The kind of pearls woman wears defines her persona and desire to look elegant and beautiful. High quality ones are very much in demand and every woman adore them. The classic pearl necklace is the perfect choice for most weddings events.

Pearls are known for their unparalleled natural beauty and white color brilliance. Around the world, from royal princess to regular folks, everybody loves to wear gorgeous looking pearl jewelry. Since they come in wide array of attractive colors, designs and price range, it is important to know few things before you buy them.

Quality is the king. Better the quality higher goes the price. But it does not necessarily mean, one cannot get high quality jewelry at discounted prices. The online stores now are the best source to compare and buy at very competitive prices. They have much more control on the overheads than regular jewelry boutiques or departmental stores. Since most of them buy direct from source, they pass on these savings to customers.

1. How pearls are formed and where they come from?

A small mental piece or irritant is placed inside the oyster or mollusks As a result; the mollusk secretes a crystalline substance called nacre, which builds up in layers upon layers, surrounding the irritant thus forming the pearl overtime. Mikimoto of Japan had invented and patented this culturing technique of producing these beautiful natural gems in the coastal saltwater area of Japan. It normally takes 2 to 5 years depending upon oyster types, water and climatic conditions.

1. White color is synonymous with the pearls but they do come in other attractive colors such as black, gray, pink, cream and golden colors. Round pearls with clean surface with no blemishes on the surface and high lustrous quality are most sought after and typically command higher prices.

Akoya pearls, so called the saltwater ones largely came from Japan ever since Mikimoto made the cultured pearls very popular all around the world but now China lately has surpassed Japan in both quantity and quality. China is the largest producer of Freshwater pearls and akoya cultured ones.

South Sea pearls with golden overtones come from Australia and some other Indonesian regions whereas Tahitian pearls, the black metallic beauties are harvested from the pristine seawater of French Polynesian areas near Hawaii.

2. How pearls are graded and valued?

Pearls typically are graded and valued depending upon quality from A to tripleA by all jewelry merchants around the world. Highest-grade ones are those with the high luster and reflective mirror-like quality. Many jewelers often sell tripleA+ or higher to command higher prices projecting superior quality but in fact one may be paying more for the compromising quality.

If there is no much of budget constraint and looking for high-grade best quality pearl jewelry, one should look for triple A quality. Pearls indeed are timeless fashion statement.

Trusted Source for Buying Quality Pearl Jewelry: http://www.pearlprincess.com/

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/jewelry-articles/buying-guide-for-pearls-pearl-jewelry-1517030.html

Gemology is a vast study of gems, color, texture, blemishes, or cracks. It is about enhancements or treatments and knowledge about suitable cuts and settings. This study also involves the process of gemstone appraisal and buying. Gemology defined would say that it is a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy. Thus, jewelers are actually are academically trained gemologists.

Nevertheless, before a jeweler studies, say loose blue sapphire, tanzanite earrings, or a diamond for instance, there are always some essential steps to be followed. Giving an insight below are the steps revealed:

1. Convenient examining of loose gemstones: In many cases, jewelers try to camouflage those fine errors in a stone with particular setting of the jewelry. Therefore, before buying any gemstone jewelry, the gemstone should be examined, unmounted. This would not let defects to hide by the mounting or side stones.

2. Surety of a clean gem: When purchasing a gem from a local jeweler or an online retailer, always insist that it is cleaned. If the place is such where it doesn’t allows professional cleaning, then breathe on the stone in a huffing manner. It would result in steam on the gem. The dirt’s actually superficial in nature.

3. Try holding the gem through the girdle (the edge where the top and bottom meet): A safe way to handle a gemstone, say, a citrine, is by holding it from the girdle. If touched from top (table) and/or pavilion (bottom), the stone can have traces of oil, affecting its color and brilliance.

However, the professional method is holding gems through tweezers. Always be careful while holding a gemstone with tweezers after taking permission from the owner. Don’t get blamed for any damage/loss to gem in case if it pops out accidentally.

4. Proper lighting for better viewing of the gem: Most jewelers prefer several incandescent spotlights, usually recessed in dropped ceilings. There are spotlights which are capable enough to make glass imitations the same way fantastic, just like real ones.

