Gem Stone Descriptions and Care

• Warm, soapy water is usually safe. Ultrasonic and steam cleaning may be safe
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Heating in oil to clear cloudy amber will remain stable. This treatment is used infrequently
• Heating to darken the color will remain stable and is used infrequently
• Heating (sometimes with oil) to produce sun spangles is stable and commonly used
• Dyeing to darken the color but color may fade and is used infrequently

• Steam and ultrasonic cleaning should never be used. Warm, soapy water is safe but avoid hard brushes. They can leave scratches
• Avoid putting pressure on the gem, nearness of flame, and rough handling
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Ultrasonic may be risky and never steam clean. Warm, soapy water is safe.
• Store in cool, dark place.
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products.
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Heat is used to treat green stones by removing the yellow element making the stone blue and has good stability.
• The aquamarine gemstones set in DCG Designs earrings have been heat treated

• Warm, soapy water is always safe. Ultrasonic and steam cleaning may or may not be safe depending on the stone.
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products.
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Warm, soapy water is always safe. Ultrasonic and steam cleaners may be a risk.
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products.
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• To clean, warm, soapy water is most advisable. Ultrasonic cleaning and steam cleaning may be safe, but not recommended.
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products.
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Most colorless diamonds have a slight level of yellow. When assessing color value, a diamond is compared against a master set of diamonds and graded accordingly
• Cut is valued by its precise symmetry of all proportions and how well it reflects light
• Clarity is evaluated by the amount and location of blemishes and inclusions. A blemish is any flaw on the diamond's surface. An inclusion is beneath the surface and could be a tiny crystal, bubble, and/or break. If the inclusion is visible under the table (top flat gem surface) it will devalue the diamond more than one that is less visible
• One carat equals 0.0071 ounce. The carat weight is the final factor in determining the value of the diamond

Emerald: 

A mineral variety of the species beryl that is transparent to translucent depending on the amount of inclusions. Its color and tone are light to dark green to very strongly bluish green. Emerald is the birthstone for May and the gemstone for the 20th and 35th wedding anniversaries.

• Warm, soapy water is usually safe if vigorous scrubbing and strong detergents are avoided. Never use ultrasonic or steam cleaning.
• Avoid rough handling and heat
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Almandine (or Almandite) is transparent to semi-translucent, has a dark tone, and is reddish orange to red or slightly purplish red
• Andradite species includes the demantoid variety that is a transparent light to dark green to yellow-green
• Grossularite species includes the mineral variety hessonite (yellow-orange to reddish orange) and the mineral variety tsavorite (intense green to yellow green)
• Hydrogrossular species is a translucent to opaque gemstone that is green to bluish green, pink, white, gray in color
• Pyrope is a transparent medium to dark red due to the presence of iron and chromium
• Rhodolite is transparent, purplish red to reddish purple, and light to dark in tone
• Spessartite is transparent and is a yellowish orange to a reddish orange

• Almandine - India, Madagascar, Brazil, Greenland, Kenya, Pakistan, Tanzania, and USA
• Demantoid - Russia, Italy, Zaire, Kenya
• Hessonite - Madagascar, Brazil, Canada, Siberia, Maine, California, and New Hampshire
• Tsavorite - Kenya
• Hydrogrossular - South Africa, Canada, Myanmar (Burma), China, and USA
• Pyrope - South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Myanmar (Burma), Scotland, Switzerland, Tanzania, and Arizona
• Rhodolite - Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Zimbabwe
• Spessartite - Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Brazil, Sweden, Australia, and Myanmar (Burma)

• Warm, soapy water is safe. Ultrasonic cleaning is risky and never clean with steam. Avoid abrupt temperature changes
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Almandine - 7 to 7.5
• Andradite - 6.5 to 7
• Demantoid - 6.5
• Hessonite - 7
• Hydrogrossular - 7
• Pyrope - 7 to 7.5
• Rhodolite - 7 to 7.5
• Spessartite - 7 to 7.5

• Warm, soapy water is safe. Avoid ultrasonic and steam cleaning
• Avoid abrupt changes in heat
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Dyeing to change color. Avoid solvents and heat
• Impregnate with paraffin enhance appearance. Avoid solvents and heat
• Heating to enhance color. No extra care other than what is listed below required

