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What is a Precious Stone?

Pawn Gem Stones

People always ask questions about Gem stones when they come into our Pawn Shops or submit online pawn requests. So today, I decided to write a brief piece on gemstones. Hopefully this can help anyone looking to pawn gem stones in the future.

Gemstones are generally divided into two categories: precious stones and semi-precious stones. This distinction dates back to the ancient Greeks and is based on the rarity of the stones in ancient times. There are four precious stones, also known as the cardinal gems. The cardinal gems include: the ruby, emerald, sapphire, and diamond. All four cardinal gems share similar characteristics- they are all translucent and fall at the upper end of the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Aside from the cardinal gems, several others have been considered precious throughout history. Up until the 19th Century, Amethysts were considered precious stones. Pearls, which are not actually gemstones at all, have also been historically considered to be precious. The value of gemstones, both precious and semi-precious, is usually determined by evaluating their color, translucency, hardness, and size.

Rubies and sapphires are both varieties of the mineral corundum, or aluminum oxide. The ruby's deep red color comes from the presence of chromium in the aluminum oxide. While rubies can vary in shade, the most prized color is called pigeon blood-red. In ancient China, rubies were sometimes buried beneath the foundations of buildings, for good fortune. Ruby is the traditional birthstone for the month of July.

Sapphires, the other cardinal gem variety of the mineral corundum, can be any color other than red. The sapphire's variety of colors stem from the presence of iron or titanium in the corundum mineral. The most well-known color of sapphire is deep blue; however, possible colors include yellow, pink, and orange. Sapphire is the traditional birthstone for the month of September.

Emeralds are a variety of the mineral beryl. The deep green color of the emerald comes from the presence of chromium. Emerald is the traditional birthstone for the month of May.

Diamonds are a colorless variety of the mineral carbon. The diamond's name derives from the ancient Greek word for unbreakable. They score a 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, which is the maximum. Diamonds are most often found today in engagement rings. However, in ancient times, diamonds were used as wards against disease or accident, or worn to attract good luck. Diamond is the traditional birthstone for the month of April.

All of the colored precious stones are evaluated using the same standards as a diamond: color, cut, clarity, and carat weight. These standards are also known as the "4 C's." Color is the most important factor for evaluating the value of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Color is composed of three elements: hue, saturation, and tone. Hue refers to the actual color of the stone--red, blue, green, or otherwise. Saturation is the deepness or richness of the color. Tone is the lightness or darkness of the stone. When evaluating the color of a diamond, the highest rating of D is given only to diamonds which are completely colorless.

In recent years, processes have been developed to create synthetic gemstones. Cubic zirconia is a type of lab-created, imitation diamond. Synthetic gemstones do not share the flaws of their genuine, mined counterparts. However, they do not command the premium of genuine, high-quality natural gemstones.

Remember if you have any questions at all about pawn gem stones or any other item you can think off, don't hesitate to contact us or submit a free pawn request form online to find out how much money you can get fast.

Pawn Gold

Pawn Gold Online

With gold prices at or around all time highs, many people are turning to pawn shops that buy gold in order to earn a few extra dollars. Gold pawn brokers are a great way to get extra money for gold jewelry, teeth, and scraps that many people have sitting around their homes. However, it is important that consumers exercise caution when pawning gold.

Pawn Gold for Instant Cash

If you’re short on cash, why not go digging for gold in your own jewelry box?

If there’s one person a pawnshop will never turn down, it’s the person who wants to pawn gold. Gold is always valuable and it’s easy for even relatively inexperienced pawnbrokers to judge whether the gold is real or not. A lot of gold jewelry, such as old wedding rings or dated jewelry passed down from your mother or aunt, is never going to be worn again. You might as well pawn gold and get something for it.

If you are in need of a loan, it’s easy to pawn gold jewelry because any pawnbroker will accept gold as collateral. Gold is hovering around all time highs and pawnbrokers are not risking much when they loan money against gold collateral.

Alternatively, if you don’t want the gold jewelry back, just sell it instead of pawning it for quick cash without the hassle of paying back the debt.

Pawn Gold Items Like…

Pawnshops will give you cash for your old wedding bands, out-of-style necklaces and tacky bracelets. You can even pawn gold jewelry that is broken, gold pieces, coins and even gold teeth.

You can sell broken jewelry and other gold items because they are not going to be resold in their current form. When you pawn gold, the pawnbroker sells it to smelters who then turn that gold into new gorgeous jewelry once more.

The Right Thing to Do

When you pawn gold you are also helping the environment. About 2500 tons of gold are extracted from our earth every single year. Think of what that mining is doing to the environment. Mining can be destructive and use huge amounts of non-renewable energy. It’s also dangerous for those who go underground each day in order to supply us with the beauty of gold.

These environmental effects are somewhat unnecessary when you think about all the unworn gold hiding at home. By pawning your jewelry or selling it for cash, you are not only helping a great cause, but you’re making some easy money.

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