Starting The Hobby Of Gemstone Collecting
By Lee MacRae
Many people today say collecting various loose gemstones or loose diamonds is a favorite pastime. They love the colors and the beauty of the various gemstones you can find just about everywhere in the world. Read long as we examine the things you need to know when starting this gemstone hobby.
Right at the beginning, what you need is to get some books from the library or bookstore. You want to understand as much as you possibly can about your new hobby. The more you understand about gemstones the wiser will be your purchases. You'll know exactly what to look for in a quality stone.
The first criteria you need to evaluate is stone color. It is a fact that gemstones are the most intensely colored natural material available on earth. Gems have become so synonomous with color, they've even become associated with particular ones. Everyone knows ruby red, emerald green, sapphire blue, aquamarine, turquoise, and jade green Gemstones become higher in value the closer they are to the colors in the spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. They drop in value the farther they are from the natural color.
The cut of your gemstone is an important aspect to consider when you value gemstone. The gemstone must be cut correctly to reflect light properly. A gemstone with the poor cut will never be able to reflect light consistently. Color tone, saturation, and hue will be inconsistent.
Gemstone clarity is our next factor. Gemstone clarity relates to the amount of inclusions (trace elements or large particles of other elements or minerals) that a gem has. A perfect gemstone is definitely worth much more. To examine flaws not seen with the naked eye requires a 10X gemstone clarity magnifier or gem microscope. Many hobbyists will get an inexpensive 10X gemstone or jewelers loup for viewing stamps, coins, beads as well as gems.
Next comes weight and size. All gemstones [except for pearls and corals] are valued by the unit called the carat. One carat is the equivalent of 0.2 grams You should know however that weight and size are not always equal and gemstones. The density and specific gravity can differ in stones. Take a diamond that is 1.00 carats in weight and you will find that a similar sized sapphire or ruby would weigh 1.20 carats.
Getting involved in collecting gemstones can be very enjoyable and could be rewarding as well over time. It doesn't have to be very expensive and yet you can end up with some very beautiful stones. Many people loved to spend weekends to go hunting gemstones. For example in Oregon you'll find Agate, Obsidian, Hydrolite and Sunstone. Or ou can take a longer vacation and find opal in Opalton, Yowah, Queensland, Austalia, topaz in Beechworth, Victoria or hunt the quartz regions in Yellowdine Lake in Western Australia.
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The Delong Star Ruby is over 100 carats and is now found in the Natural History
Museum in New York. In 1964 the Delong Star Ruby and the Star of India sapphire
were stolen by a gang of 3, including Jack Murphy (or 'Murph the Surf') and were
ransomed from $25,000 and both recovered. The Delong Star was found at a
designated drop off site - a phone booth in Florida.
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Agates are a cryptocrystalline (crystals too small to be seen even by a microscope) variety of quartz, also known as Chalcedony. The varieties of Agate or Chalcedony are divided more by character than by color. They are divided into a host of gemstones that have been named for locally common varieties. Some of the more beautiful types have retained their names worldwide, like Carnelian, while other names have faded into obscurity as many of the relatively small local deposits became exhausted. It ranks 7 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness.
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Think twice before putting gems in an ultrasonic cleaner. Diamonds, rubies and
sapphires will be fine but many other gems may not be: when in doubt, leave it
out. Diamonds, rubies and sapphires, and other single-crystal gems can be
cleaned with a touch of ammonia in water to remove all films and add extra
sparkle. Never use an ultrasonic cleaner or ammonia for cleaning such opaque
gemstones like lapis, turquoise, malachite or onyx. They should be wiped clean
gently with a moist cloth. These gemstones can be porous and may absorb
chemicals, even soap, which may build up inside the stone and discolor it. The
reason why these materials need more care than transparent gemstones is that
these materials are essentially rocks, not crystals of a single mineral. Think
about it: when you put a rock in water, it absorbs the water and is moist all
the way through. A single crystal gem like sapphire will not absorb water: all
the molecules are lined up so tightly in the crystal that there is no room for
water to enter.
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