Gemstone authenticity

These days we see so many forms of Turquoise on the market... but how do we know that what we buy is the real deal?

At My Gemme we only sell untreated genuine turquoise, straight from the Arizona mines. Today almost 90% of the turquoise on the market is dyed howlite, a mineral which can be dyed in almost any colour imaginable. 

There’.are a few checks that you can do to help determine if you’re buying real turquoise

 

  • Price: if the price is too good to be true then it probably is howlite and not Arizona Turquoise. Real Turquoise is expensive due to its rarity. Real turquoise is rare, so it comes with an expensive price tag. The turquoise My Gemme is using only come from the original Arizona mines, Kingman mines or Globe mines (for sleeping beauty Turquoise). Those form of turquoise stand out for its apperance.
  • Real Arizona turquoise is about $10-50 per carat, so be cautious of very low prices. If it seems like the price of the turquoise jewelry or gemstone you’re looking at is too good to be true, it probably is. Sleeping beauty or Arizona turquoise is a very rare stone that has a typical price tag  between $10-50 per carat (1 carat is equal to 200 milligrams)
  • turquoise does have some inclusions, those inclusions are parts of copper. The main contributor to the blue color found in turquoise is the copper that the stone contains. You can do a fingernail scratch test to see if it damages. Only Howlite "turquoise" is very soft and will leave a scratch. Real turquoise is mutch harder and not easily to scratch.
  • Color: The speeling beauty turquoise, only found in the Globe mines in Arizona stand out for its vivid blue colour, or alo named "Robinson Egg colour"
How to identify your other gemstones and pearls?
Gemstone identification is a very precise work. Distinguishing natural from a synthetic stone involves observing inclusions in gems through a microscope or a magnifying glass. In some cases, this is simple. In other cases, this requires judgment based on experience. as microscopic details can be very subtle and hard to see! Gemstones always have inclusions and no air bubbles. When a gemstone is flawless, changes are big you're dealing with a man made stone or an imitation stone.
Real colour of the gemstone: After identifying the authenticity of the gemstone, the next step should be to check its colour. The gemstone you intend to buy should have a vibrant colour and should be even and eye-pleasing. To determine if this is the case, look at it from under a magnifying lens to see if the stone has an unusual opacity and colour concentrations. If the stone has colour concentrations in some part of the gem, it is colour treated. 
Shape and design: While buying a gemstone, people are usually focussed about the shape of the gemstone. Each cut and shape has different characteristics and bring out a certain sparkle. When you buy a gemstone, look for the one that is precisely-cut without any marks on it. 
The transparency: Once the above points are checked, you should now look for the transparency of the gemstone. The more transparent a gemstone the higher is its value. But be aware, the transparency should be natural and not created by heating, glass-filling or metal filling in it. Also a gemstone is never flawless and never 100% transparent. Its created by nature, for thousands of years, which makes a slightly imperfect stone... so perfect!

Pearls

The first check you can make is to touch the pearls and feel their temperature. Real pearls are cold to touch for the first moment before warming up against your skin. Immitation pearls have the same temperature as the room temperature and you don’t feel the coolness when you wear them. 

Real pearls always have some irregularities. At My Gemme AAA quality is used, which means the pearls almost have no irregularities and the shine/ luster is very good.

When you rub the pearl against your teeth very softly, you'll notice a gritty feeling. This is a sign of authenticity.

Examine the colour of your pearls
Natural AAA/ fine quality pearls have an overtone, a translucent colour on the outer surface of the pearl. you see a hint of ivory/ pink or green over the main pearl colour.