Sometimes bold, sometimes delicate, always fiery and romantic, rubies are among the exquisite beauties of nature. They are one of four gemstones that are frequently set on engagement rings and other jewelry.

Although rubies are always red, their color density and overall gemstone quality vary greatly. If you want to choose a good quality, beautiful ruby, you need to understand its history and how it was shaped. You should also carefully examine the color, clarity and size of each ruby.

Understanding The 4C’s Of Rubies:

1. Color – Today, gemologists seek a more universal and objective means of assessing color in rubies.  Their color, and that of other colored gemstones, is now described by the hue, tone, and saturation.  The description of the ideal color in ruby–vivid, medium-dark red to slightly purplish red–incorporates all three of these terms. The hue is the gemstone’s basic color.  While a ruby’s color is basically “red,” in many cases, purple or orange secondary colors can also be found.  While absolute red is the ideal hue, many fine rubies from Myanmar are slightly purplish red. As a ruby’s hue becomes increasingly purple or orange, the quality is thought to suffer and the ruby loses value.

2. Clarity – Rubies rarely exhibit the high clarity of fine diamonds.  Rubies are host to many different inclusions, and even the best stones are not expected to be free of inclusions when viewed at 10x magnification.  In fact, a ruby with no inclusions should be viewed with suspicion; it may be a synthetic stone or a glass imitation. The best clarity grade for ruby is “eye-clean,” which means no inclusions are visible to the naked eye.  When evaluating the clarity, experts consider the size, number, location, and overall visibility of the inclusions.

3. Carat Weight – While a five-carat stone may be considered small for an aquamarine, a quality five-carat ruby is large enough to get the attention of serious gem collectors.  As with any gem, ruby prices per carat increase with carat weight. Fine quality rubies over one carat are rare, but commercial quality rubies are commonly available in a range of different sizes.  Fine quality ruby rough is extremely expensive, so quality stones are not usually cut to calibrated sizes because it could result in a significant loss of weight.  Commercial quality ruby is more likely to conform to standard calibrated sizes.

4. Cut – The term “cut” can have several meanings when applied to rubies and other gemstones.  For example, it may describe the faceting style or shape of a finished gemstone. It may also mean a gemstone’s proportion and finish.  Proportion refers to the rough dimensions and overall symmetry of a gemstone. Finish describes the precision with which facets meet, the relative size and number of facets, and the quality of the stone’s polish. 

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Exclusive things are exclusive because they are uncommon, unique, and rare. On the same note, Exclusive gemstones are precious because they are only one and rare. So when you plan to buy gemstone online, make sure you are buying real ones. Nowadays, there are several options available out there in the market but you should only trust an authentic gemstone dealer. In order to invest your hard-earned money in an original piece of gem, you should only make your purchase via a trusted gemstone store like Gemsmore, the Online Gem Bazar.

The beauty of emeralds is striking. These stones radiate hope, faithfulness and eternal love. Emeralds are frequently used to set engagement rings. They are among the four most precious stones on our planet.

All emeralds are green but the color of each stone varies in depth and hue as well as its overall quality. If you want a quality emerald for an engagement ring, you need to understand the history of this exceptional stone and how it was formed. You also need to pay special attention to the color, purity and size of each emerald.

Understanding the 4Cs of Emerald Quality:

The 4C’s of color, clarity, cut and carat weight are used to grade diamonds are also used for colored gemstones as well. However, there are different standards for grading colored gems like emeralds.

1. Color – The first and foremost property emeralds are judged by is their color. A highly saturated emerald will outprice larger emeralds with less appealing color consistently, despite the rarity of larger gem sizes. Color is also not as complicated in emeralds as it is in other gems because emerald green is a very limited range from slightly yellowish green to bluish green. An ideal bluish green is typically the most desirable color, though everyone has their own preferences. To show off the best imaginable color, the three values of hue, tone, and saturation must be ideal in the gem material. Imbalances in these values can make us perceive the color differently than what it is.

2. Clarity – Emeralds are known for being included. They are a Type III gemstone, which means they almost always show inclusions. The scarce few emeralds that do not show any go for double to triple the price ones with similar color and weight do.

3. Cut – The cut, or how the emerald is faceted, has a lot of complications. First, gem cutters often cut away 50%-70% of the original emerald in order to get the gem to show its best color and sparkle. Since these gems are priced by their weight in carats, the lapidary also wants to retain as much carat weight as possible for their bottom line. A symmetrical gem with high sparkle and low extinction, or black spots, visible is also desirable too. Shallow cuts are not ideal either, usually showing a huge window through the emerald.

4. Carat Weight – In and of itself, carat weight is just the weight of the emerald. However, the implications of the weight are a little more complex since price increases exponentially with carat weight in emeralds. While color, clarity, and cut are evaluations of quality, carat weight measures rarity and directly translates that into a price tag. The second part is that different carat weights command different magnitudes of prices. If color, clarity, and cut are all equal, then the pricing will show just how rare larger emerald sizes are. For example: if you have a 2.00 carat emerald and a 4.00 carat emerald, the 4.00 carat emerald will not be double the value of the 2.00 carat emerald. It will be something like four times the price assuming the quality is equal.

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Exclusive things are exclusive because they are uncommon, unique, and rare. On the same note, Exclusive gemstones are precious because they are only one and rare. So when you plan to buy gemstone online, make sure you are buying real ones. Nowadays, there are several options available out there in the market but you should only trust an authentic gemstone dealer. In order to invest your hard-earned money in an original piece of gem, you should only make your purchase via a trusted gemstone store like Gemsmore, the Online Gem Bazar.

There is no standardized color-grading or quality-measuring system for sapphires, which makes choosing quality sapphires a relatively subjective process. However, sapphires that have certain features are considered more valuable and of a higher quality. 

Attending to the gem’s purity of color, its tone, and its clarity, for instance, can be useful when looking for a sapphire of high quality. Another way to choose a high-quality sapphire is to choose a synthetic stone, which will have fewer imperfections than a natural one.

There are 4 main things to look for in a high quality sapphire:

1) Excellent color

• A sapphire that has a splotchy and uneven color is not considered one of high quality. Look for sapphires that are saturated with a single vivid color all the way through. Avoid sapphires that have brown or gray spots within.

2) No glaring inclusions

• Turn the sapphire around in your hand as you hold it up to the light. This will help you see all the internal and external elements of the gem. Don’t rush the process. Take all the time necessary to see all the nooks and crannies of the gem.

3) A well proportioned cut

• If you’re buying a heat-treated sapphire in a ring, necklace, or other jewelry, it should be cut in a symmetrical way. This means that the gem will be visually balanced, with one side resembling the other.

4) The price should reflect the carat size

• Some sapphires are found not in mines, but made in laboratories. These synthetic sapphires are of much higher quality (and far more affordable) than natural ones, so choose synthetic sapphires whenever possible. Generally, synthetic sapphires have fewer inclusions, greater clarity, and more brilliance than natural gemstones.

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Exclusive things are exclusive because they are uncommon, unique, and rare. On the same note, Exclusive gemstones are precious because they are only one and rare. So when you plan to buy gemstone online, make sure you are buying real ones. Nowadays, there are several options available out there in the market but you should only trust an authentic gemstone dealer. In order to invest your hard-earned money in an original piece of gem, you should only make your purchase via a trusted gemstone store like Gemsmore, the Online Gem Bazar.