It can be hard to know where to begin when looking for a quality gem. In this post, we’ll cover what you should look for in your gem, how to use various scales of color grading and clarity grading, as well as how to avoid synthetic gems.
1. Do your research
The most important piece of advice is to do your research before making a purchase. Know the background of the gem and what you might expect to pay for something comparable. This will give you a benchmark for comparison when shopping. Also, you’ll be able to tell if you’re getting a good deal or if it’s too expensive (or cheap).
2. Evaluate the shape
A lot of gems (diamonds especially) are bought solely on their looks. People will buy a diamond because it sparkles, without knowing its color and clarity. While it’s true that excellent color can be masked by a poor cut, and good cuts have poorer color, the arrangement between cut, clarity, and color is almost always proportional.
You can’t have good clarity with a bad cut or poor color with a good cut. This is because diamonds are valued by the carat (ct), and a 1 ct diamond will always be roughly the same size no matter how much it costs.
3. Evaluate the color
This is one of the most important factors to consider. Diamonds are the only gemstones that can be totally transparent, and even then they still have to be cut in a way so that their color is well distributed. Natural gems come in all sorts of colors, with some being transparent and others opaque. Gems are valued for reasons other than their appearance (i.e. healing properties), but it’s still an important factor to evaluate before making your purchase.
4. Evaluate the clarity
Diamonds have to be cut to be “flawless” (meaning all inclusions have to be removed from the diamond). The better the cut, the more light gets through to the diamond which will make it sparkle. This is why people often say that diamonds are actually all about color, and that clarity isn’t so important. They’re wrong.