Ask the Experts about Jewelry Making

Topics: Gemstone Treatment Guide

What do all the initials in parenthesis after the gemstones mean-example coral (IMIT). Thank you, is it listed in the catalog?

- Susan

The initials are actually symbols, or codes, used to identify the type of enhancement the stone has undergone. An example would be if you saw a (D) next to the gemstone name. That would indicate the stone was dyed to enhance the color. The example you used (IMIT) stands for imitation.

And yes, you can find the codes listed in the catalogs. On the inside cover of your larger catalog, look for the highlighted ''index box'' that tells you the page to find the index. Turn to the index and look for the ''Reference Pages'' section. In this section you will find the page number for the ''Enhancement Guide'' which is the chart that lists all of the initials used in our descriptions.

You can also find it online by following this link to the ''Gemstone Treatment Guide'' article.

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