Tips on Buying Jewellery: Gemstones

Tips on Buying Jewellery: Gemstones

Written by : Posted on November 29, 2010 : 11 Comments
Beautiful Tanzanite Cabochon Gemstone

Beautiful Tanzanite Cabochon Gemstone - Stone with Inner Beauty

Flawless Gemstones

I recently saw a checklist of tips for buying jewellery for your loved one. One of the tips was to make sure that the gemstone is flawless, that it has no faults.

Understanding Gemstones

Firstly, one needs to have a good grasp of what a “fault” is.

The Tanzanite cabochon in the picture above has “inclusions”. This means that it is not 100% clear and uniform in colour; that it has visible “defects” or “faults”.

It is also, however, a stone with profound inner beauty.

The fact is, the visible structure and colour variants within this tanzanite occurred as part of its natural formation. It is an entirely sound gemstone and has a uniqueness accentuated by the signature of nature within. It is for this reason that I chose to add it to my collection of gemstones and I take enormous pleasure in looking at it!

Choosing Gemstones

A truly delicious aspect of being a Goldsmith is the continual search for gemstones. I create jewellery for my own gallery and also work to commission, creating customised jewellery to individual requirements. To this end, it is essential that I maintain a delightful collection of gemstones from which my clients can select.

Sitting down with a client as part of this process is a truly wonderful experience. To see just how much they enjoy it and how the stone of their choice emerges and speaks to them. It happens with friends and visitors, too, just for the pleasure of it.

For those choosing from my collection without a personal visit, I provide a number of photographs and have found this to be hugely successful with clients from all over the world.

I choose naturally beautiful gemstones.

11 comments

    • Gee Backhouse on said:

      Yes, you’re right, James This stone has no flaws – just lots of personality! It’s entirely up to the life-long job of being worn in a piece of jewellery.

  6. Pamela Bassett on said:

    Loved your Blog. Inclusions give such character to a stone. I love rutilated quartz which is jam packed with inclusions of a sort. Also emeralds (apart from the highly expensive ones, always have inclusions. This gives individuality to your piece. I have a cabochon Russian diopside ring which has inclusions and is like looking into a magical world.