{"id":2603,"date":"2013-11-17T20:09:35","date_gmt":"2013-11-17T23:09:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tracyleekarner.com\/?p=2603"},"modified":"2020-10-06T23:21:37","modified_gmt":"2020-10-06T23:21:37","slug":"just-in-time-for-holiday-gift-giving-6-questions-for-assessing-agemstones-worth-6-characteristics-of-a-trustworthy-gemologist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/2013\/11\/17\/just-in-time-for-holiday-gift-giving-6-questions-for-assessing-agemstones-worth-6-characteristics-of-a-trustworthy-gemologist\/","title":{"rendered":"Just in time for Holiday Gift-Giving: 6 questions for assessing a gemstone's worth; and 6 characteristics of a trustworthy gemologist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gemstones<\/a>
11.25 Carat Prasiolite Sterling Silver Ring from Gemstones Unlimited<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nWhen you want to purchase authentic\u00a0<\/em>jewelry, to commemorate a special occasion or relationship, how can you know whether the piece is actually worth<\/strong><\/em> the sales price? There are millions of people who will be too busy to read the information I’m sharing today. And guess\u00a0what certain big-box jewelry-sales companies are banking on for their enormous end-of-year profits? Consumer ignorance.<\/em><\/strong>
\nIf you don’t like being swindled, take 15 minutes to read this important article<\/strong>:
\nEntrepreneur gemologist Craig Nann of Newport, Rhode Island, owns\u00a0Gemstones Unveiled<\/strong>.<\/a>\u00a0Assisted by his wife, he offers custom-designed gemstone jewelry at almost unbelievably fair prices. They also provide clients with an education in the truth about the actual value of gems. I recently spent a number of hours talking with them about the gemstone business.
\nThis is extremely valuable information. Please share with everyone who will be investing in jewelry this holiday season.<\/strong>
\nWhen you want to purchase authentic, not costume or simulated jewlery, to commemorate a special occasion or relationship, how can you know whether the piece is actually worth the sales price?<\/strong>
\nFirst, read the fine print. Then\u00a0ask these 6 questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n
    \n
  1. Is this stone mined or manufactured?<\/li>\n
  2. Has the stone been manipulated?<\/li>\n
  3. What is the quality of its color?<\/li>\n
  4. Has the color been designed?<\/li>\n
  5. What makes this stone unique?<\/li>\n
  6. What can you tell me about the inclusions?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you are given any evasive or non-answers; pass on the purchase. You want mined stones, not manipulated, and if the color is designed you want that disclosed, along with clarification of how\/why it adds to the stone’s value. Your jeweler should be able to tell you about the stone’s origin, its story\/history, and its cut. You want to know about the inclusions, the\u00a0intriguingly beautiful geologic fingerprints which assure that your stone is not a mere trinket or bauble.
    \nWhen you invest your hard-earned money into real jewelry, you or your loved one will pass it on to children and grandchildren as an\u00a0inheritance and an heirloom. <\/strong>How would you feel if some future\u00a0jewelry expert\/gemologist told your descendants, your ancestor got duped?<\/em><\/strong>
    \nPeople get duped because gemstones are status symbols. Why do they confer status? Because authentic stones have intrinsic\u00a0value<\/i>.\u00a0<\/strong>Since ancient times, all across the planet, they have been prized for their beauty. And today real<\/em> gemstones are accepted worldwide as assets–they are tangible proof of wealth.
    \nThroughout much of history, it was easy to recognize stone value–if it looked like a gem, it had to be a gem. It was practically impossible to counterfeit a gemstone.\u00a0Investing your wealth in gems used to be<\/em> a low-risk, safe bet.\u00a0But these days,<\/strong> appearances are deceptive.<\/strong>
    \nToday, manufacturers are capable of producing increasingly more convincing fakes. How many people really know the difference between the appearance of a \u00a0gemstone necklace worth $20,000 and one that sells at Zales for $1000? And how can you determine whether that \u201cbargain\u201d neckless is actually over-priced? Not knowing can lead to costly, and potentially humiliating, purchasing errors.
    \nDo you know about simulated gems?<\/strong> They\u2019re made of exactly the same compounds found in corresponding mined stones. Therefore\u00a0it\u2019s perfectly legal to label them emerald<\/em> or sapphire<\/em> or garnet <\/em>because chemically, they are.\u00a0But here’s the sucker-punch: while simulated stones are awfully pretty; they are not<\/strong><\/em> intrinsically\u00a0valuable<\/i>.\u00a0They are incredibly sophisticated simulations<\/em> of gemstones, in other words–reproductions; copies; forgeries;\u00a0fakes.<\/em><\/strong>
    \nWhen something is precious, of limited supply, its value increases. The 170-carat Black Prince Ruby, set in the center of Great Britain\u2019s Imperial State Crown is priceless bcause it is a one-of-a-kind mined<\/em> gemstone. Just as elephant ivory, now that there are few elephants left in the world, is valuable and protected because of its rarity.
    \nBut when there are hundreds-of-thousands of exactly the same manufactured<\/em> thing, those things become commonplace, ordinary, practically worthless on the open market. Confederate currency printed to sell in tourist shops, for example is worth no more than the paper it’s printed on; and beanie babies are worth less than people paid for them; and mass produced jewelry made of glass\/plastic\/simulated-gems are risky investments, because their value is dependent upon their fluctuating popular appeal (they are NOT rare). So what’s a buyer to do?
    \nIf you really want to be certain you won\u2019t be hoodwinked into paying more than an item of jewelry is worth, build a relationship with a\u00a0trustworthy jeweler\/gemologist.<\/strong> Know with whom you are dealing–ask yourself, who is this person\/these people? Also ask, what quality of people are these? How much do they really know about gemstones? How much integrity do they have? Do they honestly care about me and my needs?
    \nAfter talking extensively to Craig Nann and his wife, I have discovered that there are 6 characteristics of trustworthy jewelers\/gemologists:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. They know gemstones–the characteristics of particular stones, their quality and cut;<\/li>\n
    2. They are trained to recognize fakes\/simulations;<\/li>\n
    3. They freely share the truth about gems and the gemstone industry;<\/li>\n
    4. They disclose\u00a0everything<\/i>\u00a0about the jewelry you’re looking at;<\/li>\n
    5. They work to find you what you want while respecting your preferences, your personality and your budget;<\/li>\n
    6. They think it’s despicable that anyone would try to deceive you into spending more on an item than it\u2019s actually worth.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Beware:<\/strong> Unless you are yourself an expert on gems, do not buy real jewelry from a mere\u00a0facilitator\/order-taker.<\/strong> These may be nice, honest people, but they are helpless to protect you from fraud because they lack that all-important gemologist knowledge. They will simply connect you to the choices in the display case or the catalogue, tell you the list price, and sell a piece to you. They possess little, if any knowledge of the actual piece in which you are investing. They can not apprise you of your piece’s unique characteristics, or tell you about the gemstone’s origin and rarity. They are not qualified to appraise your stone’s intrinsic value. They can only tell you what the company they represent told them.
      \nTherefore I recommend you do your holiday jewelry shopping with Craig Naan. He keeps his overhead and therefore his prices low by selling online and at Arts & Crafts shows. Contact him by phoning 401.495.GEMS (4367), or visit the Gemstones Unveiled Website (      click here<\/a>) or find them and their gemstone jewelry in Southern New England at these upcoming shows:<\/span><\/p>\n