THE BASICS OF JEWELRY - PART 1

What you should know when buying a Gemstone?

Suppose you need to get a special gemstone for yourself or for someone special. You can try to buy one with no background experience and end up with a poor quality stone or with a wrong dimension cut. Some jewelry stores only stock these types because they are cheap and available in mass quantities.

At HubertGem.com, you will find high quality stones, which will be delivered with its certificate of authenticity.

Buying jewelry can be a fun and gratifying experience. However, there are many factors to consider before you purchase a beautiful, new piece of jewelry.

Jewelry Type
The first thing to consider is the type of jewelry that will be appropriate.  For example,  should it be a bracelet, a ring, a necklace, or earrings? Consider the pieces of jewelry that you currently own. What  other  pieces  will you  need complement the existing collection? If there are already many rings in the collection, why not consider a pair of earrings? Often, the best way to build and complement a jewelry collection is to create ensembles. What pieces are missing from your ensemble or the collection of the intended recipient?

Type of Metal
The next thing you should consider is the type of metal the jewelry is made of. Will it be yellow gold, white gold or platinum? Will it be 14-Karat gold or 18-Karat gold?  Although white metals, such as white gold and platinum have become very popular lately, yellow gold still accounts for a substantial portion of gold jewelry sales. The best way to buy jewelry for you or as a gift for someone else is to consider the purchase as part of a program. For example, if a person has no white gold jewelry but you feel the person will enjoy white gold, use the many occasions that come up during the year to build the ensemble. Whether you’re buying for yourself or someone else, this is a great way to really enjoy the gifts you give and receive, rather than selecting random items with no theme.
  

Gems
Exotic stones like tanzanite and tourmaline are extremely popular today. Another gem consideration is their birthstone. Every month has a gemstone associated with it.  Even diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires have the months of April, May, July and September, respectively, associated with them. Of course, don’t forget pearls. Pearls are a popular gift for brides to wear on their wedding day, as well as for girls to receive on their sixteenth birthday. Check the birthstone calendar by clicking here.

Now, here are some guidelines you should know when purchasing loose gemstones or any jewelry with them.

We'll start with Shape & Cutting Style...

Shape & Cutting Style

The most common gemstone shapes include:

ROUND	OVAL	HEART	CUSHION	MARQUISE	PEAR	EMERALD CUT	CABOCHON

Gem cutters try to select shapes and cutting styles which allow them to emphasize preferred colors and brilliance, minimizing undesirable flaw, and/or get the maximum weight yield from the rough.


The Anatomy



 
The Ideal Cut

When you buy a gemstone, be sure to look at its profile. The side view can indicate:

* If the stone is suitable for mounting in jewelry;
* If the stone will look big or small for its weight;
* If the cutter's main goal was to bring out the stone's brilliance;

When evaluating the profile, hold the stone with the shortest side facing you (widthwise) and check the overall depth (referred to in the trade as the total depth percentage). If you look at it lengthwise, the stone could look too shallow when in fact it may have an adequate depth.

So, when you are looking for an Ideal Stone, you should look for something similar to the picture below:

Next we will explain why you may want this ideal cut...


The brilliance in the Ideal Cut

Please, take a moment to observe the pictures A, B and C and pay attention to the light reflection:


 

	As you can see, on the picture A we have a Ideal Cut which reflects light to the same directions that it came from. This is what makes a good play of light and color off the facets.
	On the pictures B and C, the light will alternate its course to different direction, which will make its brilliance decay to a lower level, or even make the face up view with an extremely large window trough which print is visible.

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