Is That Really A Sapphire?

It has always amused me how the gem industry comes up with the prettiest nicknames for some stones. Such as “Water Sapphires” (Iolite), “Green Onyx”, (Chalcedony) and my new favorite is “Evening Emerald” (see below).

As sweet and glamorous as they may sound though, if you’re not familiar with them they could end up being confusing, even misleading.

Here’s a picture example of the stone with the nickname and then the real McCoy shown in both gemstone and cabochon quality:

1- Sapphire quartz: Is it a Sapphire? No it’s Blue Chalcedony
2- Bohemian Ruby: Is it a Ruby? No it’s Red Garnet
3- Evening Emerald: Is it an Emerald? No it’s Peridot
4- Oregon Moonstone: Is it a Moonstone? No it’s White Chalcedony



It’s a little less amusing though when completely synthetic stones (resin, glass, plastic) are at times being referred to as “precious or semi precious”. Did you know that cherry quartz, pineapple quartz, tanzanite quartz, etc. are not mined stones at all? Don’t be swayed by the word quartz in the name, they are synthetic.
Don’t be shy to always ask your jeweler lots of questions before you buy a piece. Is this stone manmade or mined? Where is it mined? A well informed jeweler will always gladly share this info.