• Ultrasonic, steamer, and cleaning with warm, soapy water are all safe methods, unless treated. If treated clean with warm, soapy water
• Avoid heat
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Dyeing to enhance color and cover imperfections is a commonly done. Lapis lazuli that has been dyed should be kept from solvents, especially nail polish remover
• Paraffin impregnation and oiling are commonly done to seal dye and improve polish. Avoid heat and solvents
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Warm, soapy water is safe. Never clean with steam or ultrasonic cleaner.
• Moonstone is one of the gems that it is especially important to store in a cool place in separate packaging to guard against scratches from other jewelry pieces
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Heating to lighten color
• Impregnate with wax to hide surface cracks
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Only clean with warm, soapy water. Ultrasonic and steam cleaning may be a risk and do not recommend
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

Opal: 

• White opal has play of color against a white body color
• Black opal has play of color against a grey to black body color
• Fire opal is transparent to semitransparent with or without play of color
• Peacock opal has a play of color that is predominantly blue and green
• Boulder opal has a top layer of color and bottom layer of ironstone from the boulder where it was mined

• Impregnate with oil, wax, or plastic to improve play of color and to prevent of cover cracking. This treatment has excellent stability with plastic and poor for oil and wax. Avoid using solvents and repolishing
• Impregnate with black plastic for a black opal appearance and to prevent or cover cracking. This treatment has excellent stability but avoid using solvents and repolishing
• Smoke impregnation for a black opal appearance. Color is shallow so avoid solvents and repolishing
• Sugar treatment to create a black body color. Color may fade. Avoid using solvents and repolishing

• Always clean in mild, soapy water. Never use ultrasound or steam to clean
• Wear with care to avoid sharp blows and store in cool, dry area
• Avoid sudden changes in temperature and excessive heat like a flame to avoid fracture, discoloration, and loss of play of color
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove opal set jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Rose: pink, white, or cream body color with a rose overtone. Bombay pearls are usually cream with the rose overtone
• South Seas or Tahitian: Usually large and white with slight overtone or yellow, gray, or black with a metallic cast
• Oriental: Natural saltwater pearls from the Persian Gulf
• Freshwater: Often strong colors; also white body color with pink overtones and may have iridescence. The shapes include round, rice, and button
• Seed: Less than 2mm in size and usually off-round
• Baroque: Asymmetrical or irregular shaped pearls
• Colored: a distinct hue such as yellow, green, blue, purple, or gray but lighter in tone than the black pearls
• Blister: Bumpy protrusion formed on the inside surface of the shell

• Cultured pearls are grown in Japan, China, Australia, Myanmar (Burma), Philippines, Tahiti, and USA
• Natural peals are found in Persian Gulf, India, Australia, Mexico, Panama, Red Sea, South Seas, Tahiti, and Venezuela

• Bleaching is commonly used to remove dark spots that show through the nacre
• Dying is commonly to alter the color and reduce colored blemishes

• Wipe with very soft cloth after each wearing and use only mild soapy water to clean more thoroughly. Never use ultrasonic nor steam for cleaning
• Keep dry in dark, cool place to prevent pearl from drying
• Avoid excessive heat like a flame to avoid the pearl from burning, turning brown, splitting, or cracking
• Unstable to perspiration, perfume, and hairspray. Outer layer (nacre) which provides the color could be affected. Recommend to put on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products

• Warm, soapy water is safe. Never use ultrasonic or steam to clean. Peridot can react to perspiration
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Heating can make solidify inclusion, making stone more transparent and is stable unless exposed to a temperature of 1600C. Heat can also be used to create asterism (star-like phenomena) and to remove purplish or brown color component
• Diffusion is used to improve or create asterism or diffuse color onto the surface of the stone. Though this treatment is stable, any chip will reveal stone color and lack of phenomena underneath the surface
• Oil and dye enhancement hides cracks and improves color. May not be stable because the oil may dry, leak, or change color so clean carefully with mild, soapy water
• Glass filling in cavities and cracks to improve appearance but can be unstable to any knocks. Take extra care while wearing and handling

