I really love natural stones and when traveling around India I always buy them for myself, for gifts and for sale, precious and semi-precious, and of course, in order to buy and not a fake, you need to understand at least a little about natural stones and their properties.
Just now my mother’s friend called and complained that half of her stones, as it turned out during testing, were fakes, and not even stones, but just plastic.
So I decided to write very simple tips how to tell the difference on the go a natural stone from counterfeiting: plastic, glass, ceramics, because unfortunately, in Russia and even in India, not only precious stones are counterfeited, but even semi-precious and ornamental ones.

Preface. Stone price

A natural stone with a cut or polished cannot cost 10 kopecks, simply because its processing costs more, so if you want to buy something cheap, you will a priori get a fake.
Let me immediately note that such natural stones as turquoise or malachite are not only not cheap, but quite expensive, because there are almost none of them left in nature. They learned how to counterfeit turquoise back in the Middle Ages, so there is simply no such thing as cheap turquoise, everything that is sold in non- jewelry stores and in pieces of 1 cm - fake. The same applies to cheap amber; now they have learned to blow bubbles into fake plastic amber and immure insects in it.

And now simple ways distinguish natural stone from fake by ear, weight, and heat. For a sample, take a guaranteed natural stone, for example, a small pebble from the road, with it you can compare the qualities of the stone you want to buy.

Testing natural stone with heat

Natural stones and pearls, unlike fakes, are always cold, while plastic and ceramics are initially warm!
Place the stone on your lips or chin, it will remain cool for a few seconds, but the plastic fake will immediately heat up, and the ceramic will also heat up, albeit more slowly.

Natural stone by ear

Natural stones produce a characteristic sound when tapped on glass or metal, which distinguishes them from fakes. Again, compare the sound of the stone you are buying with a sample - a pebble; if they slip you a fake, you will hear the difference.

Natural stone by weight

Natural stones are always heavier than plastic and most ceramics; to check, you will have to find a pebble of the same size as the one you are buying and compare the weight.

Natural stone nail

All minerals are distinguished by their hardness; I will not touch class 1 precious stones with high hardness, but I will tell you a little about some popular inexpensive and not very expensive stones.
Garnet, tourmaline and quartz (aventurine, agate, rock crystal, amethyst, citrine, cat eye, hawk's eye, tiger's eye) have a hardness of 7 and scratch glass.
Opal, rutile and feldspars (moonstone, adularia, sunstone, etc.) have a hardness of 6, scratch glass, but can be scratched with a file.
Hematite, lapis lazuli, apatite have a hardness of 5, they no longer scratch glass; on the contrary, with force they can be scratched with a piece of glass or a knife.
Fluorite has a hardness of 4 and is easy to scratch with glass and a knife.
Calcite (Iceland spar, satin spar, marble onyx, marble, etc.) have a hardness of 3, just like silver, gold is slightly harder.
Plaster has a hardness of 2 and can be scratched with a fingernail. Gypsum is associated with fractures, but this mineral forms very beautiful crystals and arrays; it is used for jewelry and crafts, treated with durable varnish on top. Thus, wonderful selenite with silky tints may well be passed off as a more expensive and hard moon or sun stone.

True, you also need to be able to scratch, taking into account the crystalline structure of the stone, so it is better to ask the seller to demonstrate the hardness of the selected stone; normal sellers always have special pencils or testers for this.

Advanced ways to distinguish a stone from a fake are described in the article, and I described one of the examples of diagnostics using the property of luminescence in the article

PS I would be grateful to those who share their testing experience or other ways to distinguish a stone from a fake

Emerald is one of the most recognizable and expensive stones. Of course, criminals pay him Special attention. Many types of fakes have been invented, differing in materials, manufacturing technologies, and quality. Before buying, you need to find out how to distinguish an emerald from a fake, so as not to spend a considerable amount on imitation.

The natural mineral is a type of beryl with impurities: chromium, vanadium, iron. The color is usually green, sometimes with bluish or yellowish tints. Under the guise of an emerald, unscrupulous sellers offer:

• imitation;
• doublets and triplets;
• synthetic stones;
• glass.

Sometimes people are misled by the names of minerals and products. “Emerald” in them is only part of the trade name, for example:

• “eastern” - green sapphire;
• “evening” - yellow peridot of intense color, giving off a light green color in the light;
• “Pakistani” - garnet of a suitable shade;
• "Vilyuisky" - Vesuvian.

