Gemstones are made of minerals, rocks, and organic materials. People know and think of diamonds, rubies, and sapphires when they think of gems.

In 1951, Painite was discovered and is the rarest gemstone in the world. Today, Zultanite is new to the jewelry world, and it only began being mined commercially in 2006. Found in the remote mountains of Antolia, Turkey, it is rare and expensive.

The diamond is an iconic and rare gemstone. Diamonds are considered gems because they are rare, valuable, and durable minerals prized for their exceptional beauty and optical properties. Their brilliance and fire, combined with their scarcity and hardness, make them highly sought after for use in jewelry and other decorative items.

Did you know that after diamonds, a sapphire is the hardest gemstone?

There are many thousands of minerals that can be considered gemstones, but only a relatively small number of these are commonly used in jewelry and other decorative items. Some sources estimate that there are over 200 minerals that can be cut and polished into gemstones, but the exact number is difficult to determine, as new gemstone discoveries are regularly made. Some of the most well-known gemstones include diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, amethysts, lapis lazuli, and garnets. Others are the pearl, ruby, Catseye, and alexandrite, tanzanite, turquoise, alexandrite, and semi precious gemstones like topaz, tourmaline, peridot, aquamarine, and chrysoprase.

Diamond and gemstone necklace with rose gold

The Difference Between Precious Stones and Semi Precious Gemstones

The difference between precious stones and semiprecious stones lies in their quality, rarity, and beauty of their colors.

Semi-precious stones are known as gems or gemstones and are used in fine jewelry. Natural resources or exact rocks, not called gems, are not minerals, but are also utilized in jewelry.

Precious metals and stones, especially gold and diamonds, have a high intrinsic value and are great investments. When you consider selling gemstones, they can be sold for quick cash, and pawn shops will buy them.

Diamonds, sapphires, rubies, pearls, and emeralds are prized stones in the world, and pawn shops seek these stones through buying them outright. or using them for collateral for a short-term loan.

Diamonds are by far the most popular precious gemstone.

People love both colored diamonds and clear diamonds. The most valuable diamond in the world per carat weight was the Blue Diamond, which sold for US 3.93 million, and a Jadeite, which sold for US 3 million.

Jeremejevite

Jeremejevite, serendibite, and black opal are also rare and beautiful and in demand. The black opal is a unique color and one of the most expensive gemstones in the world. A high-end black opal can cost US$10,000 per carat. Black opals are exceptionally rare. They form is in only one place in the world, Australia. Most of the opals found in the town of Lightening Ridge.

Jeremejevite is an aluminum borate mineral with other variable ions. It is considered one of the rarest and most expensive stones in the world. It is a colorless stone and also comes in light blues, yellow browns, and can also show greenish, light yellow, gold yellow, and even violet colors. Jeremejevite is sometimes compared to the color of aquamarines.

Serendibite

Serendibite is made of silicate and borate of calcium, magnesium, and aluminum. It is mined in irregular blue grains in Sri Lanka. There are only two places where gem quality Serendibite is mined, the Ratanapura area in Sri Lanka, and the Mogok stone tract in Northern Myanmar.

Serendibite is a small blue-green, blue-gray to deep blue, sometimes yellow and transparent tabular crystals. The material is strongly pleochroic.

Pleochroic

Pleochroic is characteristic of a gem or stone that absorbs different wavelengths of light, causing the stone to appear different colors depending on the direction of how the stone is viewed. They can appear yellowish green, bluish green and violet-blue. Cut stones are rare and usually of small size.

Rubies and gold necklace

Precious Gems

Jadeite – A Gem Stone Valued in China

Jadeite is the main mineral that makes jade. Highly regarded in China, most of the gem-quality Jadeite comes from Myanmar. The Chinese market drives the market for Jadeite. Jadeite is green in color and very tough. It can be worth more than gold for the finest specimens. Jade is valued in Chinese culture because of its metaphor for virtue, kindness, wisdom, civility, justice, music, sincerity, truth, Heaven, and Earth.

Rubies – A Gem Stone Associated with Power and Wealth

Ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored durable gemstone, depending on the crystal structure that causes the variation in the color. Rubies can command the highest per-carat price of any colored stone. The ruby is considered a “stone of kings” and is associated with power and wealth. The ruby represents nobility, purity, and passion. Some cultures believe that one benefit of owning a ruby is that the ruby will protect the owner’s estate and help collect wealth.

Sapphires – A Gem Stone Associated with Wisdom and Good Fortune

The sapphire stone is a corundum gemstone or an allochromatic stone. The gem’s color is derived from trace elements in its chemical structure, and without the elements would be colorless.

