Why visitors are told to be careful
Gems are easy to misdescribe. A glass imitation, a lab-made stone or a heavily treated stone can look very like a fine natural one, and few visitors can tell the difference by eye. Some sellers take advantage of that.
The good news is that a few simple habits protect you from nearly all of the common problems.
Before you buy: a checklist
- Do not be led. If a driver, guide or stranger insists on taking you to a particular shop, be careful. Choose where you go yourself.
- Never feel rushed. A genuine seller lets you take your time, compare and come back tomorrow.
- Ask: is it natural, synthetic or an imitation? Is it heated, treated or unheated? Get the answer in writing.
- Ask for a gem laboratory report for any stone of real value, and check that the report describes the stone in front of you (weight, shape, colour).
- Check the report number on the laboratory's own website rather than trusting a printout alone.
- Compare. Visit more than one shop and look at similar stones before deciding.
- Be suspicious of a story that a stone is a secret bargain you can resell at home for a profit. Real gem prices do not work like that.
- Get an itemised receipt with the shop's name, address and the stone's details.
- Pay in a way you can trace, and be wary of a request to pay a large amount in cash.
Understanding treatments
Many natural sapphires are heated to improve colour or clarity. This is common and widely accepted, as long as it is disclosed. Unheated stones are rarer and usually cost more.
Other treatments exist. A fair seller tells you plainly which one applies to your stone and the laboratory report should say the same.
Natural, synthetic and imitation
A natural stone formed in the earth. A synthetic stone has the same chemistry but was grown in a laboratory, and is worth far less. An imitation is a different material, such as glass, made to look like a gem.
All three can be honestly sold if they are labelled correctly. The problem is only when one is sold as another.
Ask about the price
Value depends on colour, clarity, cut, carat weight, origin and treatment. Two stones of the same size can differ many times in price. Ask the seller to explain why a stone costs what it does, and notice whether the answer is clear and specific.
Taking gems home
Keep your receipts and any reports. Check the customs rules of your own country before you travel, and the rules for taking gemstones out of Sri Lanka. Official government websites are the safest place to read them.
How we work at Moonlight
We are a family-run workshop in Waskaduwa, Kalutara, and have been making jewellery since 1996. We describe each stone in our online shop, including carat, cut, clarity, origin and treatment, and we are happy to answer any question before you decide. You are welcome to visit, look, ask and leave without buying.