Jewelry is often the preferred gift for all people and all occasions. From high school graduation to diamond or ruby weddings jewelry tends to be the top selling gift. If you do intend spending some money on jewelry however, it is wise to do your homework first. Not every item of jewelry is suitable for all-people can be quite particular about the type of jewelry they wear; some people for example, think that pearls are unlucky and so they refuse to wear them.

Although most jewelry salespeople are quite honest and upfront about their merchandise there are those whose day is not complete unless they manage to scam the unwary. So it makes sense to understand some of the industry terms for jewelry and to be aware of the quality of the item or items that you wish to purchase. If something is sold simply as gold, then what it really means is 24 karat. Because it is so soft 24kt gold is usually mixed with other metals to harden it. Any item that is sold as gold, but is not 24kt should have the karat attached to it. If the vendor tells you that they don't know the karat or that it's 18kt but not marked, then be on the safe side and don't buy it. Platinum is a precious metal that is usually more expensive than gold-it is often mixed with other similar metals such as palladium and rhodium. The markings that are used to denote an item as platinum are different to the markings used on gold. They are based on the amount of thousand parts platinum per piece, the more parts, the more valuable-and expensive, the item.

Gemstones occur naturally, but some are created in the laboratory-they appear the same and have similar physical and chemical properties. They do not have the rarity of natural gemstones and are, or should be, less expensive than naturally mined stones. Imitation gemstones, on the other hand, resemble natural gemstones in appearance, but that is where the resemblance ends. Gemstones may be measured by size of weight or a combination of the two-like precious metals they are measured in karats.

The quality of diamonds is based on their color, cut, clarity and karat. The clarity and color of a diamond is graded-find out what criteria is used in grading the clarity and color of any diamond you may be intending to buy. The weight of a diamond is measured in karats. Natural pearls come from oysters and mollusks, cultured pearls imply some sort of human intervention in the process. Natural pearls are quite rare and so most jewelry that is made from them is either cultured or imitation pearls. The value of cultured pearls is based on its size and the quality of the coating which gives a pearl its luster. Jewelers should tell you whether a pearl is imitation or cultured.

Don't buy the first item you see, even if it does fulfil all you criteria. You can often get a better deal on jewelry by shopping around. Many people now buy jewelry items over the internet-if you do this then make sure that the item is accompanied by the relevant criteria as listed above.