Sapphires symbolize wisdom, virtue, good fortune, and holiness for royals. It means faithfulness and sincerity.

Diamonds – The Most Popular Precious Gemstone

A diamond is a mineral composed of pure carbon. It is a hard, durable, and has many applications. Each diamond is unique. Diamonds are appraised according to the 4cs.

Know the Color, Clarity, Cut, and Carat Weight of Diamonds:

1. Diamond Color Actually Means Lack of Color

A diamond with no color, like a drop of water, is valued higher than a diamond with some color. All diamonds are evaluated, from D (diamonds with no color) to Z (diamond with color).

A diamond expert, under controlled lighting, compares the diamond to “master-stones” to determine the absence of color, and gives the diamond a rating.

2. Diamond Clarity

Diamond Clarity refers to the absence of “inclusions” (substances, spots, etc. included in the structure of the diamond) and “blemishes” (external characteristics).

Diamonds are created under pressure and heat, and therefore have both inside and external characteristics that need to be evaluated by size, nature, position, and relief. The question is how do they affect the appearance of the diamond? The purer a diamond is, the better the Clarity.

Clarity is appraised after looking at the diamond under powerful magnification, and then determining what inside characteristics it has (inclusions). Then a Diamond Clarity Scale is used to give the diamond an overall clarity rating.

3. Diamond Cuts

Knowing how your diamond is cut is essential in knowing your diamond and its value and ability to transmit light and sparkle. There are diamonds cut round, heart-shaped, oval, marquise, and pear. A skilled gem cutter will know exactly how to cut a diamond, so it interacts with the light to enhance its beauty and value.

4. Carat weight

By using 200 milligrams as a “carat”, the weight of your diamond can be given within a hundredth decimal place. Larger diamonds are rarer, and thus more valuable and desirable. Remember that the value of a diamond is not only its weight, but also its color, clarity, and cut.

Diamond Earrings

Where to Sell Gemstones, A Particular Stone Like a Diamond, or Sell Your Gemstones Jewelry

You may not have a black opal, a Burmese ruby, or salt and pepper diamond to sell, but you may have a semiprecious stone or two or a pre-owned jewelry piece with a popular gemstone and made from gold, you don’t mind liquidating.

You may contact potential buyers online, like a diamond buyer, to sell your gemstones. diamonds, gold, and precious metals.

When it comes to gemstones, it is one of the most searched questions online. Don’t waste your time trying to identify the best place. Pawn shops like Goldmine Pawn Shop will buy, sell, and loan against diamonds, diamond jewelry, gemstone jewelry, gemstones, and precious metals.

Resale Value Of Gemstone Jewelry

Most gemstones don’t have high resale value. This being said, well-cut, undamaged, certified precious gemstones like rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds are the exception. Diamonds surrounded by, or accented by other gemstones, can bring good money.

Gemstones are set in precious metals like gold, white gold, platinum, and silver; the settings themselves bring the best value. The market price, or spot price of the precious metal the stones are set in, is a major factor when selling unwanted gemstone jewelry.

Grading Certificates from GIA

If you have grading certificates, these will increase the value of a gemstone and help the store that buys the gemstone jewelry give you the best price. If you are someone in the market to buy gemstones, ask if the stones come with a certificate and insurance appraisals. This will let you and others know what the piece is worth.

For competitive prices, pawn shops will consider buying loose stones, such as loose diamonds, scrap gold and silver jewelry, and luxury jewelry. The stores often melt down the precious metals from the piece you have for sale, sell it to a gold buyer, and sell the gemstones to a gemstone buyer.

Different factors like resale value, gold or precious metal content, grading, and if the jewelry you have to sell is of interest to the pawn shop.

Gold Mine Pawn Shop

Goldmine Pawn is a diamond buyer in Hollywood, FL. Unlike many gemstone buyers, who drive up the prices on pre-owned gems, the pawn shop keeps their prices affordable.

If you have diamonds, loose diamonds, gemstone and gold jewelry, Goldmine Pawn will test and appraise your items and give an offer based on market value. They are a reputable company. If you have a gemstone grading certificate from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the gemstone and diamonds will bring a higher price.

The purity of the gold and silver content used in the settings that hold the precious stone will also add to the amount you are offered.

When you try to sell your diamonds and gemstone jewelry online or through the marketplace, you aren’t sure who you are working with or if they are honest. Goldmine Pawn has a rich history in the jewelry business.

They have both loose diamonds and diamond jewelry offered, at affordable pricing.