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To every woman it is an expression of how she sees herself. How every woman wants to feel. SMART. BEAUTIFUL. REAL.
SMART is bright, stylish, sharp. Smart is an attitude and knowing when to shine.
BEAUTIFUL is stunning, exquisite and attractive. Beautiful is a feeling of complete contentment with the things around you.
REAL is genuine, heartfelt, exsistance. Real is turning a feeling of trust into something actual.
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The Chatham Story
In the late 1920's a young boy followed his dreams in what was to become, one of the world's preeminent crystal growers. Carroll Chatham took his avid interest in chemistry and pursued his dream by endeavoring to duplicate nature's process to create a diamond. Chatham was intrigued by chemistry and created a lab in his family's garage at the young age of 12. He learned by trial and error, making fireworks and smoke bombs for his amusement. He read of failed attempts by Henri Moissan to make diamonds, and replicated his 1890's experiments.
One attempt resulted in an explosion that rattled his San Francisco neighborhood, as well as the police. To calm the police and his parents, he shifted his focus to growing emerald crystals, hoping a crystal formation would not require immense pressure. Many years passed with nothing to show for his on and off again attempts to duplicate what happened in the earth's crust millions of years ago.
In 1931, Chatham entered college at the California Institute of Technology, leaving his latest efforts in his family's garage still running in his absence. As fate would have it, Chatham's father turned off the power supply to his science project. This simple action caused his emerald crystals to grow in the crucible, and the legacy was born. It took Carroll another 3 years to understand why the emeralds formed! When he did, he never had another failure.
After emeralds in 1938, rubies, alexandrites, blue sapphires, and orange sapphires all came to fruition over many decades of research in the hands of Carroll Chatham. A few years after his passing in 1983, his lifelong dream of diamond cultivation finally became a reality for his son, Tom.
Today, Chatham is still recognized as the leader of created gemstones. The company's unbeatable Lifetime Warranty and Certificate of Authenticity assure reliability and long-term value. Whether it's the latest fashion trends in our finished jewelry or the brilliance of our loose stones, Chatham enthusiasts around the world agree: Chatham is Smart. Beautiful. Real.
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Gemstone IQ
"Chatham does not make gemstones, we make environments in which crystals grow naturally."
You love Chatham's diamonds and gems, but you may have some questions. We'll try to answer these questions below:
Are Chatham gemstones real or imitation?
They're real. Our gemstones and diamonds are cultured just as many pearls; natural components are placed in an environment created to duplicate nature's. Once the required combination of chemical and environmental factors is created, the crystals grow over the course of a year, the length of time depending on the gemstone. As a result, quality diamonds and gemstones are developed with identical physical, chemical, and optical properties to those found in nature.
Can I tell the difference between created gemstones and mined gemstones?
Unless you're a certified gemologist with a powerful microscope, you won't be able to tell the difference between created and mined gemstones. Every gemological laboratory in the world has reference samples of Chatham gemstones to aid in the separation. Chatham is at the forefront of full disclosure, contributing samples and updates whenever something new is released.
Why do Chatham gemstones and diamonds often look better than their mined counterparts?
Under laboratory conditions, computers control temperatures, while foreign materials found in the earth are eliminated from our starting chemicals. This makes our crystal growth more predictable and consistent. We strive for the best qualities and colors found in nature. Lower qualities are not released for sale.
Are there cost savings with Chatham gemstones?
Significantly! Price differences between Chatham created and natural gemstones of like quality are notable, sometimes as much as $100,000 per carat as in the case of colored diamonds.
Does Chatham offer a warranty?
Yes. Trust, integrity, and value are at the heart of Chatham and our products. For your peace of mind, we provide a lifetime warranty with your Certificate of Authenticity. Chatham will gladly repair or replace your gemstone at no charge if it should chip or break under ordinary circumstances, or any defect in the workmanship or materials become apparent*. If you question whether your damaged jewelry is covered under our warranty, return the damaged jewelry, along with the sales receipt, to us. Then, we will expedite the item to Chatham for immediate servicing and, if a replacement gem is needed, consideration will be taken to honor the original size and weight.
*excluding labor; normal wear and tear damage is not covered.
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