Featured Gemstone Article
Starting The Hobby Of Loose Gemstone Collecting
By Lee MacRae
Why collect loose gemstones you ask? Well for one thing they are very beautiful items. And like their higher counterpart, natural diamonds they can appreciate in value over time. Many hobbyists love to collect and work with the nearly 150 types of gemstones found today. This article will look at the hobby of collecting loose gemstones.
To begin with your first priority is to get some books from the library or bookstore. You want to learn as much as you possibly can about your new hobby. The more you understand about each kind of gemstone the less likely you are to make a mistake. You need to be as informed as possible.
The first item to take into account is gemstone color. You want the stone that is as close as possible to the pure spectrum colors. We are talking about violet, orange, yellow, green, blue, and red. The prices of very dark are very pale stones are lower than the vibrant colors.
Cut is one of the all-important 4Cs and is used not only to appraise 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 method to determine the precision of the cut of the stone 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 gemstone. The gem appears washed out.
Gemstone clarity is the next item to consider. When we talk of clarity it relates to the absence of flaws or blemishes inside the stone. A gemstones that is normally found to be clean is obviously worth more. To determine the flaws not seen with the unaided eye you need a 10X gemstone loupe (gemstone clarity magnifier) or gem microscope. Serious hobbyists will employ an inexpensive 10X gemstone or jewelers loup for viewing stamps, coins, beads as well as gems.
Next thing to look at is the duo of weight and size. Due to their nature gemstones can vary greatly in density and specific gravity. Weight and size are not necessarily equal across the board. If you have a diamond that weighs 1.00 carats an equal sized Sapphire would weigh more than 1.20 carats. An Emerald of equal size would be approximately 0.95 carats while an Alexandrite gemstone would be about 1.23 carats.
Collecting various gemstones can create an enjoyable hobby and pastime. And there is a wide range and variety in precious and semi precious stones that you can collect. You can start collecting gemstones like Kunzite, Opal (Girasol) or Zeolite (Thomsonite) and then try others. The opportunities are seemingly endless. And if you like to save money but love vacations you can find gemstones for yourself instead of buying. For example in Alabama you can find Beryl, blue and yellow; Smoky Quartz and Hematite.
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Zircon is somewhat soft so avoid scratches and sharp blows. Avoid hot water and
household chemicals. Brown Zicon is usually heat treated to change them to
colorless or blue Zircon. Blue stones that revert to brown will regain the blue
if reheated. Blue Zircon reheated in the presence of oxygen will change to a
golden yellow.
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The best quality amber comes from the Baltic region (the coasts of Poland and
the USSR). Some of this amber has been washed to the shores of Norway, Denmark
and England.Amber is thought to help one be joyful and happy. It lightens the
burdens of life.
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Many natural gemstones such as the ruby, sapphire, and emerald are becoming so rare and expensive to mine that laboratory-grown gemstones are used often in jewelry designs. The first lab-grown gemstone was produced in 1902 in Paris, France by a chemist named Louis Verneuil. A gemstone that is grown in a laboratory is not imitation or artificial, and is carefully crystallized over time. It has essentially the same optical, physical and chemical properties as a natural gemstone. Only a trained gemologist can tell them apart. Natural gemstones such as rubies and emeralds can be 10 to 50 times more expensive than the cost of a lab-grown gemstone in a similar quality. And laboratory-grown emeralds and rubies are often superior to natural stones in both clarity and color.
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