Tips on how to recognize a gemstone can help you, and we'll look at the most useful elements to examine. Most often, an expert assessment is essential, but certain signs can point you in the right direction.
Recognizing a gemstone by inclusions and refraction
There are several things that are useful to know about check if a gemstone is real. However, remember that synthetic stones can be very successful.
Inclusions are an interesting first element to examine. You can detect them with a 10x magnification magnifying glass. A synthetic stone tends to appear too perfect. Also, some have specific defects (streaks, air bubbles, marbling, etc.), which depend on the manufacturing process and are found rarely on natural stones.
You can also recognize a precious stone by observing refraction. Natural stones have a certain refractive index : the way light is deflected onto the stone. The diamond, the tourmaline and the spinel have, for example, a strong refraction. These stones sparkle a lot. Imitations are duller, but synthetic stones are realistic in this respect.
Also read our article on How to recognize a sapphire.
Color to check if a stone is real
Color is a good criterion for examine a gemstone, semi-precious or a stone whose authenticity you doubt, but in parallel with other criteria. Genuine gemstones have small variations in color, such as lighter areas. Another example: traces of gray in a blue stone. This is sometimes visible to the naked eye and in natural light, but it is better observe the stones with a magnifying glass.
Quite often, synthetic stones are more uniform. As for which ones are brighter or paler, that depends on the stone. In fact, a synthetic sapphire may have less intensity than a high-quality genuine sapphire, such as a Ceylon sapphire, and a real emerald can be paler than a fake.
Overall, you can recognize a precious stone thanks to a more subtle and heterogeneous play of color.
Read on our blog: How much does an emerald cost?
Learn more about synthetic stones and imitations
A synthetic stone was made in a laboratory and has the same physical properties as a real stone.
There are several manufacturing processes and some are quite old. Synthetic stones are indistinguishable from natural stones without professional equipment, like many synthetic rubies and sapphires. Find out more precisely How to recognize a ruby.
There's no problem using synthetic stones in jewelry, as long as they're presented as such. There are different levels of quality. Of lower quality, a synthetic stone generally has characteristics not found in a gemstone.
An imitation is a stone with different physical properties.
It can be artificially created, as is the case with moissanite in jewelry. It can be a real stone that looks like a more expensive stone, but it is not a " imitation "that if you have been deceived about its true nature.
Some imitations are excellent, especially diamonds, but they can fail to a hardness test. They scratch more easily than a real diamond. Another tip for identify a stone : a natural stone stays fresh longer than a fake one.
• The different sizes of precious stones
A gemologist can recognize a gemstone
By doing several tests, you can sometimes recognize a gemstone or have strong suspicions. However, no evaluation is as reliable as that of a gemologist, equipped with several tools, such as a microscope, a refractometer and a spectroscope.
Call a gemologist is essential to obtain a certificate of authenticity or to know its characteristics.
