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Gemstone Article Of The Month

How To Start Gemstone Collecting

By Lee MacRae

Gemology is the science, art and profession of identifying and evaluating gemstones from natural diamonds to loose gemstones. Many people take up gemology as a passionate 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 rough gemstones. Some even tumble or learn to cut their own gemstones. If you have an interest in this hobby then follow along as we show you the in and outs of gemstone collecting.

Right at the start you need to read up on the wide variety of stones available. This will help you to know what exactly you're looking for and prevent you from wasting your money. This will help you make informed decisions.

The first criteria you need to evaluate is stone color. Without a doubt, gemstones are the most intensely colored natural material available on earth. Gemstones are so related to color that they've even become associated with particular ones. Everyone knows ruby red, emerald green, sapphire blue, aquamarine, turquoise, and jade green Gemstones will have a higher value the closer they are to the colors in the spectrum of orange, green, yellow, violet and blue. They are valued much less the farther they are from the pure spectral color.

Gemstone cut is very important and factors highly into the appraisal of not only diamonds but gemstones as well. A precision cut gemstone highlights the pure color of the stone, lessen any inclusions and show off its symmetry and proportions. One way of determining the excellence in its cut is to check how evenly it reflects light over the stones complete surface. If the stone is cut on the shallow side most of this light were refracted away rather than reflecting inside. Gem color appears washed out.

Our next consideration is gemstone clarity. Clarity refers to the the internal flaws ( known as inclusions) or the outside blemishes of the gemstone under consideration. Larger flaws you can usually see with your naked eye while others require close examination using a 10X magnification.

Next to consider are weight and size. Except for corals and pearls, all gemstones are priced by the unit, carat. A carat is equal to 0.2 grams. However you should know weight and size are not the same in gemstones. Density or specific gravity can very. Take a diamond that weighs 1.00 carats and you will see that a similar sized sapphire or ruby would weigh 1.20 carats.

Collecting gemstones can be a great hobby. And there are so many different types in gemstones you can collect. You can start collecting gemstones like Malachite, Opal (Girasol) or Andalusite and then try others. The varieties are nearly endless. And if you like a hands on hobby you can find gemstones for yourself instead of buying. For example in Alabama you can find Beryl, blue and yellow; Smoky Quartz and Hematite.

Buy loose Chrysoberyl gemstones as well as best place to loose diamonds and also an enhanced natural diamond today in our store!

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