Precious stones are real, naturally created gemstones that are not assembled in a laboratory, cast, or glued together from waste. So they are not Swarovski glass (crystal), not synthetic zirconia, not a reconstructed stone pressed from real gemstone powder. But then what is a semi-precious stone, what is a gemstone, and how can their value be determined?
Today, all natural gemstones, previously called semi-precious stones, are called precious stones. In the past, only sapphires, emeralds, and rubies, in addition to diamonds, were considered precious stones, although many types of gemstones are far more valuable, durable, and beautiful than those listed.
Despite their name, gemstones are not always considered prohibitively expensive, so instead of using worthless artifacts, we strive to use real gemstones in our jewelry, created through millions of years of evolution and made magical by the handiwork of stone cutters with special skills.
In cases where someone would like to see their custom creation decorated with beautiful stones, we usually ask about the colors first, because there are hundreds of types of gemstones, and in addition to their color - their most striking characteristic - they have many other features that must be considered so that the result is permanently beautiful, special, and aesthetic.
Color narrows down the options, and only a few varieties need to be compared based on their hardness, shine, cleavage or brittleness, perhaps their special light effect, size, price, color shades, etc.
Diamonds are not considered colored gemstones because colorless varieties have been considered the highest quality for centuries. In fact, both the outstanding hardness and brilliance (refractive index) of diamonds far surpass those of colorless gemstones, making them the undisputed leader in this field.
While we look for brilliance in diamonds, we look for color in colored gemstones, and sometimes special light effects or patterns, or inner worlds. So colored stones usually have a weaker shine, and this is also reduced by color. For example, a well-cut dark blue sapphire shines less than a light blue one with the same cut. However, colored stones show a very wide spectrum of colors, and sometimes you can find rare varieties among them that are interesting not at all because of their brilliance, but because of their color change, star effect, etc.
The most beautiful and brilliant colored stones are definitely colored diamonds. Of course, most of these are much rarer than the white (colorless) versions, so they are also more expensive. Canary yellow, purple, green, colors are affordable, but blue, pink, red shades are so rare that those who want them have to dig deep into their pockets. Cognac shades and black, on the other hand, are cheaper. Each of them is special in its own way. We are happy to use them, because you can give individuality to even the simplest jewelry with bright colors, especially if the jewelry is already special in itself.
So, we love colorless diamonds for their brilliance, colored gemstones for their colors and special light effects, but colored diamonds can combine the advantages of both groups.
In the next part, I will continue this important topic, in which I will discuss the reasons, advantages and disadvantages of cutting methods, as well as the treatment of gemstones, i.e. their artificial modifications, which greatly affect their appearance, but also their price. (In the meantime, I welcome questions.)