Most jewelry making gem stones can easily be confused with various colors of glass and when making costume jewelry this is probably the best approach. However, if you are making a higher quality piece you will want higher quality gem stones. While diamonds are often considered the best, individual tastes will decide what stone is used in an individual article.

Many jewelry making gem stones are prized for their cost but how much a stone is worth can vary on their individual traits. The color and clarity, the size and cut and whether or not it is considered rare can all help determine a stone’s value. Amethyst, for instance is prized no only for its rarity, but also for its purple color. While many quartz stones may be similar in color, an amethyst has the qualities that make it more treasured.

Treatments Help Determine Stone Quality

Several of the jewelry making gem stones are cut and polished to meet criteria for use in jewelry, and today many companies are using laser technology to cut gem stones to insure a more precise cut. This also has opened the door for a quantity of stones to be cut exactly the same for mass production of certain styles of jewelry.

Cubic zirconia has become a leading replacement for diamonds with many quality pieces difficult to differ from the real thing. It has become one of the fastest jewelry making gem stones used in mass production jewelry allowing a new breed of costume jewelry to enter the market without the traditional glitz associated with cheap jewelry.

Some jewelry making gem stones are treated by heat or with having a layer of other materials bonded to the outer surface to alter the color or appearance. For example aquamarine quartz is often heated to remove any yellow coloring in the stone to give it more of a pure blue color. Sapphires and rubies are also usually heat treated to provide better color and clarity.