Fake Gemstones Flood the Market

TOP - Hematite ribbons in natural Indian sunstone.

BOTTOM - Hematite ribbons in red treated feldspar. Photos courtesy of Robert James.

Let's follow-up on the report earlier this week regarding Macy's cheating customers with fake rubies. Most fairly informed people understand that there are fake gemstones in the marketplace. How else can Walmart sell a diamond ring for $195.00. The amount of artificial stones in the market is now staggering. Sterling Canyon knows there are artificial gems to be had and also unscrupulous dealers out there trying to make a buck from uninformed buyers. Sterling Canyon does all it can to verify that the stones it sells are indeed true and first quality. Now it seems that buyers of Labradorite are suing dealers including Jewelry Television over suspect Labradorite. If you recently bought red or green "new-find" Labradorite on screen or on line as a natural-color gemstone, you may be in for a rude awakening. These feldspars may owe their beauty to the gemological equivalent of color implants - or, more crudely, dyeing. Take a look at these pictures above. It doesn't take much magnification to notice the bottom stone is dyed.