For Decades, the Gemological Institute of America has taught students that "gems are specimens of minerals or organic material used for personal adornment that possess the attributes of beauty, rarity, and durability."

The GIA teaches that all three attributes must be present: Beauty, Rarity & Durability - a stones lacking one or more of them risks losing its status as a gem.

Beauty: In loose gems, strength of color is probably the most important factor. Strong colors are expected in many gems, including ruby, emerald and sapphire. However, kunzite and aquamarine are not know for typical color strength, yet are greatly appreciated when they have the stung color. The making of color saturation such an issue, limits the potential of less-saturated material. For example, light-colored amethyst considered amount the lowest quality of quartz, gains in appreciation and value if it's creatively and superbly cut. In transparent gems, the degree of transparency and light return (brilliance) is considered crucial. However, through market experience, we learn to expect certain degrees of clarity from certain gems. For example, aquamarine is generally expected to be clean and emerald is generally expected to be hazier. Flawless, clean emeralds are very rare.

Rarity: What is rare and beautiful is desired. Consider the success of tourmaline from paraiba, Brazil. Small, often highly included and now practically unavailable on the market, Paraiba tourmaline broke all pricing rules, commanding higher per-carat prices than find sapphire and diamond. Its remarkable and memorable electric-blue color and publicity added to its cachet as a rare gem. But sometimes the rarity of some gems jeopardizes commercial viability. Tsavorite garnet is rarer than emerald and entirely free of enhancement other than fashioning, but it cannot compete on a per-carat price because there's simply not enough of it around to warrant consumer awareness. Then consider amethyst, quartz that's not considered rare. Often beautiful, clean, durable and colorful, its abundance brings its status as a gem into question. In medieval Europe, amethyst was rare and the color purple was coveted, but today amethyst is only considered desirable or special when it's derived from a few top color specimens know to have come from extinct sources or when fashioned by famous cutters and carvers.diamond isn't rare either, given the enormous stockpiles and new sources springing up around the world. Strict control of polished diamonds on the market combined with sophisticated consumer advertising has elevated diamond to be perceived as a rare and coveted product.

Durability: "The love of precious stones is deeply implanted in the human heart, " George Kunz wrote in his book the Curious Lore of Precious Stones. "The cause of this must be sought not only in theri coloring and brilliancy but also their durability." Kunz further wrote, "The sheen and coloration of precious stones are the same today as they were thousands of years ago and will be for thousands of years to come. In a world of change, the permanence has a charm of its own that was early appreciated." A gemstone must be durable enough not to scratch, break or fade over the years of wear. Its brilliance and beauty are expected to last for a very long time, even to the point where a gemstone will outlast its owners and be passed on to sons and daughters, which in turn will help maintain its status as a gem and awaken appreciation in the succeeding generations.

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