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With more than 17 years of jewelry-making experience, Melanie Guerra has the information you're
looking for! Send her a question! If she publishes in "Musings or uses on this website, you'll receive a
$20 gift certificate good for your next MUSE purchase! Email Melanie Now!
Fine Silver is a precious metal which is 99.9 percent pure silver (you will sometimes see a
stamp on the inside: ".999". In contrast, Sterling Silver has a silver content that's slightly
lower, 92.5% (thus the well- known hallmark of ".925" on sterling pieces). As Fine Silver has a
higher silver content, it tends to be a bit softer than sterling, but has an unmistakable
sheen and makes really beautiful jewelry!
2) "Is a lab-created emerald a fake?"
NO! This is a common misconception among jewelry consumers. Here's the quick & dirty
guide to gems:
NATURAL gems are created in the earth when natural elements (such as carbon, iron,
calcium) combine with heat, pressure and time, resulting in everything from coveted
tanzanites, rubies and diamonds to more common stones like peridot, quarts and lapis.
LAB-CREATED stones are genetically the same as natural stones... the same elements are
brought together, and similar conditions such as heat and pressure are created in a
laboratory environment. Thanks to technology, the time portion of the equationcan be
sped up, allowing us to enjoy these gems now, rather than in a few million years.
SYNTHETIC or SIMULATED gems are, in fact, what most would call "fakes" - they are
materials (glass, plastic, crystal, even paste a century or so ago) that are substituted for
the natural composition of a gem, but colored, faceted and polished to closely resemble a
gem.
Bottom line? You can feel comfortable purchasing lab created gems (such as my stunning
ruby earrings) , once you realize that you really ARE buying a gemstone - it's just that the
way it came into being is a little more modern than conventional!
Got a jewelry question you've always wanted an answer to? Email your question to me:
melanie@wearmuse.com . I'll answer a new question in each issue of my newsletter. If I
choose yours, you'll win a $20 MUSE gift certificate! Pretty sweet - an answer and
something that sparkles...
