Do you have a colored stone that needs to be identified?

Proper gem identification is essential when determining the value of a loose stone or jewelry item. There are many factors to consider:

Was the stone made by mother nature or man?

It is imperative when evaluating a gemstone to know whether it is genuine, synthetic or simulated. The difference in value between a genuine ruby and a synthetic ruby is significant.

What is the identity of the stone

For example, is it a Ruby, Garnet, Tourmaline, Glass or something else entirely? The difference in value between different species of gemstones can be vast.

Is the color a desirable hue?

Each gemstone has a desirable color range. What range does your stone fall into?

What is the clarity

Clarity grading in colored stones is very different than clarity grading in diamonds. Clarity grading in colored stones is relative to all other colored stones of the same variety. For example, a high quality aquamarine will be eye clean (No inclusions visible face-up at a distance of 8-10 inches in natural lighting to a person with 20/20 vision), while the highest quality of emerald will almost never be eye clean. Aquamarines can only be compared to other aquamarines and emeralds can only be compared to other emeralds, etc.

What is the estimated carat weight of the stone?

All gemstones have their own unique specific gravity. When colored gemstones are set in jewelry, specific formulas must be used to determine the weight of the stones. We combine our measurements with these formulas to determine the weight of your unique stone.

Proper identification of colored stones demand very sophisticated equipment and A Plus Associates has it.

Helping you make informed decisions about what to do with your jewelry