Gem Rock Auctions firmly believes in supplying as much

information as possible to enable buyers to make an informed

purchase of all precious and semi precious gemstones.
We aim to have the largest selection of Certified gemstones
online and importantly our sellers have to be verify that they
have professional knowledge and a member of a trade
organization.
We also are unique in that we have a Gemstone Advisory
Panel and Gemstone Sheriff all guided by accredited
Gemologists. No other online sites offer this customer
support.

Color, Cut, Clarity and Weight

Color, Cut, Clarity and Weight all play key components in a
gemstone purchase. We will cover these concepts and more
in this article. When you buy a gem Most of the time color
plays a big part in your purchase. Color is dependent on the
chemical composition of the gem along with the cut, shape,
the clarity and much more!

Color
Color is normally the first thing a buyer will look at. Color
alone does not make a gem desirable as you will learn, clarity,
cut, and carat weight also come in to play. On-line a gem
photo is all you will see, so a good description to accompany
the photo is the best way to purchase your gem.
First of all you need to understand color requires interaction
of light, and the observer. Hue, tone and saturation all allow
you to see the color you desire. Hue is the first basic
impression of the basic color, Tone is the darkness of the
color and Saturation is the color’s strength or intensity.
Color is important in any gem so as you order from your
selected store on Gemrock your knowledge of gems will help
you get the gem you want. Each gem has a unique Chemistry
and structure that contribute to the gems unique body color.
For example a ruby and sapphire are both varieties of the
gem species corundum. The addition of a chromium
‘ingredient’ creates red hues we categorize as ruby.
The presence of iron and titanium however generate blue
hues of sapphire. Every gem we have grown to love has color
variations due to chemical variations in each species or gem!
Color Variation, Many customers expect to see a evenly
spread color throughout the gem they buy, but many gems
display more than one color and return light differently
throughout their structure. All due to the chemical
composition of the gem. Color zoning, There is a reason for
color zoning in gems. Mineral growth is never smooth.
Growth conditions change for example a watermelon
tourmaline may be pink on one end and green on the other,
this is a desired color zone.
Other gems may have color zoning that are not desired, some
times a cutter can disguise that zone but that is not always
possible. You may see a blue sapphire that is colorless on one
end which can spoil the appearance of the gem. Take the type
of gem you are buying into consideration when you see color
zoning or a bi-color appearance. As stated color zoning may
or may not add value to a gem.

Color looks different in Different Lighting

Why do rubies look so rich in candlelight? Why does a
woman’s pale complexion glow like gold when she stands at
an ocean pier at sundown?
The answers all have to do with the way different light
sources affect color. In general each gemstone looks different
in specific light sources. Green, blue and violet gems look
their best under the fluorescent lighting found in most
offices. That’s because fluorescent light typically gives off a
lot of blue or green, this enhances these gem colors. Red,
orange and yellow gems show their colors best in
incandescent light, like candlelight, a regular lamp or the
sun’s rays at sunset. Incandescent light sources give off light
waves mainly in red orange or yellow emphasizing these gem
colors.

If you remember that lighting affects the appearance of

different colors this will help you when buying gems on-line,
also very important is each computer has different settings
and may show a gem color somewhat different so please read
descriptions or ask your seller about color. You may also need
to realize that many cameras use UV Flash and other types of
lighting that may cause color to vary a little from the actual
gem.
So I said, Questions are never unreasonable, a photo says a
thousand words but a question can answer your concerns.
Not every seller is able to spend the time and money on a
Microscopic camera or other very expensive types of
technology used by large companies. You will also want to
consider ‘FINE COLOR’ The color in a gemstone color range
considered by the trade to be most desirable.
Your final choice should determine the color you choose.
What industry selects is not always what you may select for
your gem color. COLOR RANGE is the selection of color in
which each gemstone occurs, color can play a big part on
value of a gem, A rich ‘AAA’ color Tanzanite with a dark
blue/violet color will be worth much more than a pale lilac
colored Tanzanite gem in most cases. There are other things
to take into consideration but color is one key component.
Pleochroism is when a gem shows different body colors from
a different direction, again we can use Tanzanite as an
example, and a top grade color Tanzanite may look violet /
blue from one angle or purple from another. Tourmaline may
look dark green at one end but appear much lighter green at
another angle.
Understanding gemstone colors can help you buy the perfect
gem! The colors you will see in your gems are not only due to
the chemical composition but cut, clarity and other factors
will help you select the right gem

