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Do you know a woman who does not own pearl earrings, gold chains or a diamond? A well-dressed woman owns these pieces of jewellery but she should also consider other gemstones and metals to give her a sense of individuality. If you admire the rich look of heavy strand of pearls or a large rock on your finger but don't want to take the risk of it being lost or stolen, or if you can't afford them, then you are in the market for synthetics and imitations.
A colour gemstone of over two carats, such as emerald or blue topaz set as a solitaire set in a ring provides a flash of colour for the hands. Large gemstones set in a pair of earrings make a stunning match. These gems don't need to be genuine gemstones. Why worry about extra insurance? Pick your favourite colours perhaps by birthstone and build a collection of imitations around those colours.
Almost all of the popular gemstones and a few of the expensive rare ones have some sort of an imitation. Costume jewellery and fashion jewellery use these imitations freely. The cheaper imitations include coloured plastic, a very poor copy or coloured glass, which tends to scratch easily. Synthetic gemstones, identical in chemical composition to the real thing, but made in the laboratory are the best fakes. These can be hard to identify. The same rules apply when shopping for synthetics: Colour, Carat, Clarity and Cut. Often these imitations are more expensive than glass. The fakes Ramaura Ruby and Chatham Emerald can cost several hundreds per carat.
If buying a strand of imitation beads, the beads will be strung in three ways: with knots between each bead, (the best quality), freely strung and molded right onto the string so they can't move. Keep in mind that if the string breaks on the former, you can't fix it. Freely strung beads will have to be collected off the floor. Knotted between each bead will mean you don't lose every bead if the string breaks.
Gold plate and gold filled metals are cheap substitutes for the actual thing. Gold plate has a fine thin layer of gold on the outside of a cheap metal like brass. This process is called electroplating. With time the gold wears off. Gold filled has a bit more gold mixed in with a cheaper metal like brass. The gold is melted together with the other metals during the first step of jewellery making. The jewellery tends to tarnish after time. These two replacements are not ideal for the person who has metal allergies. 18 karat gold plated jewellery looks the most stunning when compared to the alternatives and won't tarnish as quickly as gold filled. Gold plated and gold filled jewellery may not only come in the traditional gold yellow colour but also white, green and pink colours.
Pearl imitations must be mentioned here. Cheap plastic imitations contain a thin layer of paint on plastic. These can be peeled off easily. The better imitations have been grown in the laboratory and so the coating on the outside, called the nacre, is thicker and lasts longer.
Shop around for your costume and fashion jewellery. All jewellery stores have a costume jewellery section. If it looks cheap, it won't fool anyone. If you pay a few bucks for something with a one or two year warranty, it should last several years. Owning a piece of jewellery that no one else has is sure to bring many compliments and only you will know it's real.
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