Gemstone Education: 4C’s of the Gemstone Diamonds
Natural gems are minerals that have been classified as stones suitable for jewelry use due to their characteristic beauty, hardness, and rarity. These are found around the world in deposits of different types, once they are extracted from the earth they must go through a cutting and polishing process with which their color is intensified thanks to the facets or finishes that are given to maximize their brightness and characteristic tonality.
Here we show you some of the most used gems in jewelry, as well as the most significant criteria in the evaluation of a precious or semi-precious stone. Know below more information about Gemstone Guide;
Gemstone Characteristics (4C’s Of the Diamonds):
1. COLOR
Each gem is characterized by a unique hue, to qualify the color focus on three important criteria: Hue, hue, and saturation.
Hue is the basic color that is identified in the gemstone without determining its intensity. For example determining that a stone is blue, green, yellow, red, etc.
The value determines the intensity of the gemstone’s color. It can range from light to dark, ideally, the most valuable shade would be neutral, which means it is neither too light nor too dark. However, depending on the design of the jewel and the criteria of the client, the different shades of the gems become more attractive than others.
Saturation is also called the purity of the color. In this criterion, it is evaluated that the color of the stone contains almost no brown or grayish hue. Naturally, the purer the color, the extra valuable the gemstone.
2. CUT
An excellent cut reflects the quality of the gem, enhancing the color, minimizing visible inclusions, and, most importantly, increasing the overall visual appearance. The cuts or quality of the carving do not refer to the shape of the silhouette of the stone, but the quality of the facets and the proportions between them.
This criterion is evaluated on 4 levels: fair, good, very good, and excellent. At Gemistone Jewelers almost all the stones we work with are very good or excellent cut, this information can be verified in the certificates issued by professional gemologists allied to the brand.
3. CLARITY
The clarity of the gem to the translucent color and internal purity of the stone, the fewer inclusions it contains, the better the classification and the more valuable it will be. AAA clarity leads to very clean stones, while the AA clarity refers to semi clean stones.
4. CARATS / WEIGHT
The carat or carat refers to the size measurement of the gems. Different types of stones possess particular densities (mass per unit quantity), therefore two visually identical gems in size can differ in weights. For example, a diamond is less dense than a ruby, for this reason, a 1 carat diamond worth will look larger than a 1 carat ruby. The carat unit of measure is divided into carat points, one carat is comprised of 100 carat points. (1 Ct = 1.00 Ct / ½ Ct = 0.50 Carats).
Different Types Of Gemstone DIAMOND
GEMSTONE
Its hardness and beauty make this stone the favorite to symbolize a commitment or to be uses for a wide variety of jewels. Each diamond has unique internal and external characteristics, the value of these gems is measures by their qualities: size, cut, clarity, and color. For more information about diamonds, we invite you to visit our Diamond Education and Gemstone Certification guide.
EMERALD GEMSTONE
The value of emeralds is classified by the 4Cs: color, cut, clarity, and carats. However, for these gemstones, color is the most significant feature, making bright vivid green emeralds the most valuable. The largest producers of emeralds in the world are Colombia and Brazil. Which is why we have the facility to offer excellent quality emeralds.
SAPPHIRE GEMSTONE
One of the hardest diamonds on the earth, 9.00 on the Mohs scale, sapphires stone is second only to diamonds and moissanite for their hardness. There are sapphires of different shades such as pink or yellow, but the best known is intensely blue. In determining the value of sapphires, color is the most valuable property. The most valuable sapphires will be deep vivid blue, not too dark, and without a grayish tint.
RUBY GEMSTONE
They are closely links to sapphires, as both stones belongs to the corundum family. The most valuable rubies are those that have a dark but pure red color. They are known by the name of “pigeon blood” referring to the color tone of the blood of a pigeon, which doesn’t includes any shade of yellow or blue. It is one of the main stones chosen for engagement rings due to its strong symbolism of passion and love.
TOPAZ SEMIPRECIOUS STONE
Topaz is a much loved gem, especially thanks to its wide range of colors:
White, yellow, orange, red, pink, blue, green, purple, and often with several different colors in the same gem. It is also an extremely pure gem and has exceptional brilliance. It is a good option to color a jewel since it has a hue that stands out for its brightness and purity and its affordable commercial value.
TANZANITE SEMIPRECIOUS STONE
Tanzanite is characterized by its marked trichroism, presenting colors sapphire blue, violet, and burgundy depends on the orientation of the crystal. It also changes in appearance depending on lighting conditions. Its exclusivity is the main reason for the high price of this stone, which is also calles “the indigo diamond” because of its rarity.
AQUAMARINE SEMIPRECIOUS STONE
It is a gem of the beryl group; it is a much loves stone, mainly because of its blue color, which is shows in its entire splendor. This is a transparent semi-precious stone and does not present inclusions to the naked eye, a characteristic that makes it very attractive and desired in the world of fine jewelry.
PEARL SEMIPRECIOUS STONE
Pearls are a natural reaction of mollusks defending themselves from foreign elements. Giving rise to these beautiful stones through the production of mother-of-pearl. Provenance is the primary factor by which the quality of a pearl is judged since pearls from different sites have different qualities and prices.
In addition to their different species, pearls are evaluates based on the color of the body. It is brightness, the purity of its surface, its texture, its dimension, shape, and symmetry.
MORGANITA SEMIPRECIOUS STONE
This class of translucent beryl is characterizes by its captivating shades of pink, peach, and magnolia. Morganite is generally clean to the naked eye, that is, it does not present inclusions, being observes at a distance of 15 cm from the eyes. Today morganite has become very popular in the fine jewelry market thanks to its nuances and the purity of the stone.
PINK QUARTZ SEMIPRECIOUS STONE
Rose quartz is one of the most sought-after varieties of quartz and is often known in the trades as the “rose of France”. It evokes tenderness thanks to its pale pink color, it does not present inclusions to the naked eye. And it is generally easily founds with good characteristics related to its quality.
ALEXANDRITE SEMIPRECIOUS STONE
The most striking feature of this gem and that gives it more value is that it has a different color depends on whether it’s given natural or artificial light. Alexandrite is a precious stone that has a dark green color, which when exposed to light emits red and violet flashes.
CITRINE SEMIPRECIOUS STONE
It is extracts in general from the same deposits where the Amethyst is founds. Citrine colors vary from lemon yellow to golden yellow to achieve tones of a mandarin orange or with wine-colored red reflections; bicolor citrine also shows a delicate chromatic passage from yellow to white.
AMETHYST SEMIPRECIOUS STONE
It belongs to the quartz family along with Citrine, Rose Quartz, and Tiger’s Eye among others. Its color ranges from pastel pink to dark purple. The most significant factor in evaluating an Amethyst is its color: the more intense, the more expensive the gem.
The most precious Amethysts have a huge ranging from medium to dark purple and are transparent in their pure violet but have reflections of both red and blue. Which are appreciats and highly desired. Amethyst crystals have few inclusions.
