Become an educated expert in diamonds, jewelry, rings, precious metals like platinum and gold as well as gemstones and pearls. Make the best purchase possible with our comprehensive education pages.
Buying diamonds and jewelry can be an overwhelming experience, but that can always be changed. Understanding a piece’s quality and characteristics is straightforward and simple. You can learn here about diamond shapes, diamond cuts, diamond color, diamond calrity, and diamond carat weight.
Our education pages are designed to answer all your questions. It explains how those characteristics influence appearance, and which are more important than others. Once you're done, you'll know everything you need to find your perfect piece.
GEMSTONES AND GEMSTONE JEWELRY
Most naturally colored gemstones are treated or enhanced to intensify its existing color, to diminish imperfections, or to improve its durability. Commonly used and accepted treatments for different types of colored stone are: Oiling, Heating which is also known as a Burning, and then there is Diffusion. Many have been heated to enhance the color and this treatment is generally excepted in the trade.
Gemstones are cut and polished for use in jewelry deign and to fulfill the requirements of beauty, durability, and rarity in jewelry. Nearly most all gemstones that are available are gemstones that have actually been enhanced. Gemstones that have not been enhanced are very recognizable by the extravagant price they command. Some enhancements, such as heating, are an expected part of the polishing and finishing process and are accepted by the jewelry industry.
SHAPES
Gemstones are cut into a wide variety of different shapes, which are usually determined by the shapes of their rough crystals. Many are also "calibrated" or cut to a consistent dimension so they are able to fit in a number of different jewelry mountings. Here the some of the more popular gemstones shapes.
QUALITY
The same "four Cs" that establish quality in Diamond are used for colored gemstones: cut, carat weight, clarity and most importantly, color.
COLOR
The more pure and vivid the color, the more valuable the gemstone. When deciding upon the color of a gemstone, examine hue, tone, and saturation.
HUE
Hue is the term used for the actual color of the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo or violet). The more pure a gemstone's hue, the more valuable. Because gemstones are comprised of many naturally occurring elements, they typically emit one primary color and one or more underlying colors.
TONE
Tone represents how light or dark a stone appears by how much brown, black, gray or white is present.
SATURATION
Saturation is the intensity of brightness or dullness of the color. The more color saturated a gemstone is, the more valuable it becomes.
SIZE
Gemstone weight is measured in Carats. The carat weight of a gemstone is not necessarily an accurate gauge for gemstone size so we list the diameter, which gives you the size of the visible part of the stone when set in jewelry.
The term carats is often confused with "Karats". "Karat" is a measurement of gold purity and has no relationship to the term Carats.
CLARITY
Gemstones contain characteristic inclusions that provide proof of their natural origin. Those inclusions should not be so visible that they detract from the beauty of the gemstone. Flawless gemstones are very rare and valuable, and even most high-end gemstones are at least slightly included.
CUT
Unlike Diamonds, colored gems are not cut to a uniform ideal. All gemstones must be cut well to attain their maximum potential for beauty. A well-cut colored gemstone exhibits even color, a minimal number of inclusions, good brilliance and shows the majority of Carat weight when viewed from the top.
Quality cutting is what produces the brilliance and scintillation that captures the eye of the beholder.
The Mohs Scale of Hardness
The Moh's scale was devised in 1812 by Austrian mineralogist, Friedrich Moh, to measure a mineral's hardness and it's resistance to scratching. The scale goes from talc as number 1, being the softest, to diamonds as number 10, being the hardest substance known.
PROPER CARE
A little time and effort on your part will keep your gemstone looking new from the day you purchase it. By having your gemstone set in a relatively protective setting, and remaining conscious of it on your finger, you can keep your gemstone intact for a lifetime.
TYPES OF GEMSTONES AND WHAT THEIR COLOR CONSISTS OF
ARE AS FOLLOWS BELOW:
