Dazzling and unique gemstones emitting mesmerizing hues are the signifiers of various milestones in our life. They not only amplify our style statement but make a wonderful gift for a special one. Gemstones have been among us for centuries, but it requires some handy knowledge and a great eye to find the right one.
Are you thinking about buying a gemstone? Are you looking for a source to get the best gemstones? If so, you’re in the right place. In this article, we are going to share some valuable information regarding gemstones to ease your buying experience. So, jump on this bandwagon to the gemstone land!
What is a Gemstone?
Before getting into the discussion as to which glorious gemstones are right for you, why not have a little bit of introduction to gemstones? Basically, a gemstone is an organic material or a mineral that is extracted from the sea or the earth. The value of a gemstone is determined by the level of its rarity and beauty.
After being mined, gemstones appear dull and asymmetrical in appearance, but once a jeweler cuts and polishes them, they find their attraction and appeal. Gemstones can be of various hues, colors, and symmetry depending on the climate condition and geometrical features of where they’re found.
Precious and Semi-Precious Gemstones
When it comes to gemstones, every single one of them is unique due to the specific mineral makeup they possess. However, certain gemstones are more valuable than the others due to their cultural significance, scarcity, appearance, and accessibility. Precious gemstones offer strong chemical makeup, purity, and make up most of the purchases around the world. We’ve provided a list of precious and semi-precious stones below.
Precious Gemstones
Diamonds, Emeralds, Sapphires and Rubies
Semi-precious Gemstones
Quartz, Garnet, Opal, Zircon, Amethysts and Agate
Here are some of our amethyst and garnet selections:
What is The Difference Between Minerals and Organic Gemstones?
As of now, we know that gemstones can precious or semi-precious, depending on some factors mentioned above. But did you know that gemstones are also categorized as mineral or organic?
Organic gemstones are those obtained from a living organism, including sea life and bugs. Organic gemstones include pearl, coral, and amber.
While on the other hand, mineral gemstones are those which are extracted from the earth through a mining process. Under the mineral gemstones category, each stone possesses a unique structure due to the variance in time, pressure and heat.
Organic Gemstones
Pearls can be obtained from oysters; both live in freshwater and saltwater. Oysters, from the layers overlapping in sand particles, form a beautiful pearl.
Coral is formed in the ocean by coral polyps, coral is the hard skeleton left behind when a coral dies.
Amber is a fossilized mineral formed in the sap of a pine tree, it can be found in pink, brown, or gold colors.
Mineral Gemstones
Diamonds are renowned as the world’s most sturdy mineral gemstone, diamond is the colorless concentration of carbon. Diamonds derive their strength from immense pressure and heat applied during their formation. Usually, diamonds are perceived to be colorless, but they can be also found in yellow to brown shades.
Rubies are actually sapphires made from aluminium oxide that get their red color from the inclusion of chromium.
Sapphires are made from aluminium oxide and can be found in a variety of colors, including pink gemstones and yellow gemstones, but blue gemstones are far more common.
Emeralds belong to the beryl family and is made of beryllium aluminium, with inclusions of vanadium, chromium, and iron.
Is your Gemstone Natural or Synthetic?
With advancements in technology, humans have found a way to craft beautiful and attractive gemstones synthetically. Yes, we are talking about lab created gemstones. They are easily available in the market and are less expensive than gemstones extracted naturally from the earth.
Some of the features associated with lab created gemstones are as follows.
They require no mining effort to be extracted.
They can be created more quickly than natural ones.
They possess the same chemical makeup and structure as natural ones.
They are conflict-free, so they generally come without any extra ethical complications.
Take a look at some of our other content, if you’re interested in learning more about ethical and sustainable jewelry brands. Ethical diamonds can be certified using the Kimberly process.
Remember The Four Cs Of Gemstones While Buying One
If you are looking for a gemstone, knowing the four Cs is extremely important. The four Cs include Colour, clarity, cut and carat and determine the value of a gemstone in the market. Once you know about the four Cs, it allows you to narrow down your choices.
The gemstone colors depend on the stone you choose. However, the color can be further divided into three categories, including hue, saturation and tone. The value of the gemstones varies with the amount of saturation offered, the rarity of the hue and the tone in a specific color category.
Next comes the clarity factor; it means how much a stone is pure from impurities or inclusions. The gemstones found naturally in the earth gone through a very messy procedure of formation and hence tend to store inclusions in them. The clearer a gemstone is, the more clear its inclusions will be. A stone without inclusion gets a high price in the market.
The size of a gemstone can be measured by using carat or weight instead of size. As gemstones are made of various minerals, they vary in their densities. That’s why the weight of a one-carat emerald and ruby are the same. They vary in size, as rubies are denser than emeralds.
Gemstones shine due to the phenomenon of refraction, and their refraction of light is determined by their cut and facet. After being extracted, gemstones go through quite a lot of transformation to gain their final shape. You can amplify the brilliance of a stone by giving it a beautiful geometric cut.
Gemstone Cuts
Step cuts culminate in a mirror-like shape involving square and rectangular facets.
Brilliant cuts are renowned as the most famous due to the intense sparkle they offer.
Ceylon cuts are a combination of the brilliant-cut and step-cut gives the beautiful ceylon cut.
Rose-cuts have a flat bottom with equal-sized triangles throughout the stone, a rose cut is quite similar to a brilliant cut.
Cabochon cuts are usually used in the making of jewelry, where the cabochon cut gemstones are polished and fitted.
Barion Cuts are another fine combination of a brilliant cut and a step cut.
Checkerboard cuts are most commonly found in cushion-shaped gemstones, the checkerboard cut is similar to a rose cut. But in this cut, instead of using the same sized triangles, the jeweler uses same-sized squares.
Old mine cuts have relatively larger facets and a much taller crown and looks similar to a brilliant cut.
‘Eight cuts‘ are the simplified version of brilliant-cut having only eight facets.
This concludes the basics our article on the basics of gemstones! Feel free to shoot us an email if you have any questions about gemstones or about the gemstone infused jewely we have on offer! Take a look at our wholesale silver jewelry store if you’re interested in perusing our gemstone selection! Or, check for more information on Taxco silver.