The world of precious stones is a vast and fascinating field. But it is sometimes difficult to know what is a good gem and especially its value! Many ill-intentioned people can use the naivety of buyers to sell low value stones at exorbitant prices. This is why we offer you some tips to choose the best your jewelry set with stones and especially know the main bases that make a gem of good quality. Although gemology requires years of learning and advanced technical tools, it is not rocket science to quickly know the basic rules. Find these 5 helpful tips to choose your jewelry and avoid unpleasant surprises.
Tip #1: Identify a beautiful gemstone color
50% of the value of a gemstone is determined by its color. The golden rule is: Never too bright, never too dark! A beautiful fine or precious stone must have a balanced and harmonious color.
Harmony of colors
Its color should be generally, this does not apply to opals for example, equal on the whole stone. One of its sides must not be lighter or darker, everything must be uniform.
Ideal color of stone?
So yes and no, there are some very remarkable colors like the famous blue of Kashmir blue sapphire, the “red blood of pigeon” of Ruby etc. An ideal color must first match the type of stone. If we take the case of Peridot for example, the tone “perfect” (I put it in parentheses, because we’ll see that it is not completely true), must be a beautiful linden green, softened by slightly yellow tints, well balanced, neither too dark, see a little clear and very bright. But in the case of another green stone, take the famous emeralds, the green must be then more marked with reflections of blue (or yellow depending on the direction of its size: see Emerald Green). An emerald that is too light will have less value than an emerald with a well saturated tone. Let’s go even further in the green stones, taking Diopside as another example; its green must be neutral, powerful and radiant.
Each stone would have its own “ideal” color. To find out more about them, visit the complete guide to fine and precious stones at the following link> Guide to Precious and Precious Stones.
Should we only have stones with perfect colors?
Of course not, because finally the most beautiful color is the one that will please you! Take the case of Amethyst. The colors that are most popular are the Amethyst of Uruguay with their very marked purple, very intense, sees dark. But I often speak with customers who tell me to prefer amethysts with soft hues, with a pretty sweet rose. And they are right! Because first and foremost, the color of the ideal stone is only a matter of personal taste!
Tip #2: Watch the weight of the gemstone
It is often wrongly thought that the total carat weight of gemstones determines their values, 10 carats of Diamond is 10 carats of Diamond. Well no, a 3-carat stone will be much more valuable than 3 1-carat stones, which will also have more value than 30 stones of 0.1 carats.
Value not proportional to their weight .
The dimensions of the gemstone are therefore very important in assessing their value. And its value does not increase proportionally to its weight.
Imagine a stone at 10 euros for 1 carat, an identical stone of 2 carats will not cost 20 euros, but more. A stone of 10 carats will not cost 100 euros, but several hundred euros, and so on.
All weights are not equal.
But again, there is a flat. Take the case of emeralds. Russia offers a superb quality of emeralds with a beautiful color, so Russian emeralds are highly sought after by collectors for their brilliant color. But we only find very small dimensions! It is very rare to find Russian emeralds of several carats. So a 2-carat Russian emerald might be worth more than a Brazilian 3-carat emerald. Scarcity also plays on price.
Tip #3: Identify a beautiful purity
A beautiful gemstone must be very clear and bright. But again, not everything is so obvious. Precious stones (except diamonds) are grouped into three categories.
Purity corresponding to the type of the stone
Type I: The gems must be completely transparent to the naked eye at 15 cm. Never buy an Amethyst or Topaz with inclusions, spots or cracks inside! We find in this category, gemstones such as Topaz, Amethyst, and Aquamarine.
Type II: These stones have some visible inclusions. It is almost impossible to find in nature these gems without inclusion or the price quickly becomes very high. We find, for example, sapphires and rubies. The more pure and transparent a Ruby is, the more its value will increase, but you will almost always find tiny inclusions. On the other hand these stones lose a lot of value when they tend towards opaque. It often happens that some unscrupulous sellers sell fully opaque Sapphire / Ruby jewelry at very high prices on the grounds that they are genuine Sapphires / Rubies. Do not misunderstand and look for jewels set with precious stones or fine transparent ones.
Type III: There are well marked inclusions in these gems. There are stones like the emerald and its famous “garden”. Do not deceive yourself by looking at a beautiful emerald and judge that its value is low because of too many inclusions. It’s perfectly normal! And as explained above, we can find emeralds with very few inclusions, but prices soar very quickly.
Prefer observation in natural light
The different light sources make the stones appear differently. An artificial light too diffuse for example (neon) could prevent you from seeing the shards and plays of light of a stone. Approach a window by passing the sun’s rays through the gem. Play with the rays; observe it on different angles, in profile, on the top, in three-quarters, etc. Guaranteed effect! You will then see the secondary colors for the dichroic stones, the effects of each stone and in the case of an opal; you will discover the thousand wonders hidden behind this stone!
Tip #4: Knowing the origin of the stone
To choose a stone, look for its origin. Some gems can be of great value if they come from specific regions of the globe. Examples include Kashmiri Sapphires, Burmese Rubies, Colombian Emeralds, Amethysts of Uruguay and Paraiba Tourmalines from Brazil to name but a few.
Precious and precious stones are natural geological formations and in certain specific places, there have been very specific geological phenomena. These phenomena made it possible to create gems a little more particular than their sisters. Amethysts of Uruguay will for example have different metal contents that give it that unique color. And the geological phenomenon that allowed this wonder only took place in this precise place.
Be careful not to choose a stone only according to its origin! In all deposits, there are gems of good and bad qualities. An emerald from Colombia, will not be a superb emerald only because it has the denomination “of Colombia”, one finds in Zambia since a few years emeralds able to compete and even to prevail on its rival South-American.
Tip #5: Only buy jewelry with certificate of authenticity!
As in all environments where large amounts of money are at stake, there are counterfeiters and people who wish to take advantage of a buyer’s naivety or lack of knowledge.
First of all, a certificate of authenticity guarantees that the stone is not artificial and does not come out of a laboratory!
Then it will be informed the location of its extraction, as well as specific information for a possible insurance and / or expertise as its weight in carats, the size of the stone and its dimensions.
It also avoids the problems of illegal businesses that finance wars or terrorism. These certificates must comply with the international gemological standards of major bodies such as the GIA or CIBJO (International Confederation of Jewelry, Jewelry and Goldsmith) that constantly monitor the market.
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