Color verses Brilliance in Colored Gemstones

Gemstones are first judged for their color while diamonds are judged more for their cut and clarity. This is particularly true with emeralds, ruby, and sapphires since they are rarely cut with American style meet point faceting techniques. This technique uses diagrams where the facets meet at a point and produce the best light return for a particular species of gemstone based on the refractive index.  Most of the big three colored stones are cut with weight retention in mind rather than optimal light return. It is also rare to find commercial cut stones with a polish that is better than 14000 diamond grit. Most custom cut stones will be polished to a minimum of 50000 diamond grit. Newer aluminum or cerium oxides used by custom faceters come closer to a 100000 grit polish.

One mistake that gemstone buyers make when looking at well cut stones is to be dazzled by the brilliance while forsaking the color. Don’t forget the color! Color is the number one criterion for judging colored gemstones. Our eyes naturally gravitate to the brilliant gemstone on the counter but brilliance will make light colored gemstones appear better than reality. Turn the stone over or look at it from another angle to get a better idea of the actual body color of the gemstone without the cut affecting your opionion. Clarity and brilliance is important but should never trump color. Color is always the highest percentage of cost in any gemstone. Once you’ve found a few gems with the best color then go and evaluate them for clarity, cut, and “fire”. You don’t need to give up brilliance or clarity but it should not be the first aspect to look at.