Gemstone Articles from AJS Gems

Stories citing AJS Gems in the international press.

This month's feature is on a major new sapphire find in Sri Lanka.  Material from the new mine should start to reach the market soon.

 This month our feature article is on fine gemstones under $500.  Yes, it is actually possible to buy fine gems under $500 without compromising on quality!

In recent years pink has become one of the most popular colors in gemstones, and there continues to be strong interest in pink stones. In this article we look at the many choices and color variations in pink gems.

Thailand is a shopper's paradise, and gems and jewelry are excellent values. But finding a trusted dealer is critical when you're making a major purchase.

Cat's Eye Gems display a unique optical phenomenon that resemebles the slit eye of a cat. Fine specimens are valued by gem collectors, especially cat's eye chrysoberyl.

Sri Lanka has been producing fine sapphire for centuries, and many of the world's most famous sapphires were found there.

Citrine is the name used for the the yellow to gold color of quartz. It can also be found in orange and orange-red colors, sometmes sold under the name Madeira citrine. Since quartz is a very common mineral, gem-quality citrine is very affordable and can often be found in large sizes.

We are honored to serve many kinds of customers in our business, including gem dealers, jewelers and indiviuals looking for a fine gem for a special piece of jewelry. But some of our customers are also serious gemstone collectors and they have special needs that very few gem dealers can meet. These collectors search out the rare and unique gemstones that are likely to increase significantly in value over time.

The traditional engagement ring is diamond. But many couples are now selecting colored gemstone engagement rings. Here is what to look for in a fine colored gem for an engagement ring.

Concave cutting is a recent innovations that creates 3 dimensional curved facets, enhancing a gemstone's brilliance.

The process of cutting and polishing gemstones is known as lapidary. It transforms rough minerals into brilliant and lustrous faceted gems.

Traditionally the precious opal market has belonged to Australia, with more than 95% of the world's production. But recent finds of high quality opal in Ethiopia are transforming the opal business, much to the consternation of the Australians.

This month we look at natural zircon, one of the the most brilliant but underappreciated species in the gems world.

Specialized gem dealers are the best source for finding a high quality colored stone at an affordable price. But some gem dealers sell only commercial grade stones. Look for higher end dealers who specialize in one-of-a-kind gems with top color and excellent cut.

The rarest and most expensive material in the quartz family is a type of chalecedony known in the trade as "gem silica".

The terms brilliance and luster have specific technical meanings in the world of colored gems. The term brilliance in particular is often misunderstood.

 A gemstone may be a pure chemical element (diamond is essentially pure carbon), a relatively simple chemical compound (quartz is silicon dioxide, SiO2), or a more complex mixture of various compounds and elements (the garnet family includes a highly variable mix of iron, magnesium, aluminum, and calcium silicates).

 Gem materials vary greatly in density -- amber may float in salt water (density near that of water), while hematite is more than five times the density of water.

The term "fire" refers to the ability of a gem to split light into the colors of the spectrum. The term "scintillation" refers to flashes of light that are produced when a gem is moved in the light.

Rare gemstones from AJS Gems, Bangkok have been set in fine jewelry all over the world.  This gallery shows some of the designs that were created by our customers using our gems, as well as some of our own designs.We would be glad to display your jewelry in our gallery. Please send your photos and descriptions to us at info@ajsgems.com.

Does it matter that a ruby was mined in Burma rather than Madagascar? Learn why country of origin is so important in the gem world.

 Refractive Index The refractive index of a gemstone is an important characteristic which helps to determine the appearance of the gem. This property can easily be measured to help in identifying gemstones. Absolute Refractive Index

All reputable gem dealers disclose gem treatments, and often provide test reports from gemological laboratories. But some gem enhancements are not detectable by even the best gem labs.

One of the common cutting defects in colored gemstones is a phenomenon known as windowing. The term refers to an area of reduced color in the center of a stone, like looking through a glass window. 

 There are three main components of color that affect gemstones: hue, saturation, and brightness. We need all three of these components to be able to fully describe color.When we say "color" we are often talking about hue. It is the component of color we talk about most. It indicates whether a color looks red, green, blue, yellow, orange, etc.

Gemstones vary by hardness and this fact is important both for mineral identification and for selecting gemstones for jewelry.

Green is an important color for garnet, but the green garnet varieties tend to be rare, such as tsavorite, demantoid and mali garnets.

There is now a large and established online market for loose gemstones. But buying gems online still involves some risk, so here is some useful advice for careful buyers.

