Learning Resources for All Kinds of Gems

[TooMuchInformation]

Hey everyone,

Having just recently completed the purchase of a diamond solitare engagement ring (0.98ct Princess F VS2 in Titanium Tension Set), my interest in gems of every sort has really been "lit up". I had no idea that simply going through all the steps required to purchase an engagement ring would spark a huge interest in gems, but it has. I''m craving all sorts of information about Precious and Semi-Precious stones (Diamonds, Rubies, Amathyst, Alexandrite, etc.), and I don''t have a clue where to find this information.

Can anyone recommend some good Web sites, books, etc. with information about gems? I''d love to know about apprasals, cutting (how it''s done, types, etc.), all the different types, qualities, etc. Basically, everything there is to know.

I can see a rather expensive hobby / collection starting!

Thanks very much for your help.

 

[strmrdr]

try this

that will get you started.

 

[strmrdr]

start here
good nuff?

 

[TooMuchInformation]

Thanks for the responses! I'll have a good look at those sites and see what I can find on them. Thanks very much again for your response.

So, where does your interest in this stuff come from?

 

[TooMuchInformation]

Oh, I already saw the first link, and I checked out some of those sites, but I got impatient and asked for something a little more specific. The second page, http://www.yourgemologist.com/thegemstones.html, is outstanding. I'm having a good time peeking through all that information right now.

Does anyone on here cut (or is the term just facet?) these sorts of stones? What kinds of tools do you use, how long have you been doing it (is it really hard?), and are you enjoying it?

 

[strmrdr]

Well a couple years ago I went looking for a cross necklace for my at that time Girlfriend and fell for rubies.
I found her one and went back to not paying attention to them.
Then this year I went looking for an engagement ring for her and started learning.
Im an information hound and I read everything I could find on the web about them.
The weird thing is that I didn’t find pricescope until after Id bought it.
It was while I was looking for rubies for the wedding band that I found pricescope.
Which led to me finding diamondtalk which led me to find Michael E. who I had put together her wedding band.
I contacted him about custom cutting the rubies for it.
Turned out that in that size he couldn’t cut them for me at a competitive price but hunted down a source for high quality naturals in my price/size range.
He now posts here off and on when there is something he can help out with.
Anyway that got me interested in gem cutting so now Im learning as much as possible about gems and gem cutting and am even working on my own cutting designs and bugging Michael about them!
I try and not to be too big a pest but I bet he wonders what he got himself into!
I would love to be able to cut them myself but that isn’t likely to happen due to nerve problems in my hands.
I wont be able to do it so I will have to settle on having Michael cut them for me.
But that doesn’t mean I cant learn as much as possible about it :}

Getting back to diamonds for a second I more or less had her ring custom made from several pieces I selected.
I found the diamond then found the band and the head and had them put together by a local jeweler.
To buy something similar at a mall store would cost 2x what I paid and 1.5x online most likely so If I has to do it over again I would do it the same.
It is also where my dissatisfaction with the local jewelers stems from I asked for an appraisal and all I got was a letterhead with I si1 and the weight on it.
Which is a lot less than I was expecting and less than he made it sound like Id be getting.
Another jeweler I had look at it disagrees with the I rating as do I in comparing it to other diamonds.
It doesn’t matter because the price I paid for it was a bargain even if it is an I and for the money the best I could do is an I-J I2 at the mall so I made out ok.
She loves it and gets compliments on it from her friends and that is all that matters :}
Anyway that’s my story :}

 

[strmrdr]

There is a ton of information on cutting here and equipment here:
http://www.faceters.com/askjeff/

 

[strmrdr]

There are several cutters on the board from time to time:
Michael E. and "brian the cutter" are two that come to mind but there are a couple others that I dont recall at the moment.

 

[strmrdr]

cut design software:

datavue2

gemcad freeware

gemcad for windows - free trial

 

[strmrdr]

awesome reading on inclusions in gems.
It covers sapphire and ruby but a lot of it applies to others.

click me

 

[TooMuchInformation]

Wow. Thanks again for your response! JUST what I was looking for. I'll have a look at the software tomorrow, but I've had a lot of fun digging around:

http://www.faceters.com/askjeff/

It's outstanding.

I'll also look at finding some non-Windows software (I'm a UNIX user) that does the same thing.

Your help has been fantastic!

 

[strmrdr]

----------------
On 12/30/2003 2:47:04 AM TooMuchInformation wrote:

Wow. Thanks again for your response! JUST what I was looking for. I'll have a look at the software tomorrow, but I've had a lot of fun digging around:


http://www.faceters.com/askjeff/


It's outstanding.

I'll also look at finding some non-Windows software (I'm a UNIX user) that does the same thing.


Your help has been fantastic!----------------

linux or bsd?
If my job wasn’t supporting mostly winblows boxes all day Id switch and never look back.
Unfortunately Iv got to keep up with the latest and crapiest ms software for work.

There is a good chance they would work under wine on a linux box.

anyway....
Have a good hunt! Its past my bedtime.

 

[TooMuchInformation]

Well well, another computer buff?

I'm pretty much a purist, and run BSD (FreeBSD) almost everywhere, but at work I'm forced to run Linux (which isn't so bad, but I curse it every now and then).

That being said, I'm posting this from my fiancee's Windows machine (just because it's the only fast system that I have: all my machines are Pentium 200-ish w/ next to no RAM).

Plus, you just can't beat IE for compatability (and insecurity)

Anyways, it's also way past my bed time. See ya tomorrow and thanks again for all your help!

 

[valeria101]

Those sources are quite nice! There isn't alot of systematical info online, but the links listed on ruby-sapphire are a good start and surely worth exploring. Palagems has some thoughtful buying guides. The GRS lab sells and displays a bunch of food for thought in the field.

If you ever wandered how many kinds of "gems" are there, take a look of what sellers such as Thaigem and Lapilia are listing. Of course, if you really get bored, you may find GIA's "Gems and Gemology" a nice read