About Gemstones

About Gemstones

Types of Gemstones:
Many gemstone rings are crafted with birthstones and often are a beautiful complement to engagement rings.

Birthstones

What to look for when buying a gemstone ring:
Color Hue
• The most valuable gemstones exhibit a pure color showing only “slight” hints of colors other than the primary color.
Tone
• Tone is the strength of color; from colorless to black often referred to as “light,” “medium-light,” “medium,” “medium-dark,” and “dark.”
Saturation
• The less brown or grey in a gemstones color the more saturated the color and the more desirable the gemstones, often referred to as  having “vivid” or “strong” color saturation.

Amethyst Color chart

Clarity
Each individual gemstone form under its unique circumstance with traces of minerals, that can create unique sets of marks know as inclusions. Inclusions do not necessarily detract from the beauty or desirability of gemstones and only exceptional gemstones have few or no inclusions and command extravagant prices. Some gemstones, such as aquamarine, blue topaz, and citrine, have fewer inclusions while other gemstones, such as emerald and ruby, tend to have a higher amounts of inclusions even opaque opals can have milky inclusions that will affect their iridescence and color play. In general, the best values are available in gemstones that are moderatelyincluded. The best values for gemstones are those that have moderate amounts of inclusion not visible to the naked eye.

Ruby-clarity-chart

Cut
Colored gemstones are generally cut to maximize the beauty of their color.
A good cut showcases the gemstone’s color, diminishes its inclusions, and exhibits good overall symmetry and proportion. Cut shape may vary. Gemstone with more saturated color, can be more shallow than average cuts to allow for more light to pass throughthe gemstone, while in a less saturated gemstone, the color may look for saturated from a deeper cut.

Size
The carat weight of a gemstone does not necessarily allow you to accurately envision the size of the gemstone. Different types of gemstones have different densities there fore two gems that appear to be the same size, may actually have different weights. For example, a ruby is denser than a diamond, so a 1-carat ruby will look smaller than a 1-carat diamond. Always look for the dimensions of a gemstone to ensure that the majority of the gemstone weight will be visible when set in the setting.