Gemstone 4C’s

While there are no official 4 C’s for grading colored gemstones, like there are with diamonds, many of the same principals apply. Following are the 4 C’s as they apply to colored gemstones:

Clarity

Clarity in most gemstones does not influence its value or beauty unless it breaks the surface or affects the integrity of the gemstone. In lighter colored stones, clarity may be more important than in darker stones that can mask imperfections.However, flawlessness in colored gems is even rarer than in diamonds.

The four flaws that occur in gemstones are fault, fissure, fracture and gas bubbles.

It is the type and location of a flaw that is more important than the fact that there is a flaw, since some flaws can affect the stone’s durability. Some stones are typically eye-clean such as topaz, while others are expected to have inclusions, such as emerald.

Citrine and Diamond Earrings

Aquamarine & Diamond Earrings

Amethyst Silver Dangle Earrings

Diamond and Amethyst Earrings

Color

Color has the greatest impact on value. The color should be pure, vibrant, even and fully saturated without being too dark or too light.

Sapphire and Diamond Bypass Ring

Green Tourmaline and Diamond Ring

Platinum Orange Sapphire Diamond Ring

Citrine and Diamond Ring

Cut

Cut affects the amount of brilliance the gemstone returns to the eye, the depth of color seen and the size of the stone. Well-cut gemstones will enhance the color of a stone, while poorly cut gemstones can turn out looking dead and lifeless.

Tanzanite and Diamond Pendant

Garnet and Diamond Pendant

Citrine and Diamond Pendant

Green Tourmaline Pendant

Carat

Carat weight determines value in two ways. First, the carat weight multiplied by the price per carat equals the total price for the stone. Second, the rarity of the size of stone compared to the normal size found will affect price.

Amethyst & Diamond Ring

14Kt White Gold Amethyst Ring

Amethyst and Diamond Ring

Modern Amethyst & Diamond Ring

Enhancements

Many gemstones have historically and traditionally been enhanced before bringing them to the customer. Most enhancements have been around for a very long time, some for hundreds of years or longer. The result is an improvement of nature’s beauty. It makes gems available and more affordable. Most of these enhancements are stable and no special care is required.

Gems that are not usually treated include alexandrite, black star sapphire, cat’s eye chrysoberyl, garnets, hematite, iolite, moonstone, peridot, spinel and chalcedonies such as bloodstone, fire agate, onyx and sardonyx.

Gemstone Ring

Grape Garnet Ring

Peridot Pave Diamond Ring

Gray Moonstone Diamond Ring

Hardness vs. Toughness

Hardness describes a material’s resistance to scratching. Mineral hardness is measured using the Mohs’ scale. The higher the number, the harder the mineral is to scratch. The scale goes up incrementally from 1 until it reaches 9. The difference from 9 to 10 is greater than the difference from 1 to 9. For example, a diamond, which is a 10, is 100 times harder than a sapphire or ruby, which receives a 9 hardness.

Toughness refers to how easily a gemstone will chip, crack or cleave. Ratings range from poor to excellent. An emerald receives a poor toughness due to internal fractures, which make emeralds prone to chipping and cracking. However, rubies and sapphires receive very good to excellent ratings.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, red spinels were thought to be rubies. This little-known gem, spinel, is so similar to the ruby that many of the great rubies of history are now classified as spinels.

Large red gemstones found in the Iranian Crown Jewels, Russian Crown Jewels, and British Crown Jewels, at one time considered to be rubies, are now classified as spinel. We now know that many of the “so called” large rubies in the crown jewels of monarchies around the world are actually spinel and not ruby.

British Crown Jewels

It is not surprising that ruby and spinel were long confused. Both are mined in the gem gravels of Burma and Sri Lanka. They have similar hardness and durability, vivid color, and brilliance. Nevertheless, the ruby and spinel are unique in a variety of ways and each very special in their own right!

RUBY

One of the most sought after gemstones in the world is ruby, which is also one of the most beautiful gemstones created by nature.

