The Complete Guide to Buying Turquoise Gemstones: Everything to Know
People have been crafting turquoise jewelry and sculptures for over 6,000 years, and today, turquoise is easier to find than ever. However, when it comes to buying turquoise gemstones, you might be wondering what you should consider before spending any money. After all, how can you know whether or not you're buying a high-quality turquoise gemstone or even a real piece of turquoise if you don't do some research first?
If you're unsure about how to choose turquoise gemstones, keep reading and learn more about what you should look for below.
Choose a Turquoise Gemstone Store With Good Online Customer Reviews
When buying fine pieces of turquoise, you will want to find a good turquoise gemstone store. This can be harder to find than you might expect. Many gemstone stores sell fake gemstones.
For example, you might find a store that seems to sell beautiful options for gemstones, including turquoise, and you might think that these options are the real deal, but in reality, they might only be made of glass or other cheap materials. If you need real turquoise, this, of course, is unacceptable.
But how can you be sure that you're buying high-quality gemstones? The trick is to first find a high-quality gemstone store. You can do this by checking the online customer reviews.
Most brands have at least a few online reviews, and these reviews can tell you a lot about the store and what you can expect from its products. For example, suppose you find a supposedly nice gemstone store. Its website looks professional, and it seems to sell nice gems.
However, upon closer inspection, you find that the website has a mountain of negative customer reviews behind it. Previous customers might complain about the low quality of the gemstones, that some of the gemstones are fake, or that the store's employees were unhelpful or rude.
The Details
Of course, the last thing you want to do is waste your time shopping at a store with so many negative reviews.
On the other hand, if you find a gemstone store with a load of positive reviews, it may be worth giving that store a closer look. A store that has mostly positive online reviews is a store that cares about making its customers happy. It is always important to read the details of a few different reviews.
That way, you'll have an idea of what exactly makes a particular gemstone store a good or bad choice. For example, the store might have high-quality gemstones, but the customer service might be lacking. Reading the online reviews can save you a lot of time and money.
With these reviews, you can make sure that the store at hand is as good as it claims to be. Once you choose the right store for your gemstone endeavors, it will be time to start choosing the perfect gemstones. But what should you look for when buying turquoise in particular?
Comparing Gemstone Costs and Staying Within Your Budget
Some people get so excited about buying beautiful gemstones! Whatever your budget is, turquoise is definitely a gemstone well-loved by many collectors and artists!
It can't compare to the price of most precious stones, although its beauty is hard to beat. However, even though turquoise is relatively not that expensive in general, that doesn't mean that you won't stumble across some very impressive and expensive pieces once in a while. Of course, you will only want to buy an expensive piece of turquoise if you want to invest on it!
In general, you should stay away from gemstones that are unusually cheap. Turquoise has a wide price range, and it is typically worth between $1 to $10 per carat.
What You Need to Know
If you find a piece of turquoise that is much too inexpensive for the number of carats it contains, there may be something wrong with the gemstone. For one, it may be fake. On the other hand, there may be some sort of flaw with the stone.
For example, it may have a large scratch or chip on one of its sides. This is something you want to look out for when buying gemstones online in particular. Online listings only have a few pictures, and they may not show you everything about the gemstone.
For that reason, you'll have to be careful when buying online. However, you'll have to be similarly careful when buying turquoise and other gemstones in person. Again, to err on the side of caution, it is best to only shop from stores that have mostly positive reviews.
That way, you'll know that the store in question cares about what you want as a customer. The best choice is often to opt for average-priced turquoise. By avoiding gemstones that are too cheap, you won't have to risk buying a damaged or fake gemstone.
By avoiding gemstones that are too expensive, you won't have to worry about making a large dent in your budget. By staying in the middle, your budget will remain in good shape, and you should be able to walk away with a high-quality piece of turquoise.
Decide What Kind of Turquoise You Want to Buy
Many people don't realize that there are actually several different types of turquoise to choose from. For example, natural turquoise is the most expensive form. It is untouched and unmodified except for the fact that it is cleaned, cut, and polished.
Natural turquoise is a brilliant blue; however, because it is porous, it has a tendency to change color over time. This is especially true when you expose it to oil, sweat, and light. Even so, because it is so pure and valuable, many people seek out this type of turquoise for jewelry and other crafts.
Stabilized turquoise is another popular form of turquoise. It is not as porous as natural turquoise because its pores are filled with epoxy resin or acrylic. For that reason, this turquoise will not absorb sweat or skin oil, and it will not react with light in a negative way either.
As a result, stabilized turquoise maintains its color for many years, unlike natural turquoise. Even so, this kind of turquoise tends to be cheaper than natural turquoise. Another affordable type of turquoise is color-enhanced turquoise.
Color-Enhanced Turquoise
As the name suggests, this gemstone has had its color altered to a certain degree. In a way, this kind of turquoise is very similar to stabilized turquoise since it also has had its pores filled with acrylic or epoxy. However, in addition to these materials, color-enhanced turquoise has also been introduced to a special dye to make the gemstone's colors pop.
Unfortunately, color-enhanced turquoise tends to be of lower quality compared to other types of turquoise. This is because the color that it dyes the stone is somewhat unnatural. You can tell the difference between this type of turquoise and natural turquoise because dyed turquoise looks too even and bright.
The dyed turquoise also is not as durable as other forms of turquoise. If you were to scratch color-enhanced turquoise with a sharp object, you would find that it would leave a mark. This does not occur when you scratch natural or stabilized turquoise.
Because the quality of color-enhanced turquoise is low, it tends to be quite cheap. By knowing the difference between these different types of turquoise, you can easily pick the right one for you.
All About Buying Turquoise Gemstones
Buying turquoise gemstones doesn't have to be as hard as it seems. You just need to know what to look for. For example, you should always buy from shops with good customer reviews, and buy only high-quality types of turquoise.
As long as you do all that, it should be easy to buy the right turquoise gemstones. To learn more, contact us here.
