PDA

View Full Version : Ethical Gemstones



Victoria
30-04-2013, 11:18 AM
Hi,
I was wondering if people can recommend some suppliers of ethical gemstones, preferably UK based (to reduce postage costs/customs taxes, etc) I appreciate there is no definition or gold standard on ethical stones, but I guess I mean companies that at least have put some thought into it and have an ethical policy and are in some way committed to using mines that don't use slave workforce, etc etc. I'm also interested in reputable suppliers of lab diamonds.
Any general advice in this area also welcomed :-)
Thanks!
Vx

ps_bond
30-04-2013, 12:16 PM
The Kimberley process is supposed to provide a baseline on ethics for diamonds, although it seems somewhat discredited now.
On the lab-grown front I may be able to put you in touch with someone, depends what you're after (and I need to check with them - supply isn't their primary focus at the moment).

I'm now interested in what makes for a disreputable supplier of lab-grown diamonds...? :)

medusa
30-04-2013, 12:36 PM
I'm now interested in what makes for a disreputable supplier of lab-grown diamonds...? :)

ones who flog CZ as lab grown?

I actually like lab grown gems because they feel a bit more 'ethical', but am aware that some people have bought coloured glass.

ps_bond
30-04-2013, 01:32 PM
Are they a supplier of lab-grown diamonds then, or merely a scumbag fraudster?

I like lab-growns as they're generally cheaper (not all that much cheaper when it's diamond though); I could do with a dichroscope at the least to have a better idea of what's arrived.
Worrying about keeping CZs and diamonds separate at the moment - it's easy enough until one goes in the catch tray, then...? If I stick with 8/8 for the small ones the different cut should be a giveaway!

medusa
30-04-2013, 02:09 PM
I've just heard stories of people thinking they are buying lab grown but actually having glass. I did wonder if I'd been duped with a really early foray into jewellery when I embedded a lab grown emerald into some PMC.

The beautiful cushion cut came out all lumpy and bumpy. Convinced it was glass, I tossed it into the hydrofluoric but over a fortnight later (I was busy and forgot about it) it came out as it went in. So not glass in this case.

I notice cookies are now selling moissonite (sp?). What is the difference between those and other lab grown diamonds?

ps_bond
30-04-2013, 02:14 PM
Moissanite isn't diamond - it's silicon carbide. Rarely occurring in that form naturally (IIRC some meteorites have contained some), hardness 9 on Moh's, classed as a diamond simulant (same as CZ is).

Saving some typing -
http://www.lacywest.com/t_mtest.htm

Victoria
30-04-2013, 02:28 PM
Thanks guys...I do worry about buying lab diamonds in case I get sold cz's or glass. It also occurred to me that I could be buying lab diamonds from a company that also supplies "un-ethical" (i.e. they don't know or don't care where the stones come from) gemstones and so my money is still going to the bad people...ahem, if you know what I mean! I'm not after anything specific at the moment, just a reliable supplier of lab diamonds, though thanks Peter. I get my white diamonds from cooksons but I quite fancy playing with some coloured diamonds which cooksons don't do.

Medusa - I think I spotted that cooksons mossanite is from Charles and Colvard who, as far as I can make out, are pretty much the biggest in the world of mossanite! they've got some blurb on their website about it - http://www.charlesandcolvard.com/

Any ideas on other ethical gemstones, other than diamonds? I recently found Rubyfair.com but on the whole they're a little out of my price range :-O

V

Goldsmith
30-04-2013, 02:49 PM
I bought some lab grown gems from a guy on eBay. He has since stopped trading and I bought a batch of lab grown stones from him when he was clearing stock. They don't chip as easy as glass and are a decent cheap way of including large coloured stones in jewellery. I use them for rings and items made for my daughter and her friends.

James

46594660

medusa
30-04-2013, 02:50 PM
Moissanite isn't diamond - it's silicon carbide. Rarely occurring in that form naturally (IIRC some meteorites have contained some), hardness 9 on Moh's, classed as a diamond simulant (same as CZ is).

Saving some typing -
http://www.lacywest.com/t_mtest.htm

Ahhh ok, I thought because they were lab created they were basically a synth diamond.

ps_bond
30-04-2013, 03:00 PM
I bought some lab grown gems from a guy on eBay. He has since stopped trading ...

Channel Island Gems? I think he supplied all the lab-grown I've used to date :)

The diamonds I've got to work with at the moment (not my stones) are a 1.18ct yellow/orange emerald cut IF and a 0.7ct yellow/orange princess cut SI2, both certificated (can't remember which lab offhand).

