Buying online is becoming an increasingly popular way to purchase the items we need in our lives. So much so that it has become vital for most companies that sell physical products to have an online presence.  Many companies offer a very good service which in turn makes people feel confident enough to buy expensive items without seeing them in the flesh. When it comes to purchasing gemstones for jewellery Diamonds have the advantage of having a very detailed grading system which is enabled by the fact that most of them are white, and in the case of brilliant round stones, cut to very specific proportions. This systems makes customers confident in buying Diamonds online however there is no such colour grading system for coloured stones.

Colour is very personal and taking time to get it right usually makes for a successful purchase.  It is important to remember when purchasing online that photographing coloured stones is very difficult and most monitors have different colour cast. We do not Photoshop our pictures so usually the stone looks better in real life than the picture. Coloured gemstones can also look different in different types of lighting. Historically specific coloured stones were worn for various occasions. For example Diamonds and Pearls were worn in the evening in candle light because it flattered the gemstones.  So choose the colour you want and make sure who you are purchasing it from will take the item back if it is not what you expected.  At G F Williams we have a 14 day returns policy as long as the stone has not been mounted or damaged.  When you receive the stone look at it in daylight, tungsten light, etc to understand the different tones of colour your gemstones can. A really fine stone such as a Sri Lankan Sapphire will hold its colour in all lights.

As we have said before colour preference is very personal so make sure the colour appeals to you, do not purchase the finest and most expensive if you do not like the tone of the colour.  Phone the company up and talk to an expert. We would much rather spend time with you to make sure it is right rather then you being disappointed in your purchase. For stones worth over £300 we are very happy to supply a video of the stone which gives a much better view.

All our individual stones can be viewed on our website where you can purchase a stone up to a few thousand pounds. We also have many parcels of smaller stones that can be used to dress your purchase. Colour is fun and very individual and with care can be easily as good as a Diamond (and in our opinion - better!).  If you rather make an appointment then do call us and we can show you the stones and talk you through the process.

Gemstone specialist GF Williams supplies a huge range of high quality coloured gemstones and is an expert and experienced gemstone supplier to designers, manufacturers, collectors and private clients.

Find out more about how GF Williams can fulfil your gemstone requirements by browsing our online gemstone catalogue or contacting our friendly team of gemstone experts on +44 (0) 207 405 5477 or email office@gfwilliams.co.uk.