Imagine setting some crushed stones into a piece of jewelry. You sand it down, cut the stones, polish it, clean it several times. After spending some time on this piece, your fingers are sore with minor scratches, you inspect your piece once again and you find a discolored spot, or a line, or bubble or speckle; you're annoyed now and not quite sure what to do.
No amount of cleaning or sanding can remove certain imperfections in stones, these were formed naturally and add to the uniqueness of that piece. The term in the jewelry industry is 'Inclusions'. An inclusion is any material that becomes enclosed in a stone while that stone was being formed. Inclusions exist in natural and synthetic stones. Inclusions can affect the value of a stone negatively such as diamond (reduce its value), or positively in star sapphires (increase its value). Inclusions can also indicate the authenticity of a stone; whether or not you're looking at a stone, glass, or plastic.
Inclusions are usually other minerals or rocks within the stone. They can also be gas, water or petroleum. Some stones such as amber (which is formed from hardened tree resin) can have bugs in them due to the way the stone was formed in nature. Neat huh?
'Discolored' turquoise stone
Stone imperfections include discoloration, speckles or striations in the stone. This is not always a bad thing, it can add to the uniqueness and value. Based on how the jeweler showcases that stone, the 'imperfections' can be the focal point of that piece. No matter how you shave a stone down, you may expose other minerals underneath that played a role in why the colors are now different. Due to the fact that most of my pieces use crushed, small semi-precious stones, there is no telling what I might get in different batches of stones. I've learned I need to embrace it. Trying to set many tiny stones means there are higher chances of setting stones with inclusions and imperfections, and the 'perfectionist' in me didn't like it, because it wasn't 'pretty' enough. Yet, isn't that life though? Embracing the beauty in unpredictably? That's what makes things special.
Speckles in crushed opal stones