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Judging the Quality of Gemstone Jewelry |
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Judging the quality of a gemstone involves several factors. Traditionally, jewelers categorize the qualitative analysis of gemstones into four categories, called the "4 C's": Clarity Be mindful of cut and color. There should be even brilliance, with no shadowing. Each stone should have even symmetry and be well polished. Unless you have a fancy colored diamond, they should be as close to colorless as possible to give the most reflective and refractive sparkle. With colored gemstones, look for rich color, translucency and brilliance. Vibrant color is more desirable than deep color. Harmony and balance within the setting are important. Stone and gold weights need to be appropriate together. Let your eye be the judge! With a prong setting, be sure the prongs are balanced evenly and hold securely. Bezel settings should be straight, uniform and secure. Channel or invisible settings should contain stones that are uniform in shape and color. No one stone should be more prominant than another. In pave settings, where tiny stones are hand set closely together in gold, you should see just a sparkling area of diamonds and the surface should be even. The underside of a quality piece of jewelry should be polished and nicely beveled with open gallery work areas allowing the maximum amount of light to shine through!
Read more about jewelry care tips, caring for opals, birthstones, and the interpretive meaning of each gemstone.
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