Gemology
What is Gemology
Gemology or gemmology is the science, art and profession of identifying and evaluating gemstones. It is considered a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to identify and evaluate gems.
What Are Natural Gemstones?
Natural gemstones are delivered to us courtesy of nature, with no interference from humans. By the time they appear in our jewelry they've been cut or polished, but they've not been altered in other ways.
What Are Genuine Gemstones?
A genuine gemstones is the real thing, but isn't natural anymore if it was treated in some way to enhance its appearance. Enhancements allow jewelry manufacturers to improve the look of gemstones that consumers wouldn't otherwise purchase. Treated gemstones are genuine, but they are no longer considered natural. If naturally "perfect" stones were the only ones available, most of us could n't afford them.
What Are Synthetic Gemstones?
A synthetic gemstone shares a natural stone's physical, chemical and optical qualities, but it is created in a laboratory. It's kind of like making a high tech batch of cookies -- we know the ingredients and we know how long to cook them. There are synthetic versions of nearly all popular gemstones and many versions have been available for a long time. Older synthetics were fairly simple for gemologists to detect, because they were often too perfect. Some modern synthetic gemstones look more natural and are more difficult to identify, but an experienced jeweler or gemologist can usually classify them.
Jewelry that includes quality synthetic gems can be just as beautiful as jewelry made with natural stones. Good synthetics aren't always inexpensive, but should cost much less than natural stones of similar quality.
Since synthetic gemstones have the same composition as their natural counterparts, they could technically be called genuine, but that would be considered deceptive labeling if the stone's origins are not disclosed. Question the ethics of anyone who knowingly omits origin information, and the expertise of anyone who cannot provide it.
Birthstone - Gemstone mapping
By Month:
March - Aquamarine , Bloodstone
December - Blue Topaz,Turquoise, Tanzonite
February - Amethyst
July - Ruby
By Day:
Monday - Pearl
Saturday - Sapphire
Friday - Topaz
Wednesday - Amethyst
