Discount Designer Clothes Blog

Today, more than ever, people are shopping online at an ever increasing rate. One disadvantage is that terminology and abbreviations can be used by the jewelry or gemstone seller that you may overlook or not completely understand. Online you have less of an opportunity to ask a quick question to a salesperson. This could come back to haunt you if you find out that a Diamond has been enhanced or a gemstone was synthetic and you didn't recognize the "lingo" or "abbreviations" that the seller was using. Sure, he may have been trying to pull one over on you while covering his bases, but in the court of law your apeal may not stand if his use of abbreviations of treatments is an industry recognized standard.

This segment is going to break down 3 particular groups ( Metals, Diamonds, and Colored Gemstones) and cover the meaning of popular terminology or abbreviations in each group. Hopefully this will help arm and prepare you for your next round of shopping. Armed with this knowledge you'll be more confident, and relaxed, when shopping for that valuable piece of jewelry.

Metals used in jewelry

Abbreviations/Markings                                        Meaning

             410                                                     10k Gold ( 41% gold )
             585                                                     14K Gold ( 58.5% gold)
             750                                                     18K Gold ( 75% gold )
             Plat                                                     Platinum
             PD950                                                  Palladium
             14k HGE                                               14K Heavy Gold Electroplate ( Plated)
             14k GF                                                 14K Gold Filled (not solid gold )
             925                                                     Sterling Silver ( 92.5% pure silver)
            .999 Silver                                             Fine Silver
             kt                                                        Karat (measure of gold purity)

Diamonds used in jewelry

             ct                                                       Carat (measure of weight)
             Inclusion                                              Visible natural crystal or flaw inside the stone
             Facet                                                  Small cuts/edges on a diamond to refract light.
             Table                                                  The flat facet on the very top of the diamond.
             Crown                                                 The angled section around the top of a diamond.
             Girdle                                                  The very outside edge of a diamond.
             Pavilion                                                The sloped section on the underside of the diamond.
             Culet                                                   The very point or very bottom facet of a diamond.
             I1-I3                                                    Clarity grade indicating eye visible flaws.
             SI1-SI2                                                Clarity grade indicating flaws easily visible under 10x
             VS1-VS2 Clarity grade indicating flaws hard to detect under 10x
   VVS1-VVS2 Clarity grade indicating flaws nearly impossible under 10X
   IF-FL Internally Flawless or Flawless (Speaks for itself) :)
   CE Clarity enhanced - Means a black inclusion has been micro
                                                                        drilled and possib;y filled in order to look cleaner.
   HPHT    High Pressure / High Temperature - Some colored diamonds
                                                                       are permanently treated this way. Some white diamonds
                                                                       are treated this way to improve clarity.
             Point ( pt )                                           .01ct is one point or "a one pointer". A .25ct would be a
                                                                       "25 pointer". There are 100 points to a full carat.
             mm                                                      Millimeter. The standard form of length/width measurment
                                                                       in the diamond industry.
             Cert (certed)                                         A stone that has had an independant laboratory grade
                                                                        and produce papers to accompany that diamond.
             GIA                                                     Gemological Institute of America
             EGL                                                     European Gemological Laboratory
             AGS                                                     American Gemological Service
             PGS                                                     Professional Gem Sciences

Colored Gemstones used in jewelry (shares many with diamond...will not repeat some)

            IR                                                       treated to color through irradiation.
            N                                                        No treatment detected
            H                                                        Treated for color/clarity through heat only
            Coated                                                 Surface treatment in which color is deposited on the
                                                                       surface via a coating.
            Oil                                                       Emeralds are commonly oiled to fill surface fissures. A
                                                                       majority of emeralds go through this process.

        I hope this limited glossary helps you in your Jewelry, Diamond, engagement ring, and gemstone purchasing. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments!

            Happy Shopping!

            Matt Valentine

Birthstones

6/2/2009 6:49:35 PM

Let's face it, the birthstone idea is all about promotion of certain stones in jewelry stores.This is fine but the list constantly seems to change and now there aremultiple stones for some months. The chart shown below needs to havesome changes made:

Birthstone chart

         The most confusing months, even for many jewelers, are December,November, October, and June. The rest are pretty straightforward. Thefollowing are the changes that need to be made:

1: June- The additonal stone is Alexandrite. This gemstone is a rare, color change Chrysoberyl that is found in Russia, Brazil, and parts of Africa.

2: October- The additional stone is Pink Tourmaline.This stone, primarily found in Brazil, can be expensive in the highergrades and larger, clean gem material. For the most part it isaffordable in the smaller sizes.

3: November- The additional stone is Imperial Topaz.Imperial Topaz will have a peachy yellow color and is not a gemstonefound at your average mall or diamond oriented jewelry store. Thisgemstone was the ORIGINAL BIRTHSTONE until someone decided that Citrinewould be an easier sell and put it in it's place.

4: December- This month has THREE stone choices. Everyone assumes that the main one is Blue Topaz. They are wrong. Originally it was Blue Zirconwhich is not to be confused with Cubic Ziconia....which is a man-madestone. Blue Zircon is a beautiful stone that has very high brillianceand refraction. It's primary source is Cambodia but can be found inother places. Again, Blue Topaz was added since it is more affordableand easier to sell commercially. The latest addition is very popular. Tanzanite was added as a December birthstone just a few years ago. It is a bluish-purple stone in the Zoisite family.

    I hope this article has helped you in your desisions about birthstones and their many substitutes.

             Happy Shopping!