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Exclusive summary about Gemstone Prices by Ron Nash
Do gemstones prices make sense?
Consider the case of one of the rarest and expensive gemstones, diamond. In the colored gemstone world, there is fortunately no cartel, though many forces try to influence market demand and perceived value. Consider for example the terms "precious" and "semi-precious." As most everyone knows, the precious stones are diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald. It would be hard to maintain prices for the other "precious" stones if one of the group sold for only $5 a carat! So amethyst was demoted.
Gemstones - Price per Carat
One gemstone carat is 200 mg, so there are 5 carats in 1 gram. The price per carat of different gemstones can vary enormously, literally from $1 a carat to tens of thousands. Here is a brief summary of the factors that determine gem prices:
1. Gem Variety. Some rare gemstone varieties -- such as sapphire, ruby, emerald, tsavorite garnet, tanzanite, lapis lazuli, spinel and alexandrite -- command a premium price in the market. Other varieties, such as many types of quartz, prices are much lower.
2. Color. Ideal colors vary by gem variety of course, but generally the colors that are most highly regarded are intense, vivid and pure. Gems that are too light or too dark are usually less expensive than those of medium tone.
3. Clarity. A gemstone that is perfectly clean, with no visible inclusions, will be priced higher. In general, the cleaner the stone, the better it's brilliance.
4. Cut and Polish. If the gem color is quite light, cutting a deeper stone will provide a richer color. Conversely, a dark tone can be lightened by making a shallower cut. But in every case, the facets should meet cleanly and the surface should be well polished with no scratches.
5. Size. For some gemstone varieties, such as quartz, the price per carat is fairly constant as the weight of the stone increases. But in the case of many rarer gems, price increases in a non-linear way as the weight increases.
6. Shape. In general, round gems tend to command a premium in the market. Rounds are much less common than ovals, since ovals are usually cut to preserve as much weight of the raw material as possible.
Exclusive summary about Star Sapphire Gemstones by Ron Nash
The most famous examples are star sapphire and star ruby. The value of a star gemstone depends on the clarity and distinctness of the star. Generally the star must be evaluated using a single source light such as a penlight; it is usually very difficult to see the star under diffused light. The most common stars are 4-ray and 6-ray, though 12-ray stars have been seen.
Color is also very important in a star gemstone. Ideally the color should be equivalent to a non-star specimen of the gem, but the presence of rutile in the stone tends to weaken the color. Burma and Sri Lanka are the most important sources for star ruby and star sapphire, though Thailand is famous for the black and gold star sapphires found only in Chanthaburi province. The synthetic gems tend to have perfect color and star so vivid and straight that it appears painted on the stone.
Star Sapphires - Something Different Again
Exclusive summary about Star Sapphire Gemstones by Gary Hocking
Star sapphires are different to your normal sapphire because they are not faceted. A cabochon is the rounded or domed smooth cut. The star effect comes from an inclusion. 99% of all sapphires are heat treated to enhance their colour. The value of a star sapphire or star ruby depends on the intensity of the body colour and the sharpness of the star. Star sapphires are rare but mainly because the stones are heat treated after mining and then cut with facets so the stars are never seen again. Stars are also found in other stones.
Gemstone is combination of precious and semi precious stone used for beads jewelry and in ornamentation. The most popular gemstone precious beads and semi precious beads are amethyst, ruby, tanzanite, sapphire, carnelian and many more.
The colored gemstone beads and semi precious beads always hot choice - too choose to just walk on your nearest wholesale gemstone beads store and online beads stores.
How to Choose a Source For Wholesale Gemstone Beads
Jewelry designers know they have a choice when looking for wholesale gemstone beads. Any company should also have an extensive selection of unique beads and an easy return policy in case the bead turns out to be not quite what you expected.
Extensive Selection
A good source of wholesale gemstone beads will be able to offer freshwater pearls, semi precious and precious beads, as well as vermeil, sterling silver, copper and brass beads.
Price
Price is another big concern gemstone buyers have.
Hassle Free Return Policy
Because buying beads online means you can't touch the beads or see their quality in person, it's vital that any source for wholesale beads offers a hassle free return policy. Doing a little research on sources of wholesale gemstone beads will mean saving valuable time in the long run when you're looking for specific unique beads.
Exclusive Summary About Gemstone Beads by Sunny Methwani and Jonathan Buschlen
Alexandrite - this is a beautiful gemstone named after a Russian czar. The gemstone is a basic crysoberyl type, and is best noted for it's color changing properties depending on the shade of light it is exposed to. Alexandrite shifts between greenish to blue, to purple and even crimson hues. It is this very color-changing property that makes it one of the most valuable gemstones around.
Amber - formed from fossilized tree sap, amber is best known for it's soft yellow golden hue, which is distinctly different from other yellow-colored gem stones because it diffuses light into a much softer shade of gold than other yellow gemstones, which tend to intensify and sparkle instead. The fact that it is fossilized liquid makes finding unflawed pieces with no bubbles or cracks in the gemstone much rarer and more valuable.
Amethyst - the most famous type of purple gemstone, amethyst's color is a very light shade of purple that captures light inside the gem's facets. The color of amethyst is often semi-transparent as opposed to other purple gemstones which are darker and more opaque. It is this crystalline clarity and beauty which makes amethysts sought after by certain collectors.
