The Prepper's Financial Guide by Jim Cobb

Author:Jim Cobb [Cobb, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781612434254
Publisher: Ulysses Press

DIAMONDS AND GEMSTONES

Precious gems are yet one more possibility as a hedge against the future. While I’ll talk a bit about diamonds, rubies, and other sparkly goodies, I tend to shy away from recommending them wholeheartedly as investments. The average person lacks the specialized knowledge and equipment to adequately test for counterfeits and lookalikes. I mean, it’s one thing to buy a diamond bracelet from a reputable dealer, complete with the requisite paperwork certifying authenticity, and selling it to another jeweler later. Quite another thing to be presented with a purported diamond and ruby necklace and asked to accept it as payment for a box of ammunition.

As with anything else, buyer beware. Keep any and all paperwork associated to purchased gemstones. Should you need to unload any of it in a hurry, those documents may go far in expediting the process.

DIAMONDS

As many of us know, diamonds, as well as all colored gemstones, are rated or classified based on the “Four Cs”: cut, clarity, color, and carat weight. A diamond is cut in certain ways that allow it to reflect the maximum amount of light. The better the cut, the greater the sparkle. The clarity refers the amount of imperfections within the stone. The clearer the stone, the greater the clarity. Color is, well, the color of the stone. Colorless is the ideal. Carat weight is the total mass of the stone. In other words, the actual size. Be aware of the term “total carat weight,” too. If you have an object that has multiple stones, the TCW (total carat weight) refers to the total of all stones present.

Of the Four Cs, the cut is generally seen as the most important for determining the beauty of the diamond. In the diamond world, size is important but takes a backseat to beauty.

EMERALDS

If cut is the most important component with diamonds, color ranks the highest with emeralds and other gemstones. Emeralds are green, of course, and the greener the better. Clarity is also important, as well.

Where diamonds are typically examined through a loupe, which is a simple eyepiece that provides ten-times magnification, emeralds are simply looked at without an aid. If the stone has no imperfections noticeable to the naked eye, it is considered “eye clean.” Because emeralds tend to have numerous surface fissures, they are often oiled prior to being sold. Cedar oil or another similar oil is used to fill in cracks and such on the surface of the stone. This is considered a routine practice in the gem world.

SAPPHIRES

Sapphires are generally thought of as being blue, but there are other colors out there, including yellow and green. The so-called “star sapphire” is a special type, where cracks beneath the surface intersect and, as a result, a six-sided “star” shines from within the stone when light is refracted through it. There is also what is called a “pink sapphire,” which is actually a ruby.

Sapphires are often heat-treated to enhance their color. Sometimes an impurity, such as beryllium, is intentionally diffused into the gem during the heat treatment, leading to further improvement of the natural color.

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