Key terms:
• Play of color, the flashing rainbow colors seen in opal
and some other gems.
 • Aventurescene is the glittery effect caused by light
reflecting from small flat inclusions within a gemstone
• Iridescence a rainbow effect created when light is
broken up in to spectral hues by thing layers.
• Labradorescence is a broad flash of color in labradorite
feldspar that disappears when the gem is moved.
• Aster-ism is the crossing of chatoyant bands, creating a
star in the dome of the cabochon gem.
• Chatoyancy is the bands of light in certain gems caused
by reflection of light from many parallel needle like
inclusions or hollow tubes.
• Milk and honey is a two toned effect seen when
chatoyant gem is positioned at right angles to a light
source.
• Color change as seen in Alexandrite is very distinctive
change in gem color under different types of light. This
is very rare.

Clarity
A major part of any transparent stone’s value is its clarity
which is a freeform blemishes and inclusion. A BLEMISH is an
irregularity that’s confined to the surface of a polished gem.
An INCLUSION on the other hand is enclosed within the gem
or reaches the surface from the interiors. So it is important to
know the difference. Many gems are graded on Inclusion
inside the gem. The internal flaw. Colored stones have many
kinds of blemishes and inclusions, with a variety of effects on
a gem’s appearance and durability.
Blemishes are surface irregularities such as scratches or
nicks. They have little or no effect on the gemstones
appearance and buyers need to understand once again a
seller may not grade a gem on this basis but on Inclusion
 alone unless they are very large or numerous.

Inclusion on the other hand can affect a gem in many ways.

The internal characteristics include breaks, pockets of fluid,
foreign mineral crystals. Together Blemishes and Inclusion
are called CLARITY CHARACTERISTICS.
Because of the way gems form a truly inclusion free or
blemish free form is extremely remote. The fewer inclusions a
gem has the rarer it is. And as you might guess the less
inclusion seen the more valuable.
When buying a gem Inclusions should be considered by the
following,
Size: Large inclusions have more influence than the small
inclusion.
Number: In general terms the more inclusion a stone has the
lower the clarity. There are exceptions, a stone can have
many minute inclusions and still be high on the clarity scale
for that species.
Position: Inclusions in the center of the table are usually more
visible than those under the bezel or near the girdle.
Color and relief: Inclusions that are close in color to the gem’s
body color do not stand out. But an inclusion that contrast
with the gems body color like a red inclusion in a lighter
colored stone will have a greater effect.
Beyond appearance an inclusion can affect the gems
durability. In many cases inclusions that affect durability have
a major influence on value. Breaks fall in to this category.
Typically only a few colored gems are usually inclusion free,
those gems are aquamarine, Citrine, Kunzite, Tanzanite, and
topaz, In contrast red tourmaline and emeralds always have
some amount of inclusion.
Helpful inclusion, remember some inclusion can be helpful,
needle like inclusion such as seen in cat’s eye gems or the
horsetail inclusion seen in a demantoid garnet will create
such value the inclusion is the center point of the gem!!
Inclusion is helpful since they help us separate natural gems
from synthetic! A finger print of a sort, each gem has its own
characteristics and inclusion is one way we can identify most
gems.
What you must ask yourself is does the gem have inclusion or
breakage that will affect the durability of your gem? Will the
inclusion cause the value of your gem to be below average
cost? Does the inclusion take beauty away from your gem?
Consider all these things when looking at inclusion inside
your gem.

Cut
When we talk about the cut of a polished stone we are
referring to one of two combinations - its shape and style or
its proportion and finish. After color, shape and style is
usually the first thing we notice in a gem. Shape is the stones
face up - outline. The round is the most familiar shape. All
others are generally classified as fancy shapes.
These include Emerald, Cushion, Oval, Pear, Marquise and
Heart. Style is the way the cutter arranged the stones facets.
Most gems are faceted in one of three styles. The brilliant
cuts facet (top) radiate from the table or culet to the girdle.
The step cut’s facets (center) the arranged in concentric rows.
The mixed cut (bottom) combined a brilliant - cut crown with
a step base. Beside these basic styles cutters can create
countless variations by adding, subtracting and rearranging
facets! Some gem crystals develop typical shapes and sizes
that lend themselves well to certain cuts. For instance the
rough of Emeralds lend themselves to rectangle cutting styles
like the emerald cut. Rubies and Sapphires over a carat rough
are typically cut in an oval or cushion cut. A quality cut helps a
gem reach its highest potential for attractiveness.

