Iolite Gemstone Rings, About The Iolite Gemstone
An iolite gemstone ring is sure to draw attention and yet, many jewelry lovers have never seen an iolite jewel. Experienced gem stone buyers would love the violet blue color of the gem stone. Even the novice might ocassionally come across an Iolite gem that, very closely resembles a Tanzanite. This is very interesting since Tanzanite is generally around 10 to 15 times more expensive as compared to Iolite. Iolite gemstone rings are not very common mainly because, the gem stone never really received any high pitched marketing effort. On the other hand Tanzanite was launched with great pomp and glamor and has secured a firm place in the world of gems and jewelry.
If you had to compare prices, color and durability an iolite gem stone ring would be one of the few affordable blue gemstone rings. Blessed with a hardness reading of 7.5 and a stable color, this violet-blue gemstone is slowly gaining attention in fashion circles. Basically your iolite gemstone ring will not need too much of caring and fussing, it can be washed and cleaned easily and will not fade it's color. An interesting thing about iolite is it's pleochroism property. Viewing the gem stone from different angles shows different colors of the same stone. So you could see the rich violet-blue color of iolite from one angle, a greyish color from another and a totally colorless stone from yet another angle. You might be very impressed with this amazing property but, for the gem cutter it is an additional challenge. The rough iolite needs to be held in the right direction right from when the first cut is made on the stone.
Many gem lovers assign higher marks to gems that have not been treated in any way. You should know that almost 70% of the gems used by the gems and jewelry industry today are treated in some way or the other. Until this day in Feb 2010, no process has been developed to enhance the color of iolite stones. It is therefore safe to presume that, an iolite gemstone ring would have a natural and untreated iolite stone. This itself is reason to wear an iolite ring for many gem lovers.
Despite the good things about iolite mentioned above, there is something that you should know when choosing an iolite gem ring. This concerns the color range in which iolite gemstones are found. The gemstone in your iolite gemstone gold or silver ring, will fall into one of the three broad color categories in which the gem is found. Very pale iolite color looks too lifeless and you would do good to avoid this color. By far the most popular color shade for iolite gems is the medium color range. It is this color that can often be mistaken for tanzanite, a experienced gem buyer can ofcourse spot the difference between tanzanite and iolite. Shifting into the next color range is the deep color iolite stones. These stones are so very dark, that they could almost appear to be black in color. The darkness is due to high color saturation and not, because of heavy inclusions in the stone. Unless you are very sure that you like the very pale or very dark iolite gems, make sure that you get a medium color stone for your iolite gem stone ring.
Since we mentioned iolite and tanzanite so often, it might be a good idea to make a straight comparison between these two gemstones. Firstly these are distinct and gorgeous gems in their own right. Tanzanite can be around 10 to 20 times more expensive than iolite. This ofcourse will reflect in the price tag of the gemstone ring that you purchase. At the same time, iolite stones are more durable as compared to Tanzanite. Iolite has been known for many centuries, it is believed that the Vikings used the pleochroism property of iolite to give them a sense of direction when sailing on the high seas. As compared to this, tanzanite has been a fairly recent find and was given a tremendous media boost by Tiffany's.
If you had to compare prices, color and durability an iolite gem stone ring would be one of the few affordable blue gemstone rings. Blessed with a hardness reading of 7.5 and a stable color, this violet-blue gemstone is slowly gaining attention in fashion circles. Basically your iolite gemstone ring will not need too much of caring and fussing, it can be washed and cleaned easily and will not fade it's color. An interesting thing about iolite is it's pleochroism property. Viewing the gem stone from different angles shows different colors of the same stone. So you could see the rich violet-blue color of iolite from one angle, a greyish color from another and a totally colorless stone from yet another angle. You might be very impressed with this amazing property but, for the gem cutter it is an additional challenge. The rough iolite needs to be held in the right direction right from when the first cut is made on the stone.
Many gem lovers assign higher marks to gems that have not been treated in any way. You should know that almost 70% of the gems used by the gems and jewelry industry today are treated in some way or the other. Until this day in Feb 2010, no process has been developed to enhance the color of iolite stones. It is therefore safe to presume that, an iolite gemstone ring would have a natural and untreated iolite stone. This itself is reason to wear an iolite ring for many gem lovers.
Despite the good things about iolite mentioned above, there is something that you should know when choosing an iolite gem ring. This concerns the color range in which iolite gemstones are found. The gemstone in your iolite gemstone gold or silver ring, will fall into one of the three broad color categories in which the gem is found. Very pale iolite color looks too lifeless and you would do good to avoid this color. By far the most popular color shade for iolite gems is the medium color range. It is this color that can often be mistaken for tanzanite, a experienced gem buyer can ofcourse spot the difference between tanzanite and iolite. Shifting into the next color range is the deep color iolite stones. These stones are so very dark, that they could almost appear to be black in color. The darkness is due to high color saturation and not, because of heavy inclusions in the stone. Unless you are very sure that you like the very pale or very dark iolite gems, make sure that you get a medium color stone for your iolite gem stone ring.
Since we mentioned iolite and tanzanite so often, it might be a good idea to make a straight comparison between these two gemstones. Firstly these are distinct and gorgeous gems in their own right. Tanzanite can be around 10 to 20 times more expensive than iolite. This ofcourse will reflect in the price tag of the gemstone ring that you purchase. At the same time, iolite stones are more durable as compared to Tanzanite. Iolite has been known for many centuries, it is believed that the Vikings used the pleochroism property of iolite to give them a sense of direction when sailing on the high seas. As compared to this, tanzanite has been a fairly recent find and was given a tremendous media boost by Tiffany's.