Colored Gemstones

Nature creates a wealth of brilliantly colored gemstones. Most commonly used in fine jewelry are ruby, emerald, and sapphire.

When considering purchasing a colored gemstone, color is the primary characteristic used to determine quality. However, the stone's clarity, brilliance and fire are also important to the stone's beauty and value.

Gemologists grade a gemstone based on three main components: hue, tone and intensity. Modern textbooks and many jewelers now substitute the word saturation for intensity. Today many gemstones are enhanced, or treated, to improve their color to the naked eye. Some of these treatments are permanent and untraceable, however others can be easily noticed and may cause the color of the gem to change over time. Such enhancements must always be made clear to the customer so he or she can make an educated buying decision.

As an example of how gemologists evaluate color, look at the September birthstone, sapphire. Nature produces sapphire in all colors except red, however it is most well known for it's blue variety. Sapphire varies from pale watery gray-blue to deep greenish-blackish-blue, and all shades of blue in between. It can be extremely common and inexpensive, or rare and pricey, as with certain pure "electric" blue colors of sapphire or the very soft and extremely rare deep cornflower blue Kashmir stones. Diamonds Direct Crabtree procures sapphires from many sources in a variety of ranges of price, rarity and beauty.