So You Want To Collect Gemstones
By Lee MacRae
Why would anyone collect items like loose gemstones, you ask? Well to begin with they are very beautiful items. And like their higher counterpart, natural diamonds they can appreciate in value over time. Many in this hobby love to collect and work with the nearly 150 types of gemstones found today. This article will examine the loose gemstones hobby.
The first thing you need to do is to get yourself some books on gemstones. You want to understand as much as you possibly can about the subject of gemstones. The more you learn about the hobby of gemstones the less likely you are to make a mistake. You will know exactly what to look for.
One of the first things you look at is the color of the gemstone. Gemstones at the top of the ladder have pure colors there as close as possible in pureness to the spectral colors of violent, blue, green,, orange or red. Gemstone colors that are muted or on the dark side can lower the value.
Cut is one of the all-important 4Cs and is used not only to appraise diamonds but gemstones in general as well. A good cut highlights the pure color of the stone, lessen any inclusions and exhibits good overall symmetry and proportion. One excellent method to determine the precision in the cut of the stone is to consider how well it reflects light on a consistent basis throughout its surface. But if a gem is cut too shallow, most of the light will refract out instead of reflecting internally. The gem appears washed out.
Next to look at is the issue of gemstone clarity. Clarity is the term that refers to the external blemishes or the internal conclusions or flaws of the gemstone under consideration. Larger flaws you can usually see with your naked eye with the others needing a 10X magnification.
You will often find that gemstones are often listed according to their size aspect because of being more uniform than carat weight. But two different gemstones may be of the same size but have different carat weights that result in different prices as well. This is due to the nature of gemstone difference regarding specific gravity depending upon the materials chemical composition and crystalline structure. A one carat round brilliant diamond, for example with standard proportions will be approximately 6.5 mm in diameter. A comparable round brilliant ruby of the same size and proportions will weigh approximately 1.55 carats.
Although gems are frequently used in jewelry, they are perfectly good collectibles in their own right. In fact, there are many attractive and interesting gemstones that are just too big or fragile to be used for jewelry. Look at 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 many hobbies where you have to buy everthing you can find your raw materials through field trips In the US in Idaho you'll find Garnet, Opal, Agate, Obsidian and Sapphire. And in Canada you can find rhodonite at various locations in British Columbia or labradorite on Tabor Island, as well as hessonite garnet in Asbestos, Quebec. Take up gemstone collecting and you won't regret it.
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Gemstones For Sale
Hints On loose blue diamonds
Aventurine can look like jade or amazonite. Dark green Aventurine usually has
inclusions (because of the green fuchsite mica and sometimes a bit of pyrite)
which makes a speckled appearance. This identifying feature is often called
aventurescence. Aenturine is found in Brazil, India, Japan, Russia, Tanzania,
and USA.
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Today, some of the finest emeralds can be found in South America. They can be
found in other parts of the world with the most important sites being in Africa,
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Madagascar. The Mines of Cleopatra were the earliest
emerald mines on earth. There was emerald mining as early as 2000 B.C. These
early mines were abandoned in 1750, briefly revived, and then finally left to
nature in the 1920.s.
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Topaz can be found in streams, rivers and in gravel deposits. It is found mainly
in gem pegmatites where the presence of fluorine can be found. Flourine provides
a rich environment for the stones to grow into very large crystals. In fact,
without the presence of Flourine topaz would not exist. Topaz crystallizes
orthorhombically and develops columns with square and diamond shapes planes with
multisurfaced heads. Topaz can also be found in cracks and cavities where a
combination of Flourine and silica and alumina which was released by very hot
temperatures caused the gems to form. Chromium Oxide is what provides its
beautiful color.
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