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Taking Tests
By Donald Clark CSM
President
One of the sad things about grading the gemologist exams is seeing
people miss easy questions that they probably know. Equally sad, we recently
had three diamonds to give away, but were only able to award two!
Since most of our members have been out of school for a while, it is
time for a review. When taking an exam, you need to read the questions
carefully and check your references.
Read the Questions Carefully
Here is an example that many
people have trouble with:
1 If you have a 5 mm, faceted blue spinel and a 5 mm faceted, green sapphire and both gems are top
color and eye clean, which is more valuable?
Almost everyone answered sapphire to the second question. It refers
specifically to green
sapphires. If you check our Gem Pricing Guide, you will find the blue spinel is worth about $100 per carat more in this size. By not reading the question carefully, most people assumed
“sapphires” are more valuable.
Here is another example:
27 Which of these terms refers to pearls?
Mabe
Keshi
Nacre
All
the above
None
of the above
The correct
answer is “All the above” which is obvious to anyone involved with
gems. However, a surprising number of people answer “None of the
above.”
You must be
patient and read the questions carefully if you want to be successful.
Check Your References
About two thirds of our members missed this question:
If you had a red
sunstone and a rare benitoite that each weighed .5 carats and had top color and
clarity, which would be more valuable.
Most people answer benitoite, which is incorrect. This mistake is easily avoided by spending a couple minutes in our Gem Pricing Guide. If checked, you would see that benitoite in this size has a top value of $700 per carat and that red sunstone goes as high as $1500. By not spending that couple of minutes, someone missed winning a diamond!
Here is another example:
What is the
difference between the grades SI1 and SI2?
The
size of the inclusions
The
number and location of the inclusions
The
shade of color
The
quality of cutting
Many people answer the size of the inclusions. The correct answer is
“The number and location of the inclusions.” If you are not familiar
with diamond grading, you should go to our Reference Library and read Clarity Grading Diamonds
rather than taking a guess. Research is an
absolute necessity when taking exams.
Being successful in an exam sometimes means winning a nice prize. It
also means you do not have to take it again. So remember these simple rules:
When taking an exam, you must be patient and read the questions carefully.
Also, do not rely on your memory when you can look up the answer!
Sincerely,
Donald
Clark CSM
President