Where Is All the Value in Jewelry?

Part 9 of the mini-course
"How to Value Your Jewelry
at Home or Work"

© by David Foard F.G.A.A.; all rights reserved

In our last lesson, Specific Features in Your Jewelry, we covered special features that can influence price; extra information for your valuation's description; and other items which increase or decrease the final figure. So now we're ready to discuss where the value is in jewelry.

A famous actress who had been engaged several times, once said after the breakup, she ALWAYS gave the ring back - she Kept the Gemstone however, but always gave the ring back. And quite right too...

She knew the value of any jewelry is in the gemstone. Nothing's changed.

Before we delve into Diamonds, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald and Opals, see my handwritten worksheet from the previous lesson. No need to print it out, as it's just for confirmation that we are both on track. Then return to this lesson and continue.

Most of the hard work is now behind us but we have to examine the gemstone in relation to our example: The Sapphire and Diamond Ring.

Last time we gave consideration to:

• Why we needed a simple method of grading quality.
  
• That unusual features can affect price.
  
• That origin is important.

It doesn't sound the same (nor should it) if we say an item is set with a Michigan Emerald instead of Colombian. Cultured Pearls from Japan should be valued and treasured greater than, say... 'Ukrainian Pearls'.

Now I'm not saying Ukrainian Pearls (if there were such a thing) wouldn't be as good in every respect to Japanese Pearls. But the World recognizes the quality and value in 'gemstones of origin' to the point they have an EXTRA value, so we have to take that into account.

This explains why items of origin fetch higher prices in the open market.

So where do we go from here?

• The importance of the 4 C's in ALL gemstones.
  
• Why Antique and Older cuts are actually DOWNGRADED.
  
• Formulas used to evaluate weight.

Let's begin by looking at the qualities which create price in gemstones.

The 4 C's of COLOR, CUT, CLARITY and CARAT weight are the cornerstone of gem classification. They are recognized throughout the world, and while some slight variation in terms may be apparent, there is MORE in common than not. So what are they and how should we use them?

They are founded on three basic grading systems.

• The G.I.A. system (Gemological Institute of America).
  
• The C.I.B.J.O. (International Confederation of Jewellery, Silverware, Diamonds, Pearls and Stones).
  
• Scan D.N. (Scandinavian Diamond Nomenclature).

But before we can classify and grade a gemstone, we have to identify it first. Not always so easy, especially with the proliferation of synthetic gemstones and damned good imitations.

What's the difference?

An 'Imitation' only tries to look the same as the gem it is copying. Like glass (paste) for example. People also try to fancy them up a bit by giving them false names such as 'Faux Sapphire' (which is glass) or using a commercial name like 'Cape Ruby' which is actually a garnet.

A 'Synthetic Gem' on the other hand, is actually a 'REAL' gem, except it is made by man, instead of growing naturally or coming out of the ground. Synthetic ruby IS ruby. Synthetic Emerald IS Emerald. If anything these gems are 'too good' because they are made perfect, unlike natural gems which nearly always have some form of fault or inclusion in them.

So how do we mere mortals tell them apart?

Thankfully, many people have the original receipt or an old valuation or a certificate of Authenticity or Validity tucked away in a drawer somewhere. When you bought an item you should have been given a receipt for your purchase and it probably says something like 'Sapphire and Diamond ring' on it. Sales people don't lie - Do they?

If you bought your jewelry from a reputable firm you should have no problems accepting their word. If you bought from someone in a Pub...? That's a different thing and you should check it out BEFORE you part with any money.

Even on auction sites such as eBay you have safeguards built in, so if you receive something which is NOT what you were told it was, you have some form of recourse to get your money refunded.

All good resellers value their reputation and go to extreme lengths (Just as we do in our Antique Jewelry Fair Website) to ensure quality, value and trust is built into everything we sell.

Money refund guarantee - No problem.

There are times however, when we don't know or are not quite sure what gemstone we have. What can we do then?

There is a Gemstone Index covering most of the popular gems at the Gemstone Identification Laboratory which lists general background info, plus we are currently beta testing a Gemstone ID Wizard tool which will be available soon.

Let's progress into COLOR (the first of the 4 C's) before we go any further.

Color is based on the 'quality' of color or in the case of Diamonds, the lack of color. Someone very dear to my heart has a saying that goes like this: "Bluebells are Blue" or in other words, that's what we expect.

So a 'Good' Blue Sapphire is Blue. A 'Good' Green Emerald is Green. Color is as simple as that - so don't complicate it, okay?

Remember the grading system we used in the last lesson (course you do).

The columns of 'Fine', 'Good', 'Medium' and 'Poor' can be applied in the same manner. If the 'Normal' grade equals 'Good' then we can UPGRADE or DOWNGRADE the price by a simple percentage again.

• Fine = add 10 percent
  
• Good = Normal basic price (this is our default).
  
• Medium = less 10 percent
  
• Poor = less 20 percent

This applies throughout the 4 C's because it works as a visual reminder.