Some of the imitations are not minerals. It is not necessary to establish the authenticity of the emerald. It is enough to know the features. For example, if “emerald” is called emerald, then it is glass.

Imitations

Fraudsters often pass off one stone after another. Under the guise of an emerald, it is proposed to buy cheaper gems. The list of minerals that are similar in shades and other characteristics is large. For example, for simulations they take:

1. Demantoid. Some stones are more expensive than emeralds, so copies of poor quality are used for fakes.
2. Fluorite. The composition is similar to Colombian emeralds. It cannot be recognized even by checking under ultraviolet light.
3. Green garnet (tsavorite).
4. Tourmaline. This stone, counterfeited as an emerald, does not shine as brightly as the real thing. Contains fewer reflective particles.

Any type of gems, even those classified as first grade, are of different quality. In some cases, a real, but not the best, emerald costs less than a good fake, for example, from demantoid.

Doublets and triplets

Sometimes several records are taken to make a fake. Faceted beryl is often used. It is cut into two parts. To make the fake look believable and attractive, a spacer of a suitable color is placed between them and secured with brightly colored glue or paste.

Instead of beryl, real low-quality emerald is sometimes used. In other cases, combinations of plates from different stones, materials:

• natural emerald and beryl, quartz, spinel (low-grade or artificial);
• one plate is made of glass.

In doublets there are two parts, in triplets there are three. Such fakes have been known since the times of Ancient Greece and Rome.

Synthetic stones

It is believed that emerald became the second mineral (the first was ruby) that scientists managed to grow. Researchers' interest was fueled at a high price decorations

It is now impossible to establish exactly who was the first to receive a synthetic stone. The work was carried out by many scientists. The results of unknown scientists were used by large firms to continue research and obtain patents. It is conventionally believed that the first emerald was made in the 30s in Germany. Then the USSR and the USA achieved great success, which further developed technology.

The production of crystals is based on hydrothermal synthesis processes. The following types of products are known:

1. Chinese The growing technology is similar to the previous type. Chrome is used here only to obtain color.
2. Malossi. Invented at the beginning of this century by employees of the Russian-Thai company TAIRUS. The structure is more similar to a natural mineral than other artificial analogues. Another plus is that Malossi better preserves the play of shades, regardless of the size of the crystal. There is no vanadium in the composition, only chromium. These synthetic stones were produced in small batches. They entered the market mainly through Italians.
3. Colombian color emerald. TAIRUS was also received. For a long time Biron was considered the standard for color, until we got Colombian color emerald. The color is formed due to the vanadium content. The crystal is extremely transparent. It is not easy to detect a forgery: there is no luminescence, and under the Chelsea filter the stone behaves like a natural one. A high-quality real emerald from Colombia is in most respects no different from this fake.
4. Russian emerald- leader in the global market among small and medium-sized artificial stones. Of the expensive options with large cuts, the first place by a huge margin is occupied by the Colombian color emerald.
5. Biron. The color is intense, almost like Colombian natural minerals. A similar color of the stone is obtained thanks to chromium and vanadium. Small pebbles look great, but large ones have a noticeably worse color play. It is expensive to grow such crystals, so they are rare.

Glass

Many fakes are simple and inexpensive to make, although they are inferior in quality. They are made of glass. Best quality- emerald valleys.

They tried to replace natural emerald with glass back in the Middle Ages in Europe. The quality of the fakes was unimportant. Venetian craftsmen managed to change the situation somewhat. They took advantage of the knowledge of ancient Syrian artisans. Although such fakes have not become widespread.

Today, beryl glass is boiled to counterfeit the precious mineral. It is given color using chrome. It is sometimes difficult for a non-professional to distinguish products from natural stones, but an experienced jeweler can recognize a fake by eye.

Simple fakes are even made from bottle glass. Pick up suitable color, give a cut.

Sample analysis

It is sometimes difficult or even impossible to distinguish a real emerald from an artificial one without going to an expert. One way is to check in ultraviolet light, although this does not always help.

This method screens out glass and various imitations. However, synthetic stones and some natural ones have almost the same colors when shined through. For example, fluorite will be red, like natural emerald, but a slightly different shade (softer). It is also difficult to distinguish Colombian color emerald.