• Warm, soapy water is always safe, but avoid strong detergents. Ultrasonic and steam cleaning may be safe unless stone have been treated with oil
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Warm, soapy water is safe but ultrasonic and steam cleaning may be risky
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Golden or yellow sapphire
• Padparadscha sapphire has an intense light to medium pinkish orange to orange-pink
• Green sapphire is usually dark blue sapphire cut to show a green or bluish green, but can also occur in yellowish green colors
• Amethystine sapphire is an alternate term for purple sapphire as well as plum sapphire
• Pink or rose sapphire is light red to purple stones falling outside the color ranges of purple sapphire or ruby
• Color change sapphire is violet or purple in incandescent lighting and blue in daylight, daylight-equivalent indoor lighting, or fluorescent lighting. Very rarely from reddish-brown to green in daylight
• White sapphire is colorless sapphire
• Adamantine spar is brown and usually opaque but may be transparent

• Very light to very dark violetish blue to green blue

• Blue, black, and rarely orange, yellow, and green
• Shows a six pointed star (asterism) on top of cabochon

• Heating can make solidify inclusion, making stone more transparent and is stable unless exposed to a temperature of 1600ºC. Heat can also be used to enhance or change color
• Diffusion is used to darken surface color. Though this treatment is stable, any chip will reveal stone color underneath the surface
• Irradiation is also used to change the gemstone's color. This treatment is unstable to light and fading may occur within days

• Cleaning with warm, soapy water is always safe. Ultrasonic and steam cleaning can be safe but not guaranteed.
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Warm, soapy water is always safe. Ultrasonic and steam cleaning are usually safe
• Light colored stones may fade under intense heat so store in cool place
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Never use ultrasonic or steam cleaning. Warm, soapy is safe
• Wear with care and avoid rough handling
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Coating is used to produce a more desirable color or iridescence. These stones can be easily scratched
• Chemical treatment is used to produce a shallow blue to green color. A chip will reveal the inner colorless stone
• Heat can change yellow, brown, or orange to pink or red .This treatment is stable and requires no extra care from what is listed below
• Irradiation and heat are used to produce blue from colorless or light brown. Very rarely these stones can be radioactive. These enhancements are usually stable but they can fade so avoid long exposure to strong light

• Dropping on a hard surface or a light blow may cause a break in the stone
• When not wearing, store in dark place
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners
• Cleaning with warm, soapy water is safe. Never clean with ultrasonic or steam

• Rubelite is pink or red
• Verdelite is yellowish green to bluish green
• Indicolite is violetish to greenish blue
• Dravite is a yellowish brown to a dark brown
• Achroite is colorless
• Schorl is black
• Parti-colored is more than one color
• Watermelon is pink in the center bordered by green to each end
• Chrome Tourmaline is a fine and intense green

• Heat is used to enhance color and is stable
• Irradiation is also used to enhance color but may fade with prolonged exposure to light

• Clean in warm, soapy water only. Ultrasonic and steam cleaning are not recommended
• Avoid extreme temperature changes
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Keep away from any flame and other high heat. Heat can turn the color to brown and break the stone
• Is stable to light
• It can be discolored by perspiration, household detergents, oils, and cosmetics

• Plastic impregnation which may have a colorant added to produce blue from an almost white stone that is very porous. This treatment also improves durability and is commonly used
• Wax impregnation seals the pores and deepens the color. Wax may attract dirt and gradually over time discolor. This treatment is commonly used
• Matrix may be imitated with black shoe polish and is stable if kept away from acetone. This treatment is commonly used
• Fixing a better quality thin piece to a lesser quality stone with epoxy to add weight and strength. This is a commonly used treatment.

• Warm soapy water is safe and should not affect any of the above treatments. Never use steam or an ultrasonic cleaner
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners

• Never use ultrasonic or steam cleaning. Warm, soapy water is safe
• Possible instability to light. Heat treated stones may revert to original color
• Zircon is a brittle stone and rough wear and handling should be avoided
• Recommend putting on jewelry after applying cosmetics and hair products
• Remove jewelry from hands and arms before using household cleaners