assumptions in the diamond industry about what makes a diamond beautiful and how to improve the appearance of the diamond. All diamonds in the collection are perfectly cut down to one four-hundredth of a carat! No other diamond collection can dare make this claim.

“I have examined virtually every diamond brand and have become disenchanted with the lack of consistent cutting, and the loose standards other “brands” hold. I developed Passion Fire because I was fed up with over-priced diamond brands which failed to live up to their promises. I personally examine each diamond from each parcel of diamonds and have trained our cutters in the parameters I require. There are no other diamonds in the world which hold these same standards for cutting.” David Nygaard, Master Gemologist Appraiser®.

You've spent your lifetime searching for your perfect soul mate — should your diamond be anything less than perfect?

Passion Fire™ is available in almost any price range by adjusting the preconceptions of color, clarity and carat weight. 

A Passion Fire™ will appear whiter than the color would normally indicate because the superior polish make the diamond appear whiter in color; therefore by going down in color, one can purchase a bigger diamond or a lower priced diamond without sacrificing the appearance.

A Passion Fire™ will appear larger because there is less “extinction” of light around the outside of the diamond; therefore, a smaller diamond can appear up to 30% larger than a generic one.

A Passion Fire™ will appear “cleaner” because the brilliance of the cut will help obscure any inclusions which would normally affect the optical flash of the diamond.

The Hierarchy of Diamond Cutting according to Master Gemologist Appraiser® David Nygaard 80% of all diamonds cut in the world are generic, with good but non-ideal proportions (often called “60-60” in the trade referring to the table and depth percentages,) good polish and good but random symmetry. As diamond cutting has improved, the generic diamond cutting has improved, so there are fewer diamonds being cut with fair or poor symmetry as there once were. The bulk of diamonds are still being cut to maximize the finished weight rather than brilliance. 15% of diamonds are now being cut to the old “Tolkowski” ideal proportions, established as guidelines by Marcel Tolkowski’s 1919 calculations. These are often labeled by European Gem Lab reports (EGL-USA) as “Tolkowski Ideal.” These standards are somewhat looser than his calculations and each lab seems to define “ideal” a bit differently. These diamonds have “near AGS” ideal proportions, good but random symmetry, and good to very good polish under 10X magnification. Approximately 3% of diamonds are being cut to Gemological Institute of America “excellent” standards. These proportions are usually “ideal” table percentages and crown angels, (which are recorded on the report) with excellent polish (at 10X magnification) and excellent symmetry, which is still good but random. The diamond industry or “trade” term is “GIA-excellent-excellent.” Approximately 2% of diamonds cut worldwide are cut to American Gem Society “Ideal” cut, also called “triple zero’s” because the highest grade in AGS is ‘zero.’ Triple zero stands for the highest grade for proportions, polish and symmetry. An AGS zero symmetry is better than a GIA excellent symmetry, and cutters have been known to shop reports. If they know they will get an AGS triple zero, they will get that before they get a GIA-excellent-excellent. AGS symmetry is based only on 17 facets, and there are 57 or 58 facets in a round brilliant cut diamond (depending on how you count the bottom culet.) AGS uses the same magnification standards as GIA, 10X in a binocular microscope. 

Where does Passion Fire™ fit into this hierarchy? 

Less than 1 in 100,000 diamonds is cut to Passion Fire™ standards. In Passion Fire™, we evaluate all 57 facets to determine “perfect” symmetry and proportions. We use the same guidelines as AGS on the “triple zero Ideal cut” which are the highest of the labs, except we evaluate with tighter guidelines. All Passion Fire™ diamonds must have perfect symmetry, and demonstrate a perfect starburst pattern from the top view and eight perfect “hearts” when viewed through the pavilion. For this to be true, all 57 facets must be cut to perfect alignment, and the patterns will be crisp. Additionally, we evaluate polish under 100X magnification and in some cases go to 200X, which is 10 to 20 times the standards used by GIA and AGS labs. Not all diamonds showing the starburst pattern are ideal; in fact, often diamonds are cut to show a pattern, which can be subtly weaker, and have weaker polish and proportions. The pattern is more an indicator of symmetry. Very few diamonds have perfect symmetry, perfect polish under 100X, and AGS ideal proportions. In fact, there is only one other “branded” diamond which claims these same standards as we have for Passion Fire,™ however, they are unable to mass produce cut diamonds consistently less than .15 carats, and their jewelry is usually set with generic ideal cut diamonds. Passion Fire is the exclusive brand for David Nygaard Fine Jewelers, and we are small enough to have David inspect each diamond, large and small (as small as 1/400th carat) to ensure these standards are kept.

 

David Nygaard spent his early childhood camping and hiking across America. Many designs are inspired by his memories of the natural wonders he came in contact with and the special times he spent with his family then and today, as he continues to share the same tradition with his wife and six children. David first was introduced to jewelry through his mother, an accomplished and award winning designer, silversmith, and painter. “The final test of a design lies in its ability to be enjoyed every day and transcend to future generations. My hope is that these designs will be enjoyed today and fifty years hence much like the pieces of Cartier and Tiffany.” 

 

The Passion Fire™ Collection is accompanied by a Jazz CD, produced by David Nygaard featuring his brother among other world-class Jazz performers, specifically engaged for this project. The music itself catches the same scintillation of a thousand points of light of each piece. Close your eyes as you listen, and you may catch a glimpse of the essence of the Passion Fire™ Collection. The Passion Fire™ Collection is exclusively available at David Nygaard Fine Jewelers.