Women have a special love for precious and semi-precious handmade jewellery. But are you really investing in real and authentic gemstones? How do you identify a real gemstone? Don’t worry, we’ve got answers to all your queries.
While investing in precious and semi-precious handmade jewellery, It’s of utmost importance to identify the major characteristics of each gemstone, only then you’ll be able to invest in authentic pieces. With the advancement in technology, it is now possible to stimulate fake gemstones. Labs produce and stimulate fake gemstones which almost loom alike the authentic ones.
There are mainly three types of gemstones: Natural/Real Gemstone, Lab Created Gemstone and Stimulated Gemstones.
Natural Gemstones:
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Dug directly from the Earth, these gemstones are the major source of minerals found from within the Earth. Diamond is the best example of natural gemstone. Before the crafting process, It undergoes intense pressure and cutting and then finely crafted into the jewel piece.
Lab Produced Gemstones:
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Black Onyx is a common a common example of lab-formulated gemstone and is often created in the labs by treating with sugar and caramelizing it with heat.
Blue Sapphires are also most of the times lab formulated. They are generally heated by the miners.
Turquoise stone beads are stabilized by dying and are hardened with resin.
How to different real gemstone from a fake one?
You don’t have to be a gemologist to identify the fake gemstones. All you need is a few handy tricks and tips which will make it easier for you to differentiate the real gemstones from the fake ones.
Let’s get started.
One of the most common techniques used is the testing the gemstone with Refractive Index Test which measures the reflection from the surface of the gemstone with a highly sensitive machine. But this can be conducted by a specialized expert only.
If you want to test the quality of gemstones then here are some quick trick and tips to test gemstones:
The very first is, feel the edges and surface of the gemstone. If it has a sandy texture, it is not a real gemstone. Also, check whether the gemstone is perfectly carved or not if it is qthen it’s lab-formulated.
Check the malleability of the gemstone by bending it because a real gemstone will break but never bend.
Check the color and texture of the gemstone. When a real gemstone is broken into smaller pieces then it has the same color as outside and is not too highly pigmented. Lab created stones use artificial colors and they have a darker color as compared to the natural ones. The real gemstones have subtle shades and not dark hues.
Soak the gemstone in water for a few days to check the colorfastness of the stones. Fake stones are dyed and hence will not be able to retain their original color while the natural ones will not lose their original color.
In order to identify whether it is a gemstone or a glass, put the stone in your mouth. If the stone turns hot after some time, it is not real. The natural stones have a thermal conductivity which means that they will borrow heat from your mouth and will stay cool for longer.
So next time whenever you go for online jewellery shopping then just make sure to cross check the gemstones with the help of our handy tips and tricks.
Happy Shopping Fellas!