It is now possible to manufacture many kinds of gemstones in the laboratory, including sapphire, ruby, emerald and diamond. So what does this mean for the natural gemstone business? Why should a natural gemstone be preferred?

When buying a colored gemstone always check the size as well as the weight. Colored gems vary in density and cut, and one cannot accurately predict the size of the stone from the carat weight, as one can with diamonds.

The difference between an ordinary stone and a gemstone is beauty, durability, rarity and the way in which it reflects and refracts light. Most loose gemstones are minerals that have been shaped as rough stones or flawed crystals within rocks below the earth's surface.

This month we look at some of the colored gemstone jewelry from the Elizabeth Taylor collection that was recently auctioned at Christie's in New York.

The most valuable sapphires in the world are from Kashmir, but chances are you will never see one except at a rare gems auction or in a museum.

If you want a fine piece of colored gemstone jewelry, selecting a high quality loose gemstone first will get you the best choice and the best value. Then work with a skilled jeweler to design jewelry that your family will treasure for generations.

A new find of neon pink-red spinel near Mahenge, Tanzania in 2007 produced the latest sensation in the world of rare gemstones.

This month we look at fine amethyst. Once a rare gem, top grade amethyst is still rare. Most of the world's amethyst supply comes from South America. But the finest amethyst comes from Africa, especially Zambia.

Fire opal from Mexico is valued for its vivid body color, which ranges from white to yellow to orange-red.

Most natural gemstones are a single color -- red or blue or yellow or green, and so on. But there are some rare gems which display multiple colors in a single stone, and these are of particular interest to gem lovers and collectors.

Among the few gemstones that occur in a pure vivid green, chrome diopside is the most affordable. But since it is a slightly soft stone, it is not suitable for rings worn everyday.

Natural ruby is the rarest and most valuable of colored gems. Burma is the traditional source for fine ruby, but new material is mainly coming from Madagascar, Tanzania and Mozambique.

This month we offer our advice on the best values in fine gemstones for the holiday season. Give that special someone in your life a meaningful gift of lasting value.

Peridot is one of the more unusual stones in the gems world, with unique geological and gemological properties.

 One of the most familiar distinctions in the gems world is that between precious and semi-precious gems. But while you'll often hear these terms, they are now officially discouraged in the gemstone business.

Prices for colored gemstones can confuse even experienced buyers. Learn how gem dealers price their gems for the market. The price you pay for a gem should be a function of quality and rarity of the stone you are buying.

Pukhraj is the Hindi name for yellow sapphire. Yellow sapphire has a special significance in Vedic astrology, where there are 9 gems thought to correspond to the 9 planets: ruby, pearl, coral, emerald, yellow sapphire, diamond, blue sapphire, chrysoberyl cat's eye, and hessonite garnet. Yellow sapphire is associated with Guru or Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system.

Rare gemstones tend to appreciate in value over time. With limited supply and increasing demand, we have entered a period of rapidly rising prices for the best colored stones.

It is a rare event in the gemstone world when a new gemstone variety is discovered. One of the most recent discoveries is an intriguing and beautiful mineral known as Pezzottaite, first discovered in Madagascar around 2002. 

 Here are some gemstone reference works that we have found particularly useful.

In the gem trade, the term "sapphire" traditionally denotes blue sapphire, where all other colors of sapphire are referred to under the label "fancy sapphire." But while blue is still the classic color for sapphire, many other sapphire colors have become popular, including violet, pink, yellow, white, orange and green.

The main sources for gem silica chrysocolla are the Inspiration and Ray Mines in Arizona and the Lily Mine in Peru.

What makes top grade tanzanite so valuable? We look at tanzanite grading and the determinants of tanzanite value.

The term top grade is sometimes used too casually in the colored gems trade. Dealers who sell commercial grade stones often use it to refer to the small part of their inventory which is not windowed or of inferior color. But the term is an important one in the higher end gems business, where it is used to refer to gems of of lasting value that are of interest to collectors and investors.

There are very few gems which display different color regions in the same gemstone. Ametrine quartz, which combines the colors of amethyst (purple) and citrine (gold), is a rare example. This is a property especially associated with tourmaline, where bi-color and tri-color stones are relatively common.

Looking for a fine colorless gemstone, but don't want to buy a high price for a tiny diamond? There are a number of choices in fine white precious and semi-precious gemstones, including some lesser known gems. These include sapphire, zircon, topaz, rock crystal, goshenite, danburite and petalite.