What is a natural gemstone?

In the world of gems and minerals, most people would equate the word natural with a stone that was recovered from the earth and not treated or enhanced in any way. This is mainly true with mineral specimens, although some crystals may require an acid bath to remove iron staining or other mineral residue. It is a routine procedure that illustrates how a little help from humans can make a natural gemstone even more beautiful. Wouldn’t most people prefer a clear, bright, shiny crystal to a dirty brown one?

Another common way to alter rough material is with a rock tumbler. Polishing most stones brings out their colors and patterns, accenting the beauty that’s already there.

If the natural gemstone has been shaped and polished, does that mean a tumbled stone is unnatural?

When it comes to gems and jewelry the issue gets more complicated. Not only have the stones been faceted (few people would have a rough sapphire set in a ring), but the vast majority of them have undergone some sort of treatment to improve their color or stability.

• Heating is by far the most common treatment with a natural gemstone and is almost always done to change, deepen, or lighten the color of a stone.
• Other enhancements include irradiation, fracture filling, and bleaching.
• Treatments not only make gems more attractive, they make them more available.
• Both Citrine and Tanzanite are rare in nature and would be very expensive if heat treatment did not exist.
• Also, it’s not as if humans are adding color (with the exception of dyeing of course) or taking it away. It is the gem reacting to the forces it might naturally encounter in the earth’s crust. So is a treated gem unnatural?

If you pull a carrot out of the earth, you will at least wash it off before you eat it. You may decide to cut it up. You might possibly cook it. More than likely you won’t be setting it in a gold ring!

Ultimately everyone has their own idea of what “natural” means to them. When it comes to buying stones, do a little research and ask questions. Most importantly realize that treatments or enhancements are not meant to deceive, they are simply a way of taking something from the ground and turning it into something to be treasured!