A cutters goal is to retain weight from rough while fashioning

the most attractive gem. Not all gems can be cut in a
traditional way when a cutter wants to retain weight. If a
special setting is to be made for the gem you will have a piece
of art. Calibrated cuts are gems that will meet standard sized
mountings, if a gem size is not even close to the standard size
you will need to have your jeweler adjust your mounting.
Many higher quality gems like a ruby are usually not cut to
standard industry dimensions because to much weight is lost
in cutting.
Designer cuts and Fancy cuts are artistic gem cuts that
normally don’t fit standard size mounts but still easily set in a
mounting by a skilled Jeweler. For the most part smaller
stones are normally cut into standard sizes and larger gems
are cut symmetrically if possible to highlight important value
factors.
Don’t forget a standard mounting can usually be adapted to
hold the gem of your dreams; Irregular size gems at the very
top end of the quality and value scale often require and get
Custom settings!

Carat Weight
Worldwide Jewelry industry uses the Metric Carat
(abbreviated ct.) A point is equal to 0.01 of a carat so your
gem may way 7.96 ct. It is important to remember that
although carat weight is a value factor, it isn’t the deciding
factor in either quality or beauty.
A 1.00 ct. gem can be as fine as a beautiful 10.00 ct. stone if
not perhaps as spectacular. It all depends on the individual
stone and the customer’s preference. Quoting weights -
Sellers often discuss carat weight in ranges, using fractions
such as one quarter carat or one half carat as general
references.
But a wholesaler offering a .27 ct. gem may offer the gem as a
quarter carat gemstone. In casual conversations between
sellers a quarter carat stone can weigh between .23 - .29 ct.
but in sales presentations your seller needs to be very careful
using fractions like one quarter or one half, You really need to
know the exact weight or within 0.01 - 0.02 ct weight, many
scales will differ by that amount, if you seller uses a good
scale you will normally be within 0.01 or exact weight.
Accuracy is also crucial when describing total gem weight in a
gem.
This is to avoid any type of confusion on the customers part
so if you do not understand the weight Ask! Typically you will
find several gemstone sellers you like and trust to buy gems
from, you should be able to trust a quoted weight. A
wholesale seller may quote prices in two ways per stone or
per carat price.
The stone price is the total price per stone. The carat price
will be per carat, if the gem is selling at 50.00 a carat and you
buy a 3 ct. gem you will pay $150.00. Weight and value -
Some gems normally occur in smaller sizes. Gem quality
rough rubies, Alexandrite are good examples of a gem that
are typically smaller than a 4 ct. size.
Other gems like Aquamarine and Citrine or amethyst and
topaz occur in very large crystal up to 100 ct. With such gems
there’s usually little or no increase in per carat price with size.
A 4 ct. amethyst typically cost twice as much as a 2 ct.
amethyst. The price of a 1 ct. ruby and a 3 carat ruby can be
very different due to the value of the gem. WEIGHT VS. SIZE
- You may have two gems similar in size, for instance an
aquamarine and a blue topaz of the same size will offer a
topaz with greater weight than aquamarine’s weight. In the
same scenario a 1 ct. Sapphire and a 1 ct. Iolite that weight
the same will have different dimensions… so do be careful
when changing stones out of mountings,
They weight and dimension are different between stones. So
now you realize you need to consider a range of COLOR
when you pick a gemstone, you will need to look at the clarity
of the gem, the cut and weight. In the end the choice is up to
you, Choice of color is a personal decision. But the clarity of
your gem does matter. The cut will also matter; the gem you
select should have a nice proportion and design.
A poor cut is easily seen through the window or dark spots of
a gem. A beautiful gem with a nice sparkle will catch the eye
of any gem lover. Lastly a seller you trust and have worked
with before is best, on gemrock the sellers are to comply with
site regulations, if you have questions of your seller ask, they
should be able to answer almost any question you have about
the gem listed.
If you do not feel enough information is given I am sure your
seller will be happy to provide you with the help you need.
Most are willing to help with mountings if requested or
special order gems. A trusted verified seller is a great prize

