Hi
@elle_71125
Thanks for creating this thread and posting my new lab sapphire! I’ll come back to post pics when I get the sapphire but in the mean time hope to see other lab stones here and also how do you feel about them?
Do they deter or push you towards getting natural/mined gems? Why?
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@elle_71125 also curious to see more pics of this sapphire.
After seeing the ones from
@Babyblue033 and
@molecule I also agree that from an objective and aesthetic point of view, lab gemstones can be more beautiful than natural gems. However, they are readily available and just more uniform in characteristics, so you get less unique variation from gemstone to gemstone, less interesting to collect.
I think that hunting down rare, unique gems is fun on its own, and becomes part of a story once you set them. For this reason I want to own a real alexandrite before I buy a lab made one. For people who don't like to shop and hunt down gemstones, getting a lab stone is probably the better way to go.
I have had some more time to think about this since this thread was first created, and I don't think lab gems deter or push me towards getting natural/mined gems.
There's the joy of finding a one-of-a-kind natural gemstone, and then there's the joy of wearing a gemstone and loving it for its beauty, which is better with lab gemstones.
I think I will always collect natural gemstones for fun, and so lab gems would only be worth it for me if I wear the gemstone often. I think that as I get older and pass on my gemstones to children, I will get more and more lab stones to wear myself. For the time being, however, I hope to admire them on others' fingers.