Gemstones Resources

Gemological Information Article

Collecting Gemstones

By Lee MacRae

Gemology is a term referring to the art, profession and science of evaluating and identifying gemstones from loose gemstones to natural diamonds. A number of people taken up this profession as a hobby. They become very interested in starting to collect loose gemstones or loose diamonds. A number of these hobbyists start to travel to different areas to look for raw gemstones. Some even tumble or learn to cut their own gemstones. If this hobby interest you follow along as we reveal the in and outs of gemstone collecting.

The very first step in becoming a gemstone collector the smart way is through the power of knowledge. By taking a look in your local bookstore you can locate all you need to know about the subject that will help you to know exactly what you should do.

The chief thing you need to consider should be gemstone color. You'll want the stone to be as close as possible to the pure colors of the spectrum. We are talking about blue, green, yellow, orange, red and violet. The prices for very pale or very dark semiprecious and precious stones are lower than the vibrant colors.

Gemstone cut is easily one of the most important aspects when evaluating gemstones. The stone has to be cut correctly to reflect light properly. A stone that has a poor cut will never be able to reflect light consistently. The hue, tone and color saturation will always appear inconsistent

Our next consideration is the clarity of the gemstone. The aspect of clarity refers to internal flaws (inclusions) or the external blemishes of a stone being considered. Any large flaws are visible to the unaided eye with the others needing a 10X magnification.

Gemstones are often listed according to their size aspect since it is more uniform than carat weight. But two different gemstones may be of the same size but differ in carat weights and as a result different pricing structures. This is due to gemstone difference regarding relative density or specific gravity depending upon the chemical composition and characteristic crystalline structure. Normally a one carat brilliant 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.

Getting involved in collecting gemstones can give you an enjoyable pastime and also rewarding in the long run. You don't need to spend a lot of money and yet you can buy some very beautiful items. Many people love to set aside vacation or weekend time to go hunting gemstones. Just in the United States in Alabama you can find Beryl, blue and yellow; Smoky Quartz and Hematite. Or you can take the time to travel and find opal at Lightning Ridge in NSW, Austalia, topaz in Mt Surprise or O'Briens Creek in Queensland, Australia or hunt the sapphire fields in Anakie, Rubyvale, Sapphire, Glenalva, The Willows, Inverell or Glen Innes in Queensland, Austalia.

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Moonstone is a translucent stone that has a shimmering affest called
adularescence. It is often worn in rings, pendants or bead necklaces. Moonstone
comes in colorless, white, yellow, orange, and gray. It always has a white or
blue sheen. That is, moonstone reflects light in a distinctive shimmering
phenomenon known as adularescence. Moonstone has a hardness of 6.
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In the 1950's the Gemological Institute of America established a system for
grading diamonds based on the four C's. This was a great asset to the diamond
community and it became the standard for grading world wide. While the system
for grading color and clarity removed most redundancies, the standards for
grading the cut left something to be desired. That is not necessarily a
criticism of the GIA; no one has been able to establish a simple a usable system
that would cover all the variables involved.
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