Collecting Loose Gemstones
By Lee MacRae
Gemology is the profession, science, and even art of evaluating and identifying gemstones from natural diamonds to loose gemstones. A number of people taken up this profession as a hobby. They become interested in collecting and evaluating loose gemstones or loose diamonds. You'll even find some that like to travel to different areas close by or to other countries to hunt for raw or rough gemstones. Some hobbyists will learn to cut or tumble the gemstones they find. If this sounds like a hobby you would like to get involved in read along as we discuss the various factors in gemstone collecting.
The very first step in beginning this hobby the right way is through the power of knowledge. By taking a quick trip to the library or local bookstore you can find everything you need to know that will prevent you from making mistakes at the start.
The first criteria you need to evaluate is stone color. 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. You've no doubt heard about emerald green, ruby red, sapphire blue, jade green, turquoise or aquamarine. Gemstones are valued much higher when they are equal in color to the spectral colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. They drop in value the farther they are from the natural color.
Cut is one of the all-important 4Cs and factors highly into the appraisal of not only diamonds but gemstones as well. A good cut showcases the natural color of the gemstone, diminishes its inclusions, and highlight the proportions and symmetry of the stone. One way of determining the excellence of the cut is to consider how well it reflects light on a consistent basis over its entire surface. If the gemstone is cut to shallow most of this light were refracted away rather than reflecting inside the stone. The gem appears washed out.
The next factor to consider is the clarity. This is talking about the purity of the gemstone with no internal conclusions, spots, or particles within the crystal. Obviously, stones with a lack of flaws are hard to find and make your stones very valuable.
Next to consider are size and weight. All gemstones [except for pearls and corals] are priced by the carat. One carat equals a 0.2 grams. Be aware however, that size and weight and gemstones are not the same. Density or specific gravity can very. If you have a diamond that weighs 1.00 carats, you will find a similar sized ruby or sapphire is 1.20 carats.
Collecting gemstones as a hobby can give you an enjoyable pastime and rewarding in the long run. You can start small and don't have to spend a lot of money and yet you can build a very exquisite collection. Many people love to take vacations to go hunting gemstones. For example in New Jersey you can find Smoky Quartz, Agate, Pearl and Prehnite. Or you can take the time to travel and find opal in Coober Pedy, Andamooka or Mintabie in South Australia, topaz in Mt Surprise or O'Briens Creek in Queensland, Australia or check out the quartz regions in Cloncurry in Queensland, Australia.
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Zircon is a natural stone often used to imitate diamonds. It is often confused
with cubic zirconia which is a synthetic stone. Sometimes zircon is used instead
of diamonds in a wedding or engagement ring. Zircon is a natural stone - not to
be confused with Cubic Zirconia which is manmade. It is known as a colorless
stone used to imitate diamonds but also comes in: blue, yellow, orange, red,
brown and green . It has a hardness of 7.5.
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Fossicking is mostly carried out by searching through the mine overburden dumps, most miners disregard or miss smaller pieces of Opal. Where these pieces may not be commercially useful the hobbyist sees good value. Trucks from the mines drive up onto the dumps and unload 5 or 10 cubic metres of mine tailings each time. Grawan Opal FieldPeople who noodle for a living are ever present and watch each truck load carefully as it is unloaded; as a general rule-"no Potch no Opal". If Potch is present then the load is surrounded by the avid noodler and the pile is systematically gone through in the hope to find some colour of Black Opal. The only way to find Opal is to be in the group sorting the pile of tailings; this can be competitive at times.
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