Quality
The four C's: Cut, Color, Clarity, Carat
Of
the four C's cut is the one that is most directly influenced by man. The
others are dictated by nature. Coincidentally, cut is also the most important
factor in the overall appearance of a gemstone. It will dramatically influence
its fire and sparkle, for it's the cutter's skill that releases its beauty.
Cut:
When
a stone is cut to excellent proportions, the light coming into the stone
is bounced from one side to the other. Then all of that light leaves the
stone from the top as sparkle or fire! When a stone is cut shallow with
incorrect angles the light that enters the stone all leaks through the
bottom. If a stone is cut deep with incorrect angles, as
with the shallow cut the stone loses the light that comes in, but it is
though the side of the stone. A well cut
stone takes the light going in and reflects out both beautiful white light
and all the colors of the rainbow.
Color: This varies depending on the type of gemstone being purchased. In the case of diamonds the old adage, "Less is More" certainly applies. While
many diamonds appear colorless, virtually all fine gem quality diamonds
will have some color. Diamond color grades start with "D" and continue
through the alphabet. The closer a diamond is to being colorless, the
rarer and more valuable it becomes... just a single digit change in the
color grade can significantly affect a diamond's value. In other gemstones such as emerald, ruby, sapphire and tanzanite the most important factor is color. Rich and vivid colors should be considered.
Clarity,
an
indication of the gemstones purity. In all gemstones, except the most rare,
tiny traces of minerals, gasses, or other elements were trapped inside
during the crystallization process. They are technically called inclusions,
but you might also think of them as birthmarks... unique to each stone.
Many of these birthmarks are not visible to the naked eye. The clarity
of a gemstone is graded by how many, where, and how large these inclusions
are located. Naturally, the fewer and smaller, the more valuable the stone
becomes.
Carat
weight:
As with all precious stones, the weight-and therefore the size of a gemstone
is expressed in carats. One carat is divided into 100 points so that a
gemstone of 50 points (.50ct) is described as a half carat. Carat-weight
is the easiest factor to determine.
Care
Daily
wear, dust and pollution all conspire to cloud the beauty of a gemstone
and dull the surface of the metals the gemstones are set within. We recommend
either a professional cleaner, or you can use one part ammonia to 6
parts warm water. Let jewellery soak for one minute to loosen particles,
and then use an old soft bristle toothbrush to clean. Finally, rinse
jewellery in water.
Don't
let your gemstone come in contact with chlorine bleach when doing house
work, it can pit or discolor the mounting.
Don't wear your gemstone while playing sports, yardwork, or housework.
Gemstones can be chipped by a hard blow along its grain.
Do take your gemstones to a jeweller for a check up at least once
a year. There, they will be checked for loose settings, or signs of
wear that require attention. The jeweller will usually give your gemstone a professional "shine and polish".
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