Precious Stones

A lady can think of a thousand reasons to buy precious stones. But, I believe that one reason that every individual should buy precious stones is investment. They are the most stable form of investment and their prices do not fluctuate like the stock market. On a lighter note, if you want to please a loved one, you just have to hop into the nearest jewelry store.

Diamonds

It is said that diamonds are a girl’s best friends. They are very popular as engagement gifts and also as anniversary gifts. It is also very expensive and hence you need to be very aware to how to select the right diamond at the right place.

While purchasing a diamond, you need to look for the 4 C’s that is cut, color, clarity and carat. This standard is used throughout the world to identify the rarity of the diamond. The cut refers to the angles and the proportions created in an uncut diamond. This is the only aspect of the diamond that is determined by human intervention and the scientific formula behind cutting a diamond is based on the fact that a well cut diamond will internally reflect the light to ultimately disperse the light from the top of the stone thereby resulting in brilliance. The diamonds also found in almost all the colors but colorless diamonds are the most popular and hence also the most expensive. The clarity of a diamond determines how much of light is lost inside a diamond because of an inclusion. Lower the clarity of the diamond, lower will be its grade. Carat is the weight of the diamond although it is often confused with the size of the diamond.

Emeralds

Emeralds are a rare variety of the mineral beryl that is green in color because of their high chromium content. Like in the case of diamonds, the 4 C’s are used to evaluate the rarity of emerald but in the case of diamonds the first preference is given to clarity while in the case of emeralds, the first preference is given to color. The color of the emerald decides the price of the emerald. In general terms, the darker the color of emerald the more valuable it is. However, the fact that the emerald stone is dark green in color does not make it valuable. A very fine emerald will have a dark blue green color, which will be translucent and brilliant.

Sapphires

The most popular color of sapphires is blue. These are very hard stones and only the diamonds exceeds their hardness. Hence, jewelry made of sapphire requires very little maintenance. It is also a very popular engagement stone as the sapphire signifies loyalty. The oldest of the sapphires are found in Sri Lanka. They are also found in abundance in Thailand and Australia.

The value of a sapphire depends on the size color and transparency of the stone. However, in cases of sapphires the origin of the gem also plays a major role in deciding the price. The most valuable sapphires are the genuine Kashmir (India) stones, followed by Burmese and Ceylon respectively.

Ruby

Rubies are usually associated with the 40th wedding anniversary and also with the sun as per Vedic astrology. It is also the birthstone of the people born in July with the zodiac sign as Cancer. The color of ruby varies from pink to red and this coloration depends on the quantity of the element known as chromium present. The word ruby is derived from the Latin word ‘ruber’ that means ‘red’. The cost of a ruby is primarily decided by its color. The brightest and the best ‘red’ ruby is known as the ‘Pigeon Blood Red’ and these rubies are far more expensive when compared to other rubies of similar quality. After the color, the clarity, color and cut would decide the cost of a ruby stone. 90% of the rubies come from Myanmar (Burma) especially from the ‘Valley of Rubies’, a mountainous Mogok area that is famous for pigeon blood red rubies.

At the end of the day, it is important to understand that you do not have to buy the rarest of the precious stones. You only need to purchase something that speaks to you.