Going Natural

"Everything is made of natural gemstones!"

I say it in general when you first meet me.

As a jewelry artist, I have to put a lot of trust in the people who mine and cut gemstones. At the moment, I am not a certified gemologist, so I cannot be totally certain about the treatment of the gems I buy. Fortunately I'm getting smarter with experience. I can tell heat treated citrine and dyed quartz variants. I know what to look for if I fear that a stone is lab grown. I know that sometimes a vendor at a bead show will declare stones to be perfectly natural even when they've been color enhanced or heated. I am always on the lookout.

I also know that in some cases, it simply makes more sense to use a lab grown stone once in a while. I only do it when I'm experimenting and I absolutely make sure I tell you about it! The primary example is in my Birthstone Stacking Rings. This week I'll be making a set with natural gemstones. Excepting diamond for April, I have everything I need. I'll be using an alternate for April. I'm quite excited. I cannot list them all together because they'll be different shapes, sizes and prices. I will still offer the lab grown stones, because they are simply more economical. Have no worries.

Why do I prefer natural stones? Aren't the color enhance ones and the man made crystals really pretty? It's simple. I just don't "feel it" when I'm working with manmade materials like Swarovski crystals. And color enhanced stones feel like cheating. Natural gemstones have an energy about them. I believe the geological processes they go through imbue them with their metaphysical properties. It is true that a laboratory grown emerald is chemically identical to a natural one, it shares the color and crystal structure. But, it lacks the ages, heat and power that were necessary to generate the stone within the Earth.

Lab grown stones do have a few benefits. You can get a beautiful stone, strong in color and free of impurities. That stone will cost less than a dull cloudy natural stone of the same weight. They do share some of the metaphysical quantities of the natural stones, but they are not as potent and sometimes different.

Never be afraid to ask about the nature of your gemstones!

-Simbelmynë