Material domain

What this axis answers

Material domain asks what kind of matter an object is made of. Its realm values cover mineral matter formed by geological process, tissue or resin grown by a living organism, and product turned out by a factory or laboratory; standing apart from them is a value that assigns no realm, held for terms that name no material at all. The realm follows the browse family an entry belongs to, not the wording of the name, so a market coinage cannot place itself in a realm by wording alone.

How it differs from the other four axes

Domain does not rank a name, does not assign a mineral chemical class, and does not say whether a piece was built up or altered; those go to the identity, chemistry and state axes. Formation origin is a different case: it is read off domain rather than settled in parallel, so the two cannot disagree. Precious Coral shows the split — natural organic and biogenic here, not applicable on chemical class, that class being kept for minerals.

Two common misreadings

Petrified Wood is wood only in origin: the wood has been replaced by chalcedony and quartz, so the realm is natural inorganic. Jet reads as a black stone next to the minerals, but it comes from lignitic wood, and GB/T 16552-2017 lists it in Table A.3, the natural organic gem names.

What it means for disclosure

The realm fixes the wording. GB/T 16552-2017 subclause 5.1.2.3 a) lets a natural organic gem stand under its basic name with no natural qualifier, the pearl entries excepted, while subclause 5.1.3.2 a) puts a man-made prefix before the material name of an artificial gem, glass and plastic excepted. 16 CFR 23.27 bars real, genuine, natural or precious for anything produced artificially.

Controlled values on this axis

CIBJO definitions

Biogenic gem materials

gem materials (5.37), resulting from the activity of living organisms usually used in jewellery or objets d’art (5.55) due to a combination of properties that provide them with beauty, rarity and relative durability.

CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.8, p.21

a substance produced by life processes. It may be either constituents, or secretions, of plants or animals, e.g., biomineralized calcite in precious coral.

CIBJO Blue Book — Coral Book (Coral Commission 2024) (CIBJO): §5.9, p.11

The books word this differently; each wording is given with its source.

Gem

another term, often used as an adjective, to describe an exceptional gemstone noting perfection or very high quality. See gemstone clause 5.38. NOTE - only the term “Gem” shall be qualified with the terms “real”, “precious”, “genuine” and “natural”.

CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.36, p.23

Gem materials

a term used to describe natural materials (5.53) that are used in jewellery and objets d’art (5.55) due to a combination of properties that provide them with beauty, rarity and relative durability. NOTE – the term “gem” used alone often applies to describe an especially fine gemstone, e.g. “this sapphire is a gem”, “the emerald is of gem quality”. Also see Clause 5.36.

CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.37, p.24

Gemstone

natural inorganic (5.46), organic (5.59) and biogenic (5.8) materials which have been formed completely by nature without human interference. Gemstones are usually used in jewellery or objets d’art due to a combination of properties that provide them with beauty, rarity and relative durability. Note 1 - For the purpose of this standard all clauses and examples referring to gemstones may also apply to precious stones and ornamental stones. Note 2 – The durability of gemstones may vary based on their hardness, toughness and stability. Note 3 – Examples of various gemstone types, species and varieties, including naturally formed mineral assemblage/combinations, are listed in clause 3.1.1.

CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.38, p.24

a natural inorganic geological materials/substances, a mineral or an aggregation of two or more minerals, in a form of a rock, which has been formed completely by nature without human interference. Note — Gemstones are usually used in jewellery or objets d’art due to a combination of properties that provide them with beauty, rarity and relative durability. Note — For the purpose of this standard clauses and examples referring to coral may also apply to precious stones and ornamental coral.

CIBJO Blue Book — Coral Book (Coral Commission 2024) (CIBJO): §5.44, p.15

The books word this differently; each wording is given with its source.

Inorganic gem materials

not consisting of or deriving from living matter.

CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.46, p.25

Organic gem materials

gem materials (5.37), relating to or derived from living matter, usually used in jewellery or objets d’art (5.55) due to a combination of properties that provide them with beauty, rarity and relative durability.

CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.58, p.26

Organic substances

natural products of animal or plant origin. NOTE - When used in jewellery or objets d’art (5.55) organic substances are considered to be gemstones.

CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.59, p.26

natural products of animal or plant origin used in jewellery or objets d’art, e.g., amber.

CIBJO Blue Book — Pearl Book (Pearl Commission 2024-1) (CIBJO): §5.150, p.40

natural products of animal or plant origin used in jewellery or objets d’art (5.70), e.g., amber, tortoiseshell.

CIBJO Blue Book — Coral Book (Coral Commission 2024) (CIBJO): §5.72, p.18

The books word this differently; each wording is given with its source.

Ornamental stones

gemstones that are used in objets d´art (5.55).

CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.60, p.26

Stones

natural materials and artificial products used in jewellery or objets d’art (5.55), with the exception of metals.

CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.77, p.27

natural geological materials and artificial products used in jewellery or objects d’art (5.70) with the exception of metals.

CIBJO Blue Book — Coral Book (Coral Commission 2024) (CIBJO): §5.94, p.21

The books word this differently; each wording is given with its source.

Biogenic substances

a substance produced by life processes. It may be either constituents, or secretions, of plants or animals, e.g., nacre.

CIBJO Blue Book — Pearl Book (Pearl Commission 2024-1) (CIBJO): §5.20, p.24

Biomineral

a crystalline substance produced by the activity of living things.

CIBJO Blue Book — Coral Book (Coral Commission 2024) (CIBJO): §5.10, p.11

Qualifying words

Semi-precious

a misleading term that should not be used.

Source inconsistency: This clause says the term “should not be used”, while clause 4.1.1.8 of the same book (p.12) says it “shall not be used”, as does clause 5.87 of the Coral Book.

CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.72, p.27

a misleading term that shall not be used.

CIBJO Blue Book — Coral Book (Coral Commission 2024) (CIBJO): §5.87, p.20

The books word this differently; each wording is given with its source.

Entries in the source that only point to another clause: Precious stones (§5.66, p.27) → §5.38 Gemstone; Precious stones (§5.79, p.19) → §5.44 Gemstone

Definitions are quoted verbatim from the cited CIBJO Blue Book; […] marks an excerpt, and the full definition is at the cited clause.