[Jewelry making - Article 00121] - Re: [Orchid] Synthetic & Simulant Gem Nomenclature

[hans]

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Hi all,

    Talk about genuine or not. A few weeks ago an acquaintance of mine
    asked if he could bring his mother-in law- into my shop, because she
    had inherited an extremely valuable ruby from her mother. It was over
    60 years old and two independent jewelers had valued it at $250,000,
    many years ago. The grandmother was from Curacao, (A half- baked
    island that is part of the Netherlands Antilles). In fact, he said,
    when his grandmother-in law was told how valuable the ruby was, she
    immediately took the ring off her finger and put it into her bra as
    she went home, so that the local gangsters would not see it. 

    She hid it in her house for the next few decades and eventually when
    she died my acquaintance's mother-in law inherited it. 

    So, after many phone calls to me, the mother-in- law catches a plane
    to St.Maarten from Curacao to come and have the ruby valued at my
    place. 

    To explain me, I have been cutting stones since 1976-ish and I have
    been making jewellery since 1980-ish, so I have seen my fair share of
    "old rubies". Bluntly put, I was a little less than excited.
    Especially when they are valued in six or seven figures. 

    Anyway, she pitches at my shop straight from the airport,
    accompanied by the son- in- law, daughter and various members of her
    extended family. After the prescribed formal cheek kissing and
    handshakes we sit down and the ruby is produced. 

    I take one look at it and I see a flawless neon pink step cut stone
    of + 20 carats set in a twirly type unstamped gold looking ring. 

    What do you say? Do you say "This is not a ruby. It is either a
    synthetic (or man made) corundum or synthetic (or man made) spinel,
    but there is no point in me testing it because it is not a real ruby"
    Or do you become a politician and say it with weasel words that
    amount to the same thing? I chose something in the middle, the truth
    mixed with weasel, called treasel words. 

    Well, well-- total disbelief. 

    I took out some uncut synthetic material of a similar color that I
    had in stock and showed her the similarities between the two,
    explained how it was made, the difference between real and not real,
    blah, blah, blah. 

    "What about the other two jewelers?" she asked. "They were wrong" I
    said. Shame on me, but the truth is the truth. You can lay the truth
    in a box of cotton or on the edge of a blade, but it still remains
    the truth. Treasel words simply slow the cutting. 

    There was an arctic atmosphere of injury as the formal cheek kissing
    and handshakes were completed. They left. 

    I had suggested they go for a second opinion to another jeweler who
    has some knowledge of gemstones and that is exactly what they did. 

    About two hours later, my acquaintance phones me up with glee in his
    voice and says that the second jeweler confirmed that it was a
    corundum and thereby by default, because it was pink, a ruby. Neon
    pink, I might add. I will ignore the +20carats and the suspect ring. 

    It was, in fact, genuine corundum, he said. 

    For me, when I saw the stone, there was no point in doing the gem
    testing waltz, taking out the refractometer and testing equipment and
    then printing out a valuation certificate to verify what was patently
    obvious to me. I was dumb and I danced myself out of $100 playing
    honest Joe. 

    Dang! Next time maybe I should do the dance between genuine and real
    and keep myself in some beer money. 

    I did, however, ask him if I could have one percent of the sale
    price when it was sold in lieu of the fees I did not charge him. I
    wait with eager anticipation. 

Cheers, Hans Meevis
http://www.meevis.com

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