Professionally, florescent lights are a first choice for grading. However, they may affect appearance of some gems. Ruby shows its fiery gleam under incandescent light whereas diamond and other similar hued gemstones look magnificent with florescent ones.

Otherwise, buyers should always insist on viewing the desired gems under several types of lights.

Ideally, the source light should be located from above or behind you, shining down and through the stone. It facilitates the light to travel through the stone and reflect back to eyes.

5. Facilitate rotation for different angle view.

6. A Loupe focused both on the surface and into the interior: Setting the stone slowly, such as shifting focus in the interior is a method to have a better view. It can be raised or lowered, to concentrate on the depths clearly and carefully. Therefore, if the top is focused on then the interior is left.

Thus, these are some good tips to keep in mind to examine your favorite gems. Become a gem collector or a personal jeweler for yourself or your family and friends. Examine charms like ruby rings and earrings, emerald rings and earrings, or sapphire earrings.

Enjoy the pure bliss of authentic jewelry.

I am an obsessive gems and jewelry person. Nothing to be scared about! Working for an online gemstone jewelry portal has made me one as I get updated about recent fashion twits around the world. If you want to tickle your jewelry knowledge for more updates and information about latest ‘explorations and discoveries’ in gemstone designs and launches, you can go through my featured articles.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/jewelry-articles/examine-a-stone-in-key-steps-1483142.html

Why do people, particularly women, love diamonds? Why do their eyes get rounded whenever they see one? What are they made of that everyone go gaga about them? What are diamonds, really?

They say diamonds are forever. Are they? Do you even have an idea why? Also, they say diamonds are a girl’s best friend. If this is true, again I ask why? Can you tell a real diamond from a fake one? Is it easy? What makes a diamond the best?

Really, there are things people have to become aware of when buying diamonds. What are these? Precisely, there are only four most important things one must know about diamonds: color (yes, diamonds have colors) carat (which is different from karat), clarity, and cut.

Color
A color scale determines the grades of a diamond. The grading starts from ‘D’, referring to colorless, and ends to ‘Z’, referring to highlighted yellow. The colors ‘D’, ‘E’, and ‘F’ are the best diamonds because they are colorless but expensive. So, if you are restricted with budget, you can go for colors ‘J’, ‘K’, ‘L’, and ‘M’. Anyway, if these diamond colors are looked at from a distance, they appear to be similar to the colorless diamonds. So, why worry about buying the ones that have lower prices?

Clarity
Diamonds are not perfect; they have inclusions. In fact, the quality of the clarity depends on the number of these ‘additions’ and how distinctive they are. Therefore, pricing is also based on clarity – the fewer amount of blemishes, the more probability of a diamond increasing its value. ‘IF’ clarity stands for flawless quality; however, your naked eye will not be able to differentiate it from ‘VSI’ clarity. A magnifying glass will also do. So, your financial capacity will again dictate which diamond you will prefer to buy. If you can afford it, then, buy the perfect diamond for you or for your girlfriend or wife.   

Carat
A carat is used to quantify the weight of diamonds. A carat is equal to the fifth part of a gram. It is separated in 100 points; therefore, a diamond with 50 points is equivalent to half a carat, which has an estimated width of 5.2mm.

Cut
The shapes of diamonds come in multiplicity. The most popular of them are the round brilliant, pear shaped, oval, emerald cut, princess cut, and heart shaped. The most brilliant of all is obviously the round brilliant.

Now, this information will at least give you more ideas about diamonds. This article will also help you a lot when buying – or scrutinizing – diamonds. More importantly, you are now aware of the four Cs in diamonds: color (you will be able to determine the flawless and the near colorless from tinted yellow), carat (you are now aware of its difference from karat), clarity (its varieties and how they influence the pricing of diamonds), and cut (the different shapes made by diamond cutters to diamonds).

Harrison Fray is an experienced and expert wedding planner who specializes in groomsmen gifts and wedding gifts buying. His advice can help you to buy bridesmaid gifts cheaply but with unique style. Harrison also gives great advice on groomsmen gifts. Drop by Go Wedding Gifts to see what Harrison recommends.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/jewelry-articles/four-most-important-things-you-need-to-know-about-diamonds-1255846.html