Rubies are perhaps one of the oldest known gemstones to man. Rubies can include the most beautiful intense and deep reds of any gemstone and because of this trait; the ruby was possessed by many kings and queens from the beginning of civilization.

Ruby comes in either a pinkish red or deep, rich red color. A ruby’s color is very stable and won’t fade. The crystal structure is extremely beautiful, shiny and transparent to translucent.

Raw ruby out from the mine

Rubies are formed from the mineral Corundum, which is made up of aluminum and oxygen. Rubies are usually the result of chromium and titanium inclusions in Corundum.

Corundum is an extremely hard mineral and scores a 9 on the Moh’s Hardness scale.  It is second only to the hardest substance on earth; the diamond. Rubies are extremely strong and resistant to scratches, making them an ideal gemstone to be worn in jewelry.

Ruby is one of the most valuable gemstones in the world. Natural occurring rubies are very rare and extremely rare in large sizes over 3 carats. They are truly exquisite and the right color ruby at a large size can be worth more than even a diamond.

Heart of the Kingdom Ruby

SPINEL

Spinel is a special gemstone in many ways. For centuries it was mistaken for ruby and gained undeserved fame.
Although commonly thought of as red, spinel can be found in a range of beautiful pastel shades. These outstanding shades of pink, purple, orange, blue, plus every combination in between make spinel one of the most desirable stones in the world.

Due to its excellent hardness of 8 on the Moh’s scale and high clarity, spinel is a very fine gem for jewelry of all kinds. Fine spinel that is transparent is most sought after. Opaque spinel can sometimes display a star effect when cut as a cabochon and, it is especially valuable!

Natural forming spinel is rare; in fact it should be classified as very rare.  It is even rarer than ruby, and while they each look incredibly gorgeous, ruby is usually more valued and expensive. Spinel is usually less valuable due to the fact, that most people have never seen true spinel, and so demand for it lacks. A fine spinel’s beauty, brilliance and lush saturated color make it one of the gem world’s best bargains!

Ruby’s status as the most valuable gem of the age is evidenced by its rarity, unique red color, and brilliance. Spinel is equally rare and fairly new in the world of gemstones, making it a less valuable stone. Nonetheless, both have amazing qualities and value and would greatly enhance one’s gemstone collection.

JR Jewelers - Orange sapphire ring

Mexican Fire Opal – These are not your grandmother’s milky white opals! Bursting with life and vitality, the Mexican Fire Opal is a riot of dazzling color. One of the most vibrant gems of our time, the Mexican Fire Opal is sure to bring life to your jewelry and demand serious attention. Its blazing orange color is one of the boldest of nature’s hues, communicating security and success as well as health and vitality.

Carnelian – Richly colored, deep and intense red to brown tones show abundant orange. Carnelian boasts a warmth and energy that complements virtually any skin complexion. The vibrancy is largely responsible for Carnelian’s reputed ability to help its wearer to think clearly, balancing the creative and the logical sides of the mind. If you purchase one of these beauties, we will all agree that your thinking is well.

Spessartite Garnet – This Garnet is of a cheery orange hued variety. The Spessartite Garnet was first discovered in the German Spessart Mountains. Unfortunately, so little was found that the rare gem was largely reserved for collectors. This remained so for many years, until another source was discovered along the Kunene River between Angola and Namibia in Africa. A later find in Nigeria brought a small supple to market. Supplies of gem quality Spessartite, however, remain limited making it a rare treasure.

Precious Topaz – Topaz was revered by the Egyptians and Romans, who associated it with the setting sun. It was also one of the gemstones that were reported to form the foundation of the twelve gates to the Holy City of the New Jerusalem. In modern times, large quantities of Precious Topaz were discovered in Russia and placed in the jewels of the Russian Czarina’s, which is where the gem earned the name, “Imperial Topaz” Today, Imperial topaz refers to Topaz that displays a peachy pink hue, which are extremely rare and superbly beautiful.

