Buying Gemstones Without Being Ripped-OffWritten by Sam Serio
Buying gemstone jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you’re considering a gift of gemstone jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn terms used in industry. Here’s some information to help you get best quality gemstone jewelry for your money, whether you’re shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online.Gemstones Natural gemstones are found in nature. Laboratory-created stones, as name implies, are made in a laboratory. These stones, which also are referred to as laboratory-grown, {name of manufacturer} - created, or synthetic, have essentially same chemical, physical and visual properties as natural gemstones. Laboratory-created stones do not have rarity of naturally colored stones and they are less expensive than naturally mined stones. By contrast, imitation stones look like natural stones in appearance only, and may be glass, plastic, or less costly stones. Laboratory-created and imitation stones should be clearly identified as such. Gemstones may be measured by weight, size, or both. The basic unit for weighing gemstones is carat, which is equal to one-fifth 91/5th) of a gram. Carats are divided into 100 units, called points. For example, a half-carat gemstone would weigh .50 carats or 50 points. When gemstones are measured by dimensions, size is expressed in millimeters (for example, 7x5 millimeters). Gemstone treatments or enhancements refer to way some gems are treated to improve their appearance or durability, or even change their color. Many gemstones are treated in some way. The effects of some treatments may lessen or change over time and some treated stones may require special care. Some enhancements also affect value of a stone, when measured against a comparable untreated stone.
| | Buying Diamonds Without Being Ripped-OffWritten by Sam Serio
Buying diamond jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you’re considering a gift of diamond jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn terms used in industry. Here’s some information to help you get best quality diamond jewelry for your money, whether you’re shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online.Diamonds A diamond’s value is based on four criteria: color, cut, clarity, and carat. The clarity and color of a diamond usually are graded. However, scales are not uniform: a clarity grade of “slightly included” may represent a different grade on one grading system versus another, depending on terms used in scale. Make sure you know how a particular scale and grade represent color or clarity of diamond you’re considering. A diamond can be described as “flawless” only if it has no visible surface or internal imperfections when viewed under 10-power magnification by a skilled diamond grader. As with other gems, diamond weight usually is stated in carats. Diamond weight may be described in decimal or fractional parts of a carat. If weight is given in decimal parts of a carat, figure should be accurate to last decimal place. For example, “.30 carat” could represent a diamond that weighs between .295 - .304 carat. Some retailers describe diamond weight in fractions and use fraction to represent a range of weights. For example, a diamond described as 1/2 carat could weigh between .47 - .54 carat. If diamond weight is stated as fractional parts of a carat, retailer should disclose two things: that weight is not exact, and reasonable range of weight for each fraction or weight tolerance being used.
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