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What are the Most Common Colored Gemstone Misconceptions You Hear?

Riffing on TL's 3rd misconception, adding:
- a report from a GIA - credentialed gemologist working at a jewelry store is not the same thing as a lab report from GIA (or any of the top tier labs); and its corollary that drives me nuts:
- a "certificate" or gemologist "report" from the gem purveyor (e.g., Blue Nile, The Natural Sapphire Company, etc) is not a lab report from a reputable lab.
 
LisaRN said:
Calling greenish yellow Chrysoberyl that changes to orange/brown "Alexandrite". Technically it can be true but it doesn't fool the eyes. I also think there are too many gemstone sellers who call color shift gemstones "color change" gemstones.
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Ask GIA please - they call them „warm alexandrite“...

Imo chrysoberyl with a color shift.
 
T L said:
...

Misconception 3:
A lab report is a certificate

Many vendors like to use the claim that a lab report “certifies” the quality of a gemstone, but they certify nothing. In fact, I would be very leery of any report that claims it’s a certificate and/or provides an appraisal. Reputable lab reports certify nothing. They are merely opinions, and labs can easily disagree with one another.
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+ A Million!
Even many otherwise-legit vendors use the term certificate.
That makes my teeth itch!


Certifying carries an absolute-ness and a legal status, but grading reports are merely opinions of experts that are subject to all the fine-print disclosures on the back of the report.

They have to :nono: to reach the uninformed public.
Unfortunately, the world is chock full of gem "deplorables". :(sad ;))
 
I think there are so many misconceptions often used by shops, people in the trade and then just generally uneducated consumers, most cannot even tell the difference between gems and real and synthetic ones (I've lost count how many people have synthetic gems that want to argue with me they must be real for example) let alone be capable of stating accurate things about those gems.
 
Daisys and Diamonds said:
Oh :(2
I blame the person who sold it to him

i may have a lot of mall jewlery but to the credit of the lady who served me she stoped me buying a hollow ring

How long do you think the poor opal will last ?
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I've made opal engagement rings, and many many emerald engagement rings.

I tell clients that stones are fragile and need extra care, many opt for them because they only wear a basic band 5 days a week and only wear the engagement ring on weekends and some evenings.

I have a pair of clients who are both welders and wear rubber rings they bought on Amazon most of the time, she has a honking ring that turns heads when she wears it, but that's only a few hours a week.
 
Skyjems said:
I've made opal engagement rings, and many many emerald engagement rings.

I tell clients that stones are fragile and need extra care, many opt for them because they only wear a basic band 5 days a week and only wear the engagement ring on weekends and some evenings.

I have a pair of clients who are both welders and wear rubber rings they bought on Amazon most of the time, she has a honking ring that turns heads when she wears it, but that's only a few hours a week.
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Well thats different =)2
Your clients made inforned choices and take precautions to protect the ring from their lifestyle
 
Skyjems said:
I've made opal engagement rings, and many many emerald engagement rings.

I tell clients that stones are fragile and need extra care, many opt for them because they only wear a basic band 5 days a week and only wear the engagement ring on weekends and some evenings.

I have a pair of clients who are both welders and wear rubber rings they bought on Amazon most of the time, she has a honking ring that turns heads when she wears it, but that's only a few hours a week.
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Just to chime in- I have an emerald engagement ring and wear it like you mentioned- for a few hours on the weekend then back in its box it goes. I think jewelers should be totally upfront to an uneducated consumer that it's not a 24/7 ring.
 
If I paid a bazillion dollars for it at xx brand store, it must be good...
- price is dependent on many things, but mark up can be very different between sellers, so more expensive is not better
- stone can still be treated etc even if from a reputable store. Stick to certified stone even if the brand name is good
- brand name stores do sell crappily cut stones too (me thinking of all the horribly windowed stones at a well known branded store that I saw last time)
 
This is probably because of all the cheap imported knock offs of green stone that get sold to the tourists here
but until PS i had no idea how beautuful jade is and all the colours it comes in
A very low opinion of jade (other than green stone) is a common thing here
 
JackTrick said:
Latest pet peeve are people that think zircons are cubic zirconia.
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Actually mine is the other way around - I constantly hear sales people selling costume jewellery here calling cubic zirconia “zircon” and it infuriates me beyond measure. I always correct them and they look at me like I’m crazy - because most of them have never so much as seen an actual zircon.
 
Late, but that colored gemstones are cheap. A lot of people my age think that they're going to save money by going the gemstone route when like....high quality gemstone prices are fairly up there.
 
That can't be a sapphire, they have to be dark blue in colour.

Good jade is thin as they have to have good translucency.

A friend bought a set of wedding dowry jewellery at a chain store. 18k gold with freshwater pearls, which the SA advised her to get. Rather than the blue topaz she wanted. A few thousand dollars down the drain either way. As did the former marriage head.

I MADE her buy a big pair (15mm?) of near round Burmese light gold South Sea Pearls for earrings when she came to visit me. Best jewellery decision ever, she still says. At a fraction of her former set's price. Including 18k gold posts!
 
jordyonbass said:
Of course @missy :wavey:

All Opal contains a certain percentage of water since it's a hydrated silica, however the higher the percentage of water the more hydrophane an Opal tends to be and less stable. Welo is very high percentage, I believe it is somewhere around 10-15% but I could be wrong. Aussie Opal is far less with Black Opal usually having the least at less than 5% (again, could be wrong as recalling off the top of my head but the overall point is Welo has more water content).

The environment that the Opal forms in has a lot to do with this; Aussie Opal forms in sedimentary clays and very harsh conditions so the Opal has stood the test of time for millions of years. Welo Opal has formed in volcanic clays which are a lot more gentle on Opals.
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Welo Opal can can absorb water up to 15% of its weight. Most 5% and under.
 
Mrs_Strizzle said:
My avatar ring can't be a Sapphire because its not royal blue. My blue spinel has to be a Sapphire. My tsavorite has to be an emerald, etc.
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Ugh this a THOUSAND TIMES, not all Sapphires are blue! Zircon is a real natural stone, garnets come in many colours too, opals are NOT bad luck, diamonds aren't "better" than gemstones.... :wall:
 
JackTrick said:
Latest pet peeve are people that think zircons are cubic zirconia.
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I've seen several Chinese sellers on eBay selling what is very obviously CZ rough for cutting and describing it as zircon. No wonder some people get misled.
 
Here's an example:

1606129820449.png
Blurb below:

Description

2.5lb glaring pretty crystal Pink Zircon

　


Size : L 8.26"W 1.7"H 1.53"




Weight: 1135g


Material: Zircon crystal​
Aaaargh!
 
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