[Jewelry making - Article 00028] - Re: [Orchid] Gemstone, Enhancment and Lab-grown Gems

[Dave Arens]

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Hi Gang,

    Natural stones (mined, dug from the ground, panned from a river or
    dropped from outer space) were created by mother nature. Synthetics
    have the same chemical make up & physical characteristics as the
    natural stones, but were made by man in a lab or factory. Simulants
    on the other hand are only 'look a likes'. They're the real
    impostors, generally the only thing they have in common with the
    'real thing' (or even the synthetic) is color & sometimes that is not
    really the same. 

    Treatments of natural (synthetics too) if they're the addition of
    heat, radiation or high pressure are usually permanent. These
    treatments can cause the stone to change color, or cause some of the
    inclusions to be absorbed/disolved by the stone. I don't believe the
    complete story is in yet, but who's to say that a blue tanzinite
    that came from the ground that way wasn't heated by mother nature
    sometime in the past? Like wise a London blue topaz may have been
    irradiated by mother nature before being mined. 

    Obviously, fracture filling with a foreign substance (oil, glass,
    etc.), causing a foreign substance to be absorbed by the outer few
    microns of a stone or coating with foreign substance isn't done by
    mother nature. Generally these type of treatments aren't permanent. 

    Which one the customer wants depends on many things, their use for
    the stone (is just for 'bling', does it have a sentimental value or
    investment), the amount of money they can afford to spend, etc. 

    We'll probably never get a definitive answer about which is best, a
    Flawless synthetic or an I 3 natural, it's all up to the purchaser. 

Dave

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