Grading Gemstones: Beyond the 4C’s of Diamonds
An engagement or wedding ring is a major investment that symbolizes your love and commitment. And if you’ve recently become engaged or are preparing to exchange your vows, you are most likely beginning to educate yourself about rings, the 4C’s of diamonds (carat, cut, color, and clarity) and the way that gemstone quality is assessed.
At AZEERA, we grade all of our gemstones in-house, unlike the majority of jewelers who outsource this essential job to others. In our years of experience with grading colored gems, we have come to discover these five interesting facts about the process of grading gemstones:
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A Higher Carat Gemstone is Not Always More Valuable
While the karat (with a “k”) of a gold alloy refers to its purity, the carat (with a “c”) of a gemstone or diamond refers to its weight. However, when grading gemstones, bigger isn’t always better. A smaller gemstone with a superior color tone, saturation, and clarity can end up having a higher value than a large, low-quality gemstone. At AZEERA, every gemstone that is set in our custom jewelry has passed a minimum of seven inspections and is hand-selected for its unmatched brilliance and superb color intensity.
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Gemstones Have an Intrinsic Glow that is Enhanced by a Skilled Cutter
With diamonds, the facets of the cut stone have a tremendous effect on the diamond’s eventual sparkle and brilliance. In contrast, colored gemstones have their own “fire” and glow that is brought out through the cutting process and this is taken into account when grading gemstones. Our skilled gemstone cutters in Jaipur, India, are experts in maximizing the brilliance that is inherent in each stone through ensuring consistent sizes, perfect symmetry, and ideal proportions in the finished, cut gem.
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Gemstone Colors are Graded on a Spectrum
The color requirement that is used in grading diamonds is quite different when used for grading gemstones. Rather than receiving a higher grade for transparency and lack of color, the color of a gemstone is rated for the strength and appeal of its tone. An amethyst that is too light will appear washed out and less luxurious than the strong, medium tone that customers have come to know and love.
At AZEERA, we only accept gemstones with a medium, rich tone and select each gem by hand to ensure a perfect match between all of the gemstones set in your custom jewelry. While our gemstones are natural in that they have not been made in a lab, many of our gems have been subjected to standard heat and radiation treatments to intensify their natural color and glow.
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Inclusions Do Not Always Lower the Value of a Gemstone
Inclusions in a gemstone refer to the natural specks and impurities that are present within the stone and fewer inclusions usually result in a higher value. As opposed to the process used to grade diamonds, jewelers and gemstone traders are usually less exacting in terms of the number of inclusions permitted in the process of grading gemstones. At AZEERA, we only select the clearest gemstones for use in our handcrafted jewelry and you can view our assessment of the gems by scrolling down on each product page.
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The Origin of a Gemstone Can Affect its Value
In the commercial gemstone industry, the origin of a gemstone can affect its value in the market significantly, as the same gem from a different country might not carry the “signature look” that customers have come to expect. Currently, the most sought-after rubies come from Burma (Myanmar), the most highly valued sapphires from Kashmir and then Burma (Myanmar), and the most coveted emeralds are those that are mined in Colombia.
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Enjoy the Finest Gemstones in the World with Jewelry from AZEERA
Having grown up around gemstone experts in our families’ businesses, we developed high standards for grading gemstones from a young age and only select the finest gems produced in our workshop for use in our jewelry. Talk with our founders to learn more about our AAA gems and discover the fire in our stones by ordering your very own gemstone jewelry today.
