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How To Start 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 gemology as a passionate hobby. They collect and evaluate loose gemstones or loose diamonds. A number of these hobbyists start to travel to various locations nearby or even different countries to look for rough gemstones. Some hobbyists will learn to cut or tumble the gemstones they find. If you have an interest in this hobby follow along as we show you the things you should know to start this hobby.

To begin with your first priority is to visit the library and get some books. You want to understand as much as possible about the subject of gemstones. The more you understand about the hobby of gemstones the wiser will be your purchases. With adequate knowledge you are less likely to be fooled.

To start with, an important aspect in gemstone evaluation is color. Without a doubt, gemstones are the most intensely colored natural materials you can find. Gemstones are so related to color that they've even had their names combined with associated colors. Everyone knows ruby red, emerald green, sapphire blue, aquamarine, turquoise, and jade green Gemstones will have a higher value they closer they are to natural spectral colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. They are valued much less the farther they are from the spectral color.

Cut is one of the all-important 4Cs and factors into appraisal of diamonds but gemstones in general as well. A good cut showcases the gemstone's color, diminishes its inclusions, and exhibits good overall symmetry and proportion. One excellent way to determine the excellence in the cut is to consider how well it reflects light on a consistent basis over its entire surface. If the stone is cut on the shallow side much of the light will refract out of the gem instead of reflecting internally. Gem color appears washed out.

Next to look at is the aspect of gemstone clarity. Clarity refers to the the external blemishes or the internal conclusions or flaws of a stone. Any large flaws are visible to the naked eye with others needing to be magnified 10X

You will note that gemstones are categorized according to their size criteria because of being more uniform than carat weight. But two different gemstones may be of the same size but different carat weights and consequently, different prices as well. This is due to gemstone difference in specific gravity depending upon the chemical composition and crystal structure type Normally a one carat brilliant round diamond with normal proportions is approximately 6.5 mm around. A ruby that is the same size will weigh approximately 1.55 carats.

Getting involved in collecting gemstones can become an enjoyable pastime and also rewarding in the long run. It doesn't have to be very expensive and yet you can build a very exquisite collection. Many people loved to spend weekends to go hunting for raw gemstones. Take the example of the US. In California you can find Agate, Benitoite, Californite, Diamond, Citrine, Tourmaline, Abalone Pearl, Kunzite, Chrysopras Or you can take the time to travel and find opal in Opalton, Yowah, Queensland, Austalia, topaz in Killiecrankie, Tasmania or hunt in the garnet fields in Fullarton River in Queensland, Australia.

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More Information On natural diamond

Legend has it the Hope Diamond came from the eye of an idol in a temple on the
coleroon River in India. If that is so, one can only conjecture that the eye
must have had a mate, but the fate of "the other eye" has never come to light.
It would not be the first famous diamond that started it's notoriety in a
religious idol. The Idol's Eye, the Eye the Goddess, the Heart of the Goddess
and the Orlov came from idols, according to legend. Tavernier purchased the
stone and smuggled it to Paris, where he later sold it to King Louis XIV. It was
cut there into a triangular-pear-shaped stone weighing 67.50 carats, and was
then known as the French Blue.
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It is when you get into gems of a carat of more that they get really expensive.
Good quality rubies in this size range are few and far between. The law of
supply and demand is really obvious here. While many people would like a full
carat ruby, few have the thousands of dollars needed to purchase one.
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Many natural gemstones such as the ruby, sapphire, and emerald are becoming so rare and expensive to mine that laboratory-grown gemstones are used often in jewelry designs. The first lab-grown gemstone was produced in 1902 in Paris, France by a chemist named Louis Verneuil. A gemstone that is grown in a laboratory is not imitation or artificial, and is carefully crystallized over time. It has essentially the same optical, physical and chemical properties as a natural gemstone. Only a trained gemologist can tell them apart. Natural gemstones such as rubies and emeralds can be 10 to 50 times more expensive than the cost of a lab-grown gemstone in a similar quality. And laboratory-grown emeralds and rubies are often superior to natural stones in both clarity and color.
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Arab businessman denies Mugabe links The Zimbabwean, Africa - 1 hour ago On July 25 the US government said Al Shanfari was involved in supporting the Mugabe regime through a diamond company called ONR. He resigned as chairman of ...

Sterling Tiny Disc Earrings w/ Pink Tourmaline

Dainty hand hammered sterling silver discs with pink tourmaline accents. All sterling silver earwires and components. Earrings measure 3/8" (about 9.5mm). Also available in larger sizes and 23kt gold vermeil.

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