The best info about Gemstones and Diamonds Website: 8/3/08

The best info about Gemstones and Diamonds Website

Friday, August 08, 2008

Gemological Article Of The Month

How To Start Loose Gemstone Collecting

By Lee MacRae

The term gemology refers to the science, art and profession of identifying and evaluating gemstones from loose gemstones to natural diamonds. A number of people taken up this profession more as a hobby. They become very interested in starting to collect items like loose gemstone or natural diamonds. A number of these hobbyists start to travel to different areas close by or to other countries to look for rough gemstones. Some of them will even tumble or finish off the gemstones themselves. If this sounds like a hobby you would like to get involved in read along as we show you the different aspects of this hobby.

The first thing you need to do is to get yourself some books on gemstones. You want to learn as much as you possibly can about precious and semiprecious gemstones. The more you know about gemstones the wiser will be your purchases. You need to be as informed as possible.

Color is a very important part in giving value to a gemstone. The closer a color is to its purer spectral value the more highly prized it is. Traditionally, these specter colors are orange, green, yellow, Violet and blue. Gemstones colors that are paler or darker tend to be less valued.

The cut of your gemstone is one of the most important traits when you consider a gemstone's value. The gemstone must be cut in a way that reflects light back to the viewer. A gemstone with the poor cut will not reflect the light consistently. Color saturation, color hue and color tone will always look inconsistent.

The clarity of a gemstone is an important consideration. 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. Generally speaking, a clearer stone is obviously valued highly. To examine flaws not seen with the naked eye you need a gemstone loupe (gemstone clarity magnifier) or gem microscope. Serious hobbyists will buy an inexpensive 10X gemstone or jewelers loup for examining coins, stamps and of course gemstones.

Next to consider are weight and size. Other than the corals and pearls gemstones are priced by the carat. A carat is equal to 0.2 grams. Be aware however, that 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 ruby or sapphire is 1.20 carats.

Although gemstones are normally used for jewelry, they are a great hobby and pastime as well. Actually there are many interesting and attractive gemstones who that are too fragile or too large to be used in jewelry. Take each loose gemstone and think of it as a piece of art, a miniature sculpture to be treasured for its unusual nature and for the craftsmanship of the artisan who shaped it. And unlike some hobbies that require you to pay for your specimens you can find your raw materials through field trips In the US in New Hampshire you can rock hunt for Beryl, Rock Crystal and Garnet. And if you travel to Canada you will find opal in the Okanagan, British Columbia or amazonite (microcline) near Lac St-Jean, Quebec and even hessonite garnet in Asbestos, Quebec. Think of collecting gemstones as a great hobby and pastime.

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More Information On small loose diamonds

The best quality amber comes from the Baltic region (the coasts of Poland and
the USSR). Some of this amber has been washed to the shores of Norway, Denmark
and England.Amber is thought to help one be joyful and happy. It lightens the
burdens of life.
Buy round Alexandrite loose gemstones today!

Store each piece of gemstone jewelry separately so that harder stones don't
scratch softer ones. Almost every gemstone is much harder than the metal it is
set in. Gems can scratch the finish on your gold, silver or platinum if you
throw your jewelry in a heap in a drawer or jewelry box.
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