There are other testing methods that are not available at home. A common one is the Chelsea filter. It helps to recognize synthetic Chinese, but is powerless against Colombian color emerald.

In laboratories, hardness, refraction, structure, the presence of impurities in the channels and other parameters are determined. Even in the Middle Ages, fakes and originals were distinguished by weighing. This method is still suitable today. Although hardly anyone has special scales at home.

One magnifying glass is not always enough. Analysis requires knowledge and experience, for example:

1. Natural inclusions are sometimes confused with air bubbles. An expert, by the number and type of cloudiness, will not only determine the authenticity, but will even tell where the emerald was mined or what stone was taken for counterfeiting. For example, in chrysoprase the inclusions will be in the form of “feathers”. These are special traces of growth.
2. If the mineral is framed, it needs to be viewed from about two meters. Natural gem shimmers faintly from such a distance.

Natural high-quality emeralds, as a rule, have certificates from gemological laboratories. But in view high cost natural stone, the authenticity of the documents will also have to be checked.

How to distinguish from a fake

There are ways that everyone can use. To distinguish a natural emerald from an artificial one, it is enough to know a few things:

1. It is advisable to study trade brands so as not to get caught by the word “emerald” in the name. You need to read the accompanying documents. You can't skip the fine print. The price of the “evening” or “Pakistan” mineral is lower than that of the natural one.
2. A common way to test is to immerse a stone in a glass of water. The fake one often has a red tint.
3. Emeralds in nature are not layered. If there is any doubt during the examination, it is better to play it safe. You need to examine the specimen in the light. It is more difficult to identify doublets and triplets made from low-quality natural emerald. You need to find a place for gluing. If one of the layers is glass, bubble inclusions give it away.
4. Synthetic fakes have parallel edges and regular growth lines. There is no such clear geometry in nature.
5. Glass “emeralds” are suspiciously shiny and large. The edges are fuzzy. They heat up quickly in your hands.
6. Artificial (synthetic) and glass fakes are too clean and transparent. There are bubbles and liquid inclusions inside. Natural minerals, as a rule, have cloudiness, defects and inclusions: abrasions, cracks, scratches. Jewelers call this imperfection Jardin, from French - “garden”. It is as unique as fingerprints.
7. A fake crystal is sometimes distinguished by an overly smooth surface and ideal coloring. Natural emerald often has shades of other colors: bluish (Colombian), brownish, yellowish. The unprocessed core is darker, the edges are lighter.
8. Natural minerals come in different shades of green. The more saturated the color, the more expensive the specimen, so you need to focus on the price. If there is a lot of yellow in the color, it may be garnet or peridot.
9. Natural crystals weakly “sparkle” (dispersion). For example, zirconium gives a strong play.

Emerald is an expensive gem. In order not to throw money away, you need to take your choice seriously. Some fakes are easy to spot, others are not. If in doubt, it is better to contact an expert jeweler or gemologist.

Since ancient times, precious stones have attracted people's attention with their qualities: beautiful bright colors, hardness and durability, brilliance and play of light. The price of each piece depends on its size, jewelry characteristics and cut quality. Some imitations are of such high quality that it is very difficult to independently determine whether the gemstone you like is real or not. However, there are techniques by following which you can identify a fake. Methods are based primarily on knowledge unique properties gems.

Of the more than 4,000 types of minerals, approximately 100 varieties are recognized as precious. These also include stones of organic origin: pearls, amber, jet and coral.

In jewelry stores you can find jewelry with inserts made from both natural precious stones and their synthetic analogues. Artificially grown crystals have the same optical, physical and chemical properties, as natural. Differentiating them without special instruments is a difficult task even for gemologists.

There are methods for refining valuable but low-quality minerals to increase their value. The essence of this process is that, as a result of a certain influence, the crystal acquires a more saturated and interesting color. For example, pale varieties of amethyst or smoky quartz are turned into citrine by heat treatment. In such cases, only a specialist can find out whether the gemstone is used in jewelry or its ennobled version. This information must be displayed in the accompanying documentation.

As simpler imitations, cheap minerals painted in the appropriate color, ceramics or glass can be used. It is much easier to distinguish them from real gems at home. Sometimes manufacturers create composite stones (doublets, triplets) - crystals glued together from several pieces, the layered structure of which is visible if you examine the sample from the side.

The main evidence of natural origin precious minerals- the seller has a certificate.

