While they say 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend', gemstones also make for a unique and special gift.
The glowing hues of an Emerald or a Ruby, or the beautiful depth of a Sapphire or an Aquamarine, can take any girl's breath away as much as a Diamond, and makes for a challenging competitor as an eternal gift of love. Gemstones have a far more coloured history and can date back to the ruins several thousands of years ago where they were adorned as a symbol of wealth and success by queens and princesses.
The rarity of their features is their claim to fame and is often what determines the value of that stone. Quality here isn't where one is better than the other, but more about how rare the stone is. While we'd all like to own a 100 carat Sapphire one day, we'd hardly be able to pull that off around our neck or on our finger. So while the bigger stone is more expensive, we recommend you choose a gem that appeals to you in both size and colour and remember, the grades in gemstones have to do more with its rare feature and not quality.
If you're an experienced Diamond shopper then you'd be aware of the 4C's required to identify the perfect Diamond. These apply to Gemstones as well with the addition of some other aspects and a recent inclusion of the fifth C - Cost. Here we guide you through the first 4C's - Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat.
Colour
The International Coloured Gems Association divides the Color component of gemstones in 3 main categories:
Hues (red, green, blue, etc)
Saturation (strong, pastel, red, pink, etc)
Tone (dark or light)
Picking a perfect gemstone is a very personal matter often depending on the personality and complexion of the person you're buying it for. Varying hues between absolute colours are sometimes preferred and are more affordable than the pure gemstone. For e.g. a bluish green sapphire is a lot more affordable than a pure deep blue one. The more pure and rich the colour is, the more expensive the gem is going to be. Although these slight colour variations are almost invisible to the naked eye, it doesn't compromise the quality of the stone you're buying. A strong bold colour would be best suited for a powerful personality but maybe not for someone shy. Pure gemstones are very valuable and require a lot of attention but in grading terms, the pure clear intense colours are the most preferred, and also the most expensive.
Clarity
Clarity in gemstones work very differently from Diamonds, and sometimes it's the little imperfections that make the stone come alive. While Clarity is a very important consideration in a gemstone, there is no standardized system to analyze the grades of Clarity for gemstones. Gems like the ruby, emerald or sapphire are rarely clean and pure, despite their intense colour, while the amethyst, aquamarine or the blue topaz are normally clean. But remember, sometimes it's the impurities or inclusions that enhance the stone and reflect the light, allowing it to sparkle so it's best to look at the intensity and hue of the Colour first before examining the Clarity of a gemstone.
Cut
Remember to not get confused between the shape and the Cut of a gemstone. The Cut looks into the how well the shape has been executed, e.g. the perfect round or pear shape stone, not the shape itself. A good Cut is what differentiates a good gemstone from a bad one, and doesn't always have to be more expensive. An ideal cut reflects the maximum light with almost no pockets of darkness anywhere on the stone. These are considered the best you can buy since they produce the maximum brilliance and are the most beautiful. There are no rules to cutting a perfect gemstone since the inclusions sometimes bring out the best in them. But care should be taken to observe the intensity of the Colour of the gem once cut, since some of them tend to lose their brilliance as they get smaller. However we recommend you also check the Colour and Clarity of the stone while looking at its Cut to get the perfect gemstone.
Carat
Carat is the standard weight of the gemstone, normally about 1/5th of a gram. Each carat is then divided into points, which is 1/100th of carat. Carats of a gemstone are the easiest to gauge and directly proportionate to its cost since larger stones are always rarer. But Carat does determine the size of a gemstone since the density of the stone plays a role as well. E.g Opal has a light density while Zircon is heavy and often the same carat may no equal the same size, or the same value.
Cost
There are many aspects that determine the Cost of gemstones. The cost for mining and procuring gemstones fluctuates based on a demand and supply in the market. The larger, finer and rarer gems are often bought by the best of the dealers and are seldom available in large quantities. Also if the mining for gemstones has to go deeper into the Earth's core, there are involuntary extra overheads like more machinery, more fuel, more manpower, which add to its value. The deeper they need to dig, the more expensive the gem will be, and sometimes when the productions costs are too high, the mining stops. However, gemstones are fashionable and seasonal depending of a current industry trend or some unforeseen celebrity endorsement, so their prices tend to fluctuate like any other commodity in the market.
Gemstone Treatment and Enhancements
When gemstones were first discovered and worn, they were used in their natural state with no added treatments to augment their beauty. Today however, it is just the opposite. Multiple treatments are applied to gemstones to bring out their brilliance and enhance their inherent beauty. The most prevalent of these is the Heat Treatment which is also permanent in nature. Treatments don't affect the value of a gem, in fact in some cases; the Treatment actually brings out the beauty of the gem and increases their value. Untreated gems are almost extinct and exorbitantly priced which is why Treatments for gemstones are common and make them affordable.
Common Treatments
- Emerald: oiled with colorless oil to improve appearance.
- Ruby: heated to improve color and appearance.
- Sapphire: heated to produce intensity or light color and/or improve color uniformity.
- Tanzanite: heated to produce violet blue color.
- Aquamarine: heated to improve color.
- Blue topaz: exposed and heated to produce blue color.
- Tourmaline: exposed to intensify pink, red and purple color.
- Jade: commonly soaked with colorless wax.
- Lapis lazuli: commonly soaked with colorless wax or oil.
- Coral: commonly bleached.
- Pearls: commonly bleached to improve color and appearance.
- Black onyx: always dyed.
Natural gems formed in the Earth are a thing of beauty and almost ideal as a gift for any occasion, just like a Diamond. While the naturally occurring gems can still be acquired, there is also an advent of Lab created gemstones where identical conditions are replicated in a laboratory and the stones are cultured to a desired state. Lab created gems are as appealing as their natural cousins and are a lot more affordable for people with a budget restriction. Gemstones make for a inimitable and inspired gifting option, and with the right guidance, you can pick the perfect stone with almost no difficulty at all.
