GEMSTONE JEWELRY

While beautiful and vibrant, colored stones used to be worn by royalty. These stones have been believed to do everything from augmenting success to possessing healing powers. Cleopatra was famous for her love of emeralds, which although she loved the color, she was convinced of their powers of clairvoyance.
Throughout the centuries, hundreds of colored stones have been found and faceted into jewelry. With companies such as Buccellati, Tiffany & Co, and Van Cleef & Arpels, the use of these gemstones have set the standard in luxury and fashion. 
Gemstones do have a checkered past with consumers, as modern technology has allowed companies and manufacturers to create synthetics and add treatments. In the 1990s, consumer confidence in Emeralds fell to an all-time low and the Emerald market was dealt a devastating dive. Clarity enhancements were being used of which the consumer was unaware before purchase resulting in major lawsuits in the US.
95% of all Sapphires, Rubies, and Emeralds have had some form of color or clarity enhancement. Knowing the type of gem, the origin of that gem, and any treatment that gem has undergone is imperative to estimating the value of a colored stone.