Should a gemstone be graded as $100 per carat and is a 'good blue' shade, then that is the BASE price. i.e.: "Bluebells are Blue" is proven. If it is classified as being a 'Fine blue' we can Upgrade the gem BASE price by 10 percent = $110 per carat because it is better than we expect. You get the idea. It's NOT Hard. It has been developed to be EASY.

TIP: Diamonds are slightly different, in that a perfect diamond is graded by its 'Lack of color'. Pearls and Opals are also both difficult to grade this way, but we are soon to release an Opal system and hope to have the Pearl classifications done by the end of this year. Both a World's first. The Color system in the 'Jewelry Valuation and Appraisal Kit' breaks down the BASE shade and works up and down from there, based on your simple response to a quality question. Diamonds work on a different database with more specific prices, so you get the best answers in your grading.

You'll find the address at the end of this article. If ever you are not sure in your answers, just go with the 'Default'.

So you should see where we are going from here. I wanted to break down the concept first (Quality grading) before looking at the other parts of the 4 C's. But they all work basically the same way.

Both the cut of a gemstone and the shape of a gem are intertwined. It's easy to see the shape (round, oval, square, etc.), but the cut can be a little more complicated. But as this is about stripping away the Jargon and getting down to something we all can use, let's just go with three cuts and their varieties. Brilliant cut, Emerald cut and Cabochons.

Brilliant cuts are those seen on Transparent faceted gems like Diamonds,Sapphires and Ruby. There are basically only four varieties to these and they are dependant on the AGE of a gem.

The earliest 'Brilliant' we generally see is called an OLD EUROPEAN CUT which is also called a Victorian cut. It is ONLY seen in round gems but if seen in a squarish or cushion shaped gem is called an OLD MINE CUT or Antique cut. This can certainly help estimate the age of your jewelry.

The next is called the EARLY MODERN BRILLIANT CUT and came in about 1910.

The gem cut we see in modern jewelry is the basic BRILLIANT cut although a PRINCESS CUT is becoming popular. (It just has more faces). Because of this fact it costs more as it takes longer to complete. Logic.

On Square or rectangular gemstones like Emerald the STEP or EMERALD cut was developed. It still has faces and is still used on Transparent gems.

On OPAQUE stones like Turquoise, Jade and Opal we get a Domed shape which is called CABOCHON.

That's it... Basically. There ARE varieties, but they all stem from these.

I personally recommend a quick look at the gemstone shapes help pages found in the Jewelers Toolbar on the bottom of our website pages.

This just describes how 'CLEAR' a gemstone is and covers the inclusions INSIDE a gem as well as Flaws and marks on the SURFACE of a gem. In most cases, the 'CLEANER' a gemstone is (Emerald and Amber are different) the more it is valued. No need to elaborate more than that.

Weighing a gemstone in Carats and Points. One carat = 100 points. Once you know the type of gemstone, you can look up its Specific Gravity in a table and using a simple formula, estimate its weight. No need for very expensive scales, just a school calculator.

Going back to our earlier example of $100 per carat, if a gem comes out at 0.50pts (half a carat) it means we have a BASE price of $50. You will see the simple grade columns in the worksheet so we can use our method to UPGRADE or DOWNGRADE the Color, Cut and Clarity easily.

Other factors which affect gemstone value are:

• Do the stones Match if there is more than one?
  
• If the stone is chipped, should it be re-cut?
  
• Has a gem been replaced?

Next time we will use these indicators to work with our Sapphire and Diamond Ring and estimate the weight of the gemstones by formula. We do this because WE CAN'T TAKE THE STONES OUT OF THE MOUNT.

This will wrap up the course and conclude with a finished valuation.

P.S. If you are really serious about getting a Valuation Appraisal done quickly and easily with minimum effort, go to the Valuation Appraisal Centre, at the address shown below and discover just how easy it is to value your own jewelry plus produce a Certificate on your own Printer at home or work.

Author David Foard, a Fellow of the Gemological Association of Australia (F.G.A.A.) and former member of The Valuers Council (JATVC), is retired ("Ha..." he laughs). He is working harder now than at any time in his life, especially over the 30 years he spent in the Antique Jewelry Trade as a qualified gemologist and member of the Valuers Council. Now he concentrates on the "three R's" of Readin', Ritin', and Re-ritin' articles, courses and free report newsletters at his Online Jewelry Appraisal Center website.

David says, "All of the calculations and procedures done throughout this series of articles are built into our Online Jewelry Valuation Self Appraisal Kit, which does all the work for you. Why? So you don't have to. Simple...

"If you are really serious about getting a jewelry valuation appraisal done quickly and easily, then go to our Online Jewelry Valuation Self Appraisal Kit to value your own jewelry and reproduce a certificate on your own printer at home or work. Couldn't be any easier.

"Our online jewelry valuation self appraisal kit uses behind-the-scenes calculations that work with your answers to a set of multiple choice questions to derive exactly 'What's it worth'. Easy, eh? We use this system ourselves.

"Regards, and please watch the road."

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