Our Featured Gemstone Article
Starting The Hobby Of Gemstone Collecting
By Lee MacRae
Why collect loose gemstones you ask? Well for one thing they've been sought for their beauty for many centuries. And like their higher counterpart, natural diamonds they can appreciate in value over time. Many hobbyists love to collect and work with the nearly 150 types of gemstones found today. Follow along as we look at the hobby of collecting loose gemstones.
To begin with your first priority is to get some books from the library or bookstore. You want to learn as much as you possibly can about your new hobby. The more you understand about each kind of gemstone the less likely you are to make a mistake. You need to be as informed as possible.
To start with, an important aspect in gemstone evaluation is color. Without a doubt, gemstones are the most intensely colored natural material available on earth. Gems have become so synonomous with color, they have even lent their names to specific colors. You've no doubt heard about emerald green, ruby red, sapphire blue, jade green, turquoise or aquamarine. Gemstones become higher in value when they are equal in color to the spectral colors of violet, blue, green,, orange and red. They drop in value the farther they deviate from the pure natural color.
Gemstone cut is the second most important factor to consider before buying. The precision of cut will determine how much light the stone will reflect. The cut will determine the brilliance of the stone and its final value.
Our next consideration is the clarity of the gemstone. Clarity is the term that refers to the internal flaws ( known as inclusions) or the outside blemishes of the gemstone. Any large flaws are visible to the unaided eye with the others needing a 10X magnification.
Gemstones are often listed according to their size criteria because of being more uniform than carat weight. But two different gemstones may have the same size but different carat weights and consequently, different pricing structures. This is due to the difference of specific gravity or relative density and depends on the materials chemical composition and crystalline structure. Normally a one carat brilliant round diamond with standard proportions will be approximately 6.5 mm in diameter. A comparable a brilliant ruby of the same proportions in size will weigh in at 1.55 carats.
Collecting gemstones can be very rewarding hobby. And there is a wide range and variety in precious and semi precious stones that you can collect. You can start collecting gemstones like Obsidian, Opal (Girasol) or Clinohumite for example. The varieties are nearly endless. And if you like a hands on hobby you can find gemstones for yourself instead of buying. Just in the United States in Pennsylvania you can find Amethyst, Almandite Garnet and Pyrope Garnet, Beryl, Sunstone and Moonstone.
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Gemstones For Sale
Tips About natural fancy colored diamonds
Amethyst is February's birthstone. It is a dazzling violet gem stone. It is
fabulous in necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, and pendants. Often, Amethyst
is thought to be a symbol of security, sincerity, and peace of mind.
Buy green Amethyst loose gemstones today!
The 45.52 carat steel blue Hope Diamond was found in India back in remote times
as a rough crystal weighing 112 carats. It first came to light when Jean
Baptiste Tavernier, the noted French traveler of the 17th century, was
approached in India by a slave who had a very secretive manner about him. It
turned out that he had in his possession an intriguing steel blue stone which at
first look seemed to be a large sapphire, but the well-experienced Tavernier
soon realized it was a diamond � the largest deep blue diamond in the world.
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E.W. Streeter, in his book Precious Stones and Gems (1892), describes a number
of fine sapphires. One of these was in the collection of the Mus�e au Jardin des
Plantes, in Paris, and weighed 133.06 carats. The same stone was also described
by Sourindro Mohun Tagore in his classic, Mani-M�l� (1879, 1881), referring to
it as the Wooden Spoon-Seller�s Sapphire, in reference to the poor man who is
said to have found it in Bengal, India. Streeter said it was without flaw. This
is undoubtedly the same stone that resides today in Paris's Museum of Natural
History, for it is of a distinctive lozenge shape and possesses only six facets,
appearing like a huge sapphire rhomb. It is indeed nearly "without flaw,"
containing only one small feather and crystal inclusion, and is possibly of
Burmese or Sri Lankan origin. According to the museum's H.J. Schubnel, the
sapphire actually weighs 135.80 carats. In the museum it is known as the Ruspoli
Sapphire. During the 17th century, a Roman prince named Ruspoli sold this
sapphire to a salesman, who in turn, sold it to King Louis XIV sometime before
1691. At that time it was the third most prominent gem in the French Crown
Jewels.
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