Gem Jewelry Making Stone
Q.First, I am not an expert in any matters relating to jewelry or jewelry making. However, I am beginning to delve into the art a bit, and have come across an item that I have a question about. If I'm not mistaken at the basic level, why is there such a sneering, deriding attitude towards lab made gems as compared to natural gems? If the lab made are "perfect" (relatively) examples of the gem they are crafted after, and natural are flawed and relatively imperfect, why do so many people consider natural as somehow inherintly "better"? I understand character and history and all the other "feeling" arguments, but other than feelings and warm fuzzies, is there any basis for the animosity towards lab made gems, assuming they are correctly grown and cut? Its not like we're talking about colored glass as opposed to a gem, we're talking about a gem created in one place as opposed to another. Is this simply a preference based on feelings, and little else?
A.Have you asked the people who displayed those attitudes? Those are the people you should be asking. Sneering, deriding attitudes and animosity are *not* universal throughout the jewelry trade, which recognizes that there is a place and a market for all categories of gems and jewelry -- that it's a big world with all types of customers and markets. Some people specialize in synthetics, which have their places, and others specialize in natural stones, which have their places, and still others specialize in colored glass, which has its places. Same for metals and designs. Mature professionals respect all categories and materials, even if they don't deal in them. Maybe you answered your own question right there. If you accept that "colored glass" has less (comparative value) than a "gem," then maybe you can move on to synthetic vs natural and find an answer. (Be aware that some the artists who make one-of-a-kind lampwork beads from colored glass may not appreciate this attitude toward "colored glass." Beyond "feelings and warm fuzzies" there is the value or price (in general) that the impersonal world marketplace assigns to a particular stone. That value depends partly on supply and demand, and in some respects, the supply of synthetics is unlimited. You may not like, or understand, or agree with, say, the price of gold, or the price of gold vs the price of brass, but that's the way the market (world) is. If somebody wants to sneer at brass jewelry, that's their decision. Same for synthetics.
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