One of the most crucial jobs in any jewellery company.
One of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks when making a cluster ring or gemstone bracelet is matching the gems. Mother Nature never creates any two gemstones identically: all vary slightly in hue, tone, saturation and clarity. Before gems are set in jewellery, a massive task is undertaken by a Gem Sorter, who is responsible for making a selection of stones that are as similar as possible.
Let’s assume we have an Amethyst cluster ring with 20 gems in each and that we are to make 10 pieces. Applying basic maths you would assume that we will need to sort through 200 gems. However, in jewellery terms this is not the case.
To arrive at the end result of 20 rings, all with near as perfectly matched gemstones as possible, the Gem Sorter will have to study and compare the characteristics of possibly 500 to 1000 gems from which to make the final selections.
Without doubt, this process is one of the most skillful of all in the process of making fine quality jewellery. I have spent countless hours in my gem sorting department, questioning why one gem was rejected over another, frequently unable to actually see any noticeable differences without the aid of magnification.
One thing that I wasn’t aware of until recently, is that when selecting coloured gemstones for a ring such as a half eternity band, very experienced Gem Sorters will actually differentiate between the gems they select for the centre of the ring to those on the shoulders. The reason for this is due to the fact that the angle at which you view these gems is minutely different depending on where it sits within the band; therefore small adjustments are made in the selection so that to the eye the look is consistent across all gemstones! This is extremely important when matching gemstones with vivid colours.
Unfortunately I will never make a good Gem Sorter as my eyesight is not finely tuned and to be quite honest, the task requires the very highest levels of patience!
Geodes
