WHERE TO BUY PRECIOUS GEMSTONES?

You know what I miss about Jewelry Stores today?

Precious Gemstones!

There are 3 Gemstones that are called “Precious“: Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.

They are called Precious because they are rare in nature, difficult to find in good quality (like eye-clean stones or stones with good color), and they are very expensive.

That’s why you won’t find many (if any) Precious Gems in stores today. In fact, most stores, especially all of the big corporate nation-wide stores, only offer Man-Created stones instead.

Look in any showcase, catalog or website, and you’ll see such terms as: Man-Made, Flux Grown, Created or Lab Created in the description or the fine print at the bottom of the page…

What it’s saying is that these stones did not come from nature. Man created them in a laboratory through one of the many different crystal growing processes.

They create these stones because they can control the outcome and their attributes. They can control the size of the stone, the color of the stone, and they can make them without the presence of Inclusions and Flaws that a natural stone would have.

It looks so FAKE!

But sadly, even though it does make the stones appear cleaner (and cheaper), their appearance takes on a more glassy appearance. They tend to look too good, too real, too fake!

Precious Gems like this look better with some imperfections in them. Like little black specks or grain lines. You can look at a natural stone versus a fake stone and know pretty quickly which one is which. It’s a dead give-a-way. Take a peek…

I know it’s difficult to find “real” or “natural” Precious Stones nowadays, and for the most part, what you will find could be faint in hue, and crammed full of ugly inclusions. But I’ll tell you where you probably could find them…

Independent Jewelers!

The Independent Jewelers (for the most part) still believe in Genuine Stones. And although they may be pricey, the are the real deal!

And real is worth every penny in my book!

Purchasing an Emerald, Ruby or Sapphire won’t be cheap. They are Precious for a reason. I wouldn’t worry about the Inclusions too much (as long as they aren’t so much that the stone becomes fragile), but Color is the most important feature when it comes to Precious Stones. You want a stone that’s dark in color (they are the most expensive ones), but not too dark that they appear black. You want the color to stand out and be intense! It’s either that, or a fake one… what choice do you have?

I look at it like buying a Diamond. Diamonds are expensive. And there are plenty of fake alternatives like CZ’s! But buying a CZ is not the same thing as buying a real Diamond. Real is Real!

Where to Buy Precious Gems!

So where do you go to buy Precious Gems like Ruby, Sapphire or Emerald?

I’d recommend one great place online: James Allen!

The reason is easy, James Allen has great prices, beautiful product and unbeatable policies! You can’t go wrong!

They sell all the Precious Stones Loose: Emeralds, Sapphires and Rubies, from small Carat Weights to Large!

But they also sell Pink Sapphires and Yellow Sapphires as well. Which I LOVE!

They sell these stones loose, so you can have them mounted later in the setting of your choice, or they also sell these beautiful gems pre-set into very cool rings that look stunning and really make the stone’s color “POP” in the mountings.

The designer that they use is Mille Coeurs and the designs are fabulous. Take a peek at some of the beautiful Gemstone Rings, that also make for an awesome alternative Engagement Ring…

Rubies

Emeralds

Blue Sapphires

Yellow Sapphires

Pink Sapphires

Loose Gemstones

Here are some of the beautiful Loose Gemstones that James Allen offers:

Loose Rubies

Loose Emeralds

Loose Blue Sapphires

Loose Yellow Sapphires

Loose Pink Sapphires

Make your own ring, or buy one pre-set. You could take these loose stones into any Jeweler and have them design you a wonderful ring that’s custom built for you!

The choices are endless!

And if you want to spend some REAL money… if money is no option, then check out these big ticket items. They will surely raise an eye-brow or two. :)

It’s just money, right? ;)