Natural Gemstones:
“Perfection is shallow, unreal, and fatally uninteresting.” – Anne Lamott
A natural gemstone is nature’s creation, and nature is rarely perfect. Natural gemstones are expected to have some degree of imperfection.
Gemstones can have both external and internal flaws, often called inclusions. External flaws commonly found in precious gemstones are scratches, blemishes or minor chips. Internal flaws are also often found, and are like the fingerprint of a gem; each gemstone has its own unique internal structure. Due to these inclusions, no two gemstones are alike. A gemstone is as unique as a snowflake, and it is these inclusions, or flaws, which make gemstones even more intriguing and precious.
Inclusions can include mineral or crystal deposits and growths inside the stone. Some gemstones have internal cavities, often occupied by a liquid, such as water, saline, liquid carbon dioxide or natural hydrocarbon compounds. For example, opals have an extremely high water content, and it is partly this liquid that is responsible for producing their vivid rainbow tones. Gasses can also occupy cavities inside gemstones, creating what may look like bubbling or hazing inside the stone. Layers of growth created over the years can create layered flaws within the stone, creating optical illusions where flaws are seen from one angle but not another, or creating colour changes depending on how the stone is viewed.
It is a common misconception that these inclusions are bad, especially since they can manifest as cracks, feathers, fractures, hazing or clouds, but the truth is that these inclusions are not bad. They do not make the gem “faulty”. Many gemstones are actually valued higher for their inclusions. The value of a gemstone is based on its rarity and not whether or not it has these imperfections or “flaws”. A gemstone with impurities and inclusions may actually be considered a perfect specimen, and could be more valuable than you would expect.
Please consider this before being disappointed with your gemstone as being flawed, imperfect, bad, faulty. Each gemstone is a little miracle created by nature, and just as with ourselves, it is imperfections that help makes them what they are. If you are seeking absolute perfection, then a gemstone jewellery piece is probably not the piece for you.
