Gemstones are beautiful minerals that are used in jewelry. Before they are placed in the jewelry, however, the gemstones must be cut and polished. A precious or semi-precious stone is one that has been cut, polished, and prepared for or set in a piece of jewelry.
To make your shopping experience as easy as possible, we have put together this guide to help you understand the different types of gemstones, how they are graded, and what to look for when choosing a stone for your jewelry.
Each natural gemstone has a unique color. To better understand terms and to be able to identify different color parameters, you must focus on three aspects. A single type of gemstone may vary in terms of color intensity, shade, purity, saturation, and tone. The main factors that determine a gemstone's color value are: hue, tone, and saturation.
Hue is the basic or primary color of the gemstone, aligning with one of the standard (rainbow) colors of the color palette. Identifying the hue essentially means placing the gemstone in the grouping of blue, red, green, yellow, etc.
Tone describes the color's intensity. Gemstone hues can vary from light to dark with the most valuable ones being neutral (not too light nor too dark). Nevertheless, some jewelry designs fit better with different tones than others, and every customer has their own personal preferences.
Saturation is the measure of the color's purity. A gemstone with excellent saturation will contain few if any brown or gray hues. Naturally, the purer the color, the more valuable the stone.
A gemstone's quality is determined in large part by the cut. With years of experience in the jewelry business, we embrace gemstones of different cuts to maximize each one's elegance. An excellent cut will emphasize the gemstone's quality, intensifying its color and minimizing visible inclusions while enhancing its overall appearance. We grade cuts in a 4-level system: fair, good, very good, and excellent.
Clarity refers to the gemstone's color and interior cleanliness. The fewer inclusions it contains, the better its score and the more valuable the stone will be. Clarity further depends on the type of stone. AAA clarity refers to a very clean stone while AA refers to a semi-clean stone. Some gemstones are graded as AAAA, the highest possible clarity. The clarity of a gemstone is always indicated in the details section of our product pages.
Carat refers to the weight of the gemstone. Because different types of stone possess differing densities (mass per unit volume), two gems that look visually identical may have different weights. For instance, a diamond is less dense than a ruby, so a 1-carat diamond will look larger than a 1-carat ruby.
Rich and vivid green stones, the emerald gets its name from the Greek word "smaragdos," meaning "green gem." Emerald is one of the four main gemstones alongside diamond, sapphire, and ruby. Emeralds stand out among these for being considerably less hard. Emeralds are graded based on the 4Cs (color, cut, clarity, and carat), but color is their most important aspect. Bright and vivid examples are the most valuable. Clarity is the second most important criterion. Emeralds typically have many inclusions so extremely transparent stones are highly valued. Most modern emeralds are mined in Colombia, Zambia, Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, and several other countries across Africa and Asia.
Emeralds are said to be associated with the heart chakra and symbolize successful love. Some believe they bring peace, fidelity, commitment, friendship, loyalty, and compassion. These gemstones have fascinated people since ancient times, becoming the favourite stone of Cleopatra. In ancient Egypt it was believed to grant eternal life. Claims of healing powers are the other reason that made emeralds so valuable. They were employed as antidotes to clear the body of poison and help people recover from infectious diseases.
Emeralds were considered the stones of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. They are thus associated with love and relationships and are among the best choices for engagement rings. Emerald is also the birthstone of May.