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Sri Lankan Gems International Marketplace
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Sri Lankan Gems International Marketplace
Your comprehensive reference for gemstone shapes, categories, treatments, colors, clarity, and certification. Explore the fascinating world of precious and semi-precious stones.
The shape of a gemstone refers to its outline or form when viewed from above, while the cut refers to the arrangement of facets that determine how light interacts with the stone. A well-cut gemstone maximizes brilliance, fire, and scintillation. The choice of shape is often a matter of personal preference, but certain shapes work better with specific gem types and optical properties.
Gemstones are categorized based on their chemical composition, crystal structure, and physical properties. The most precious gemstones are diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, known as the "Big Four." However, many other beautiful gemstones exist, each with unique characteristics, colors, and values. Understanding these categories helps in identification, valuation, and proper care of gemstones.
Gemstone treatments are processes applied to natural gemstones to improve their appearance, durability, or value. Most gemstones on the market today have undergone some form of treatment. It's essential for buyers to understand these treatments as they affect the stone's value, care requirements, and long-term stability. Ethical disclosure of treatments is a critical aspect of gemstone trading.
Color is the most significant factor in determining a gemstone's beauty and value. Gemstone colors result from the presence of trace elements, structural anomalies, or inclusions that absorb specific wavelengths of light. The finest gemstones display pure, vivid colors with even saturation. Color grading evaluates hue (the actual color), tone (lightness or darkness), and saturation (color intensity). Below are the primary color categories and their variants commonly found in gemstones.
Clarity refers to the absence of inclusions (internal characteristics) and blemishes (external characteristics) in a gemstone. No natural gemstone is perfectly pure, but the location, size, number, and visibility of these characteristics determine the clarity grade. Clarity significantly affects a gemstone's value, especially in diamonds. The clarity scale ranges from Internally Flawless (IF) to Included (I3).
Gemstone certification from reputable laboratories provides an objective assessment of a gemstone's quality characteristics. A certificate includes detailed information about the stone's dimensions, weight, color, clarity, cut, and any treatments detected. Certification is essential for high-value gemstones as it verifies authenticity, identifies treatments, and provides an unbiased quality assessment. Sri Lanka, as a major gem-trading hub, has several respected local and international laboratories.