It must indicate:

• type of stone;
• size and weight;
• color;
• purity;
• cutting method;
• defects;
• mining site.

If it is impossible to check the availability of documents or the jewelry has already been purchased, you can evaluate it yourself. To do this, you need to understand the basic properties and characteristics of minerals. The key criteria for checking stones for authenticity is to evaluate the following parameters:

• hardness;
• electrification - the ability to attract small objects;
• light refraction and shine;
• pleochroism - the property of changing color depending on the viewing angle or when lighting changes;
• luminescence - the ability of some minerals to glow when exposed to ultraviolet rays, for which you can use a pen to check banknotes with a UV flashlight;
• reaction to chemical exposure - not used for assessing organic stones.

Diamond or diamond

Diamond has become one of the most popular jewelry stones due to its exceptional brilliance. Scientists have been working on technologies for growing synthetic diamonds. different countries. Get samples for the first time jewelry quality succeeded only in 1955 in the USA. Colorless zircon, synthetic transparent sapphire or spinel, and cubic zirconia can be passed off as diamonds.

To determine the authenticity of a diamond, it is necessary to take into account the following properties:

• A diamond is a standard of hardness, therefore, if the edges of the crystal seem to be erased or there are scratches on the surface, it is a fake.
• If you apply glycerin to a real diamond and then put it in water, it will continue to shine brightly, but imitation sapphire, crystal glass or spinel will be difficult to see.
• The cut of a diamond allows light to be reflected from the bottom edges, as if from mirrors, so when looking through the crystal you cannot see what is underneath - only a luminous point in the center.
• In a diamond, light is reflected by all facets; if you look at the crystal from the side, it will also shine.
• Most diamonds glow blue under ultraviolet light.

Identifying a synthetic diamond in a piece of jewelry is more difficult than identifying a single sample, since the presence of metal limits the use of some methods, and the setting of the jewelry does not allow viewing the mineral from all sides.

Turquoise

Despite the fact that turquoise is not a rare mineral, most of the mined raw materials are of low quality. Therefore, the stones are subjected to additional strengthening and coloring. In addition, pressed gems are common, which are made from the powder remaining from the processing of turquoise. These jewelry are not fake, but over time they acquire a dirty tint.

The popularity of turquoise and its properties were the reason that the first attempts to imitate this stone were made back in Ancient Egypt and during antiquity. Today on sale you can find both synthetic stone and simpler imitations made of plastic, enamel, as well as turquoise-colored minerals, for example, howlite is very close to turquoise in many characteristics.

To check the naturalness of a stone, you can use the following methods:

• Turquoise has a hardness of 6 on the Mohs scale. With a little force, it can be scratched. If this cannot be done, then it is a glass or porcelain imitation, and if the sample is easily scratched, leaving white shavings, it is plastic.
• Like many minerals, turquoise remains cool for a long time when held in your hand.
• When the size of the stone allows, you can conduct an experiment with a hot needle. If you touch the tip to the surface, the plastic will melt. The color of the colored mineral at the point of contact will lighten. If a sample of hardened turquoise is examined, a drop of impregnation may appear at the point of contact.
• When the surface of the stone is exposed to hydrochloric acid, some fakes (Neolithic and Viennese turquoise) will develop yellow spots, but the original will not change.

Pomegranate

Grenades are not counterfeited very often, due to the fact that there are effective methods for checking them. As an imitation, colored glass, cubic zirconia, or less often plastic can be inserted into the decoration.

To test an individual gemstone, you can use the mineral's magnetic properties. To do this you will need a sensitive scale, a piece of magnet and a cork backing. The sample must be placed on a substrate and then on a balance. If you bring a magnet closer to a pomegranate, then at a distance of about 1 cm the scale arrow will begin to oscillate.

An important indicator of authenticity will be the size of the stone, since most mined stones are small - the size of a pomegranate seed.

Stone differs from glass in that garnet heats up more slowly and has a non-uniform color.

Emerald

Emerald, along with diamond, ruby ​​and sapphire, is included in the first class of precious minerals. Synthetically grown analogues can only be determined by a specialist.

To distinguish a natural stone from a fake, you should pay attention to a number of features:

• Emerald has a hardness of 7.5–8 Mohs, so the cut crystal should have clear edges and no scratches on the surface.
• If you examine the sample through a magnifying glass, in the depths you can see cracks with gas-liquid inclusions, as well as parallel growth lines. The fake contains hollow air bubbles.
• In ultraviolet light, emerald glows red, but not always - it depends on the place where the mineral was mined, so using the method you can only confirm the authenticity of the sample, and not identify a fake.

