How to Buy Gemstone Jewelry
A gemstone is a hardened material in its physical nature. When this material is cut and polished, its quality and beauty increases and it becomes an ideal material to make attractive gemstone jewelry.
Natural, Synthetic and Artificial Gemstones
Attractive gemstone jewelry can be made from different types of gemstones including high-quality gemstones or even medium-quality, low-priced gemstones. There can be some very low-priced gemstones that are artificial but appear to be natural high-quality gemstones. These man made gemstones look and feel like natural gemstones in color and texture but they do not possess the chemical composition that high-quality gemstones have. This is why artificial gemstones are very low-priced gemstones.
There are other low-priced gemstones that are neither artificial gemstones nor natural gemstones. Human beings have acquired the ability to successfully create attractive gemstone jewelry using rubies, diamonds, sapphires and emeralds that can be made in laboratories; these lab-made gemstones are known as synthetic gemstones and have the exact chemical composition of natural, high-quality gemstones. Synthetic low-priced gemstones including rubies and sapphires are very common and are low-priced gemstones as compared to natural gemstones. However, synthetic gemstones are not very low-priced gemstones like artificial gemstones.
The chemical characteristics of synthetic low-priced gemstones are similar to natural high-quality gemstones. You can identify a synthetic low-priced gemstone by its extremely vivid color. This is because synthetic low-priced gemstones do not contain the impurities that affect the color of natural high-quality gemstones. Even though synthetic low-priced gemstones may seem more perfect than natural high-quality gemstones, the latter are always considered to be of greater value because they (natural high-quality gemstones) are rare.
Color and Treatment Clarity, Cutting/Finishing & Gemstone Grading
Birthstones
How to Care for Gemstones