The commonly used terms in jewelry industry, such as jewelry and jade, natural gemstones, natural organic gemstones, artificial products, synthetic gemstones, artificial gem, assembled gemstones, recycled gemstones, imitation gemstones, and optimized gemstones, are defined as follows.

Jewelry and jade refers to all natural materials that can become jewelry or handicrafts without thinking or carving. It is the general name of natural gemstones, natural jade, natural organic gemstones, synthetic gemstones, artificial gem, divided gemstones and recreated gemstones, and can also be referred to as gemstones (generalized gemstones).

Natural gemstones refer to natural, beautiful, rare and durable single crystals (including twins) that can be processed into decorations. In this definition, firstly, it is emphasized that it is naturally formed, which is different from artificial products; Secondly, it is indicated as single crystal, which is different from jade.

Natural jade is a kind of natural mineral aggregate or amorphous body, which is beautiful, rare, durable and of scientific and technological value. The following points are emphasized from this definition: first, it is emphasized that jade is naturally formed, which is different from synthetic jade; Secondly, it is emphasized that it must be beautiful, rare, durable and can be carved into jewelry or handicrafts to distinguish it from ordinary rocks. Finally, it is emphasized that it is an aggregate or amorphous body composed of minerals, which is different from natural gemstones.

Natural organic gemstones are formed by natural biological action, partially or completely composed of organic matter or partially inorganic matter and partially organic matter, and can be used as decorative solids. Cultured pearls also belong to this category.

Artificial gem refers to materials that are completely produced or manufactured by people and used as jewelry or decorations. Include artificial gem, synthetic gemstones, synthetic jade and artificial gem.

Synthetic gemstones refer to crystals or amorphous bodies that are completely or partially artificially manufactured and have known counterparts in nature. Their physical properties, chemical composition and crystal structure are basically the same as those of corresponding natural gemstones. Such as: synthetic ruby, synthetic amethyst, etc.

Artificial gem is an artificial crystal or amorphous body, and there is no known counterpart in nature. Such as yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), strontium titanate, etc.

A divided gem is a jewel and jade that is composed of two or more pieces of materials, giving people an overall impression. It's called splitting stone for short. Such as: sapphire mosaic, opal mosaic, etc.

Recycled gemstones refer to jewels and jade that are artificially welded or pressed by fragments or chips of gemstones. Such as: recycling turquoise, recycling amber, etc.

Imitation gemstone refers to an artificial product that imitates some characteristics of natural gemstones (color, appearance and special optical effects), but its composition and structure are completely different from those of the imitated gemstones. Such as emerald green glass and imitation pearls.

Optimized gemstones refer to traditional and widely accepted gemstones, whose characteristics (color, clarity or special optical effects) can be changed by different methods other than cutting and polishing, and their durability or usability can be improved. Such as dyed agate and chalcedony.

Treated gemstones are those whose characteristics (color, clarity or special optical effects) have been changed by different methods except cutting and polishing, but their durability or usability are unconventional and not widely accepted by people. Such as jadeite b, c and so on.

Second, the conditions of natural gemstones

Jewelry and jade are used to beautify and decorate people's lives. Generally speaking, it must have three basic conditions: beautiful, durable and rare.

1. Beauty

Beauty is a necessary condition for a gem, which is composed of many factors such as color, transparency, luster, purity and so on. Only when these factors are well combined can a gem present a beautiful appearance.

Gems can be divided into colored and colorless by color. Colored gems requires bright, pure and uniform colors. For example, emeralds are bright green, emerald green or green varieties in beryl. The colors of those colorless gems are not as important as colored gems in the evaluation. Its dispersity and luster are important factors to make a gem bright.

Gems should have good transparency and purity. Colored gems with high transparency and purity will improve its overall quality, and the transparency and purity of colorless gemstones are important factors that constitute the aesthetic feeling of gemstones.

The luster of a gem is the ability of its surface to reflect light. Gems with strong luster shine brilliantly in the sun.

Special optical effects, such as starlight effect, cat's eye effect, color change effect, etc. , add beauty to the gem and multiply its value.

2. Persistence

The durability of gemstones means that they will not deteriorate after long-term wear or storage. Restricted by factors such as hardness, toughness and chemical stability. High hardness (Mohs hardness greater than 7) makes the gemstone not easy to wear, strong toughness makes it not easy to break, and stable chemical properties make it not easy to be eroded.

rare

Rare means "things are rare", including rarity in variety and rarity in quality. Rare examples of varieties such as amethyst. Centuries ago, amethyst was discovered in Europe and was once regarded as a treasure because of its beauty and novelty. Later, after the discovery of a large amethyst deposit in Brazil, its value plummeted, and amethyst was no longer a precious treasure. Emerald embodies the rarity of quality. The mineral variety of emerald is beryl, which is widely distributed in nature and has a large output, but its cleavage is developed and its defects are serious, so it is very rare to process it into flawless gems. Therefore, large and flawless emerald products have become rare treasures.