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GIA 4Cs Diamond Blog

GIA 4Cs Diamond Blog

The Many Colors of Sapphire

Sapphire is famous for its rich blues, but it also comes in a rainbow of colors: violet, green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, grey, black, brown, and delightful combinations called “parti-colored”. (more…)

Hot Gemstones

We’re always on the lookout for trends, and we spotted a fun one. Several gemstones that never had much cachet are now in vogue. These beauties have been showing up on the runway and in fashion magazines.

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GIA Holiday Shopping Guide: How to Choose A Birthstone for the Perfect Holiday Gift

Stunning, striking, and simply gorgeous, birthstone jewelry is a great holiday gift. Show your affection with a gift that merges individuality with style. A birthstone celebrates her personal story and represents a bit of who she is, so you may want to start the process by asking yourself what style suits her. Is she traditional or contemporary, classic or colorful? Does she prefer her metal silver spun or in a golden twist? Once you’ve got her design preferences down, don’t forget the qualities that make a birthstone valuable. (more…)

Turquoise Buying Guide

Found only in a few places on earth, turquoise is the second of December’s two official birthstones. Sought after for its robin’s egg blue and unique spiderweb-like patterns, it’s a perfect gem for unusual jewelry designs. (more…)

GIA Holiday Shopping Guide: How to Buy Pearls 101

Captivated by pearls? You’re certainly in good company. A favorite of legendary women including Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth, these beautiful spheres are the only precious gems made from a living creature – the mollusk. (more…)

Tanzanite Buying Guide

Notable for its majestic blue velvet and intense royal purples, the first of December’s birthstones is named after the only country it can be found: Tanzania. Exceptional tanzanite can display three distinct colors in three crystal directions. (more…)

Rock Candy – Fantasy Cut Gemstones

There’s  magic and fantasy in gemstones, and a group of cutters are master conjurers. (more…)

The Magic of the Fantasy Cut Gemstones

Fantasy cut gemstones exhibit so many unique optical characteristics that they often appear to live up to ancient lore – that gems are imbued with magical properties.

So called fantasy cut gemstones often owe their spectacular beauty to unique faceting artistry that is achieved through cutting non-traditional design elements. These techniques cause light to reflect and refract differently, surging into view as stunning displays of light and color along the gems’ surface and interior. (more…)

Citrine Buying Guide

Perhaps the most popular and frequently purchased yellow gemstone, citrine is a variety of quartz, and a November birthstone. While it’s an attractive alternative for topaz as well as yellow sapphire, natural citrine is actually quite rare, and those without color zoning or visible inclusions are highly sought after. (more…)

Topaz Buying Guide

One of November’s birthstones, topaz has the unique ability to show different colors in different crystal directions. Ancient civilizations believed that topaz gave them strength, long life, beauty, and intelligence. (more…)

Jinxed Gems

Everyone loves a good Halloween scare, so we scoured the gemological literature for stories about cursed gemstones. Here are a few tales we dug up about these bone-chilling beauties. (more…)

Tourmaline Buying Guide

Featuring one of the widest color ranges of any gem, tourmaline is one of October’s two birthstones. A favorite of mineral collectors everywhere, tourmalines come in all shapes, sizes, color saturations and tones – from expensive electric blues to affordable olive greens.

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