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They say that "Diamonds are a girl's best friend," but how can she tell
if she has a real friend or not? The best way to distinguish if gems are
synthetic or not, says José Rubio Lizarraga, is to go to a trained jeweller.
José Rubio is the owner of Rubio Jewellers at the Costa de Oro hotel as
well as a certified gemologist. In 1992, he graduated from the Gemological
Institute of America in Santa Monica (the school has since moved to Carlsbad,
California). After the National Association of Jewellery Appraisers in the
USA certified him, José moved back to Mazatlán and opened Rubio Jewellers.
Now an expert in gemology, José had some good advice for potential buyers
of gems in Mazatlán. When buying fine jewellery, José's best advice is to
go to a trained jeweller because he / she can guarantee the gem's authenticity
with a certificate distributed with every piece. A trained jeweller has
more to lose from cheating a customer than an untrained jeweller. For example,
let's say a customer from Vancouver, Canada, buys a gem from a trained jeweller
in Mazatlán, but when they return to Vancouver, they discover that the gem
is not what the certificate says it is (for instance, the gem is flawed,
but was sold to the customer as a higher quality than it is). Since they
purchased the gem from a trained jeweller, that customer can now take action
by visiting the Mexican Embassy in Vancouver. The Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) can then shut down the faulty business in Mazatlán and take away the
trained jeweller's license. Obviously, a trained jeweller has a lot to lose
by misrepresenting his or herself. Furthermore, a trained jeweller stands
to gain repeat customers and word-of-mouth advertising with a good reputation. |
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On the other hand, it is next-to-impossible to take action against an untrained
jeweller. Trained jewellers, such as José Rubio, are full of informative
advice for potential gem buyers. Using a refractometer, jewellers measure
the speed of light going through the gem. Each gem has it's own scale in
the refractive index to determine authenticity. In addition, jewellers also
use microscopes to determine quality and authenticity. With a jeweller's
eye and high magnification, José can distinguish a Diamond from its synthetic
cousin, Mossanaite. Mossanaite has replaced Cubic Zirconium as the Diamond-look-alike
because Mossanaite is harder to distinguish from the real thing. A trained
jeweller can even recognize a manipulated gem in which flaws have been disguised--
though not fixed-- with lasers. Gems that are mined right in México include
Blue Topaz, Mexican Amethyst, Fluorite, Calcite, Pearls from La Paz, Fire
Agate (which is mined only in México), and Opals, including the Leopard
Opal which was discovered in Sinaloa only two years ago. In addition to
gems native to México, some of the best gems to buy here are Tourmaline,
Citrine, Topaz, Sapphires, Rubies and Tanzanite because they are less expensive
than those sold in the USA or Canada. Tanzanite is especially popular right
now. A somewhat-transparent bluish-violet stone, Tanzanite was recently
discovered in Tanzania, Africa. Although it has a less-expensive counterpart,
Russian Tanzanite, the Tanzanite from Tanzania is the best quality. The
gem selection is infinite, due to a huge variety of cuts and carats for
every gem. But although it is virtually impossible to carry everything,
Mazatlán jewellers offer a wide selection of gems. And what they don't have
in stock can usually be custom ordered. |
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