Articles about Gems

Pearl Description

Perhaps the best-loved gems of all time, pearls—both natural and modern cultured pearls—occur in a wide variety of colors.

Pearl Quality Factors

The qualities that determine the overall value of a natural or cultured pearl or a piece of pearl jewelry are size, shape, color, luster...

Tourmaline Quality Factors

Large tourmaline crystals are often fashioned by gem sculptors into special pieces for clients looking for the unusual.

Aquamarine Quality Factors

The gem’s most valuable color is a dark blue to slightly greenish blue with moderately strong intensity.

Emerald History and Lore

Emerald’s lush green has soothed souls and excited imaginations since antiquity.

Alexandrite Quality Factors

Fine alexandrite is green to bluish green in daylight and red to purplish red in incandescent light.

Fancy Color Diamond Quality Factors

In diamonds, rarity equals value.

Colombian Emerald Industry: Winds of Change

Colombia is synonymous with fine emerald, and production is believed to date back well over a thousand years.

GIA Field Gemologists Seek Gems in Luc Yen, Vietnam

Venture into Vietnam’s gem-rich interior...