I love gemstones. I
have my favorites that seem to have an ability to charm and enchant me such
that I can just stare at them in a hypnotic trance. I have been using genuine stones for decades
and still am excited about them. It
seems there are always new discoveries, new stones, new looks. Gemstones/genuine stones have a learning
curve like most things in life. You learn
to recognize them by name and the learning grows and continues. But here are some things I’ve observed that
you might find useful if you are new to using genuine stones in your beading or
you just love them.
Most stones are enhanced.
Typically, they are dyed to bring out the color or smooth it by coloring
areas that are lighter. Some stones take
dye very well and this is not an issue related to the future appearance, the
dye permeates the stone and it will look the same today as 50 years in the
future. Others don’t take dye as well
and if exposed to sunlight (like in a window display in a store) may change the
color by either fading or changing the hue.
Unfortunately dyed stones are almost impossible to avoid since there is
no requirement to label the stones as dyed.
And sometimes it doesn’t matter since the dye is so permanent. I have observed that dyes that are pinks,
reds, and purples tend to be the most sensitive to sunlight exposure. And… one of my general rules is: If the stone is pink (especially hot pink),
bright red, or purple AND if it isn’t super expensive, then the color is a
result of a dye. This is because nature
rarely produces these colors so while they do exist, they are really
expensive. (lol, my general rule is if I
can afford it, it probably is not natural!).
Only gemstone grade garnets are natural. ALL other garnets are dyed. Always wash any garnet beads in soapy water
before using them in your designs. If
you don’t, you will find any neck sweat will quickly turn your neck red…
Labels Labels Labels.
As I said before there is no requirement about labeling stones as dyed
or enhanced in any way. You can purchase
your stones from a trusted source, but I have found issues there too… They can
only report what they know and sometimes they simply are not told the
truth. So, it is not a bad idea to wash
every stone strand you purchase in soapy water…. Or, do as I do: wash all garnets, wash all
pinks and purples, and wash anything else that I have even a suspicion of. It won’t hurt the stones and could be a
help. If you see the water tinting to a
color, you know you were right!
Names of stones:
This is a pet peeve of mine, but I also recognize it is a
complicated area. So, first let me
explain the complication. A stone is
scientifically identified by its molecular components. It has a MOH (hardness) rating
and a structure for the stone. Quartz
for example has a crystalline structure. You can take the same recipe of stuff
that is in quartz and lab-create something… the problem is that it won’t have
the crystalline structure which typically can only be tested by crushing the piece. This became an issue with Strawberry Quartz
which is a natural stone BUT is very expensive and was re-created in glass and
labeled as “Strawberry Quartz” in quotes.
But the quotes typically didn’t make it on the label. Many stores/suppliers began to call these
created pieces Strawberry Quartz Glass but not all did. This is one type of complication.
Another type is the “assembled” type of complication. The best example of this is amber. Amber is very soft. When you carve or otherwise shape a piece of
amber into a round bead or other form, then there are leftover
shavings/scraps. You can take these
scraps and press them together is form a new piece of amber. This is “reconstituted” amber. Natural amber and reconstituted amber are
both expensive (it’s amber after all…. ) and you have no way of proving that
reconstituted amber is not natural, there is no test that differentiates the
two. So trust in your supplier is the key here.
While both are expensive, natural amber is even more expensive.
This same issue is involved with turquoise versus chalk
turquoise. Turquoise is an extremely
soft stone, therefore it is always permeated with a resin. If it wasn’t, it would simply crumble. So, natural turquoise bead or cabs are made
of turquoise and resin. Chalk turquoise
is the remnants, of carving/shaping turquoise and is infused with resin and
reconstituted. Typically, dye is also
added. If you do a chemical test on each
you get the same answer: turquoise with resin.
And there is no requirement to label chalk turquoise as chalk turquoise
versus just saying turquoise. If this
matters to you, then check with your supplier but keep in mind, they may have
been misled too.
Another complicated factor is that some stones
scientifically are one stone but can have many appearances. Probably the best example of this is
Serpentine. So, from a practical point
of view for beaders, it isn’t helpful or useful to call it all Serpentine when
one piece looks so different from another.
Therefore, Serpentine has nick-names depending on its appearance. Yellow
Turquoise, New Jade, and Olive Jade are all examples of Serpentine. This is NOT Turquoise that is yellow any more
than it is Jade. Again, these names are
in “quotes” but the quotes get left off, they are all Serpentine. Rhyolite
is another stone with many appearances and has nicknames for the various looks
such as Rain Forest Jasper and Noondrite.
So, this brings me to a pet peeve of mine. You will quickly notice that nicknames and
new names for stones (you find it, you name it) are intentionally
misleading. Key words people use are
jade and opal because there is a familiarity and general belief in the value of
these stones. So, call Serpentine “New
Jade” or brown-green chalcedony “Green Opal”.
This elevates people’s opinion of the stone but it is not real. I at least understand a certain need here to
more adequately describe the appearance of a stone, but in the case of “Blue
Labradorite” there is no such need. This
is actually Larvikite and is mined in only one area…. it has only ONE
appearance and this nick-name is solely (IMHO) to mislead.
So now I will get off my soapbox (which is carved chalk
turquoise with inlaid mother of pearl – gorgeous!) and hope you have learned a few things. Remember, you can always do some
web-searching to explore or learn… just do it with a lapidary or scientific
site that doesn’t sell anything so they have no other motivations.