Amber

Amber is a precious stone of organic origin, it is the fossilized resin of ancient trees. The classification of amber includes dozens of varieties, each of which differs in color, transparency and place of extraction. The presence of prehistoric insects or plants in the hardened resin significantly increases the cost of the specimen. These semi-precious stones are often replaced with plastic fakes, and copal and burnite are also used.

To determine the nature of amber, you can do a number of things:

• If the stone is not encased, you can dip it in a salt solution (3-4 tablespoons of salt per glass of water). Counterfeits, except polystyrene, will go to the bottom, and real mineral- No.
• Natural amber is electrified. If you rub its surface with a woolen cloth, it will begin to attract small particles.
• If you hold a sample close to a fire or apply a hot needle to the surface, you can smell the resin, but the fake will smell like plastic.
• In ultraviolet light, original amber begins to fluoresce in bluish-white or green tones.
• The natural sample is warm and pleasant to the touch.

Pearl

Wild sea pearls, perfectly round in shape, cost thousands of dollars. Therefore, the practice of growing cultured pearls has been developing for a long time. It costs less, but is also of natural origin. Price freshwater pearls also small.

At home, you can determine whether pearls are real in several ways:

• It is a fairly soft stone (3.5–4.5 Mohs). If you rub two beads together, dust will appear, but the mother-of-pearl surface will not be damaged.
• To evaluate pearls in finished product, you need to pay attention to the mother-of-pearl surface. In natural samples, one can notice chaotically located spots with less shine and a slightly different shade, which are formed by a heterogeneous layering of conchiolin.
• Tactile check. The surface of the pearl is porous and rough - if you run a stone over the surface of a tooth, the pearl will squeak.
• The fluorescence of pearls is conditional and is determined by the composition of the water in which it grew.

Ruby

Ruby is a precious red variety of corundum. A natural specimen with high purity levels is comparable in cost to diamonds. Under the guise of rubies, jewelry can contain synthetic stones, red spinel, tourmaline or garnet.

The easiest way to distinguish the original from garnet, tourmaline and painted glass is:

• Ruby is harder than garnet, it shines brightly, while garnet is dull and has a resinous shine.
• Stays cool for a long time compared to glass.
• You can determine the authenticity of a sample in ultraviolet light: tourmalines fluoresce orange, and rubies fluoresce red.
• Many rubies fluoresce even when sunlight, this ability is especially pronounced in specimens from Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
• Natural stones exhibit a dichroism effect: the color alternates from purple-red to yellow-red depending on the lighting.
• Rubies are characterized by the presence of rutile in the structure, which creates the effect of a silky whitish glow inside the crystal.
• Unlike spinel, ruby ​​does not contain inclusions resembling bubbles. Synthetic samples often have bubbles and funnels of color.

Sapphire

Traditionally, sapphire is a blue variety of corundum. In addition, there are yellow, black, blue, greenish, pink, purple and colorless varieties. You can find refined crystals on sale.

Sapphires are replaced with colored glass, blue spinel or tourmaline, and doublets are also used.

The following properties will help you distinguish a gemstone:

• in hardness the original is second only to diamond;
• natural crystal dichroism is inherent: if you look at the sapphire from above, it has a saturated Blue colour, if from the side - yellowish-blue or greenish;
• sapphires, like rubies, sometimes contain rutile inclusions, creating a silky shine to the stone or an asterism effect;
• As a rule, they do not glow in short-wave ultraviolet light, but artificial analogues fluoresce pale green.

Topaz

Topaz is a popular jewelry stone that has various options coloring. On sale you can often find ennobled samples of rich colors and rainbow mystic topaz, which is obtained by applying a special coating to the surface. Methods for creating synthetic topaz have been developed, but they are not widely used due to the high final cost. Quartz or glass are used as imitations.

The natural origin of topaz is determined by the following characteristics:

• The hardness of the stone is Mohs 8, it is harder than quartz and glass and, unlike the latter, remains cool.
• The surface of polished topaz feels slippery to the touch.
• The mineral becomes electrified if you rub it with a napkin made of natural materials.
• In ultraviolet light, natural stone glows green or brown.
• Topaz is characterized by pleochroism. Blue crystals turn to green or colorless shades when changing lighting. Yellow - to dark yellow or reddish, pink - to red and rarely to orange.

