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The Hobby Of Gemstone Collecting

By Lee MacRae

Gemology is the art, profession and science of evaluating and identifying gemstones from natural diamonds to loose gemstones. A number of people taken up this profession more as a hobby. They become interested in making a collection of loose diamonds or loose gemstones. A number of these hobbyists start to travel to various areas nearby to hunt for raw or rough gemstones. Some hobbyists will learn to cut or tumble the gemstones they find. If you have an interest in this hobby then read along as this article discusses the various aspects of gemstone collecting.

Right at the beginning, what you need is to get some books from the library or bookstore. You want to know as much as possible about the subject of gemstones. The more you understand about the hobby of gemstones the less likely you are to make a mistake. With adequate knowledge you are less likely to be fooled.

Number one to look at Is gemstone color. Highly prized gemstones have colors that are close in pureness to the spectral colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue or violet. Muted gemstone colors or too dark can lower the value quite easily.

Cut is one of the all-important 4Cs and factors into appraisal of diamonds but along with your gemstones. A precision cut will highlight the gemstone's color, diminishes its inclusions, and show off its symmetry and proportions. One way to determine the precision regarding the cut is how consistently it reflects the light throughout the surface of the stone. But if a gem is cut too shallow, much of the light will refract out of the gem instead of reflecting inside. Gemstone color will be washed out.

The next factor to consider is the clarity of the gemstone under consideration. This is talking about the purity of the gemstone or the lack of internal inclusions, spots, or particles within the crystal. Obviously, stones with a lack of flaws will make a gemstone very valuable.

Next up are weight and size. Except for corals and pearls, all gemstones are priced by the carat. One carat is the equivalent of 0.2 grams You should know however that weight and size are not the same in gemstones. The density and specific gravity can differ in stones. Take a diamond that weighs 1.00 carats and you will see that a similar sized sapphire or ruby would weigh 1.20 carats.

Though you may find gemstones used a lot in jewelry, they are perfectly good collectibles in their own right. Actually there are many interesting and attractive gems that are too fragile or too large to be used in jewelry. Take each loose gemstone and think of it as a piece of art, a miniature sculpture to be treasured for its beautiful colors and the finish you apply to it. And unlike some hobbies that require you to pay for your specimens you can find your raw materials through field trips In the United States in Alaska you can find White Quartz and Jade. And in Canada you can hunt for nephrite jade in Dease Lake, British Columbia or amazonite (microcline) near Eganville, Onttario as well as Ammolite, a rare gemstone found only in southern Alberta. Think of collecting gemstones as a great hobby and pastime.

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Hints About inexpensive loose diamonds

In parts of the world sapphires may have come from ancient formations that were
once impure marble which developed over time through metamorphic conditions into
crystalline cal silicates known as skarns. A skarn is a metamorphic rock that is
usually variably colored green or red, occasionally grey, black, brown or white.
It usually forms by chemical processes that form rocks during metamorphism and
in the contact zone of magma like intrusions. Skarns in the igneous environment
are associated with marble and wider zones of cal silicate rocks. Mixtures of
corundum, titanium and iron were also a part of the crystallization process.
Because of this process there are numerous inclusions in a sapphire, and like
the ruby, they are useful in verification techniques when authenticating the
stone.
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The Centenary Diamond is a part of the British Crown Jewels and is the
largest modern-cut flawless diamond, at over 273 carats. It was found on July 17
th, 1986, using an electric X-ray recovery system, at the Premier Mine of De
Beers Consolidated Mines.
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