WITH ALLTHE GEMSTONES LISTED ON EBAY (AT LEAST 200,000 AT ANY GIVEN TIME), YOU WOULD THINK THAT FINDING ONE WOULD BE EASY.

HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN PURCHASING A GEMSTONE.

1. ARE YOU PURCHASING FOR AN INVESTMENT?

2. HOW MUCH DOES QUALITY MATTER?

3. ARE YOU GOING TO SET IT IN A PIECE OF JEWELRY?

5. HOW DO YOU TELL IF IT IS REAL OR NOT?

THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD BE ASKING YOURSELF BEFORE YOU START LOOKING.

1. IF YOU ARE PURCHASING A GEMSTONE FOR AN INVESTMENT, THEN YOU WANT TO PURCHASE THE BEST QUALITY STONE THERE IS, AND PLAN TO SPEND SOME MONEY BECAUSE THEY CAN GET EXPENSIVE.

WHEN PURCHASING FOR INVESTMENT SIZE DOES NOT MATTER. QUALITY DOES.

EXAMPLE:

1/2 CARAT EMERALD THAT IS INTERNALLY FLAWLESS CAN BE WORTH MORE THAN A 10 CARAT EMERALD THAT IS SERIOUSLY INCLUDED (HAS LOTS OF FLAWS).

YOU CAN CHOOSE ANY TYPE OF GEM STONE YOU LIKE AS LONG A THE COLOR, CUT AND CLARITY ARE THE BEST.

THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION I CAN MAKE IS TO LEARN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ABOUT THE GEMSTONE YOU PLAN TO COLLECT. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF VERY GOOD BOOKS ON THE MARKET.

HERE ARE THREE THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST:

A. SMITHSONIAN HANDBOOK - GEMSTONES BY CALLY HALL , ISBN # 0789489856

B. SIMON & SCHUSTER'S GUIDE TO GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES, ISBN # 067160430

C. GEMSTONE BUYING GUIDE BY RENEE NEWMAN GG, ISBN # 0929975340

THERE ARE MANY OTHER VERY GOOD BOOKS ON THE SUBJECT, THESE THREE I OWN AND REFER TO OFTEN.

ONCE YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE GEMS AND CHARACTERISTICS YOU MAY BETTER UNDERSTAND WHY SOME TYPES OF GEMSTONES ARE MORE VALUBLE THAN OTHERS.

ONE OTHER THING THAT MUST BE CONSIDERED WHEN PURCHASING AS AN INVESTMENT IS WHETHER OR NOT THE STONE HAS BEEN TREATED IN ANY WAY. FORTUNATELY FEDERAL LAW REQUIRES SELLERS TO INDICATE THIS. IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IF A STONE IS TREATED, IT MAY NOT AS VALUBLE A LESSER QUALITY STONE THAT IS ALL NATURAL AND UNTREATED. WHEN SEARCHING EBAY, READ DISCRIPTIONS **** C A R E F U L L Y ****

2. NOW HOW MUCH DOES QUALITY MATTER?

IF YOU ARE PURCHASING FOR INVESTMENT, IT MEANS EVERYTHING.

IF YOU ARE PURCHASING FOR YOURSELF FOR AND DON'T PLAN TO SELL IN THE FUTURE. YOU CAN GO LESS ON QUALITY AND STILL GET A VERY NICE STONE FOR LESS MONEY.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE:

YOU WANT PURCHASE A EMERALD (THE GREEN KIND) SAY 1 CARAT IN WEIGHT AND EMERALD CUT.

YOU COULD EASILY SPEND A THOUSAND DOLLARS ON A STONE THAT IS INTERNALLY FLAWLESS (IF) WITH EXCEPTIONAL COLOR

OR YOU COULD FIND A STONE OF THE SAME SIZE, CUT AND COLOR WITH A FEW MINOR FLAWS AND SPEND ONLY A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO IS LEARN,LOOK, AND ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU BUY!

JUST REMEMBER THIS THERE ARE COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND STONES LISTED ON EBAY AT ANY GIVEN TIME.

IF YOU SEE ONE YOU LIKE, DON'T RUSH TO BUY IT JUST BECAUSE THE AUCTION IS ALMOST OVER.

THERE WILL BE ANOTHER STONE, IF NOT IDENTICAL, VERY CLOSE TO IT LISTED AGAIN IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.

3. ARE YOU GOING TO SET THE STONE IN A PIECE OF JEWELRY?

IF YOU ARE, THEN YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW THE SIZE AND CUT OF THE STONE THAT WILL FIT IN THE SETTING.

SIZES ARE MEASURED 2 WAYS:

CARAT WEIGHT- WHICH IS THE PHYSICAL WEIGHT OF THE STONE (SIZE VARIES BY TYPE OF STONE, SOME STONES BEING MORE DENSE THAN OTHERS)

PHYSICAL DEMINSIONS - MESURED IN MILIMETERS (mm) THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR THE SETTING

USUALLY LISTINGS WILL GIVE DIAMETER AND HEIGHT ON ROUND STONES AND LENGTH, WIDTH, AND HEIGHT ON MOST OTHER CUTS. IF THE SELLER HAS NOT LISTED IT, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK.

REMEMBER: IF THERE IS SOMETHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT A LISTING, ASK THE SELLER. IF THE SELLER CAN NOT ANSWER OR WILL NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION ****D O  N O T  B U Y  I T ! ! ! **** 

EVERY REPUTABLE DEALER ON EBAY WILL GLADDELY ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS BECAUSE THEY WANT YOU TO BUY AND BUY AGAIN.

5. HOW DO YOU TELL IF IT IS REAL?

BY NOW YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED A TREND. READ THE LISTINGS CAREFULLY. IT WILL TELL YOU IF IT IS REAL. NOW YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL HERE, SOMETIMES THE LISTING WILL SAY GENUINE STONE AND SOMEWHERE IN THE DESCRIPTION THEY WILL DISCLAIM THAT IT IS LAB CREATED. THIS IS LEGITIMATE. A LAB CREATED STONE CAN BE A GENUINE STONE. THEY ARE NOT WORTH AS MUCH AS "DUG OUT OF THE GROUND" STONES. BUT IF IT IS PRETTY AND YOU LIKE IT THEN THAT MAY NOT MATTER.  OTHER WORDS USED FOR STONE NOT "DUG OUT OF THE GROUND" ARE:

MANMADE, SIMULATED, SYNTHETIC, LAB GROWN, AND ARTIFICAL.

IF YOU ARE NOT SURE FROM THE DESCRIPTION ASK THE SELLER THIS:

WAS THIS GEMSTONE "DUG OUT OF THE GROUND" OR WAS IT "CREATED"?

WHEN YOU GET INTO DIAMONDS, THEY HAVE FANCY NAMES SUCH AS CUBIC ZARCONIA.

TO WRAP THINGS UP, THE ONE THING THAT MUST BE REPEATED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS

LEARN...... LOOK....... ASK....... THEN IF IT'S WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR .................. BUY IT!

I HOPE THIS SHORT GUIDE HAS BEEN HELPFUL. HAPPY GEM HUNTING.