Pop quiz on colored gemstones

What jeweler hasn't been on the receiving end of a tricky question when it comes to selling colored gemstones? Here is a sales associate's crib sheet that offers savvy responses to those prickly queries.

The diamond industry can pat itself on the back. Thanks to effective marketing, the American public is remarkably well-versed in diamonds: their rarity, the Four Cs, the stone's unique brilliance and more.

The colored gemstone industry is doing a good job getting its product out there, too. Brightly hued stones have been a fashion front-runner in recent years, gracing the pages of major magazines and showcasing themselves via celebrities strutting along red carpets everywhere.

While consumers are certainly demanding colored gemstones in greater quantities, there is still a fair amount of head-scratching when it comes to making an important purchase in this category. Consumers, it seems, are often all too familiar with possible scams, but barely aware of the fascinating and unique qualities of colored stones. The consumer's unease in purchasing such stones can put even the best of sales associates in a pickle: How can they best negotiate an avalanche of questions that put themselves and the industry on the defensive?

"Consumers have heard horror stories about even the best retailers selling synthetics as the real thing," says Antoinette Matlins, gemologist and author of Colored Gemstones: The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide. "It's important that the retailer has its own policy about which treatments it is willing to carry, and trained salespeople to explain simply and truthfully what the differences in treatments are."

Here are nine common consumer questions gemstone retailers may face, along with some useful responses suggested by industry experts.

Tricky question #1:
I've heard horror stories about synthetic gemstones being passed off as natural. How do I know your product is legit?

Savvy answer:
"When a customer asks 'Is this a natural sapphire?' you'd better hear the question he or she is [really] asking, which is, 'Is it treated?'" Matlins says.

Once that answer is established—except in rare cases, the answer should be "yes"—Matlins advises jewelers to underscore that the practice of heating rubies and sapphires and oiling emeralds has been perfected over centuries.

Doug Hucker, executive director of the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), says it's critical to first establish that gemstones are "natural"—as in, they come from the earth, as opposed to being laboratory-created.

Hucker says he would candidly tell a customer: