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Buyer's Guide
Choosing the right gem can be very difficult. Let us know if you need help deciding which gemstone or item of jewelry best suits your needs.
Assessing Gem Quality - 4C's
Cut
Color
Clarity
Carat Weight
Cut
Cut refers to the angles and proportions a skilled craftsman creates in transforming a rough gem into a polished gem.
A well-cut gem will reflect light internally from one mirror-like facet to another, dispersing it through the top of the stone. Cuts that are too deep or too shallow lose or leak light through the side or bottom, affecting the gem's brilliance.
Cut is the only one of the 4Cs that is influenced by the human hand. The rest (color, clarity, carat) are created naturally as gems form in the earth.
Gem cutting requires great skill and training. The cutter must polish tiny surfaces known as facets onto the rough gem. This process is what creates the facets known as the crown, culet, table, girdle and pavilion of the gem.
The facets, when arranged in precise proportions, will maximize the fire life and brilliance of a gem. To cut a gem perfectly, a craftsman will often need to cut away more than 50% of the rough gem.
Cut also refers to the shape of a gem: round, emerald, heart, marquise or pear for example.
Color
Color is the most important factor when evaluating gems. In general, the more vivid and rich and pleasing the color, the more valuable the gem will be.
Carat
Carat is often confused with size even though it is actually a measure of weight. The cut of a diamond can make it appear much larger or smaller than its actual weight.
High carat diamonds often appear to be brighter or more brilliant than their lower carat siblings due to the prism effect of light traveling over larger distances. However, carat is merely one of the factors to take into consideration when appraising the quality of the stone.
One carat (not to be confused with Karat—the measure of purity of gold) is the equivalent of 200 milligrams. One carat can also be divided into 100 "points." A .75 carat diamond is the same as a 75-points or a 3/4 carat diamond.
The term carat is a derivative of the word carob. Carob seeds, which are surprisingly uniform in weight, were used as a reference for diamond weight in ancient civilizations. One carob seed equaled one carat.
It is often assumed that a 1-carat diamond costs exactly twice the price of a 1/2-carat diamond. This is not the case. Since larger diamonds are found less frequently in nature, a 1-carat diamond will cost much more than twice as much as a 1/2-carat diamond, assuming color, clarity and cut remain constant.
Clarity
Diamonds, like people, have natural blemishes in their make-up. These tiny faults, or inclusions, are formed by minerals or fractures while the diamond is forming in the earth.
When light enters a diamond, it is reflected and refracted out. If there is anything disrupting the flow of light in the diamond, such as an inclusion, a proportion of the light reflected will be lost.
As with real birthmarks, inclusions appear as different shapes, such as crystals, clouds or feathers. These idiosyncrasies often add to the overall character of the diamond.
The majority of these natural birthmarks are invisible to the naked eye, yet they affect the way light is reflected and refracted within the stone.
Choosing the right gem can be very difficult. Let us know if you need help deciding which gemstone or item of jewelry best suits your needs.
Assessing Gem Quality - 4C's
Cut
Color
Clarity
Carat Weight
Cut
Cut refers to the angles and proportions a skilled craftsman creates in transforming a rough gem into a polished gem.
A well-cut gem will reflect light internally from one mirror-like facet to another, dispersing it through the top of the stone. Cuts that are too deep or too shallow lose or leak light through the side or bottom, affecting the gem's brilliance.
Cut is the only one of the 4Cs that is influenced by the human hand. The rest (color, clarity, carat) are created naturally as gems form in the earth.
Gem cutting requires great skill and training. The cutter must polish tiny surfaces known as facets onto the rough gem. This process is what creates the facets known as the crown, culet, table, girdle and pavilion of the gem.
The facets, when arranged in precise proportions, will maximize the fire life and brilliance of a gem. To cut a gem perfectly, a craftsman will often need to cut away more than 50% of the rough gem.
Cut also refers to the shape of a gem: round, emerald, heart, marquise or pear for example.
Color
Color is the most important factor when evaluating gems. In general, the more vivid and rich and pleasing the color, the more valuable the gem will be.
Carat
Carat is often confused with size even though it is actually a measure of weight. The cut of a diamond can make it appear much larger or smaller than its actual weight.
High carat diamonds often appear to be brighter or more brilliant than their lower carat siblings due to the prism effect of light traveling over larger distances. However, carat is merely one of the factors to take into consideration when appraising the quality of the stone.
One carat (not to be confused with Karat—the measure of purity of gold) is the equivalent of 200 milligrams. One carat can also be divided into 100 "points." A .75 carat diamond is the same as a 75-points or a 3/4 carat diamond.
The term carat is a derivative of the word carob. Carob seeds, which are surprisingly uniform in weight, were used as a reference for diamond weight in ancient civilizations. One carob seed equaled one carat.
It is often assumed that a 1-carat diamond costs exactly twice the price of a 1/2-carat diamond. This is not the case. Since larger diamonds are found less frequently in nature, a 1-carat diamond will cost much more than twice as much as a 1/2-carat diamond, assuming color, clarity and cut remain constant.
Clarity
Diamonds, like people, have natural blemishes in their make-up. These tiny faults, or inclusions, are formed by minerals or fractures while the diamond is forming in the earth.
When light enters a diamond, it is reflected and refracted out. If there is anything disrupting the flow of light in the diamond, such as an inclusion, a proportion of the light reflected will be lost.
As with real birthmarks, inclusions appear as different shapes, such as crystals, clouds or feathers. These idiosyncrasies often add to the overall character of the diamond.
The majority of these natural birthmarks are invisible to the naked eye, yet they affect the way light is reflected and refracted within the stone.
