Duskgild · The Register · The stone policy

Lab-Created Stones, Told Straight

Short version: they are real stones, we always say when we use them, and here is exactly what that means.

Yes, they are real stones

A lab-created stone is a real gemstone. A lab-created ruby is a ruby — the same crystal, the same chemistry, the same hardness as one pulled from the ground. The only difference is where it grew: in a controlled lab over weeks instead of in the earth over millions of years. It is not an imitation and it is not glass.

Why we set them

Two honest reasons. Cost — a lab-created stone gives the exact look of a fine mined stone for a fraction of the price, which is how a ring with real colour can sit at a fair number. And conscience — no mine, traceable origin, far less earth moved for the same fire.

It also lets us do things mined stones make impractical: a full band of red, a pavé of white, without the price climbing out of reach.

We always say so

Every stone on this site is named and disclosed. If a page says lab-created ruby, that is what is set. We never let a lab-created stone imply a natural one to nudge the price, and we never name a stone something it is not — not in the title, the description, or the fine print.

The few natural exceptions

A couple of pieces use genuinely natural materials, and we name those too. The Wildwood ring holds a raw, uncut natural quartz point, different on every ring, exactly as the earth made it. Black onyx, where we use it, is a natural stone. When something is natural we say natural; when it is lab-created we say lab-created. That is the whole policy.

A note on cubic zirconia

Cubic zirconia is lab-made by its very nature — there is no natural CZ in jewelry. Where we set it, we still write lab-created cubic zirconia, so there is never any doubt about what you are getting.

Browse the register  ·  Lab-created opal — Vigil Signet  ·  Lab-created emerald — Nightshade  ·  Lab-created ruby — Amaranth  ·  Read the FAQ  ·  Caring for silver