Aquamarine

Aquamarine has a greenish-blue sea green color and is often confused with blue topaz. To increase color intensity, pale stones are heated.

There are no synthetic aquamarines on sale - glass, synthetic spinel and quartz are used as imitations.

The naturalness of aquamarine can be confirmed by the following characteristics:

• mineral hardness - 7.5–8 Mohs;
• Natural aquamarines are characterized by inclusions of white color, reminiscent of chrysanthemum and snowflakes;
• transparent varieties are characterized glossy shine;
• at different angles the crystal changes color slightly;
• the mineral scratches glass and does not heat up, unlike glass.

Corundum

Corundum is a gemstone in the same way as its popular varieties - ruby ​​and sapphire. Pure transparent corundums are extremely rare in nature. In deposits, colored varieties are more often found, whose color is determined by the presence of impurities in the rock.

The natural origin of the mineral is checked in the same way as in the case of rubies and sapphires, with the exception of color:

How to identify a stone in jewelry

Determining the authenticity of gemstones set in metals is more difficult because the setting limits visual inspection. However, the following methods remain effective:

• You can find out which mineral is inserted into a ring or earrings using ultraviolet light;
• examine the holes in the beads - their edges should not be melted;
• you can evaluate the inside of the stone and see if there is a sharp change in color;
• Expensive gems cannot have a cheap setting.

It takes experience to properly evaluate gemstones. Since the main competitors of natural minerals are synthetic crystals, the main protection against error would be to contact a gemologist and purchase jewelry from trusted sellers.

It's no secret that women love precious stones. Some men (and maybe the majority), it must be said, also understand a lot about jewelry, trying to invest profitably in gold and diamonds or simply to please their beloved.

When investing in diamonds, you should be careful: there are special investment diamonds, not jewelry diamonds.

The rules of the game are now dictated by the consumer, because supply on the jewelry market greatly exceeds demand. Jewelers are interested in every client, because jewelry is not an essential item, and the buyer needs to be interested in time, otherwise he may spend the money on something else, more necessary.

The need to purchase jewelry with a precious stone arises on special occasions: weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and other holidays. Having studied, or, we usually move on to the following questions:

— how to distinguish natural stone from synthetic one?

— how to distinguish a natural gemstone from a fake?

To answer the first question, let's first do short review, which minerals are most often sold on the jewelry market.

Comparison of natural and synthetic minerals

When purchasing a gemstone, you want to be sure that it is natural. However, many are willing to buy and wear synthetic analogues, for example, synthetic rubies or diamonds, and there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone has their own taste and preferences. The main thing is that they don’t sell you synthetic under the guise of natural, because this is fraud and deception of the buyer.

Self-respecting jewelry houses and brands will not mislead consumers and will not pass off one stone as another. Small manufacturers or sellers may resort to deception when asked: what kind of gem is inserted into the product? and who is the manufacturer?, they answer: “I don’t know,” and begin to talk vaguely about the long journey from Iran through Australia, during which information about the manufacturer was irretrievably lost. The tag of such sellers modestly indicates the type of product (earrings, for example) and the price. It may also be written by hand - “ruby”, but, as can be understood from the above, you can write anything you want, and usually the stone with which the appearance is most similar.

Deception when selling synthetic stone can only consist of an inflated price. If a product with artificially grown chrysoberyl is sold for $10, then there is no fraud in it. It’s another matter if for the same product they ask for 10 times more, 100 dollars, for example, thus passing it off as a natural gem.

Jewelry stores, as a rule, do not indicate which stone is natural or synthetic, especially if the products belong to the so-called “budget” niche. But the seller, of course, will easily confirm the origin of the stones from the laboratory and even competently make it clear why synthetic stones are better than natural ones.

But a synthetically created diamond is even more expensive than its natural “relative”.

