Another Great Gemstones and Diamonds Authority Bog: Aug 4, 2008

Monday, August 04, 2008

Gemstones Resources

Collecting Prescious And Semi-Prescious Stones

By Lee MacRae

Why would anyone collect items like loose gemstones, you ask? Well for one thing they are very beautiful items. And like their more familiar cousin, natural diamonds, they can become extremely valuable over the years. Many hobbyists love to find, collect and finish each and every one of the 150 varieties available. Follow along as we discuss the hobby of loose gemstone collecting.

To start off right you need to learn all you can on each of the gemstones out there. This will help you to know what exactly you're looking for and prevent you from wasting your money. A knowledgeable buyer is a wise one.

Color is a subjective idea but a very important part in giving value to a gemstone. The closer the color comes to its pure spectral color the more valuable the stone becomes. Traditionally, these specter colors are orange, green, yellow, Violet and blue. Gemstones colors that are darker or paler tend to be less valued.

Cut is one of the all-important 4Cs and factors into appraisal of diamonds but gemstones as well. An excellent cut will highlight the pure color of the stone, lessen any inclusions and show off its symmetry and proportions. One excellent way to determine the excellence of the cut is to consider how evenly it reflects light over its entire surface. If the stone is cut on the shallow side much of the light will refract out of the gem instead of reflecting inside. The gem appears washed out.

Gemstone clarity is the next item to consider. When we talk of clarity it relates to the amount of inclusions (trace elements or large particles of other elements or minerals) that a gem has. A perfect gemstone is definitely worth much more. To examine flaws not seen with the naked eye requires a 10X gemstone clarity magnifier or gem microscope. Most hobbyists will employ a jewelers diamond gemstone loupe 10X for viewing stamps, coins, beads as well as gems.

Next item to look at is the duo of weight and size. Due to the fact gemstones vary and specific gravity or density. Weight and size are not necessarily equal across the board. If a diamond of a certain size weighs 1.00 carats then an equal sized ruby would weigh 1.20 carats instead. An Emerald of equal size would be approximately 0.95 carats while an Alexandrite gem stone would came in at 1.23 carats.

Although gemstones are normally used for jewelry, they are perfectly good collectibles in their own right. Actually there are many interesting and attractive gems that are too fragile or too large to be used in jewelry. Here's a suggestion -- don't think of a gem as a component of jewelry; Think of it as a mini sculpture or piece of art to be highly treasured for its unique nature and vibrant colors. And in this hobby you don't have to always lay out cash because you can actually go hunting for raw gemstones in the field. In the US in Alabama you can find Beryl, blue and yellow; Smoky Quartz and Hematite. And if you travel to Canada you will find nephrite jade in Mount Ogden, British Columbia or amazonite (microcline) near Eganville, Onttario as well as the unique deep blue beryl in Canada's Yukon Territory. Think of gemstone collecting for the great hobby it is.

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Tips On loose diamond sales

The 1990 U.S. output of natural gemstones was primarily from Tennessee,
California, Arizona, Arkansas, Montana, Nevada, and Maine. An estimated 80,000
visitors found a total of 315 carats of diamonds in the Crater of Diamonds State
Park in Arkansas. There were sizeable yields of freshwater pearls in Tennessee,
turquoise in Arizona and Nevada, tourmaline in Maine, and tourmaline, kunzite,
and garnet in California. U.S. production of commercial gems includes agate,
beryl, freshwater pearl, garnet, jade, jasper, mother-of-pearl, opal, peridot,
quartz, sapphire, tourmaline, and turquoise.
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Sapphires do twinkle. This is caused by the smaller, microscopic stones inside
the primary gem that were created at the same time. This twinkling phenomenon is
known as "silk" referring to its silky and silvery qualities. It appears as a
star that seems to be imposed over a silk like background.
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loose diamond sales News

RPT-Shrenuj sees 25-30 pct sales growth in FY09 - Reuters India

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:06:50 GMT

RPT-Shrenuj sees 25-30 pct sales growth in FY09
Reuters India, India - Jul 8, 2008
The jewellery business, where the gross margin is higher than in loose diamonds, will have a larger share this year of the total business, group executive ...

