Becoming Intimate with Gems

Abstract

Gems should never be bought as a gamble—the uneducated consumer will always lose. This is a basic rule of thumb. The best way to take the gamble out of buying a particular gem is to familiarize yourself with the gem. While the average consumer can’t hope to make the same precise judgments made by a qualified gemologist, whose scientific training and wealth of practical experience provide a far greater data base from which to make his judgments, the consumer can learn to judge a stone as a “total personality,” and learn what the critical factors are—color, perfection, cut, brilliance, and weight—and how to balance them in judging the gem’s value. Learning about these factors, and spending time in the marketplace looking, listening, and asking questions before going out to actually buy, will prepare you to be an intelligent buyer, rather than a potential victim.