Evaluate, Examine, Select & Care Gemstones

Here are the steps you will follow in order to Evaluate, Examine, Select & Care Gemstones. You probably don’t know yet what you are looking for and what you are not looking for. Don’t worry, just follow me through this:

1. If possible, unmount the diamond off its setting. A thorough examination can be given only if the stone is on its own. Imperfections have a way of hiding behind mountings and side-stones.
2. Get the gem cleaned for you. If it’s a retailer, he will do it. If he refuses, try this common trick – breathe on the stone and wipe it with a clean, soft handkerchief. There is no substitute for proper cleaning, but this will at least remove the film of grease that generally obscures vision.
3. Bring the gemstone close to your eyes while holding it between your thumb and index finger. Make sure your fingers touch only the edge, or the girdle of the unmounted stone. Otherwise, traces of oil will be left on the stone which will reduce its brilliance. Using tweezers instead of fingers is definitely better, provided you know how to use them. If you don’t, there is a great chance that the gemstone may pop out of your grip, fall, and get damaged or lost. No matter what, even if you know how to use them, take the permission of the jeweler before doing so.
4. Take good care of the lighting. Jewelers generally have incandescent spotlights placed at strategic positions that make even ordinary pieces of glass look splendid. Professionals, on the other hand, make use of fluorescent lights for examining gemstones. I wouldn’t recommend either because they might either accentuate normal features beyond limits or affect loss of brilliance. Red gems generally look good under incandescent light while blue gems look better under fluorescent light. My advice would be to try out different lightings. Another thing – the source of light should be placed above or behind you, so that the light passes through gem, gets reflected and reaches your eyes and you get a clear idea of its brilliance.
5. Rotate the gemstone and make sure to view it from all angles. This is important not only to get an idea of the overall brilliance of the stone but also to detect any blemish that could otherwise escape your sight. This way, you will also have an idea of the cut and symmetry of the gemstone, and an estimate of the number of facets carved into the stone.
6. Focus on all depths of the gemstone. When inexperienced customers are looking at stones with the help of loupes of other stuff, they happen to focus on the surface and content themselves. That is not correct – you need to have a peep into all depths of the gem. They are cut in specific ways in order to sparkle, and you need to examine these facets elaborately. To do so, move the stone slowly in the upward and downward direction, until you can focus on each and every depth.

So you have learned the basics of examining a gemstone. You don’t know how to use a loupe yet, even though I have mentioned it. We will talk about it in my next blog.