Why I Like Gemstones

The Hobby Of Gemstone Collecting

By Lee MacRae

Many people today say collecting loose gemstones or loose diamonds is their favorite hobby. They simply love the beauty and the colors of the various gemstones you can find just about everywhere in the world. This article will look at a number of factors you should understand when starting to collect gemstones yourself.

The first step in starting the hobby of collecting gemstones the wise way is through the power of knowledge. By taking a look in your local bookstore you'll find numerous books on gemstones that will make you an informed buyer.

The first item to take into account should be the color of the gemstone. You want the stone to be as close in color as possible to the pure colors of the spectrum. This means violet, orange, yellow, green, blue, and red. In general terms, the prices of very dark are very pale semiprecious and precious stones are lower than the vibrant colors.

Gemstone cut is very important and factors into appraisal of diamonds but along with your gemstones. An excellent cut will highlight the pure color of the stone, diminish any inclusions, and highlight the proportions and symmetry of the stone. One excellent method to determine the precision in its cut is to check how consistent and well, it reflects the light over the stones complete surface. If the gemstone is cut to shallow most of this light were refracted away instead of reflecting inside the gemstone. Gem color appears washed out.

Another factor to consider is the stone's clarity. This is talking about the purity of the stone with no internal conclusions, internal particles or spots inside the crystal. Needless to say, stones with no flaws will make a gemstone very valuable.

You will note that gemstones are categorized according to their size criteria because of being more uniform than carat weight. But different gemstones may be the same size but differ in carat weights and as a result different prices as well. This is due to gemstone difference of specific gravity or relative density depending upon the materials chemical composition and crystalline structure. For example, a one carat round diamond of typical proportions will be approximately 6.5 mm in diameter. A comparable round brilliant ruby of the same size and proportions will weigh approximately 1.55 carats.

Although gemstones are normally used for jewelry, loose gemstones are great for collecting. In fact, there are many attractive and interesting gems that are too fragile or too large to be used in jewelry. Take each loose gemstone and consider it as a piece of art and value it for its unique nature and vibrant colors. And unlike some hobbies that require you to pay for your specimens you can find your raw materials through field trips In the United States in Alabama you can find Beryl, blue and yellow; Smoky Quartz and Hematite. And in Canada you can find nephrite jade in Mount Ogden, British Columbia or Tourmaline from Chatham Twonship, Quebec and even zircons in Sebastopol and Brudnell Townships in Renfew County, Ontario. Think of collecting gemstones as a great hobby and pastime.

Buy smoky quartz loose gemstones along with buying loose diamonds as well as diamond naturals today in our store!

Gemstones For Sale

Hints On loose cut gemstones

Chrome Diopside is an all-natural, untreated gemstone. This means that no heat, radiation, diffusion or oils are used to enhance the stone. It ranks 5 to 6 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness.
Buy a loose gemstone today!

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.
Buy Cabochon Tourmaline loose gemstones today!

loose cut gemstones News From Around The World

JJS 2008 set to make a splash in the gem and jewellery industry - Diamond World Magazine

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:43:21 GMT

JJS 2008 set to make a splash in the gem and jewellery industry Diamond World Magazine, India - Dec 15, 2008 White gold ornaments are expected to be in great demand as also ornaments with traditional and oriental look with fancy cut gemstones. ...

Hammered Oval Earrings #4:White Pearl/gg (e-hro4-wp-gg)

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:47:34 -0800
Hammered vermeil oval, measuring 1 1/2'', with white pearl rondelle accent. 14kt gold-fill earwires. Also available in silver. Available in all sizes, 1-5. Please select stone color: garnet, pink tourmaline, citrine, peridot, hessionite, white pearl, black onyx, white quartz, black pearl, carnelian, blue topaz, mystic topaz, apatite, green apatite, dark apatite, london blue etc.

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