JR Jewelry had added some more precious jewelry to December’s jewelry collection:

Blue Zircon and Diamond Dangle Earrings

Blue Zircon and Diamond Earrings

Blue Zircon White Gold Ring

Tanzanite White Gold Necklace

Tanzanite and Diamond Earrings

Tanzanite and Diamond Earrings

Tanzanite and Diamond Necklace

Tanzanite and Diamond Ring

Tanzanite Dangle Earrings

Tanzanite Diamond Ring

These gorgeous gemstones are perhaps the most desired commodities in the world. Want something exquisite to fuse your love relationship? Invest in a quality diamond. In the kind of society we live in, there is still some degree of importance placed on material wealth. Can you truly blame a woman for cherishing the diamond not only for its beauty but also for its value? They see it like this: “Honey, you’re quite a catch and let this diamond ring symbolize my wish that you never leave me.” So let her feel that the diamond on her finger, neck, wrist or earlobe is a sign that she is loved, cherished and valued.

Here is a selection of blue stone jewelry from JR Jewelers online store. You can browse for more and you will discover different styles, stone dimensions and type. Multi stone settings are our favorite.

Aquamarine and Diamond Right Hand Ring

Blue Topaz Black Diamond Ring

Blue Topaz Diamond Necklace

Blue Chalcedony Diamond Pendant

Blue Topaz Cabochon Diamond Necklace

Blue Topaz Diamond Ring

Blue Topaz Diamond Ring

Diamond Sapphire Ring

Blue Stone Necklace

Sapphire and white gold ring

Sapphire Diamond Ring

Budget

First of all, you have to set a budget for yourself. You may think bracelets are easy to find, but what hinders people from buying them is the price. Decide and stick to the budget you’ve chosen for yourself and make sure that the bracelet doesn’t go over it (or if it does, don’t let it be more than 10%). Once you have a budget in mind, then it is time to look for a good bracelet.

Design and Metal

The first thing is to decide what design you want for your bracelet. This includes knowing how heavy the bracelet should be, if it’s streamlined or with pointed edges, if the mount for the diamonds or and gemstones are strong enough, etc. Here are some ideas you might want to consider:

• The prongs used to mount the gems should be sturdy and shouldn’t be too thin or else they could open up and fall off anytime unnoticed.
• Consider the design dimensions of the bracelet to avoid instances where the metal is too thin, the overall bracelet too heavy, etc.
• Make sure the designs are damage proof and that the bracelet can last for a long time without loosing its luster or strength.

One way of determining the price of a bracelet is through the metal. The heaviness of the metal used and if the choice is a gold bracelet will determine if you can afford it or not. Usually jewelers are very excited to sell you gold bracelets, so make sure you know what kind you’re buying before handing over the money.

Gems

• The next step in choosing a bracelet is choosing the gemstones. There are a lot of ways in choosing a bracelet based on gemstones, one of which is through associating them with the person’s birthstone. Here is a chart of birth stone colors to help you in the process.
• Sometimes choosing alternative birthstones can help you stay in your budget.

Quality

You have to know if the craftsmanship is of good quality or not. You should always demand well crafted bracelets, especially if you’re buying gold or silver ones as a gift. You will know if the craftsmanship of a certain bracelet is bad when you:

• Notice that the price is cheaper than normal good quality bracelets
• Luster is of low quality
• The mount of the gemstones can easily be bent open.
• Badly connected links

Size and  Color

• Verify the size is appropriate for the the person who will wear the bracelet.
• Does the color match ones wardrobe. Though gold and silver generally match more outfits, certain colors won’t be worn often.

Brands

Name brands or at least established jewelers often have higher quality of craftsmanship. This is one of the reasons people often buy from designers. Tiffany’s and Harry Winston come to mind as many people’s favorites. However, there is a premium for this and your budget may encourage you to simply look for high quality materials without the name to go with it.

Hopefully, these tips will help you find the best bracelet!