How To Start Gemstone Collecting
By Lee MacRae
Why collect loose gemstones you ask? Well to begin with gemstones are extremely beautiful. And like their more familiar cousin, natural diamonds, their value increases over time. Many hobbyists love to collect and work with each and every one of the 150 varieties available. This article will discuss the hobby of loose gemstone collecting.
The first thing you need to do is to get some books from the library or bookstore. You want to learn as much as you possibly can about precious and semiprecious 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.
Color is a very important part in evaluating a gemstone. The closer a color is to its purer spectral value the more highly prized it is. Traditional spectral colors are orange, green, yellow, Violet and blue. Colors that are paler or darker than the pure color diminish the value of the stone.
The cut of the stone is extremely important and is used not only to appraise diamonds along with gemstones. A precision cut will highlight the gemstone's color, diminish any inclusions, and exhibits good overall symmetry and proportion. One excellent way to determine the excellence in the cut of the stone is to consider how well and consistent it reflects light over its entire surface. But if a gem is cut too shallow, most of the light will refract out instead of reflecting internally. Gemstone color will be washed out.
The clarity in a stone is the next item to consider. Clarity refers to a stones relative freedom from inclusions or blemishes. The gemstone without flaws is obviously valued highly. To see flaws beyond with the eye can see you need a gem microscope or gemstone clarity magnifier. Serious hobbyists will use a jewelers diamond gemstone loupe 10X for viewing stamps, coins, beads as well as gems.
Next item to look at is the duo of size and weight. Due to their nature gemstones vary and specific gravity or density. Weight and size are not necessarily equal across the board. If you have a diamond that weighs 1.00 carats a ruby of equal size would weigh 1.20 carats. An emerald stone would be about 0.95 carats and an Alexandrite gemstone would be about 1.23 carats.
Though you may find gemstones used a lot in jewelry, they are perfectly good collectibles in their own right. Actually there are many interesting and attractive gemstones who that are simply too big and fragile for use in jewelry. Take each gemstone and think of it as a piece of art, a miniature sculpture to be treasured for its beautiful colors and the finish you apply to it. And unlike many hobbies where you have to buy everthing you can actually go hunting for raw gemstones in the field. In the United States in Missouri you can hunt for Pearl, Fluorite, Pyrite and Calcite. And in Canada you can hunt for rhodonite at various locations in British Columbia or labradorite on Tabor Island, along with black spinel in Burgess and bathhurst Townships in Ontario. Take up a hobby of loose gemstone collecting and enjoy yourself.
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Gemstones For Sale
Tips On natural fancy yellow diamonds
Lapis is a beautiful royal blue stone often associated with royalty. It is most
often seen as a necklace of beads or carved pendants.Lapis Lazuli is dark blue
possibly with white spots of calcite. It often has specks of pyrite which look
like gold. Lapis Lazuli has a hardness rating of 5.5.
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Amethyst is known as a crystal of protection, because it repels more than it
attracts. Amethyst fosters healing and selflessness, and is associated with
spiritual awareness, meditation, balance, and positive transformation. Amethyst
stimulates inspiration, stability and strength. It also helps to control
addictive habits, aiding in sobriety (alcohol, food, sex, and other addictions).
Amethyst comes from a Greek word, amethusos, meaning �without drunkenness�
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Some natural fancy yellow diamonds Stories
Heavy Oval Earring: Oval/ms (e-ho1o-ms)
Fri, 28 Nov 2008 05:45:32 -0800
Brushed silver heavy oval with small vermeil oval accent. Sterling silver earwires. Also available in large vermeil oval with silver accent.
Double Tiny Disc Earring: Brushed/ms (e-tdb2-ms)
Fri, 28 Nov 2008 05:45:32 -0800
Sterling silver and vermeil brushed double disc earring, measuring approximately 3/4'', sterling silver earwire.
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