Many people take their jewellery for granted and have no idea what it goes through before finding its way to them. The process of mining the materials, testing the gemstones, and crafting them together takes a lot of time and effort. There are gemstone laboratories throughout the world, and below are some of the best ones you may want to send your gems to for testing.
Sri Lanka
You may not consider Sri Lanka as an important place when it comes to gemstones, but the country produces a lot of sapphires and rubies for the gem industry. As it is such a large industry, you will find various laboratories in the country. Many people send their gems to a gemstone testing laboratory in Colombo, and the laboratories in the country are highly respected.
Switzerland
Switzerland does have deposits of gems and minerals, but it is not a significant industry in the country. However, testing the quality of gemstones is a big industry, and Swiss companies are respected for being one of the best in the world. Various companies are offering this service in Switzerland, and many of them have offices in different countries around the world.
The USA
The gemstone market in the USA is massive, and it is also home to the GIA (Gemological Institute of America), so there are also lots of laboratories to test your gems. As with the Swiss companies, many American ones have offices worldwide and concentrate these in countries where they mine gems, polish gems, or finished gemstone jewellery is sold. They are highly respected, and the GIA is one of the leading industry bodies for gems and jewellery worldwide.
Thailand
Thailand is another surprise for many people, as they are not aware that the country is a worldwide trading centre for finished jewellery and polished gemstones. Many companies will have offices in Thailand, usually Bangkok, to be close to where the gemstones and jewellery are finished and sold. If you are looking for coloured gemstones or jewellery with coloured gems, Bangkok is an excellent destination, and the quality of some of the jewellery is unsurpassed. The country also boasts many skilled artisans who create their works of art by hand, which means the quality is much better than the mass-produced jewellery prevalent in the industry today.
These are a few of the biggest gemstone testing centres you may wish to visit if you want to purchase gemstone jewellery. You can often get it at a much lower price, and the handmade quality of their products is unrivalled.