So, here’s how the prices for natural and synthetic stones compare:

Synthetic and natural stones - differences in price

Stone	Natural uncut	Natural faceted	Synthetic uncut, price per 1 carat	Synthetic faceted, price per 1 carat
Ruby	from $10 and up depending on quality	$75-915 - low quality; 1455-4375 - good quality; $11250-23150 - excellent quality -	0,01-0,02 $	1-2 $
Sapphire	from 10 to 75 $ - low quality from 75 to 150 $ - good quality from $150 and above - excellent quality	Cornflower blue - with heat treatment - from $300, without - from $1000 High quality large sapphires - up to $30,000	1-2 cents	3-5 $
Emerald	from 10 $ and above	$350-375 - low quality $620-2700 - good quality $5000-8500 - excellent quality	5-8 $	30-85 $
Diamond (Moissanite)	from 4 $	with characteristic 1/1 - $35,000	not on the market	70-150 $
Alexandrite	from 100$	1500 - 6000 $	6 $	20-30 $
Quartz (amethyst, citrine)	from 10 $ per kilogram!	depending on the type and processing - from 10 $	0,1 $	2-5 $
Opal	from 5 $ per piece.	depending on quality and type - from 10 $	-	3-5 $

The table compares the prices of natural and synthetic stones

We can conclude that natural gems have a very wide range of prices due to their individuality. In contrast, synthetic ones - with ideal purity and color - are much more affordable (with the exception of moissonite).

How to distinguish a precious stone from a fake?

It is much worse if instead of one natural stone, which is expensive by definition, the seller offers another, also natural, but at a much lower price. This is where information about which stones are most often counterfeited and what to look for when buying them can come in handy.

So, the most common fakes are:

- it is counterfeited most often. More than half of the gems passed off as turquoise are fakes. The materials used for counterfeiting are glass, plastic, and the cheap mineral howlite. In addition, fakes are made from turquoise powder or its small particles, which are glued together. It is quite difficult to distinguish such counterfeits at home from natural minerals. It is clear that at home you can scratch the stone from the back to make sure it is natural, but when choosing it in a store you are unlikely to be allowed to scratch the product or carry out other manipulations with it. Therefore, just know that natural turquoise is very difficult to find and it is better not to purchase it on the market or from hand.

– corundum is usually given for a ruby. Natural ruby ​​is very expensive, and besides, it is far from ideal in appearance - it is cloudy, not particularly clean, not to mention its modest size. If you have an excellent quality ruby ​​in front of you affordable price– this is either a synthetic ruby ​​or a fake. Therefore, the main rule for determining the authenticity of a ruby ​​is the correspondence between price and quality. Thus, a ring with a ruby ​​having the characteristics of color and clarity of 3/3 and the size of half a carat will cost about $300.

There are only a few stones, the fakes of which are quite easy to distinguish

Or rather, of course, so. Firstly, the legislation regulates the production and labeling of diamond products and, thus, the consumer is largely protected. In addition, everyone knows the simple property of a diamond to scratch glass, as well as the play of rays in it - it is simply impossible to fake it, but it is very easy to see the multiple refraction of rays and the amazing play of light in a high-quality diamond.

It is also easy to distinguish natural opal from its imitation - it has vague borders of patterns, in contrast to clear ones in a fake, and the patterns themselves never repeat with each other; you should carefully examine them. In addition, the main background of natural opal remains unchanged, regardless of the design. There is also a method invented many centuries ago (apparently they were already engaged in counterfeiting stones back then) - you need to look through the opal at the sun, a natural stone will cast a glow of one shade, and a fake one will cast bright multi-colored highlights.

Zircon - it can be recognized “by eye” without resorting to any manipulations at all. Natural zircon is characterized by a shine similar to diamond and at the same time resinous or greasy. Luster plus color – and zircon is easily identified.

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It is impossible to be indifferent to the mysterious shimmer of natural stones: it is not easy natural beauty, and the embodiment of the entire universe - they are charged with the energy of the earth, mountains and water sources. - a wonderful gift for yourself or loved ones. At the same time, at present, when the market is simply replete with jewelry with colorful stones, the issue of identifying and distinguishing a real treasure from a possible fake is of particular relevance. In this topic we will discuss how to check your jewelry for authenticity at home.

The main signs of natural stone

What makes a mineral precious? Of course, its beauty, rarity (uniqueness), wear resistance (hardness, strength). In the fashion world, it is believed that a talented model does not have to be ideally beautiful, quite the opposite: her beauty lies in her uniqueness - she is original and not like others. The situation is exactly the same with precious stones:defect-free, impeccably pure minerals are extremely rare in nature . If such samples are found, their cost reaches a very high level. Laboratory stones, in turn, have better visual characteristics and are several times cheaper.

