The thought is that since you’re spending money, you not only want something you can wear beautifully yourself, but also something that will leave your children with thoughts and riches.
Heirloom, as the word is pronounced, has meaning.
After being passed down from generation to generation over time, the mysterious story in the movie is now passed down with great responsibility to the heir, ready for him/her to discover.
Although there are more than 3,000 kinds of minerals found in nature, there are only 230 kinds that can be used as raw materials for gemstones.The main gemstones on the international jewelry market are only 20 kinds, less than 10%.
And there must be some core differences between a gemstone that can be heirloomed to a family and an ordinary gemstone that can be heirloomed to a family.
Expensive and inexpensive is one aspect that comes to mind for many people, but are they just expensive and inexpensive?
What characteristics do gemstones have worthy of heirloom status?
Beauty:
When we talk about gemstones, the first thing we think about is their ability to be made into jewelry to be worn.
Beauty and prettiness, then, are gemstone attributes. But what exactly does beauty entail?
1. Color:
Color can bring intuitive visual impact and enjoyment.
Gemstones, as a natural product, are colored and colorless. Some colored gemstones contain a certain amount of chromogenic minerals, thus presenting colorful and fascinating colors. Color not only directly affects gemstone beauty, but also determines their value.
For example, high-grade jadeite is usually pure and intense green, giving people a verdant feeling.
Top colored gemstones such as rubies, sapphires and emeralds, which often set new price records at auctions, usually have very bright and intense colors.
Therefore, when choosing heirloom colored gemstones, try to select ones whose color is brilliant, pure and even.
Gray and brown shades usually reduce the color’s beauty. Colorless gemstones (except diamonds) generally place more importance on transparency and fire than color.
2. Transparency：
Gemstones usually have a high degree of transparency, which allows light to pass through, giving the impression of crystal clarity.
For example, compared to glutinous jadeite, transparency is different. Ice jadeite looks very moist, more in line with people’s aesthetics, and the value is also higher. (With the exception of a few opaque precious stones.)
3. Clarity：
Gemstones undergo several earth crust movements during their long growth process. It is difficult to completely avoid other minerals coming in for a chat and growing up together.
These inclusions can simply be understood as the little friends gemstones have known since time immemorial.
Some of these inclusions are present in the stone so that they are barely visible from the front. They do not affect the stone’s beauty.
Some inclusions are so small that they are almost invisible to the naked eye. Some inclusions are so strong that they not only contrast strongly with the color of the stone, but are also so visible that they cannot be cut away.
Therefore, the higher the clarity, the more beautiful the stone will look, and thus the higher its value.
Although clarity is very important, many jewelry fans tend to fall into the misconception that they can only accept perfectly clean stones.
In reality, however, there is almost no such thing as a perfectly clean gemstone, only those that are cleaner under certain qualifying conditions.
For example, clean under 10 times magnification, visible to the naked eye, clean at a social distance, etc.
For certain gems with special optical effects (e.g. starlight effect, cat’s eye effect, moonlight effect, etc.), the inclusions need to be more abundant, and the clarity and transparency should not be too high. In this way, the special optical effect can be more obvious and the value is higher.
4. Luster:
Luster is a visual effect of reflections on the surface of a gemstone, which adds an aura to the stone.
For example, colorless diamonds can become the king of gemstones, a very important factor is because it has a very strong luster.
It shines brightly in the sunlight, giving a feeling of brilliance and splendor. When all these factors are right, the gemstones can be brilliant and striking.
In addition to bringing joy, gemstones reveal one of their essential properties in a turbulent international environment: a safe haven and a reserve of wealth in times of crisis.
Rare:
In addition to bringing pleasure, precious stones reveal one of their fundamental attributes in a turbulent international environment: a safe haven and a reserve of wealth in times of crisis.
For those who need to allocate their wealth, discretionary spending is gradually shifting from luxury vacations, haute couture and high-end accessories to gemstones with investment value.
Use them as items to add personal charm, as a store of wealth, as a hedge against inflation, and as keepsakes that can be passed on to future generations.
While gemstones can serve as beautiful jewelry, none qualify as heirloom stones.
If you want future generations to be willing to care for it, guard it, and pass it on, it must all have a certain value.
“Things are rare,” and they are valuable because of their low production or rare high quality.
For example, Kashmiri sapphires are much expensive than Sri Lankan sapphires due to their scarcity.
Burmese rubies are produced in very small quantities and are now priced at a level unrivaled by rubies of other origins.
Needless to say, synthetic gemstones are not scarce and will only get cheaper as productivity improves.
If you want to choose a natural gemstone with a higher degree of rarity, you can consider the following options:
1. Gemstones whose mines have ceased production.
For example, Brazilian paraiba tourmaline, Kashmir sapphire, large wild saltwater pearls, etc.
2. Gemstones with small productions
For example, Burmese rubies and sapphires, conch beads, colored diamonds, Jedi Knight spinels.
3. Classic and traditional gemstones
Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, chrysoberyls, jadeite, Hetian jade, etc.
Be Stable:
Gemstones not only need to be brilliant and colorful, but they also need to last.
This requires it to have not only a certain hardness, but also toughness and chemical stability, etc. Otherwise, it can easily be damaged by impact or wear and tear when worn, moved, or in an accident.
Since many everyday objects (e.g. knives, glass, etc.) have a Mohs hardness of 6.5 or less. It is recommended that, as far as possible, gemstones with a Mohs hardness of 6.5 or more be selected. This is to avoid scratching them by everyday objects.
However, this condition can be appropriately relaxed for certain organic gemstones, such as saltwater pearls and red coral.
Large size:
An heirloom gemstone is not only about the past, but also about the present and the future.
It needs to fulfill a wide range of styles and can be repurposed to fit current fashion trends or personal style while still retaining its sentimental value.
For example, a gemstone from a ring passed down from a grandmother can be remodeled and reset into a pendant. This way future generations can not only wear and enjoy the piece, but also preserve the memory of the loved one who once owned it.
As for what makes an excellent head? My advice is to live within your means.
A gemstone must be big when you feel deep down that it is substantial (this is a subtle feeling, it could be approaching the upper limit of your purchasing power). Or it may be significantly larger than what you consider “everyday wear”.
Make sense:
Some jewelry fans wonder: does it have to fulfill all of these criteria?
That can be expensive. I’m not rich, but I’d like to have something for my kids. This is an excellent idea. Heirlooms are special not only because of the beauty and value of the stones themselves, but also because of the memories they hold.
For example, when couples get married, they may not have a particularly large budget in hand. They can only choose small carats of diamonds or other gemstone varieties.
Therefore, even if the economy improves in the future and they can afford larger gemstones, the small gemstone that witnesses marriage and love cannot be replaced.
Some people will use it as a witness of love and pass it down to the child of the couple’s love. This is as a gift for the child’s adulthood. Or, when making heavy progress in school or in the workplace, or even in a particular activity.
The gemstones purchased in honor of one’s hard-working self can later be bequeathed to one’s children as gemstones of significance.
Natural gemstones are unique and cannot be duplicated. However, it is easy to preserve and can be passed down as a symbol of love, heritage and family.
