Gem Types: Natural, Lab, and Imitation

We're all quite familiar with these fascinating gems, grown over millions of years within the Earth.

As natural gems grow, they incorporate minerals which directly influence their color, which can vary in presence and amount during the growing process. This creates a stunningly wide array of shades and depth. They can also pick up a huge variety of inclusions from miniscule crystals to feathers (internal cracks), each shaping the gem and its unique beauty.

Some natural gemstones are treated, such as receiving a Heat Treatment, which improves the color and clarity of a gem (ex. Montana Sapphires). These gems, though treated, are still considered natural. These treatments should be properly labeled and displayed.

This all increases their rarity and limit what a gemcutter can do when it comes to shape and size.

Most natural gemstones are a 'you see what you get' as nothing can be guaranteed before a gem is cut.

Pros:

• Unparalleled beauty and depth of color
• Uniqueness

Cons:

• Rarity, not always guaranteed to be ethically sourced
• Price determined by cut, clarity, color, and carat weight

Lab Created Gems, also referred to as Synthetic Gems, are optically and chemically identical to their natural counterpart, however, these beauties were grown in a laboratory. They shouldn't be confused with simulants or imitations. They're the real deal!

These gems grow at a much faster pace than natural (within a year rather than thousands of them). While there are numerous ways of growing gems, they all have something in common. A very precise mixture of minerals combined with heat and pressure to mimic a natural gems growth.

Since the growing process is highly controlled, it's relatively easy to get repeatable results. This means more uniformity of its color and quality while also being loupe clean, containing no or minimal inclusions.

Pros:

• Vast variety of sizes and shapes - cut to order
• Price determined by weight or size of finished gem

Cons:

• Limited on color pallets
• Can be produced in mass quantities

Also known as Simulants, these stunning gems are lab created as well, but were created to mimic (or simulate) another gem. Their chemical composition and crystal structure are very different from their counterpart, and often have different optical and physical properties.

The most famous example would be Cubic Zirconia, which was created to mimic Diamonds. Moissanite as well has grown in popularity, not just as a simulant, but in its own right too!

YAG and Synthetic Spinel have also been used as imitation gems with a wide range of color.

Pros:

• Lower price point
• Huge variety of shapes and sizes

Cons:

• Sometimes sold as the counterpart
• May not have the same brilliance as the counterpart
• May have poor cut quality