How to tell what is a Genuine Gemstones from a Fake One

How to tell what is a Genuine Gemstones from a Fake One

 

Shopping for Gemstones and Gemstone Jewelry can be confusing because prices can be very different for jewelry and stones that appear to be similar. Many of the words used in jewelry ads can be confusing, too. Gemstones are labeled as either natural, genuine, synthetic, simulated, and treated—or a combination of those terms. If you're unfamiliar with these terms, you can mistakenly buy a stone you thought was "real" but turned out to be a human-made imitation.

What Are Natural Gemstones?

Natural gemstones are delivered to us courtesy of nature and have absolutely no interference from humans other than being mined, cut and polished.

A genuine gemstone is the real thing much like a natural gemstone. However, the stone isn't natural anymore if it was treated in some way to enhance its appearance. It value is still high and there are not many gemstones on the market that have not been treated in some way.

Treated gemstones are genuine, but they are no longer considered natural. If naturally "perfect" stones were the only gems available, most of us couldn't afford them.

Unlike synthetic gemstones, simulated stones are in no way similar to the natural stone they are imitating. Their chemical composition is not the same nor are other gem qualities like a refractive index. For example, the popular cubic zirconia would be considered a simulated diamond .These stones have also been around for many years, so don't be surprised if you find a ruby doublet (made with garnet and glass) in an old Victorian-era ring.  There are many synthetic version of stones today on the market, so read carefully the description before you buy.