Victoria
30-04-2013, 05:10 PM
Channel Island Gems is definitely no longer on ebay :'(

Instead I've found this, but I can't figure out if these are lab diamonds or cz - what do folks think??? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190652221342?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Vx

medusa
30-04-2013, 05:52 PM
It says they are CZ, Victoria. Right at the very bottom.

I didn't realise CZ were lab created though. Learning a lot here today.

caroleallen
30-04-2013, 05:56 PM
Rubyfair visited me last year with samples. They were beautiful but as you say, very expensive.

ps_bond
30-04-2013, 09:22 PM
Instead I've found this, but I can't figure out if these are lab diamonds or cz - what do folks think??? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190652221342?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649


What do I think? The seller is a fraudster. "Lab diamonds" indeed - chemical composition ZrO2. So... Not even remotely diamonds. Lab grown diamonds are exactly that - diamonds, grown in a lab (well, probably not quite what I'd recognise as a lab but not to worry). Cubic zirconia are cubic zirconia and at best can be described as a diamond simulant.

Grr.

Victoria
01-05-2013, 01:23 PM
Thanks everyone...all the way through that listing they talked about lab diamonds then there's that slightly oddly worded paragraph at the end which mentions cz but doesn't explicitly say that they are cz.

I wasn't sure if it was just me getting confused about the difference between lab diamonds and cz, but thanks Peter, you've confirmed what I was thinking!!! However, I refuse to give up! If I keep searching, what kinds of things do I need to look for to see if they are actually lab diamonds...not being a scientist, I didn't know that ZrO2 meant cz!

cheers
x

ps_bond
07-05-2013, 09:29 AM
Well, diamonds are carbon. Cubic zirconia is zirconium oxide (ZrO2), moissanite is silicon carbide (SiC). Glass is usually silicon dioxide (ish - SiO2).

Lab grown or synthetic diamonds are usually in the order of 70% of the mined variety - so the price is a pretty good indicator.

I've spoken to the person with the lab-grown diamonds (and these are papered as well) and she's quite happy to wholesale if people want.

AFJ
11-07-2014, 12:03 PM
Hi Peter,

I'd be really interested in speaking to the lab-grown diamond person. Could you send me her details please?


Well, diamonds are carbon. Cubic zirconia is zirconium oxide (ZrO2), moissanite is silicon carbide (SiC). Glass is usually silicon dioxide (ish - SiO2).

Lab grown or synthetic diamonds are usually in the order of 70% of the mined variety - so the price is a pretty good indicator.

I've spoken to the person with the lab-grown diamonds (and these are papered as well) and she's quite happy to wholesale if people want.

pearlescence
12-07-2014, 07:23 AM
I'm off to Hong Kong to the gem show in sept so I'll keep lab gems in mind and get info if I see anything - if it isn't there it isn't much of anywhere!
There is a huge exhibition hall (think jumbo aircraft hanger+) with just diamonds. nothing else, just rows and rows and stalls and stalls of diamonds.

Edward Fleming
28-09-2015, 09:26 AM
Hi,
I was wondering if people can recommend some suppliers of ethical gemstones, preferably UK based (to reduce postage costs/customs taxes, etc) I appreciate there is no definition or gold standard on ethical stones, but I guess I mean companies that at least have put some thought into it and have an ethical policy and are in some way committed to using mines that don't use slave workforce, etc etc. I'm also interested in reputable suppliers of lab diamonds.
Any general advice in this area also welcomed :-)
Thanks!
Vx


As you rightly say there is no definition or standard when it comes to coloured stones so its up to you to decide who is actually making an effort to trace their stones and who is just paying the whole ethics issue lip service. I can personally recommend Nineteen48 http://www.nineteen48.com/ .You can see on the site there is plenty of stuff about ethics and Stuart is very happy to talk about the subject. He is also an important part of an 'ethical jewellers group' who meet quarterly to discuss these issues.

I have some stones left from a buying trip to Namibia, though not an extensive stock by any means, some tourmalines and demantoid garnets mainly. You can read about the trip and my thoughts about ethics and the jewellery trade via these links

http://edwardflemingjewellery.com/2015/04/12/green-tourmaline-gem-hunting-in-namibia/
http://edwardflemingjewellery.com/2015/05/21/retail-jeweller-online-article-feature/

If its an issue you are genuinely interested in then there is pilot project by a swiss group called RESP, that starts soon in Mozambique with rubies. I dont know if the stones from the project will be openly available but if its successful this project will have implications so its good to know about it.

http://resp.ch//iwg/coloured-gemstones

Hope this helps