Buyers Guide for Precious Metal and Gemstone Jewelry Shopping

If you've every shopped for a nice piece of jewelry, you probably found the experience to be both exciting and sometimes confusing. There are so many grades of gem stones and the prices and values will also depend on the metal they are mounted on. You'll find many different Guides available online to help you understand what to look for. We've developed a simple and quick guide to help you find the best quality jewelry for your budget.

The common precious metals for jewelry are platinum, silver and gold. Copper and titanium are non precious metals that are also widely used in making jewelry because they are inexpensive and make beautiful jewlery.

Copper
Although most jewelry mounted on copper is inexpensive it is very beautiful. Copper isn't considered a precious metal but many people believe that it is precious to our health. Best of all copper doesn't tarnish quickly and polishes up nicely. To keep your copper jewelry looking nice you can use copper jewelry cleaners or clean it with a limejuice solution. But before you soak your copper in a solution, make sure that any stones you have mounted won't be damaged by the solution.

Platinum
Platinum is more expensive than gold and you will usually find high quality precious gemstones mounted on platinum. You can look for a stamp on the inside of a ring or on the back of necklace to determine if it is platinium. It is usually written as "plat" or "pt" or "850". Platinum is commonly used in engagement rings and wedding rings but it can also be found in bracelets, necklaces and other rings.

Silver
Silver is more commonly used in jewelry and with the price of gold and platinum on the rise it has become more common for wedding rings and precious and semi precious gemstones. You'll find that a lot of turquoise jewelry uses silver and silver plate. Sterling silver is a metal that is made up of 92.5% silver and will carry the stamp "sterling" or "925". Silver plate is a process in which a thin layer of silver is electronically plated over another metal and will carry the stamp "sp" or "silverplate". One what to determine if a piece of jewelry is silver would be to test it with a magnet. If a magnet adheres to the metal then it is most likely a silver plate or has no silver at all.

Gold
Gold is assessed by grams or karats which is way to measure how much gold is in the material. Gold is a soft metal and needs to be mixed with another metal to keep its shape and strength. You'll commonly find gold in these forms: 10 karat gold which is stamped "10k", 14 karat gold which is stamped "14k", 18 karat gold which is stamped "18k" and 22-24 karat gold which is stamped "22k" or "24k". If you compare 10K gold with 24K gold you'll be able to see a difference in the color of the gold and a trained eye will be able to spot these differences very easily.

Gemstones
Weight, size and quality are measures for gemstones. Weight and size are measured in carats or points. Gemstones are more difficult to shop for because the size and weight are only one part of the overall rating. The quality rating will vary by type of gemstone. For example diamonds are rated on the color and clarity. Whereas, rubies shouldn't be too dark or too light. Precious gemstones include diamonds, rubies and sapphires. Semi-precious gemstones would be amethyst, opals, garnets and many more.

Diamonds
The value of a diamond will depend on its clarity, the type of cut, color and carat weight. A "flawless" diamond would be one that has no internal imperfections that are visible with the naked eye or under a 10 power magnification. Some diamonds have been treated to improve their appearance. These types of diamonds do not carry the same value as an untreated diamond.

When you're ready to shop for a nice piece of jewelry you can visit a local jewelry shop and make sure you ask a lot of questions. Find out if the gemstones have be treated for improvements or if they are natural stones. Before you make your purchase shop around and compare prices. Most jewelers will be happy to share their knowledge and help you with your selection. If you are looking for some great bargains, visit your local pawn shop. Look for a stamp on the metal - by law in the U.S. the jewelry maker is required to stamp any precious metal. Ask the jeweler for a scope or loop, which is s small magnifying glass so you can look more closely at the stamp and inspect the gemstones for quality

Most importantly, have fun shopping!