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Posted By: Bette J

Gemstones may come in a rainbow of colors, but the jewelry industry uses a universally defined system to grade it. Color accompanies clarity, cut, and carat weight to make up the 4C’s and can greatly affect the aesthetic value of gemstones. Many people mistakenly believe that darker is always better, but what they should truly be looking for is brightness and vividness. Use the following tips to accurately evaluate the color of gemstones by yourself.

Evaluating Color of Gemstones by Using the GIA or Munsell Color Grading System, although, there are many and equally effective color grading systems in use today, the GIA or Munsell system is a good primer to start with. It utilizes a plastic set made up of 324 color pieces to serve as standard references. If a certain color is found missing from the system, interpolation can be performed to come up with more than 760 additional shades.

 The GIA or Munsell system is made ideal for judging the color of gemstones because they are built with 3D plastic pieces that resemble faceted gemstones.

 Elements of Color

 The color of gemstones should be judged according to the three main elements:

 ·           Hue

This is the first impression we obtain from viewing colors. It is what makes rubies red, sapphires blue, emeralds green, and amethysts purple. Hues have a natural order and they are red, yellow, green, blue, and lastly purple. Numerous shades can be achieved by mixing together any two of these hues.

 ·         Chroma or Saturation

 This element refers to the vividness, purity, strength, or intensity of a given color. Gemstones with low chroma are referred to as weak while those with high levels of saturation are called vivid or strong. Saturation of colored gemstones may be classified as the following in ascending order: grayish or brownish, slightly brownish or grayish, very slightly grayish or brownish, moderately strong, strong, and lastly vivid.

 ·         Value or Tone

 This is what makes you think of red as light or dark red. Gray as well as black and white are referred to as neutral or achromatic colors because they don’t possess any hue. Colors with hues are referred to as achromatic colors. GIA uses a numerical system, with its written definitions, to evaluate neutral and achromatic colors alike.

 For transparent colored gemstones, however, only grades or tones two to eight are considered.

• 0 colorless or white
• 1 extremely light
• 2 very light
• 3 light
• 4 medium light
• 5 medium
• 6 medium dark
• 7 dark
• 8 very dark

 Treatments Used for Changing Colors of Gemstones

 When shopping for colored gemstones, another question you should definitely ask and one you couldn’t evaluate without a definite honest answer is if the color is natural or applied. There are several commonly used and accepted color treatments that are applied to gemstones in order to change their appearance like heat treatment, irradiation, dyeing, and straining.

 ·         Heat Treatment

 This is the most commonly utilized and one of the oldest treatments for modifying the color of gemstones today. This treatment may use temperature ranging from 100 degrees Celsius to more than 2000 degrees Celsius and improves color distribution as well as reducing visibility of flaws.

 ·         Irradiation

 Low or high electromagnetic waves or energy particles are used to change the color of a given gemstone. Like heat treatment, there is little remaining evidence that could clue a buyer to its use.

 With irradiation, certain gemstones have their colors enhanced. Bleached, off-color pearls will obtain a darker tint. Brown or light yellow diamonds can become colored. Light yellow or colorless sapphires may turn yellow to orange, but the change could only last for days. Colorless quartz may turn into smoky quartz. Colorless as well as pale pink and dark blue beryl may become yellow or maxixe-type respectively. Time, light, and heat may, however, cause the color for treated beryl jewelry to fade.

 ·         Dyeing and Straining

 This is the major term used to refer to various techniques utilizing a foreign and differently colored substance to modify the color of a given gemstone. A combination of techniques, like dyeing and clarity enhancement for beryl, may be used to improve overall effects. In coating, the application of a second substance is only done on the surface.

 Practice makes perfect so browse jewelry shops to familiarize yourself with the various signs that could alert you to the use of applications and treatments on gemstones.

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If you would like to know more about Gemstones, please check out this  Gemstone site.

Posted By: Bette J

Have you ever wanted to have a Hobby that was fun and maybe could make you some money? Now is the time to learn to play a guitar and have that excitment of playing the music that you love the best. Please check the Reviews for the top 3 Guitar Courses that are leading online.

Posted By: Bette J

Hear this Super Giant in the field of Micro-Art, Willard Wigan talk about how he makes his tiny artwork. He is so dedicated to his work and he so interesting to hear him tell his story. Please take a look and enjoy this video.

Posted By: Bette J

I was surfing the web as uusual and came across this very interesting youtube video that I want to share with my  readers. This is just so amazing and interesting. Please take a look at Artist William Wigan creates sculptures so small that they can fit into the eye of a needle. If you would like to check out the website that this came from, go to http://gimundo.com/.  This site has some very good information that may be of interest to you.