Gem Buying Guide
Buying a gemstone can be fascinating yet not an easy task. There are so many factors set value and so many options to choose from. The basic knowledge in evaluating gems especially colored stones and diamonds are the GIA 4Cs value factors: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat.
The inherent allure of gemstone, with its myriad color and style combinations, is its ability to create, capture or reflect personal style. While most buyers likely choose gemstone for their beauty and to represent their feelings toward another, others choose gemstone for what they consider to be their therapeutic benefits, symbolism, or representation of wealth or position.
Gemstone may be accompanied by a lab report listing and may also contain a comment about treatments. Certain gemstone such as ruby or sapphire can receive a premium in the market if they are believed to be from a particular country origin. Consumer may consider their budget with their tastes. A smaller gem of finer quality will cost as much or more than a larger gem of lesser quality. Top quality gem are rarer by nature, thus there is good reason for the greater price.
Buying a gemstone can be fascinating yet not an easy task. There are so many factors set value and so many options to choose from. The basic knowledge in evaluating gems especially colored stones and diamonds are the GIA 4Cs value factors: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat.
The inherent allure of gemstone, with its myriad color and style combinations, is its ability to create, capture or reflect personal style. While most buyers likely choose gemstone for their beauty and to represent their feelings toward another, others choose gemstone for what they consider to be their therapeutic benefits, symbolism, or representation of wealth or position.
Gemstone may be accompanied by a lab report listing and may also contain a comment about treatments. Certain gemstone such as ruby or sapphire can receive a premium in the market if they are believed to be from a particular country origin. Consumer may consider their budget with their tastes. A smaller gem of finer quality will cost as much or more than a larger gem of lesser quality. Top quality gem are rarer by nature, thus there is good reason for the greater price.
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Pearl
Pearls are the only treasure found in the nature of water. A Chinese historian recorded the oldest written mention of natural pearls in 2206 BC. Pearls have been associate with royalty, glamour and status, traced back from Roman Empire up to present. Pearls are found in any mollusk with a shell. Natural pearls form when an irritant usually a parasite works its way into an oyster, mussel, or clam. As a defense mechanism, a fluid is used to coat the irritant. Layer upon layer of this coating, called "nacre", is deposited until a lustrous pearl is formed. A cultured pearl undergoes surgically implanted bead called "nuclei" as an irritant followed by the same process of nacre layer depositing. |
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Pearls can be listed into Freshwater Pearls and Saltwater Pearls. The three most common saltwater pearls are Akoya, Southsea and Black/Tahitian. Saltwater pearls are more valuable than freshwater pearls. It can be also divided into natural and cultured pearls. Natural pearls cost more than cultured pearls. However, it does not mean natural pearls are higher quality than cultured, it is just because natural pearls are very rare. The GIA 7 pearl value factors are: Size, Shape, Color, Nacre, Luster, Surface, and Matching.
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Diamond
Ancient Greeks named the diamond "Adamas”, meaning “invincible”, “indestructible”, “proper” and “untamed”. Warriors in ancient Greece wore diamonds as the stones were thought to strengthen the warriors’ muscles and bring them invincibility. The power, hardness and beauty of the diamond have been prized throughout history in many civilizations. It is believed that the first diamonds were discovered in India, at least 3000 years ago, but more likely as long as 6000 years ago. The slogan of “diamond is forever”, because of the stone’s symbol of deep, everlasting love, as well as the fact that it’s the hardest substance known on earth. The custom of wearing a diamond ring on the fourth finger on the left hand comes from ancient Egyptians who believed that the vena amoris "vein of love" runs directly from this finger to the heart. |
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As the hardest mineral in existence, diamonds rate a 10 on the Mohs scale- meaning they are as hard as a stone could possibly be. Diamond is highly regarded for its beauty and ability to reflect light in an extremely dazzling way. Diamonds display a large amount of brilliance and fire, meaning they sparkle a lot, and always retain a freshly polished look. Created out of pure carbon, the carbon atoms within diamonds are bonded very strongly, which makes for the hardness and strength of the stone. Due to this, the hardest diamonds can only be scratched with other diamonds.
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Sapphire
The name Sapphire is derived from the Latin word ““Saphirus” and the Greek word “Sapheiros” both meaning blue. Sapphires have been prized as great gemstones since 800BC. Rulers of ancient Persia believed the sky was painted blue by the reflection of sapphire stones. The sapphire is a corundum, an aluminum oxide with a trigonal crystal structure, in the same family as the ruby. The only difference between a ruby and a sapphire is simply the color. A red corundum is a ruby. Other colored corundums are called sapphires, which come in many colors, the most well-known being blue. Because sapphires are available in so many colors, they are the most important and versatile of all the gemstones. |
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Sapphires also come in violet, dark gray, orange, yellow, pink, green and black, referred to as “fancy sapphires” and are often less expensive than the blue ones, yet equally as beautiful and a fine alternative to blue. A rare colored kind of sapphire is called “Padparadscha”, which means “Lotus color”. It is the only color sapphire given it’s own name besides the ruby. This stone is orange and pink simultaneously and can be very expensive.
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Ruby
The name ruby comes from the Latin word "Ruber", which means red. “A drop of the heart’s blood of Mother Earth” is how the ruby is described in the Orient. Some ancient cultures believed that rubies, as well as other gemstones, grew on trees, just like fruit. The rubies would begin budding as small white gems, and would slowly grow and ripen, turning red in the light of the sun. When the ruby was saturated with red color, it was ready to be plucked. |
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Ruby offers breathtaking color, ranging from brownish red to light red similar to ripe raspberries, excellent hardness second only to a diamond, and irresistible brilliance. The color of ruby is accompanied by a marked fluorescence, which is stimulated by natural and artificial light making rubies turn brighter red under such light. Rubies and sapphires are said to be prized just under the level of diamonds because of their hardness. Diamonds are listed as a ten in terms of hardness, sapphires as a nine.
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Emerald
The name emerald was first translated from Sanskrit as “Marakata” meaning “the green of growing things”. The name we know it as now is believed to come from an ancient Persian word, translated to Latin as “smaragdus” and eventually over time, corrupted to “Emerald”. Records show that the stone was known and sold in markets in Babylon as early as 4000 BC. |
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Emerald is the bluish green to green variety of beryl family of minerals. Emerald comes in a range of green shades, from light to dark tints of other colors ranging from yellow to blue. Emerald by nature contain inclusions that are visible to the unaided eye, referred to as “Jardin” from the French word meaning garden. This refers to the moss or branch like appearance of the flaws. The trade generally accepts eye-visible inclusions but when the inclusions have negative effect on transparency and clarity, or compromise the durability of the stone, they can lessen value. Eye-clean emeralds are extremely valuable because they are so rare.
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