ICHA Crystal Guide

Beginner shopper help

How to Read Seller Claims

Treat each product listing as a set of separate evidence sources. The seller's name for a stone is a claim. Photographs show selected views under selected lighting. Measurements, treatment disclosures, and return terms add different kinds of information, but none should silently stand in for another.

A shopper comparing a polished stone with its seller description while visible color and surface details remain open to interpretation
Read the object and the listing separately: visible features can support questions, while the material name and treatment statements remain seller claims until confirmed.

Reader use

Sort the listing before judging it

  • Observed: Record only what the supplied views actually show, such as color distribution, translucency, fractures, bubbles, polish, coating wear, shape, and dimensions.
  • Seller states: Keep names, origin stories, treatment descriptions, rarity language, and condition claims attributed to the seller.
  • Not answered: Note missing side views, unclear scale, absent weight, inconsistent color between photographs, vague treatment language, or return conditions that exclude authenticity disputes.

Method

Test the wording against the evidence

  1. 01 · Specificity

    Prefer statements that identify the material, any known treatment, dimensions, weight, photographed item, and return conditions directly.

  2. 02 · Consistency

    Check whether the title, description, photographs, variation selector, and packaging language describe the same item and material.

  3. 03 · Disclosure

    Look for plain treatment terms. “Enhanced,” “stabilized,” or “color improved” should be explained rather than left as reassuring but undefined language.

  4. 04 · Decision

    When a material claim matters to the purchase, ask for missing details and make sure the return terms leave a practical response if the description proves inaccurate.

Testing threshold

A photograph may reveal zoning, bubbles, fractures, concentrated dye, coating wear, or an unusually uniform surface. Those clues may be consistent with several materials or treatments and cannot establish a definitive identification. When identity, treatment, or origin materially affects the decision, appropriate gemological testing is needed to confirm it.