There are 3 types of fake jewelry stones:synthetic (grown in laboratory)fake (less valuable ornamental stones, similar to expensive ones jewelry stones) Andimitation made of glass and plastic.

In nature for education gemstone takes several tens or even hundreds of thousands of years: it is not surprising that natural “traces” (various inclusions, dents, microcracks) are a completely natural phenomenon. Under special laboratory conditions, the stone can grow within a period of several hours to a maximum of several months. Synthetic stones appear flawless, but the laboratory cannot recreate a process that completely replicates the natural one. Based on this,artificially grown stone does not have the magical and healing properties inherent only in natural stones . Therefore, the captivatingly bright Linda crystal cannot become your amulet and talisman.

What do professional gemologists study to determine the origin of a stone? First of all, these are internalinclusion , zoning (color distribution),growth microstructures , for observation of which a magnifying glass or microscope is used, as well as a polariscope, dichroscope and ultraviolet lamps.

There is one simple rule that is typical for most stones -natural minerals (except amber) are always cold . Fakes made of glass and plastic are warmer to the touch. To understand whether the stone in front of you is genuine, you can hold it with tweezers and bring the stone to your cheek - it should be cold.

Another feature -laboratory stones are always brighter than natural ones , they may even have an acidic tint. Natural minerals have calmer, “not flashy” tones, and most gems are characterized by the effect of dichroism - the property of changing color depending on the direction of light.

Methods for identifying popular minerals

Below we will provide simple recommendations that will help you check the authenticity of the most popular gems and, although not 100%, will still protect you from buying an obvious fake.

Ways to check the real onediamond plenty. Diamond can be rubbed sandpaper- it should not leave marks in the form of scratches. If you look through a diamond into the light, only a luminous point should be visible in the crystal. And when immersed in water, a real diamond will shine brightly. It is also known that diamond leaves scratches on glass and on the surface of other stones due to the fact that it has the highest degree of hardness.

They fake it quite professionally. At the same time, if you look at the stone through a magnifying glass, you should see a characteristic pattern in its structure - parallel growth lines, but not spiral patterns. In addition, emerald almost always has defects and cracks. And remember: natural emerald should be cold.

On the left are earrings with laboratory emeralds, on the right are earrings with natural emeralds

Naturalruby It is extremely rare to be clean, large and brightly colored. There are several methods for diagnosing ruby:

Distinguish the real onesapphire from multiple "twins" external signs not easy, since methods for its synthesis are constantly being improved. The sapphire offered to you is presumably natural if:

Easy to spot with the naked eyestar sapphires and rubies , in which the main feature is the optical effect: a multi-pointed star, whose presence on the surface of the stone is due to the presence of rutile, is characterized by mobility, i.e. it changes position depending on the viewing angle. This effect has not yet been replicated in laboratory conditions.

Refers to minerals that have a magnetic attraction force. There is a simple method for testing a pomegranate; for this you will need: a magnet, metal scales and a cork. We put the cork on the scales, put a stone on it (to separate it from the metal pan of the scales). When the scales are balanced, we bring the magnet to the stone. If the garnet is natural, the balance will be disrupted - the scales will begin to fluctuate. If you look through the crystals of a real garnet into the light, you will notice small defects and uneven coloring. IN jewelry Natural garnet rarely exceeds the size of a pomegranate seed.

Amethyst

The main feature of naturalamethyst are natural defects and inclusions visible through a 10x magnifying glass. Natural amethyst does not conduct heat well, and if you place it on your cheek, it will remain cool for a long time. And in water, a real amethyst turns pale at the edges, as if its color is washed away by moisture.

Beloved by many, sparkling mineraltopaz can be determined by touch by its characteristic “slipperiness”: when you touch it with your skin, it should be smooth and cool. Although topaz is a transparent mineral, in nature it is rarely perfectly clear, so when examining the stone through a magnifying glass, you will notice small inclusions. If you rub natural topaz with a woolen cloth, it will accumulate electricity and will attract small particles (a piece of napkin, hairs and other light debris). However, there are also high-quality counterfeits of topaz that even imitate physical properties mineral. In this case, the authenticity of the stone can only be determined in a gemological laboratory.

Citrine

Natural colorcitrine not as acid-bright as substitutes may be. When viewed from different angles, natural citrine changes shade from golden lemon to sunny yellow. Imitations do not have such properties.

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