We have found that some of our best customers are those who are well informed. One thing I will do on a regular basis is publish information that will be helpful to buyers of finished gems or even rough. When buying either a finished gem or rough there is the chance, albeit small, that what is represented is not what is it appears to be.
Examples. Many cut rubies (corundum) offered as 100% natural are in fact glass filled. Unfortunately often this fact is not always disclosed.
While on the topic of filled gems many, many, emeralds are in fact filled with various liquids. This is done to stabilize the gem or enhance it’s appearance. If a emerald has been filled it should be disclosed by the seller. Also if an emerald appears to be exceptionally free of inclusion, cracks, with an excellent rich green color, etc. there is a reasonable chance that it is a synthetic.
Sapphire (another form of corundum) has been man made for generations. One of the most common means of identifying a synthetic stone (lab grown) is to carefully under magnification look for CURVED growth bands. I emphasised the word curved as if one see straight growth bands that is a indicator of a natural gem. In most all cases you should almost never try to by yourself identify a gem or rough as natural or synthetic. Always take it to someone who is well trained in gem identification or send to a certified lab such as GIA.
On a final note, there is nothing wrong with selling a lab created stone provided that there is full disclosure of this fact. Worldwide annually many hundreds of thousands of lab created gems are sold at relatively affordable pricing. Here at Gems by Gregory we do not knowingly ever sell a synthetic gem. Look for more on synthetic gems on future posts.
I welcome you to please share any experiences you may have had with gems that turned out to be something other that you thought it was.