Gemstone Photography
Hello, my name is Iris and I’ve taken 80,000 - 120,000 photos
of gemstones for the last 4 years.
I try to achieve the more natural looking photos of gemstones
with the least editing as possible as I believe too much editing
is deceiving for online buyers.
Gemstones are valuable as they are beautiful, durable and
rare.
That is why they are photographed and for myself, that is why
I have enjoyed taking photos of these beautiful specimens.
For buyers online, I believe the photos serves the important
and valuable purposes of a decent scientific illustration, as
the stone must be portrayed fully and accurately. And also for
aesthetic qualities as the photograph comes alive with
sparkle and depth. Gemstone photographers such as myself
use many techniques and processes that can be learned and
personalized to one’s own ability and skills. Please read on to
my insight of gem photography as factors such as the type of
gem, lighting, camera, background and equipment play an
important role for producing natural, beautiful looking gems.

I think as a buyer online you need to be mindful as there are

many factors, even minute ones that can make the slightest
change of the appearance of the stone.
I personally believe some of the best deals online have low
quality photos taken by amateur photographers. Even though
the photos are not so professional, the gemstone is of better
quality than what it appears to be. I also have found through
my photography experience that inclusions are magnified in
the photos, making it appear less true to its form even though
the gem is clean to the eye. A good indication for a buyer to
find quality sellers is through feedback rating and comments.
Each item sold from a seller requires a feedback from the
buyer, so feedback will inform you of how many sales a seller
has made and any comments regarding the item. Through this
you can personally inspect if a seller has amazing quality
photos but have low total feedbacks and a small range of
buyers. This can indicate that the natural state of the stone
may be of low quality from the seller. Personally I can relate
images with feedback, in saying this you can indicate the true
quality of the stones by seeing if feedbacks from a seller have
repeat buyers.

Lighting sources and techniques

The two main categories of lighting are:
1. Natural sunlight and
2. Artificial light
They both produce light that vary in colour temperature. For
myself I use two fluorescent bulbs in a desk lamp to capture
as much light around the stone, however you can also use a
light tent around the stone to diffuse the light as it can cause
a harsh brightness on the photo. It’s about balance with all
elements of photography to create natural looking stones.
Sunlight is the least expensive lighting source as it’s free.
However there are a few drawbacks, as the day progresses
the colour temperature of the lighting changes too. The
colour temperature from the sunlight depends on the
weather conditions, whether it’s cloudy or sunny, it’s hard to
maintain a constant accurate colour rendition using sunlight.
Also using direct sunlight produces a harsh result, as it
creates deep shadows and high contrast.
Artificial lighting has become the most popular source for a
constant and accurate colour temperature depiction. The two
types of artificial lighting are, incandescent and luminescent.
The most used incandescent lighting is a tungsten light bulb
which generally is found in desk lamp. The most used
luminescent lights for photography are fluorescent bulbs and
LED lights.

Emerald stone under direct midday sunlight

 Picture: Emerald stone under tungsten light

Picture: Emerald stone under LED light

Camera flash can also be applied. This type of flash produces

a fast burst of intense light that vary on the setting. However
this setting too intense as you can see with the photos below,
it washes out the form and colour of the stone. I personally
don’t use flash for this exact reason.
Another comparison picture of Amethyst with and without
flash:
 Picture: Amethyst without flash

Picture: Amethyst with flash

Lighting techniques:
I personally think it’s important to balance the lighting in
order to accurately represent the gem, as its’ angles and its’
location can determine the control and emphasis of the gem.
Important factors about lighting are: a) Lighting reflected off
the surface b) Light reflected from the internal structure or
the “body colour” of the gem c) Light that’s introduced from
the back of the gem

A) B) C)
Explanation of pictures a, b and c:
a) Light reflecting off the surface gives a good perspective of
the gem’s colour and facets, overall giving a good impression
of the gem. This photo was simply cropped.
b) There is an internal lighting coming from the bottom of the
gem. For this specific gem it doesn’t flaunt it’s true beauty.
c) There is light shining from the back of the gem. From the
angle the light is shining, it doesn’t reflect the light very well
through the facets as you can see from the front view.
Personally I would try and balance the amount of light I shine
on the stone, as sometimes too much light destroys the
photo. I would also balance the angles of light until I get my
desired effect to justify its beautiful colour, shape and facets.

