How To Collect Gemstones
By Lee MacRae
Many people, young and old, say collecting loose gemstones or loose diamonds is their favorite hobby. They love the colors and the beauty Of the assorted number of gemstones you can find just about everywhere in the world. Read long as we look at a number of factors you should understand when starting to collect varieties of gemstones yourself.
Right at the start you need to learn all you can on each of the gemstones out there. You'll find it very helpful to know the properties of each stone and prevent you from wasting your money. Get the answer to questions like how, where and what to buy.
First on the list to evaluate is gemstone color. It is a fact that gemstones are the most intensely colored naturally occurring materials you can find. These materials are so related to their color that they've even had their names combined with associated colors. You've no doubt heard about emerald green, ruby red, sapphire blue, jade green, turquoise or aquamarine. Gemstones are valued much higher they closer they are to natural spectral colors of yellow, blue, violet, green, orange and red. They drop in value when they are lighter or darker than the pure spectral color.
The cut of the gemstone is the second most important value determination to look at before a purchase is made. The precision of the cut will determine how much light is reflected by the gemstone. The cut will factor highly in the brilliance of the stone and its final value.
The clarity of a gemstone is our next factor. Gemstone clarity relates to the absence of flaws or blemishes inside the stone. A gemstones that is normally found to be clean is more valuable. To examine flaws not seen with the naked eye you need a gem microscope or gemstone clarity magnifier. Serious hobbyists will use an inexpensive 10X gemstone or jewelers loup for examining coins, stamps and of course gemstones.
Another consideration 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. Take the example of a diamond that weighs 1.00 carats and a ruby of equal size would weigh 1.20 carats. An Emerald of equal size would be approximately 0.95 carats while an Alexandrite stone would be about 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 simply too big and fragile for use in jewelry. Take each loose gemstone and consider it as a piece of art and value it for its unusual nature and for the craftsmanship of the artisan who shaped it. 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 New Hampshire you can rock hunt for Beryl, Rock Crystal and Garnet. And in Canada you can hunt for opal in the Okanagan, British Columbia or amazonite (microcline) near Eganville, Onttario as well as ammolite from Lethbridge, Alberta. Think of gemstone collecting for the great hobby it is.
Buy uncut loose gemstones or loose diamonds to buy and natural diamonds today in our store!
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More Information On natural fancy colored diamonds
Tips on buying gemstone beads:
Look for the best quality gemstone (if buying real gemstones)
Verify that the cracks in a gemstone bead are not darker than the bead itself (
if so, the bead is dyed)
If the beads are being sold in a 16" strand -- I make sure it is 16" -- not 14"
or 15" if possible.
Make sure beads are not cracked or chipped by the holes as this tears the thread
Evenly shaped beads (as appropriate)
Good color (so can create harmonious necklaces and matching earrings)
Good sized holes (so can use a stronger thread)
Buy uncut loose gemstones today!
Topaz is a very large stone. One giant gem at the Viennese Historical museum is
reputed to weigh 585,000 carats. The rarest topaz is the Imperial Topaz and pink
topaz. Pakistan is the only place today where rose-red tinted topaz can be found
today. All other pink topazes get their color from heat treatments of up to 475?
C. Imperial topaz is has a yellow tint to it while other members of the topaz
family can be completely colorless. Some of the most beautiful examples of topaz
are the famous blue topaz which can have colorful ranges starting with light
blue stones. The very deep blue topaz is artificially produced by heating and
irridation processes. One of the most interesting characteristics about topaz is
that it bleaches in daylight and then renews itself as the light subsides. The
color changes occur because of natural heating and irridation.
Buy loose quartz gemstones today!
Tanzanite is a relatively new gemstone introduced by Tiffany's. It's unique blue
color looks fabulous. Tanzanite gem stones make wonderful eye-catching jewelry.
Tanzanite gems may be blue, purple or slate gray. Tanzanite has a hardness
rating of 6.5. Tanzanite gem stones are often heat treated to improve its color
and clarity.
Buy Opal Doublets loose gemstones today!
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Labels: loose diamond chips
