Where Are Diamonds are Mined?

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If you own a nice quality diamond such as a 0.72 carat round brilliant cut loose diamond, you may wonder where diamonds actually come from…

Well it may well have come from the largest producing diamond mine in the world known as the Argye mine. The Argye mine is owned by Rio Tinto, it is located in the Kimberley area in Western Australia. » Continue reading “Where Are Diamonds are Mined?”

Discover What Determines the Value of Your Diamonds

It’s simple to price most retail products for the market place, mark up being between 15-30%, the cost of marketing and how much the product costs to produce.

But, when it comes to determining the value of a diamond such as a 0.63 carat round brilliant cut loose diamond, many aspects need to be taken into consideration.

A rough diamond is your raw product, to make your rough diamond marketable, it must be cut. The cutting process cost money to accomplish, once you have a cut diamond you will need it to be certified by an independent company. » Continue reading “Discover What Determines the Value of Your Diamonds”

Gemstones Listed By Color

An important decision to make when buying natural stone jewelry is what color you choose. There exist many kinds of gemstones and they are available in all colors of the rainbow. There really is no reason to be held back buying gemstones or natural stone jewelry because of the color. The only thing to keep in mind when buying gems is that some colors might be more expensive than others. Below you find a list of the most common gemstones categorized per color:

  • Blue Gems
    Blue gems fit nicely together with jewelry. Silver jewelry in particular is very well suited to be used with blue colored gems. In this category you can choose between blue sapphire, tanzanite or aquamarine. Aquamarine is crystal clear light blue gem with a very nice brilliance while sapphire and tanzanite are deep blue. Tanzanite has a vibrant color play because at daylight it has a blue sparkle while the color purple is predominant with indirect lighting. Another gem that’s known for its mytical deep blue color is blue sapphire.
  • Red Gems
    Ruby is one of those gemstones that almost everyone has heard of. Ruby is so well known because of it’s fiery red color which is a sign of eternal love. It is the ideal present for the one you love. A ring with a ruby is the perfect present for valentine.
  • Yellow Gems
    Citrine is a variety of quartz whose color ranges from a yellow to orange or brown. The name citrine is derived from the latin word ‘citrina’ which mean yellow. Citrine has indeed a fresh, reviving color that reminds you to the summer. Other yellow colored gemstones are amber and tigers eye.
  • Green Gems
    Emerald is the most famous green gemstone. It’s a very valuable gemstone because of it’s color and the rarity. Peridot is another green gem but unlike emerald it has a more grassy green color.

Semi Precious Gemstones

There are so many different types of gemstones that it becomes difficult to identify what’s real and what’s not. The price of semi precious gemstones is determined by several factors such  as the color, the size, the cut, the clarity, the weight, etc. When buying gems, loose or processed in jewelry (rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets) there are some things you can check to ensure it’s a real, natural, high quality gem. There are some factors that define the grade of semi precious gemstones. These factors are commonly refered as the 4 C’s, carat, color, clarity and cut. A combination of these factors determine the price and rarity of the gem.

  • Carat
    Gemstones are weighted in carat, 1 carat is equal to 200 milligrams. Gemstones should be weighted with great precision because a small difference in carat can make a considerable change in price depending on the other 3 factors. Don’t confuse carat with karat. The latter one refers to the purity of gold or gold alloys.
  • Color
    Color is one of the most important things to consider when buying gems. The color you choose will limit the choices you have in type of stones. Some gemstones are rarer than others and this will influence the price. Another thing that will have an impact on the price is the specific variety of color you pick. There is always some color variation between different stones from the same kind. Color is composed of 3 dimmensions: hue (the primary color such as blue, red, orange), tone (how light or dark the color is) and saturation (intensity of the color). As a rule of thumb a bright, intense, pure, rich and vivid color is best.
  • Clarity
    Clarity of a gemstone is primarilly affected by blemishes and inclusions that are formed during the crytalisation process. Althought sometimes this might affect the beauty of the stone, it is also a proof of the authenticy. Semi precious stones without these marks are very rare and will affect the value. Gemstones like tanzanite, citrine, aquamarine, topaz and kunzite are typically eye clean while gemstones like ruby, emerald, sapphire and red tourmaline are almost always visibly included.
  • Cut
    The appearance of a gem is greatly affected by the cut of the gem. Precious stones are always cut to maintain the maximum weight while exposing an optimal brilliance and color. Normally each stone is analyzed individually to decide on the ideal cut. A well cut gem comes alive and sparkles under direct light, there shouldn’t be any dark or washed out zones.

Difference Between Crystals And Gems

What’s the difference between crystals and gems?

You probably have never put any thought in it but what makes a stone a gemstone and how does a gemstone differentiates from a crystal? Let me say you this is not an exact science and there is no clear answer to this question. There is no clear answer because the definition about what a gemstone is is very open. What makes a stone a gemstone hasn’t anything to do with the properties of the material. This is what wikipedia says about gemstones:

A gemstone or gem (also called a precious or semi-precious stone, or jewel) is a piece of attractive mineral, which when cut and polished is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However certain rocks, (such as lapis lazuli) and organic materials (such as amber or jet) are not minerals, but are still used for jewelry, and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their lustre or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gemstone.

In essence each stone that is worth collecting or to use as jewelry or art by its color, luster, shape or rarity is a gem. Previously there was a distinction between precious and semi-precious gems. Precious stones such as diamond, aquamarine, ruby, emerald and sapphire are harder than semi-precious stones. Semi-precious gems such as amethyst, tiger eye and quartz were considerd to fragile to be used in jewelry, but nowadays this distinction is not made anymore. A gemstone can be a crystal but this is not a requirement.

A crystal is a mineral with a crystalline form. The atoms or molecules are arranged in a regular geometric pattern. A crystal may or may not be a gemstone. A salt crystal for example is not a gemstone because it’s not rare and not durable.

The one thing to remember from this all is that there is no real difference between crystals and gems. A gemstone is just a piece of rock that’s valuable for people because of it’s prettiness.