Drusy.com - Drusy FAQ's

Drusy FAQ's

Q: What are drusy gemstones, and why are they so popular?
A: Drusy gemstones are cabochons with natural surface texture like fine sugar crystals that sparkle like freshly fallen snow. Drusy is the phenomena of micro-crystals forming on a matrix, occurring in different colored minerals around the world. For example, uvarovite is a chrome green garnet drusy from Russia; cobalto calcite is a manganese pink drusy from the Congo. Drusy gemstones beauty comes from their surfaces being covered by thousands of shimmering crystals, creating spectacular textured gems of rich color. The popularity of drusy has skyrocketed in the last few years, becoming an accepted new genre of gemstones. Leading designers have won many national awards with gold and platinum jewelry featuring drusy gemstones.

Q: The crystals look like they are on a different material. Are they backed?
A: No, drusy gemstones formed naturally millions of years ago on a host matrix material. (The only exception to this is our rainbow hematite, which we have backed for additional strength in setting.)

Q: The colors are so vivid. Is this their natural color?
A: Almost all drusy gemstones are completely natural and are untreated. They come out of the ground just as you see them. This includes green uvarovite garnet, pink cobalto calcite, black psilomelane, rainbow hematite, and rainbow pyrite. Our only treated or enhanced drusy gemstones are Titania (natural drusy quartz coated with the rare metal Titanium), black onyx drusy (natural drusy quartz that has been dyed black--like all onyx gemstones), and drusy coated with 23k gold or platinum.

Q: How do you grade drusy quality?
A: We grade our drusy gemstones using the following criteria---color saturation, crystal size, purity (visual flaws), and crystal coverage (whether areas of underlying matrix shows). We specialize in hard-to-find gem quality drusy, focusing on overall aesthetic balance.

Q: Does drusy work for rings?
A: Drusy gemstones set up great in earrings, pendants, slides, and brooches. We don't recommend drusy for rings, bracelets, or cuff links. Some designers have set them in this way, and give extra care instructions to their customers. If you do choose to set your drusy in this manner, we advise using a "shadow box" type of setting, bringing the bezel up past the crystal sides of the stones for protection.