The four most sought-after gems are diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. Knowing which gemstone to use will really help class up your style!
Here’s a quick run-through of the types of gems commonly used in crafting fine jewelry and why:
Diamond
Diamonds are known to give off the highest shine out of all transparent precious stones! They create this beautiful unicorn-like shimmer that just demands your attention, doesn’t it?
It’s very easy to be tricked by sellers when it comes to diamonds. So before you go out and purchase any, make sure to equip yourself with the 4C’s of the jewelry world: carat, color, clarity, and cut.
Carat or Carat Weight is used to measure a diamond’s weight.
Color refers to the grade of the diamond which varies from yellow to brown. Diamonds are rarely every truly colorless, making colorless diamonds the most expensive. Your best bet is to pick from D to I.
Cut is the term used to describe how well a diamond’s facets interact with light. Not to be confused with the shape of a diamond.
Ever heard of the phrase “green with envy”? That’s exactly what emeralds are!
Emeralds are rich green stones that have been known to capture the fancy of royalty. It is famous for its beautiful green shade and clear depth of color not found in most stones. It is a symbol of hope and renewal, and holds the attention of royalty.
Emeralds are particularly challenging to cut due to its “jardin” (French for garden) or intricate inclusions which gave birth to the famous emerald cut.
Ruby
How to say I love you in classic fashion? Say it with red.
Ruby is an ideal choice for a romantic gift due to its deep red hue that symbolizes love and desire. The purest rubies have thin inclusions called needles which create a “silk” phenomenon and causes light to scatter beautifully across the stone.
Sapphire
Sapphire is associated with wisdom, truth and justice. It comes in many different shades from green to pink and even black, although the purest sapphires, surprisingly, are actually white!
What causes sapphire to turn a nice velvety blue is due to the presence of titanium and iron traces, making it the most sought-after variety of its kind.
It’s important to know what to look for and how to spot irregularities in your gems. Like I’ve shared with you in my previous post, I’ve had my fair share of being tricked into buying fake items way below market value, so I’m leaving this post here for any of you who are curious.
Which one of these gems puts a spark in your eye? Let us know!
We would love to bring your dream piece to life! For custom bespoke pieces, you can send us your idea to us here.