Double Cube Necklace

Two tiny cubes: sterling silver and 23kt gold vermeil. All sterling silver chain and findings. Necklace measures 16".

Vermeil Disc Drop Earrings with Sterling Accent

Graduated hand linked brushed sterling silver and 23kt gold vermeil discs. All sterling silver or 23kt gold vermeil components. 14kt goldfill earwires. Earrings hang approximately 1.5" from base of earwires.

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More Information On Gemstones

Latest Article On Gemstones

Collecting Prescious And Semi-Prescious Gemstones

By Lee MacRae

Gemology is the art, profession and science of evaluating and identifying gemstones from loose gemstones to natural diamonds. Many people take up gemology as a passionate hobby. They become interested in collecting loose gemstones or loose diamonds. You'll even find some that like to travel to different areas close by to look for rough gemstones. Some even tumble or learn to cut their own gemstones. If you have an interest in this hobby read along as we discuss the different aspects of this hobby.

The first step in becoming a gemstone collector the smart way is by acquiring knowledge about them. By taking a quick trip to the library or local bookstore you can locate all you need to know about the subject that will make you an informed buyer.

First on your list to look at should be the color of the gemstone. You'll want the stone to be as close in color as possible to the pure spectrum colors. This means red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Generally, the prices very pale or very dark precious and semi precious stones are lower.

Gemstone cut is an important factor to consider in evaluating gemstones. The stone has to be cut correctly to reflect light properly. A stone that has a poor cut will not reflect light consistently over its entire surface. The hue, tone and color saturation will always look inconsistent.

Our next consideration is the issue of gemstone clarity. Clarity is the term that refers to the internal flaws ( known as inclusions) or the outside blemishes of a stone. Larger flaws can be seen with the unaided eye while others require close examination using a 10X magnification.

Gemstones are often listed according to their size criteria since it is more uniform than carat weight. But different gemstones may be the same size but have different carat weights that result in different in prices as well. This is due to the nature of gemstone difference of specific gravity and depends on the materials chemical composition and crystal structure type For example, a one carat round diamond with standard proportions will be approximately 6.5 mm in diameter. A comparable round brilliant ruby of the same size and proportions will weigh in at 1.55 carats.

Although gems are frequently used in jewelry, they are perfectly good collectibles in their own right. In fact, there are many attractive and interesting gemstones that are too fragile or too large to be used in jewelry. Look at each loose gemstone and consider it as a piece of art and value it for its unique nature and vibrant colors. And in this hobby you don't have to always lay out cash because you can find your raw materials through field trips In the United States in Georgia you can find Ruby, Beryl, Amethyst, Citrine, Garnet and Quartz. And in Canada you can find opal in the Okanagan, British Columbia or amazonite (microcline) near Eganville, Onttario and even Ammolite, a rare gemstone found only in southern Alberta. Take up gemstone collecting and you won't regret it.

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Hints About buying loose diamonds

The name peridot most probably derives from the Arabic word "faridat" for gem. It's also called chrysolith (derived from the Greek word "goldstone") and olivine, because of its color and membership to the olivine group.
Historically the volcanic island Zabargad (St. John) in the Red Sea, east of Egypt, was the most important deposit that was exploited for 3500 years. Today's main deposits are in Arizona, China, Vietnam and Pakistan. The Pakistani peridot in particular is very fine, and a new find in Pakistan in the mid-1990's has made peridot available to a wider market.
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Hunderds of minerals have been cut as gems. Of these, some are considerably
rarer than the popular gems. A good example is California�s state gem, benitoite
. This is one of the better known of the rare gems, both because it is the state
�s gem and because the notoriety the Gemological Society of America has given it
. They use it as an example in their classes of a beautiful and durable gem that
will never have a significant impact on the market because of it�s limited
availability.
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A style of cut found in gemstone jewelry are cabochons. Cabochon cuts are widely
used for gemstones that are 1) of lower clarity and therefore will not reflect
much light. And/or 2) are of exceptional color and/or 3) are opaque in nature (
such as opal or onyx) and or 4) have special optical properties or inclusions
that are best displayed in cabochons (e.g. cat�s eye or star ruby) 5) are too
soft to be cut in facets (moonstone, opal)
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