Glittering Stones >> How To Buy A Gem

How to buy a Gem

All gems were definitely not created equal.

Within each gemstone assortment quality dramatically affects price: a ruby could sell for $10 or $1,000,000. Most experts counsel buying the best excellence gemstone you can afford. In general, lesser gemstones of higher excellence appreciate more over time than larger stones of lower quality.

If your budget is too small to buy the superiority you want, consider buying a higher quality gemstone from an extraordinary variety. Well-known gemstone varieties like ruby, emerald and also sapphire - which have been precious for centuries - are more precious than more recently exposed gemstones which are also good-looking and rare. You may be surprised how beautiful and reasonable garnets, tourmalines, tanzanites, and other exotic gemstones can be.

Value factors: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight

Gemstone quality and value are examined according to the "four Cs": color, clarity, cut, and carat weight.

Color
Color is the key factor. A ordinary misperception in judging gems is people take for granted that the darker the color, the better the stone. That isn't true: color could be too dark, like few sapphires that look blacker than blue. If a gem's color is too dark, it is subdued and unconscious. A much better rule of thumb is the brighter and additional rich and vivid the color the better. In general, within each gemstone diversity, a clear, medium-tone, very strong and saturated primary color is the most chosen. Muted colors or colors between hues, which you may find very gorgeous, are usually less exclusive. Look at the color in different kinds of light.

Clarity
The next most important factor moving value is clarity, with clear transparent gemstones with no visible flaws being the majority valued. Some gemstone varieties, notably emerald and also red tourmaline, are very rare without inclusions of some kind so the price structure takes this into account.

Some gemstones are esteemed for their inclusions! Phenomenal gemstones owe their stars and eyes to its inclusions. Tiny inclusions reflecting back light put the eye in cat's-eye chrysoberyl and the star in star sapphire. Inclusions could also be a birthmark, telling us where a exacting gemstone was mined.

Cut
A good cut is something that may not cost more but could add or subtract a lot of beauty. A well-cut faceted gemstone reflects light back evenly across the surface area when held face up. If the stone is too bottomless and narrow, areas will be dark. If it is too shallow and wide, parts of the stone would be washed out and inert the best way to judge cut is to look at comparable gemstones next to each other. Ask your jeweler to show you a well-cut gemstone.

Weight
Gemstones are normally sold by weight not by size. The price would be per carat, which is one-fifth of a gram. Some gems are heavier than others so the same weight stone could be a different size! The carat weight also affects the cost: large gemstones are rarer, so the price per carat is higher.

In general, gemstone pricing within each variety follows common sense: the better-looking the gemstone, with the final visual result of all the quality factors, the more valuable it is. Don't be afraid to choose what looks best to you!