Us, as humans, are natural collectors. Many of us had a box full of trinkets we found and kept when we were young. And if we were to look through that box now, many items would hold nothing more but sentimental value, however, some would have genuine value.
Collecting as an adult is just that, understanding true value and sentimental value and combining both. That is what makes gemstone collecting so great.
- What Makes An Item Collectable?
- What Makes Gemstones Collectible?
- What You Need To Start Your Own Collection
- You Are Ready To Collect
- Collectible Gemstones
1 What makes an item collectable?
There are collections of literally anything in the world, from common collections such as stamps or coins, to some that are out of the ordinary such as backscratchers or umbrella covers. So, it begs the question, what makes an item worth collecting? There are three main parameters that make an item worth collecting
Interest
This can be an intrinsic interest, an interest to the collector or an interesting tale behind the item. Stamps, for example, can seem boring, but when you learn where they come from or a story about the print on the stamp, they become interesting.
RANGE
A collection of two or three items is hardly a collection. For an item to be worth collecting there has to be a large range of items to collect. Staying with the stamp example, there are stamps from every country in the world, limited editions, special prints, etc.
RARITY
Every collection has a prize piece. The one item of a collection that not many collectors will have. The Treskilling Yellow stamp is an incredibly rare stamp due to a printing error. The Treskilling usual had a green background, but due to a worker forgetting to swap out the yellow printer.
2 WHAT MAKES GEMSTONES COLLECTIBLE?
Gemstones fall into all three categories that make an item worth collecting. The many reason, however, for many gemstone collectors is because of their stunning beauty. Just that alone allows gemstones to fall into the category of intrinsic interest, people are attracted to them because of their beauty, and range of colours. There are as many coloured gemstones as there are types.
Collecting all the colours of Tourmaline would be an almost impossible task. Some gemstone collectors focus on just one type of stone while others go for a wide range and try to get one of everything, which is also an almost impossible task. Especially when you consider how rare some gemstones are.
Gemstones such as diamonds, emeralds and mozambique ruby are the most well-known gemstones, but gems such as spessartite and paraiba tourmaline are extremely rare. Finding a perfect example of any gemstone is also a rare occurrence. And the quality of a stone is more important than its monetary value to many collectors.
That is why so many people enjoy collecting gemstones. They are beautiful and interesting, there are thousands of possible collections and there are rare examples. Furthermore, as demand for gems continues, certain stones will only become rarer. They are not a renewable source or are under constant development, a ruby will always be a ruby. This aspect of gemstones makes them different from many other collections.
3 What You Need to Start Your Own Collection
It comes as no surprise that gemstones can be expensive. But that isn’t the case for all stones. You can start a collection on a budget. This is because certain stones have less demand, and those less monetary value. Do research to find out what is the best low-budget gem to start with and grow from there. After all, the excitement comes from making your collection grow, so where you start is unimportant.
Record keeping
It is important to keep records of your collection. Write down as much as you can about your stones and keep your records organised. This will make it easier to find any piece of your collection and can add value to your collection, should you wish to sell it. Having records also helps you to know as much as you can about the pieces in the collection, and when a fellow collector or a friend asks you anything about any certain gemstone, you can easily find the answer written down.
STORAGE
Storing your collection is just as important as keeping a record of it. Keep your collection stored in the same way you have organised your records or vice-versa. This will make it easier to find the actual pieces. You can start storing your collection in small boxes with dividers and slowly progress to gemstone jars, jewellery bags or individual boxes. However you decide to start and store your collection, make sure to add padding to all your stones, to prevent them getting damaged, and to store them individually, or with enough space that they won’t get scratched.
take care
Keeping your collection clean is essentially for a longer life of each piece. Clean each gemstone before you put it into storage as grease and dust can damage your collection over time. Treat your collection with care and it will keep growing for years to come without any incidents.
4 You are Ready to Collect
After reading this article you can feel confident in starting your own gemstone collection. Don’t forget that doing extra research is great practice and will help you learn about your collection. Don’t be afraid to start small or with synthetic gemstones, because collecting these small beautiful stones is a long run and over time you will add more valuable and rare pieces. Take care of your collection to make sure each piece doesn’t deteriorate and soon enough, you will have a vast collection.
Make sure you check our store to be able to add to your collection or to find the piece that will start it for you.