Lifestyle Choices

• Don’t toss pearls carelessly into a purse or jewel box where they could be scratched by other pieces.
• Don’t expose your pearls to hairsprays or acid-based cosmetics and perfumes.
• Never clean pearls with harsh chemicals or abrasives.
• Do treat your pearls gently. Place them in a chamois bag or wrap in tissue before putting them away. Best bet: a quilted jewel case or bag to cushion them.
• Do wait until after applying cosmetics, perfume, and other products before putting on pearls.
• Do wash your pearls with mild soap and water once in a while to remove any traces of makeup or fragrance.
• Do take your pearls to your jeweler for restringing once a year. Ordinary wear can weaken and stretch the nylon thread on which pearls are strung.
• Do have pearls strung with knots between them. This will prevent loss if breakage does occur.

Gemstones

The majority of gemstones are minerals (important exceptions: pearl and coral are animal in origin; jet and amber are vegetable). Of the more than 3,000 minerals known, only a handful qualify as precious gemstones. Emeralds, rubies, and sapphires are considered precious because of their rarity, brilliance, beauty, and intense color. Diamonds are a noncolored precious gemstone.

A second group of fine-quality (but not precious) gemstones are ideal for jewelry at more accessible prices:

agate

jet

alexandrite

lapis lazuli

amber

moonstone

amethyst

opal

aquamarine

peridot

bloodstone

sardonyx

carnelian

spinel

chrysoberyl

topaz

citrine

tourmaline

garnet

turquoise

jade

zircon

jasper

Pieces made from these materials can increase in value later, look great now. You should also consider ivory and bone, which are animal in origin, and cinnabar, which is an Oriental lacquer technique.

Look for ivory bracelets (often stained with henna from their previous Indian wearers) or milky white beads and earrings that will be smashing with your summer tan. Vibrant turquoise or royal blue lapis can flatter many looks, and the rosy or bright tones of coral— ranging from pale, romantic pink to tomato red—are a classic. Carnelian, a smooth, brown stone, and amber (actually a fossil resin) are terrific choices too; try them with autumn’s golds, russets, and coppers. Jadite is a smoky green stone that is a dead ringer (at a fraction of the price) for jade; misty pink and pale rose quartz is a face-flattering choice for earrings and beads.

Diamonds

Perhaps the queen of the gemstones, a fine diamond is brilliant, beautiful, durable, rare and will most certainly increase in value. With any luck, you can look forward to owning real diamonds someday; perhaps a diamond engagement ring or wedding band will one day be yours.

The four C’s, carat weight, color, clarity, and cut, are the four factors that explain why diamonds range widely in value and price.

• Carat. The unit of weight used for diamonds. Carats are further subdivided into points; 100 points equal a single carat.
• Color. Although we tend to think of diamonds as stones without color, they actually are found in yellow, canary, pink, red, blue, green, and brown. Distinctions are made even among the so-called “colorless” diamonds. The very brilliant, icy-white diamonds are especially rare and valuable; blue-white diamonds, which glimmer with a hint of frosty blue, are even rarer.
• Clarity. Determined by the number of internal inclusions— that is to say, spots, bubbles, or lines—and surface irregularities.
• Cut. Diamonds are cut according to an exact mathematical formula. A finished diamond has 58 facets—the small, flat, polished planes cut into the stone so that the maximum amount of light is reflected back to the viewer’s eye. Cut also refers to the actual shape of the diamond. Traditionally, diamonds are cut in round, emerald, marquise, pear, oval, and heart shapes.

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