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Thursday, October 2, 2008

Finding The Best Gemstones For Your Money

By Chris Channing

Finding high quality gemstones is an easy task when you know where to look for them. There are also many variables that determine the quality of gemstones, affecting their values in many ways. Gemstones come in many varieties and sizes that also determine their value.

Lapis Lazuli can be found in Afghanistan along with many other areas of the world. It is composed of many different minerals and can come in multiple varieties. Small specks of golden pyrite over dark blue are the most valued type of lapis lazuli. Patches of pyrite are used in identifying real quality lapis lazuli, but large quantities of pyrite and veins of calcite may drop the price of the gemstone.

The Topaz is a very beautiful gemstone that comes in many varieties. It can come in many colors, and can be coated with chemicals to make it iridescent. It can be found in many places of the world and has been found as clear large boulders. Using irradiation techniques, it's color can be changed to varying shades of blue.

The beautiful Peridot can be found anywhere where volcanoes and other lava sources are located. Gem quality peridot is actually a very rare type of Olivine. Olivine forms at high temperatures while magma sets into lava. This causes the olivine to be deposited onto the lava over time. Depending on how much iron it contains it can form as clear olive green crystals or dark brown, greenish crystals.

Finding quality gemstones of these varieties can be as simple as going to a gem dealer, but the best places to find them are at the sources. Going to the various places where they are mined or found can yield larger, higher quality stones than the ones you may find at a gem dealer at your home town. Many of the places where you find high quality gemstones mined have a myriad of other gems and minerals available that you may be interested in as well.

The only other places where you may find great quality gemstone samples are online. There is a high degree of risk behind online trading, especially in gemstones and jewels. This can be avoided if you research where these companies get their gemstones from and if you take care in researching their business practices with the Better Business Bureau.

Closing Comments

Finding higher quality gemstones is always easily accomplished by searching. Research the areas of which they are mined or found and check the quality of the samples gathered from those areas before making any purchases.

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