Gemstones in rare, natural varieties can add great value to your jewelry collection. Diamonds are forever and so are gemstones. Here are 3 ways you can incorporate gemstones into your collection.

1. Start with semi-precious

Purchase semi-precious gemstones. Find a citrine stone set in silver or a stunning topaz set in a simple gold setting. Topaz and citrine are stones that show exquisite clarity and have amazing cuts that can be of larger size. This is a great way to incorporate a light color stone to compliment your diamond collection or your diamond wedding ring.

Or if you are a single lady there is nothing sexier than having a variety of cocktail rings to rotate throughout the week. Sterling silver rings with large stones of amethyst, blue topaz; yellow topaz, citrine or any quartz variety gives a brilliant boost of color. Find stones that are of excellent color, cut, and clarity. These properties will maximize the stones natural beauty.

2. The right hand Ring

The right hand ring began with DeBeers promoting more diamond sales and of course it worked, but it is a great idea and a great way to incorporate some colored stones into your jewelry collection. Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, tourmaline and tanzanite are beautiful colored stones that would compliment your current jewelry collection perfectly. Color is so personal; we all gravitate towards colors and stones that have special meaning to us as individuals. All gemstones have unique characteristics that can have modern contemporary settings designed to look updated and fresh. I have found that simplicity is best with colored stones. I like settings that accent the gemstones and keep the diamonds to a minimum, but that is my design esthetic. I encourage you to think about colored stones for your right hand ring.

3. The Anytime Wedding Ring

I have found that having several wedding rings is my ideal way to accessorize. I know several women have their wedding ring and an additional anniversary ring or a 10-year ring. I love the idea or rotating rings because it gives so much diversity to your personality and also your collection. Gemstones can be a perfect option for anniversary jewelry, it does not have to be a ring it could be sapphire earrings or a stunning ruby pendant in a modern cocoon setting of 22kt gold. Skies the limit with creativity, it is great to have more stones to work with and more color options to incorporate. Custom is the way to go to create an extreme fresh style.

When purchasing gemstone jewelry you need to have a different set of eyes. Here are the 5 points to remember:

Cut

Gemstones are different than diamonds in terms of cut because gemstones do not have one ideal cut for brilliance. The best cut is dependent on each stone and how the cut reflects an even color, minimal inclusions and shows the majority of the stone when set in jewelry.

Clarity

The gemstones that have the fewest inclusions or the brightest clarity will be the highest of value and the most expensive stones. Clarity standards vary per each gemstone variety, for example rubies and emeralds tend to have more inclusions while, aquamarine, blue topaz and citrine naturally have fewer inclusions.

Color

The jewelry industry recognizes gemstones that have the most saturated color, depth of tone, and purest hue to be the most valuable. A stone should have several other colors visible in trace amounts and should not be too light or too dark but have an appealing well-saturated color. Many stones today are color enhanced by heat treatment to bring out the color of the stone. A stone that has a “natural” desired color is of very high value.

Size

When gauging a stones size it is important to take note of the dimensions in millimeters in addition to carat weight. The weight of a gemstone varies from stone to stone; two gemstones that appear to be the same size could have two different carat weights. For example a ruby is denser than a diamond so a 1-carat ruby will appear smaller than a 1-carat diamond.

Enhancements

Gemstones that have a desirable color and require no enhancements are classified as “natural” gemstones, these stones are very expensive and the most rare gemstones on the market. However, most gemstones are treated to enhance their natural color. The treatment will require no additional requirements and are permanent treatments.