More Information

Custom Gem Cutter & Gemstones by D.Sign do our best to carry Gemstones and Rough with no known enhancements. This said, however, most stones are now enhanced. Please read the information on acceptable practices.

Gemstone Enhancement Overview



Education: When shopping for gemstone jewelry, there is a lot to learn about gemstones.

            The world of gemstones is vast, fascinating, and at times intimidating. When we are shopping for gemstones, there is a lot to know. Sometimes we want something beautiful and valuable for ourselves, sometimes we want to give a special gift to someone else. Whatever the case, we gemstone shoppers want to make sure that what we are buying is as valuable as we think it is. This means that we need to learn about the different kinds of gemstones. We need to learn about gemstone treatments and imitations/synthetics. And an especially important task is understanding why pieces of gemstone jewelry can be worth very different amounts even though they contain the same gemstones by using a gemstone grading scale.

        There are many factors that influence the value of gemstones. When shopping for gemstones, it is important to understand these factors. The most common ones are color, clarity, size and cut. We will also cover enhancements and care of your gemstone. Most of these factors have an impact on the gemstones, but for some more than others. Each of the most popular gemstone has several pages of information dedicated to it. You can compare different gemstones you are interested in and if you read all the information , you’ll know everything you need to know to make an educated, informed purchase.

          This website is your resource for understanding gemstones better and for being an empowered shopper of gemstone jewelry. Buying a gem is also the beginning of a life-long relationship and the price you pay is a part of the deal. Which, understandably, you don't want to pay too much. In every variety, especially the more expensive ones, you should expect to pay more for matched pairs, sets, and special shapes and cuts. 

Color -Hue, Tone & Saturation

The beautiful color of a gemstone is its most defining characteristic, and many jewelers consider it to be the most important part of the evaluation. When deciding upon gemstone color, examine hue, tone, and saturation.

*Hue

The most valuable gemstones are those that exhibit a pure color and only "slight" hues of other colors in addition to their primary color, as all Custom Gem Cutter gemstones do. For example, Custom Gem Cutter sapphires range in hue from "slightly purplish-blue" to "slightly greenish-blue," pink sapphires always range from "pink" to "slightly purplish-pink," and rubies range from "slightly orangish-red" to "slightly purplish-red". With the exception of opals, variation in a gemstone hue will be labeled in the gemstone details in each product detail pages.

*Tone

Tone represents the depth of color, ranging from colorless to black. Gemstone tone is described as "light," "medium-light," "medium," "medium-dark," and "dark." Custom Gem Cutter offers gemstones with the most sought-after tones. For all of our gemstone jewelry, you'll find any tone variations are written out in the gemstone details.

*Saturation

Saturation, or color purity, refers to the degree to which the gem is free from brown or gray hues. The most desirable gemstones, which show little gray or brown, are often described as having "vivid" or "strong" color saturation. Generally, the levels of color saturation will not be written out in the product details because the gemstones in our jewelry are hand-selected for their vivid colors.

Clarity - Identifying marks & What to look for.

*Identifying Marks

Because gemstones form under unique circumstances, each individual gemstone is comprised of a combination of trace minerals, which create a unique set of identifying marks or inclusions. Inclusions will not necessarily detract from the beauty or desirability of a colored gemstone.

*What to Look For

When considering a colored gemstone's clarity, you should measure your expectations against the standard for that variety of gemstone. Some varieties of colored gemstones, such as most aquamarine, blue topaz, and citrine, have naturally fewer inclusions while other gemstones, such as emerald and ruby, tend to have a higher rate of acceptable inclusions.

Clarity is an important factor in comparing quality colored gemstones. Even opaque opals can have milky inclusions that will affect their iridescence and color play. In general, the best values are available in gemstones that are moderately included. Exceptional gemstones with few or no inclusions (Internally Flawless or IF) are available, but they can command extravagantly higher prices.

Size

*Different Densities

The carat weight of a gemstone does not necessarily allow you to accurately envision the size of the gemstone. Different gemstones have different densities (mass per unit volume), so two gems that appear to be the same size may actually have very different weights. For example, a ruby is more dense than a diamond, so a 1-carat ruby will look smaller than a 1-carat diamond.
     
*Buyer's Tip:
Always request the dimensions of a gemstone to ensure that the majority of the gemstone weight will be visible when set in the setting.  

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Matt & CJ Dunkle

2007 to Date