Background techniques:
Background for gemstones should be plain and simple, as you
don’t want to retract the focal point from the gem. I
recommend 4 different backgrounds that you can use: a
black, white acrylic background, a small mirror or you can
even use your hand. It is important to realise that some
gemstones are complemented with a certain background due
to the colour of the stone. I often use an acrylic black and
white background as it creates a professional looking
reflection and it also creates a clean and clutter free
background. It’s best to try all 4 options of background to see
which one suits the stone the best. Below is an example of a
gem on all 4 backgrounds. The results are unedited, however
cropped and as you can see, each background produces a
different effect on the stone. As a seller you have to choose
the most accurate photos to show the stone in its most
natural state.
Golden Topaz on white background

Golden Topaz on black background

Golden Topaz on the hand

Editing Software:
There are many photo editing softwares in the market, it’s
really easy to go over board with this. You must keep in mind
most softwares are very expensive ranging from US$299-
$800 for Adobe Photoshop softwares. I use Adobe
Photoshop 6.0 one of the oldest version out! But it doesn’t
matter how advanced the software is, you shouldn’t have to
do much editing, just crop the photo and save! You want to
show the stone in the most natural state as possible, as too
much colour editing or any other form of editing can be very
deceptive. Colour editing can be untruthful as you can make
the stone darker or brighter than what is really is, therefore it
can increase the value of the stone. Also editing can hide the
stone from its real state, what I’m trying to say is that there
are many glass filled and other form of enhanced stones in
the market, this plus over-editing would make these stones
look too good to be true!
For example, the first three photos of a Rubies below, there is
very little editing, if any at all.

However, the exact same stone with two professional edited

photos shown below, the stone almost doesn’t look the same.
On an ordinary day I can take about 100 photos, edit them
and list them too. It should only really take 7-10 minutes per
stone to take 2-3 photos, edit and list them. However, you get
these unrealistic sites with incredibly unrealistic photos,
which probably take up hours for one photo to be edited in
its’ enhanced state. You may get sellers with little
photography skills, however their stones are actually more
natural with better quality than over enhanced stones, in
addition the prices are probably a bargain!

Camera:
Again you can really go over-board and spend too much for a
professional camera, I personally use a Fujifilm FinePix
S8000fd 18x optical zoom Digital Camera retail cost of RRP:
$399

It may be a good investment in the long run to get a decent

priced camera with good optical zoom as gemstones are small
and needs more clarity in the photos than what a cheap
ordinary camera can offer. My camera offers 18x optical
zoom, that’s gives me good quality zoom-in photos. However
you may need to do your homework before you go to buy
one. Below is a comparison between a FinePix 18x optical
zoom digital camera and a Coolpix 3x optical zoom digital
camera.
Peridot parcel gemstones with the FinePix Peridot parcel
gemstones with a Coolpix
18x optical zoom digital camera 3x optical zoom digital
camera
As you can see the larger optical zoom, the clearer the photo
will be. With the18x optical zoom, you can clearly see more
sharpness with the definitions of the stone, than the 3x
optical zoom, which displays more blur.

Gem:
The quality of the gem has an important effect in the
photography aspect. An important fact for sellers is that
when you buy a gemstone, you can only achieve the quality of
the photo in conjunction to the quality of the gem. If the gem
is heavily included, meaning the inclusions of the gem is
visible with the unaided eye, this can negatively affect the
quality of the photo. You do not want to hide any inclusions
by editing the photo, this can lead to disputes and the return
of product when the buyers receive their item and sees the
real quality of the item. This can also lead to bad feedback
from the buyers on your realiabity and trust as a seller.

Conclusion
This eBook is designed to give some insight into what to think
about when buying gemstones on the Internet. We hop[e it
has been helpful and please let us know if you have any
questions.