All That Glitters: Gemstones

• Print this article

Quartz is huge. A lot of people that are wearing quartz don’t even know that they’re wearing it because quartz is actually a family of different stones including amethysts, citrine, rose quartz. ... They’re popular because they’re affordable, but there’s still value to them, and they come in so many different colors and shades.

— Roman Lilley, designer of Santi Rom Jewelry

The Stone Age

“Diamonds are valuable and they are never going to go out of style as a stone of choice,” said Roman Lilley, the in-demand Los Angeles-based designer and metalsmith behind Santi Rom, a unique line of jewelry with a raw, distressed and organic feel. “What’s a huge trend right now are gray, opaque diamonds. They also come in black and brown and reddish and pinkish tones. They are not as expensive as other diamonds, but they still give you a lot of sparkle and shine. They are affordable and spectacular.”

Other trending stones include emeralds, quartz and tourmalines available in pink, green or a pinkish-green “watermelon” variety.

“Quartz is huge,” said Lilley. “A lot of people that are wearing quartz don’t even know that they’re wearing it because quartz is actually a family of different stones including amethysts, citrine, rose quartz. There’s chalcedony, which is a transparent milky or grayish quartz, and carnelian, which is a brownish red stone. Again, they’re popular because they’re affordable, but there’s still value to them, and they come in so many different colors and shades.”

White sapphires, with their brilliant shine, are now sometimes chosen for wedding and engagement rings.

“White sapphires are becoming more and more in demand,” said Valerie Kronsburg, the Los Angeles-based creator of the earthy, nature-inspired jewelry line Valerie K Studio. “If you want to only spend, say, $1,000 dollars on a center stone for a ring, it’s going to be difficult to find a diamond. But you can use a white sapphire, which looks just as beautiful.”

Younger women especially, Kronsburg said, are requesting sapphires over diamonds because of political and humanitarian concerns, wanting to steer clear of diamonds mined in war zones of Africa.

“A lot of women don’t want to buy diamonds because they’re not sure where they’re sourced from,” Kronsburg said. “Sapphires, many of which come from Sri Lanka, are becoming much more difficult to find because now everybody wants them.”

According to Kronsburg, jewelry designers are also leaning toward black, green and rose cut diamonds — flat on one side, faceted on the other — and flat diamonds.

“They look like a window,” Kronsburg said of the stone. “They were very popular in the 1920s and '30s and are coming back into style.”

“Rose cut stones are coming back in a big way,” Lilley said. “They were popular in the 1950s and are a big trend right now. They reflect a lot of light. They almost look like crystals, which gives them an antique quality. They are going to be a huge thing in the future.”

Get Set

Also changing is the way jewelers set stones. Where once high prongs were the fashionable way to showcase the rock on your finger — as with the flashy yellow-gold engagement rings of the 1970s — as of 2011 trendy gems sit flush to — or touching — the metal.

“There’s a lot less prong and a lot more bezel in today’s jewelry,” said Lilley. A bezel is a metal rim that holds the gem in place.

When searching for a piece of gemstone jewelry, be it in a ring, necklace or bracelet, Kronsburg recommends, weigh all your options — in karats, that is.

“Gold is so expensive right now,” Kronsburg said, “so a lot of people are asking for 10-karat gold, which is cheaper than 14 karats, which is 58 percent gold and 42 percent alloy materials, or 18 karats, which is 75 percent gold and 25 percent alloy. The higher the karat, the higher the cost.”

Other trending materials in which to set your gems include oxidized silver with blackened accents, rose gold and copper.

“Spend wisely,” said Lilley, who advises against cheap brass or gold-plated jewelry that will not hold up over time. “Make sure that whatever you buy is not overpriced.”

People often forget that purchasing real gold and silver is an investment, Lilley said.

“If you’ve got a piece of silver or gold jewelry that you’re never going to wear again, don’t think twice about saving the stone and melting down the metal so the jeweler can make you something else,” Lilley said. “Or use the cash to buy something new.”

Read Next:

• Print this article