Latest Gemological Article
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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Regal Imports 'Hallmark of Quality' Created Diamonds - MarketWatch
Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:33:59 GMT
Regal Imports 'Hallmark of Quality' Created Diamonds MarketWatch - The 'Hallmark of Quality' brand is the first brand to present a loose created diamond program for sale through exclusive retail suppliers. ... |
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Gemological Article Of The Month
The Hobby Of Loose Gemstone Collecting
By Lee MacRae
Gemology is a term referring to the profession, science, and even art of evaluating and identifying rocks known as natural diamonds or loose gemstones. A number of people taken up this profession more as a hobby. They become interested in making a collection of loose diamonds or loose gemstones. You'll even find some that like to visit various locations close by or even in other countries to hunt for raw or rough gemstones. Some of them will even tumble or finish off the gemstones themselves. If you have an interest in this hobby then follow along as we discuss the various factors in gemstone collecting.
The first thing you need to do in becoming a gemstone collector the right way is by getting adequate knowledge about them. By taking a look in your local bookstore you can locate all you need to know about the subject that will help you to know exactly what you should do.
First on the list to evaluate is gemstone color. Without a doubt, gemstones are the most intensely colored natural material available on earth. These materials are so related to their color that they have even lent their names to specific colors. 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 become less valuable the farther they are from the spectral color.
Cut is one of the all-important 4Cs and factors into appraisal of diamonds but along with your gemstones. A precision cut gemstone showcases the pure color of the stone, lessen any inclusions and highlight the proportions and symmetry of the stone. One excellent way to determine the excellence in gemstone cut is to consider how evenly it reflects light throughout its surface. If the stone is cut on the shallow side most of this light were refracted away instead of reflecting inside the gemstone. Gemstone color will be washed out.
Another factor to consider is the stone's clarity. This is talking about the gemstones purity with no internal conclusions, internal particles or spots inside the crystal. Obviously, stones with a lack of flaws will make a gemstone very valuable.
Next thing to look at is the duo of size and weight. Due to their nature gemstones can vary in density or specific gravity. Size and weight are not necessarily equal from stone to stone. If you have a diamond that weighs 1.00 carats an equal sized Sapphire would weigh more than 1.20 carats. An Emerald of equal size would be approximately 0.95 carats while an Alexandrite gemstone would be about 1.23 carats.
Collecting gemstones can be very rewarding hobby. And there are so many different types in gemstones you can collect. You can start collecting gemstones like Jasper, Topaz or Iolite for instance. The opportunities are seemingly endless. And if you like to save money but love vacations you can find gemstones for yourself instead of buying. Take the example of the United States. In Colorado you can find Beryl, Aquamarine, Phenacite, Garnet, Amethyst, Agate, Citrine, Pyrite, Rose Quartzcomma
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There are more than 3800 minerals known to exist, with only a very small proportion, about 20, of these suitable to be cut and polished into gemstones. Barcaldine QueenslandFor a mineral to qualify as a gemstone, it must be hard enough to survive abrasion, which immediately eliminates a great number of the minerals known today.
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The 1990 U.S. output of natural gemstones was primarily from Tennessee,
California, Arizona, Arkansas, Montana, Nevada, and Maine. An estimated 80,000
visitors found a total of 315 carats of diamonds in the Crater of Diamonds State
Park in Arkansas. There were sizeable yields of freshwater pearls in Tennessee,
turquoise in Arizona and Nevada, tourmaline in Maine, and tourmaline, kunzite,
and garnet in California. U.S. production of commercial gems includes agate,
beryl, freshwater pearl, garnet, jade, jasper, mother-of-pearl, opal, peridot,
quartz, sapphire, tourmaline, and turquoise.
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