Chalcedony - also known as agate, chalcedony is a form of quartz crystal which is composed of several different strains of quartz fused together in parallel layers. This tends to make the gems multi-colored, and the effect is like looking at a rainbow if the different layers of quartz are of varied colors and types. Quartz mines which hold different deposits of quartz types are ideal places to dig for this, and it is the rarest form of quartz gemstone around.
Diamond - composed mostly of superheated and compressed carbon, diamond is the hardest known substance in nature, and it's basic color once polished and cut is completely transparent. Diamonds are perhaps the most famous and valuable of the different types of gemstones because of its pure clarity and the enduring quality of the gemstones. Much romanticism surrounds diamonds because of these features and they are most sought after for wedding rings as a symbol of love's eternity.
Emerald - this is the most well known type of green colored gem stone. They are beryllium-based in chemical composition, sharing this element with several equally well known gemstones like rubies and sapphires. An emerald's shade of green is unique and quite a few ancient civilizations regard this as a holy or mythic stone. More often than not, emerald gemstones are cut into simple square or circular shapes, with few variations.
Garnet - this is a stone whose basic color is red. The most famous red gemstone remains the ruby, yet the garnet's distinguishing factor is that it's shade of red actually approaches crimson. For this reason, some people refer to it as a "bloodstone". A very rare type of garnet however is the "fire garnet", whose color is a brighter orange instead of a deep crimson. This is more expensive than regular garnets.
Jadeite - this is a form of jade that is rarer than the more common form, nephrite. While both are green colored, jadeite is semi transparent, making it more closely resemble "regular" gemstones than it's cousin nephrite. The purity of jadeite is higher than nephrite, and it's crystal density is higher, but it tends to naturally form in smaller pieces as a result and is much harder to work with than nephrite, which can be carved like stone.
Lapis Lazuli - this is a relatively soft type of gemstone which can be carved into a variety of shapes. What makes this particular gemstone unique is that it's color is a deep night-sky blue, but the gemstones are always flecked with small fool's-gold (pyrite) traces which gives the gem the appearance of a night sky dotted with golden stars.
Moonstone - this gemstone's fame comes mostly from it's mysticism and it's decidedly "feminine" gearing. As gemstones go, it's actual worth isn't very high, but it remains popular nonetheless. Moonstones are opaque, white-silver stones that under moonlight appear exactly the same shade as the moon in the sky. Naturally, this feature is what gave rise to it's historic popularity.
Nephrite - when people refer to jade, they often mean nephrite. This material is a bright opaque green, and it's physical quality compared to another form of jade, jadeite, is softer and more malleable. Large pieces of nephrite are easier to find than jadeite, and aside from jewelry this gemstone occurs naturally in pieces large enough to carve into small figurines and statues. Smaller pieces are carved into entire pieces of jewelry like bracelets and brooches.
Opal - these are completely opaque quartz crystals which, like chalcedony, displays a multitude of colors at the same time. The biggest difference between the two is that chalcedony's color patterns are often set parallel to each other, and chalcedony stones themselves are semi transparent. Opals are completely opaque, and the splash of colors are random and haphazard throughout the surface of the gem.
Pearl - these are organic gems which naturally occur in oysters. They are often rendered in an opaque whitish sheen that refracts light, making small rainbows play across the surface of a well-cut and polished pearl. Tons of myths surround pearls, and being reaped from the sea they figure prominently in almost every sea-faring culture's stories. Especially pirates. I don't know why, but pirates ALWAYS hoard them in stories. Go figure...
Peridot - this gemstone is perhaps best known for only one thing: simplicity. Unlike other gemstones, which can come in quite a variety of colors, peridots are uniformly a green-gold shade. Period. They are silicate-based gemstones, and traces of iron in the gems give it a gold hue. There are NO variations of opacity, color traces, or shade variations in peridots no matter what part of the world they come from.
Ruby - along with the emerald and sapphire, this red stone is one of the oldest and most famous types of gemstone for collectors. It's shade of red is actually rather bright and the stone itself is semi transparent instead of opaque. It is a type of gemstone called corundum, and is second only to the diamond in toughness among the world's gemstones. Next to diamond, it is also perhaps the most expensive type of gemstone around.
Sapphire - like the ruby, this is a corundum type of gem, making it much harder and more enduring than other types of gems. Traditionally sapphires are best known for being a vivid crystalline blue in color, though what few people know is that sapphires can come in a variety of colors including green, yellow, and orange. The real definition behind this is that corundums will almost always be RUBIES if they're red, and sapphires if they're any other color. Strange logic there, but that's how it's defined by a lot of gem collectors.
Turquoise - this stone can easily be likened to nephrite for two things: one, it's considerably softer than other gemstones, making it easier to work with, and two, it is opaque. Turquoise come in shades of sky blue with just a hint of green, and while it technically a stone the colors actually come from metals in the mineral - namely copper and iron traces. These metallic traces are the main reason for the stone's opacity and malleability.
Topaz - this gemstone is an aluminum silicate based gemstone and is primarily a rich yellow gold in color. The stone is semi transparent and is one of the harder and more enduring gemstones around. If the ruby "defines" red, the sapphire "defines" blue, and the emerald "defines" green for other gemstones, the topaz is the gemstone that sets the standards followed by other yellow colored gemstones.
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