The love for adorning oneself with embellishments and jewelry made out of a spectacular range of gemstones is timeless. From the early man in the stone age to the modern 21st-century teenager, the concept of jewelry has been redefined by every generation in its way. With the huge popularity of online platforms for jewelry purchases, your search for the best natural gemstone jewelry to complement your style will find its destination.
Step-by-step gemstone jewelry buying guide
Given below is an ultimate guideline that you must refer to each time you are to buy gemstone jewelry for yourself or your beloved.
Decide the Budget
Though needless to say, deciding on an approximate budget for your gemstone jewelry purchase should be the first and the most important thing you must do before beginning your jewelry shopping. Setting up a rough idea will make it easier for you to plan your purchase and keep you from spending more than what you have allocated. Moreover, it will also filter your search results and streamline your buying procedure by helping you in selecting the right gemstone and metal for your jewelry.
Choose the Gemstone
Your choice of gemstone, precious or semi-precious alternatives, will depend on your budget. While most people prefer to buy natural gemstone jewelry, several others have nothing to do with the stones being made artificially in the labs or them being treated. But the truth is that the natural variants are extracted from the earth and command high prices for their rarity whereas the lab-grown and treated ones are valued less. Hence, your choice of stones for your gemstone jewelry shopping will ultimately determine what stone quality and carat you must buy.
Look for the 4Cs
Whether you are buying loose gemstones or investing in gemstone jewelry, the four factors that you must consider foremost are the color, clarity, cut, and the carat weight of the stones. The most significant one is the color, or rather, hue, tone, and saturation of the stone. It determines how profusely the colors are set in the stone, the brighter the color is, the higher it will be priced. On the other hand, clarity determines how clean the stone is, that is if the stone contains any eye-visible defects since only those which are eye-clean will command better prices.
The cut has a significant part in bringing out the brilliance in the stone by allowing maximum light to reflect from it and this property is especially valuable to look for in pleochroic stones. And finally, the carat weight of the stone will determine how heavy your stone is but it should not be mistaken with the size of the stone since both of these attributes are quite different. While the above-mentioned four parameters are not the only features to look for in a gemstone, they are the most prominent ones and hence should not be ignored anyhow.
How Durable Are Your Stones?
This pointer is especially relevant if you are buying your engagement ring or a birthstone pendant necklace, or maybe anything that you are planning to wear every day. All the precious gemstones rate high on the Mohs hardness scale and are suitable to be worn every day without the fear of getting damaged. However, there are a few other gemstones that are not as durable and hence more susceptible to wearing if worn daily, which means they require extra maintenance and care to increase their life. So, make sure to discuss this aspect with your jeweler before you select a particular gemstone for purchase.
Ask for a Lab Grading Report
With thousands of gemstones being traded every day in the market, how can you be sure that the one you are admiring is certified? And even if the jeweler claims the stone’s credibility, which certification you should rely on is also a significant question. With the increasing demand and awareness for quality products among gemstone buyers, jewelry dealers now maintain lab reports and certifications for each gemstone they deal in.
It states the 4Cs concerning the quality of the gemstones along with information regarding the origin and the treatment procedures performed on the gemstone. To ensure unbiased results, always ask for a GIA (Gemological Institute of America) report for a gemstone from your jewelry vendor before placing an order for the same.
Curating the Accurate Metal
Metal choices are equally important when considering a gemstone jewelry purchase. While it is common for people to look out for metals being heavy, expensive, malleable, non-corrosive, or skin-friendly, the temperament of your gemstones also plays a significant role in determining which metal would be visually more appealing when paired with a gemstone. Though it’s just a convention and not a rule, dark-hued and vibrantly saturated stones give a more aesthetic look when paired with dark metals like yellow gold, rose gold, copper, etc. Similarly, pastel-shaded gemstones appear more radiant when studded into metals such as silver, stainless steel, platinum, white gold, etc. But at the end of the day, the choice of metal is entirely yours to make.
Ask for Stone Enhancements or Treatments
Gemstones can be broadly categorized into two categories, those which are naturally mined and those which are cultured in labs. While the lab-grown versions are chemically processed to attain quality gemstones with fewer inclusions and bright colors, most of the mined ones have natural defects and low saturation levels.
Such stones are exposed to lab treatments to enhance their inert colors and to make them more durable, reducing their overall worth in a few instances. So in case, you are looking for natural gemstone jewelry only then do confirm with your jeweler whether the gemstones you are interested in are treated or not.
Watch Out for the Imitation or Fake Gemstones
Since natural gemstones are quite expensive because of their long journey from the mines to the jewelry manufacturers, it is common to find low-budgeted imitation or fake stones in the market, especially for precious gemstones such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.
These imitation stones are often made up of ceramic, glass, dye, plastic, etc., which means they have different chemical properties but similar optical features resembling their natural counterparts. So don’t get duped into buying the fake ones while paying for the real ones. Test the stones for fakeness under a magnifying glass or ask for a valid certification from the jeweler to prove the authenticity of your purchase.
Don’t Confuse Synthetic Gemstones With the Fake Ones
It should be noted that the imitation or fake stones are not the same as the synthetic or lab-grown variants, since the latter have the same chemical and physical characteristics as the natural ones which are mostly absent in the former category. While the fake stones are only similar in physical appearance, they are far from their wild counterparts in chemical composition. So, while it’s a good choice to invest in synthetic gemstones for a low-budget purchase, it is advisable to always say a big ‘no’ to the fake ones.
Where To Buy Gemstone Jewelry From?
As we all know there are broadly two sources to consider for gemstone jewelry purchases, One is the offline jewelry stores which you can physically visit and take a look at all the tangible aspects of each of the limited jewelry designs, and the other is browsing online jewelry websites where you have countless designs to choose from but you can only visualize the jewelry designs with the pictures posted on these websites.
Also, while many of these online websites have attractive payment, shipping, and return policies, you need to be aware of their credibility in the industry. Since customization is a new trend in almost all spheres now, if you are also planning to get a piece of jewelry made from scratch, you must trust your jewelry manufacturing with a professional jewelry designer only.
Consult a Jewelry Professional
If you are still not confident about curating a perfect gemstone piece for your jewelry then you can always take some professional assistance. If you are going for an online purchase, set an appointment with an experienced jewelry expert and ask them to guide you on where and how to initiate your purchase. This person will also assist you with choosing gemstones and jewelry options as per your budget along with grading them on 4Cs of quality parameters.
Conclusion
Buying something as expensive as gemstone jewelry is surely not insignificant for anyone to just pass. Such a huge investment requires your utmost attention and knowledge about the basics of buying gemstone jewelry; so make sure you follow the guidelines mentioned above before going for your next natural gemstone jewelry purchase.
And if you are looking for a pal to help you out in this process then here, at GemsNY, we would love to introduce you to our team of professional jewelry experts who would make your gemstone jewelry buying experience a cakewalk. So without wasting more of your precious time, visit our official web portal and get acquainted with our offerings and deals to enjoy a jewelry treat.
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