7 Gemstones You Should Never Buy (And 6 Worth Every Dollar)

The same gem counter holds stones that look almost identical and are worth wildly different amounts. A blue stone that sells for about ten dollars a carat can sit beside a red one worth more than a million dollars a carat, under the same light. The difference is almost never the sparkle. It is whether the stone is rare, and whether it has been treated to fake a quality it never had. This is the buyer's-side breakdown of seven colored gemstones you are steered to overpay for, six that genuinely hold their value, and the single best buy almost no jeweler will point you toward. What you'll get: Why almost all blue topaz is irradiated, and why citrine is usually baked amethyst The opal "sandwich" (doublets and triplets) that wears the face of a stone worth a hundred times more Why tanzanite looks like an investment and behaves like a souvenir The treatment trap that decides whether an emerald is a treasure or near-worthless The two questions, and the one report, that stop you overpaying for any stone If you've wondered which gemstones are worth the money, whether your gemstone is treated, what gemstones hold their value, or are gemstones a good investment — this is the breakdown, with named sources and the real numbers. Next: the stone in your own drawer might be worth far more than you think. #gemstones #jewelry #gemstoneinvesting #spinel #rawcarat 0:00 Same case, same light — one worth a car, one worthless 1:52 Avoid #1 Blue topaz (irradiated, not natural) 2:42 Avoid #2 Mystic topaz (a coating that wears off) 3:22 Avoid #3 Citrine (baked amethyst) 4:06 Avoid #4 Amethyst (the scarcity is gone) 4:46 Avoid #5 Opal doublets and triplets 5:47 Avoid #6 Tanzanite (priced like an investment, sells like a souvenir) 6:33 Avoid #7 Treated emerald (the costliest mistake) 8:43 Buy #6 Tsavorite garnet 9:21 Buy #5 No-oil Colombian emerald 10:05 Buy #4 Imperial jadeite 10:43 Buy #3 Unheated sapphire 11:22 Buy #2 Unheated Burmese ruby 12:05 Buy #1 — the winner the counter never names