The Gemstones Review

Featured Gemological Article

How To Start Gemstone Collecting

By Lee MacRae

Gemology is a term referring to the profession, science, and even art of evaluating and identifying gemstones from natural diamonds to loose gemstones. A number of people taken up this profession as a hobby. They become very interested in starting to collect loose diamonds or loose gemstones. You'll even find some that like to visit various locations close by to look for raw gemstones. Some even tumble or learn to cut their own gemstones. If you have an interest in this hobby follow along as we discuss the things you should know to start this hobby.

The first thing you need to do is to get some books from the library or bookstore. You want to know as much as you possibly can about your new hobby. The more you know about gemstones the wiser will be your purchases. You will know exactly what you are looking at.

Of paramount importance is the color of the gem. Gemstones at the top of the ladder exhibit colors similar to the exact spectral color of violent, blue, green,, orange or red. Muted gemstone colors or on the dark side lowers the value per carat.

Gemstone cut is an important factor to consider when buying a gemstone. The stone has to be cut with precision to reflect the light properly. A gemstone with an improper cut will be muted or washed out. Tone, color saturation, and color hue will be inconsistent.

The clarity in a stone is the next item to consider. When we talk of clarity it relates to the amount of inclusions (trace elements or large particles of other elements or minerals) that a gem has. A gemstones that is normally found to be clean is more valuable. To determine the flaws not seen with the unaided eye requires a 10X gemstone loupe or gemstone microscope. Most hobbyists will buy an inexpensive 10X gemstone or jewelers loup for examining coins, stamps and of course gemstones.

You will often find that gemstones are often listed according to size because it is more uniform than carat weight. But different gemstones may be of the same size but different carat weights and consequently, different in prices as well. This is due to the nature of gemstone difference of specific gravity depending upon the chemical composition and characteristic crystalline structure. For example, a one carat round diamond with normal proportions is approximately 6.5 mm around. A comparable a brilliant ruby of the same proportions in size will weigh in at 1.55 carats instead.

Collecting gemstones can be a great hobby. And there is such a variety in gemstones you can collect. You could try collecting Olivine (Peridot), Citrine or Zeolite (Thomsonite) and then try others. The varieties are nearly endless. And if money is tight you can go gemstone hunting and find the raw materials instead of buying them. Just in the United States in Georgia you can find Ruby, Beryl, Amethyst, Citrine, Garnet and Quartz.

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Hints On natural blue diamonds

The name for the Garnet gemstone is derived from the Latin word for grain because of the rounded crystals. It comes in many colors, except blue. The garnets normally used in jewelry designed by James Avery are generally in the red-violet to red-brown color range. In ancient times, only people of noble birth could wear garnets. Garnets mainly come from the East Coast of Africa. Small deposits are also found in the U.S., Czech Republic and India. It ranks 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness and is the birthstone for the month of January.
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A semi-precious gemstone includes any gemstone other than sapphire, emerald or ruby. The value of semi-precious gemstones can vary depending on the availability of the mineral; natural black opal, for example, is hard to come by and more valuable than most other semi-precious stones. As a rule, however, semi-precious stones are always more plentiful than precious stones. That makes it easier to find large, well-colored, very clean stones appropriate for jewelry. In addition, the wide range of colors available makes semi-precious stones the choice for people who want to create their own look with their jewelry.
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Amber comes in various shades of golden yellow. It is actually petrified pine
resin. Amber helps to allow the energies of love and closeness as mentioned
above while still maintaining the appropriate levels of boundaries in
relationships. There is a fine balance in combining your energy fields with
others. Amber helps maintain a healthy balance by protecting you from energy
vampires. It cleanses your aura. Amber is also a balancer of self-esteem and
self-confidence.
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Some natural blue diamonds Stories

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Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:56:05 GMT

Canada.com

US has Sun King's stolen gem, say French experts Canada.com, Canada - Nov 18, 2008 New evidence unearthed in France's National Museum of Natural History shows beyond reasonable doubt that the Hope Diamond is the same steely-blue stone once ...

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