Sharing knowledge
So where does this understanding of nuances begin and how can you best represent it to a client? It certainly cannot begin by reducing gemstones to the letter grade language of AA, A, or B, or to good, better, or best. Though this form of grading may simplify the way a gemstone could be ranked, it provides no additional value or information that could inform a client of what they are buying.
I do understand the reasoning behind this simplified method of grading stones. Unfortunately, there is a growing segment of today’s consumers who are educating themselves regarding their gemstone jewellery purchases. They can come armed with a checklist full of characteristics of what their ideal gemstone should look like. Thus, presenting a gemstone with an alphabet soup grading system would seem counterproductive to this buying process and possibly unhelpful.
Showing stones
I would also suggest retail salespeople don’t necessarily need to be gemstone-trained to address a client’s needs. In fact, there are many successful salespeople who don’t have any formal gemmological training, but rather possess a keen eye to identify nuances in various gemstones and how to present them to customers. It always starts with knowing what to look for—knowing what characteristics make a fantastic gemstone.
The only way to learn the answers to these questions and become aware of these nuances is by asking questions.
Take a blue sapphire, for instance. One might ask, “What is an ideal colour for a blue sapphire?” Though the answer seems obvious—it should be blue—it doesn’t stop here.
What counts in gemstone cuts?
The colour of a gemstone is determined by three important components: hue, tone, and saturation.
The hue is the actual wavelength of light the human eye perceives. Most gemstones have two hues: the primary and secondary hue, which are seen as one combined wavelength.
Tone refers to the light or darkness of a stone. This is much like a green lawn during the day as opposed to night. Though the hue of a lawn hasn’t changed, the grass appears green in the day and nearly black at night.
Lastly, saturation refers to the intensity of the hue. The most common example of saturation is how, when increasing the number of drops of food colouring in a glass of water, the intensity of the hue in the glass increases, too.
So, let’s go back to the question, “What is an ideal colour for a blue sapphire?” The more complete answer might be a slight violetish-blue with a medium tone and a vivid saturation. Understandably, this example refers to an ideal blue sapphire, but for a salesperson, who has knowledge of these nuances, they might be able to help a customer buy a not-so-ideal blue sapphire due to budget restraints by pointing out one of the available stones shows a better violetish-blue hue, even though the stone is slightly darker than what is ideal.
Another gemstone characteristic not often spoken about is how well a stone is cut to maximize its brilliance. I have always been drawn to well-cut gemstones because it is the only way a stone can announce its presence on a piece of jewellery.
On many occasions, even when the colour is not ideal, whether it lacks good tone or saturation, a well-cut stone can mask deficiencies by announcing the gemstone’s hue like a lighthouse.
