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If you buy a faceted stone and want to know whether the stone has been cut at the correct angles, lay the stone over some writing and look through the table.  Can you clearly read the writing?  If so, the stone is incorrectly faceted. It could also be glass. The area where you can see the writing through is called a window.  You don’t want a big window on your stone – you want to see facets, light, and sparkle. Are the facets evenly distributed? (Good). Is it poorly polished? (Bad, obviously!)

Check the girdle:  does it have a knife edge? (Bad) Is it symmetrical? (Good)  Is it very thick? (difficult to set) Uneven? (Bad)  All these elements will add to the difficulty level when setting the stone. Look at a setting bur.  Will your stone set well within the shape that it cuts?  Use a round bur for slightly misshapen stones.  I once bought several tiny, inexpensive rubies (about 1.5mm).  They were all cut so poorly that I couldn’t set one of them.  

Other issues to address when purchasing a stone are Cosmetic and Structural Flaws.

See the SGI Institute for a great site on gemstone inclusions (and other information!).

I always bring a loop when I go stone/bead shopping to check for cracks and inclusions and to look for sneaky practices like claiming a stone is natural but is, in fact, a doublet. Doublets are the addition of another layer of material to either enhance the strength and color or to offer an inexpensive version of a higher-priced stone, like opals. There is no problem with purchasing doublets, but there is a problem if the seller doesn’t disclose this information.

Quartz and Turquoise doublet from Rio Grande Jewelry. This item is no longer available on Rio’s site.

When purchasing faceted gemstone beads, it is also important to check for flaws.  If you want matched beads, carefully examine the strand for:

•  Consistently sized beads 
•  Inclusions 
•  Holes that are larger at one end than the other and are too close to the sides of the bead. There needs to be enough material so the stresses placed on the bead by the wire or cordage don’t break the stone.  This is especially common with briolettes.
• Chipping
•  How they lie.  Hold the strand horizontally and vertically to see how it lies. Pull it into a “U” shaped form to see how it looks like a necklace.
• Wear – look at the facets on the individual stones in a strand.  Often, they rub and bounce together on their long journey to the vendor’s table, and, especially with soft stones, they may now have worn and/or scratched facets. You’ll find this particularly common with softer stones. (See the Mohs Scale). This may or may not be an issue depending on how the stone will be displayed.
• Watch out for new, odd, or unusual names for stones.  Check out this False or Misleading Gemstone Names list by the International Gem Society (IGS). Also, see this index on fakes GIA.  
• IGS’s index on fakes.

Take your time; don’t be intimidated by the seller or believe everything they tell you! I can’t tell you how many strands of beads I bought (in the past!) that are mostly useless.  It’s just another way to throw away money.

On a different but similar note, if buying silver beads, bring a long needle (or a fabulous hat pin you have created) and poke around inside the bead.  I’ve purchased supposedly solid, silver beads that expelled black, smoky goop that I believe was tar.  The tar significantly added to the weight of the silver (purchased by the gram) and, of course, my cost!  I wish I could remember who I had bought them from! Save those business cards from vendors and record what you purchased from them.  Receipts will prove the purchase, too.

Terms

Natural – a gem that has had no human assistance in its creation. (except for the cutting, of course).

Organic – Organic material is a material that comes from a living or previously living being.  Even though the material may have been altered by time, environment, or pressure, if a living creature contributed its tissue, it’s organic.

• A bivalve mollusk creates pearls – an irritant is placed or finds its way inside the bivalve. The creature builds up layers of nacre to protect itself from the irritant – creating the pearl. The mantle, or the layer that lines the shell’s inside, is made from the same nacre that creates a pearl.
• Amber fossilized tree sap
• Coral layer upon layer of the skeletons of filter-feeding creatures. 
• Jet is wood that has been under extreme pressure.  It’s similar to coal but is considered a gemstone.  It is very soft 2 – 4 on the Mohs Scale. 
• Ivory – Is composed of the tusks or teeth of a once-living creature. Ivory is made from dentine – calcified tissue – just like our teeth. When you buy ivory, be sure of its source.  Elephants, hippopotamuses, whales, and other beautiful animals are massacred for their teeth or tusks.
•   Carved Tagua Nut Earrings from GIA.
• Vegetable ivory Tagua Palm also called the Ivory Nut Palm.

• Ammonite Ammonites are fossilized ammonites (shelled cephalopods).

•   Ammolite is similar to Ammonite because they are fossilized shelled cephalopods, except they are considered gem quality. 

Interestingly, fossilized dinosaur bone and fossilized coral are NOT classified as organic, yet amber is because it retains its mineral composition.  The reasoning is that other minerals have replaced all the original material.

I could find nothing indicating whether Ammonites and Ammolites were organic or fossils, so I’m putting them in the non-organic box.  They meet both criteria:  minerals have replaced the original material and come from a previously living being.

The following terms indicate that we humans have assisted in the development of the gemstone (or pearl) in one form or another.  These stones are generally identical in physical, chemical, and visual properties, but their value is less, as is their rarity. It is required by law to disclose whether a stone is natural or one of the following:

• Synthetic – this term isn’t often used because many people associate the word with “fake.”
• Laboratory-grown – same as man-made and synthetic.
• Cultured – Think pearls  
• Man-made – same as lab-grown and synthetic

Other things to know before purchasing gemstones:

•  Dyed  Jadeite.  Image from GIA’s site.     Bleached (with acid) – pearls can be bleached, as can coral, jadeite, chalcedony, and tiger’s eye quartz.  These gems can be more brittle and porous after treatment.
• Stones can be dyed. Chemicals or heat can change the stone’s color.
• Tanzanite – after and before heat treatment. Image from Gem-A.                             Heat Treated – Colors may have been obtained by heating the stone.  Sometimes, the coloring is not permanent, and the stone will revert to its original color. Sunlight can cause fading.
• Irradiated – You should read this from The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The visibility of inclusions may be reduced, and the color may be altered.  Green quartz is irradiated and heated amethyst, for example. 
• Have laser-altered colors
• (Mystic topaz) Coated – colors can be painted on the backs of stones or thin coatings applied to the front.  Metallic oxides can also be added.  Mystic topaz is an example.  Topaz can also be irradiated and heat-treated.
• Doublets and triplets – Layers of other stones are added to increase either strength or color.

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission – USA) has guidelines and rules pertaining to these issues as does AGTA (the American Gem Trade Association).
Here is AGTA’s page on synthetic stones.