Origin class
Origin class — the 3 controlled values used across 433 bead material entries. Each value that has its own page lists every entry that carries it.
What this axis answers
Origin class records how a material came into being: formed by nature, manufactured in whole or in part, or not established at all. Natural materials and artificial products are findings; the value for unspecified material identity is a holding position for market and bead-form terms whose material the name alone cannot settle, and it clears once testing or supplier documentation arrives. Treatment never moves an entry off the natural side of this split.
How it differs from the other four axes
This axis does not say how far a name goes (identity level), whether a natural material is inorganic or organic (material domain), which class a mineral composition falls in (mineral chemical class), or what was done to the object (construction or treatment status). A cultured pearl counts as natural here, with cultivation carried on the status axis; obsidian and man-made glass both answer to the word glass and still land on opposite sides.
Two common misreadings
Pressed amber is ground natural amber fused under heat and pressure into one body: the feedstock is genuine, the object is manufactured, and it may not be offered as natural amber. Jinsha stone fails the other way, its trade name establishing neither a natural mineral nor goldstone glass until a material document or test report says so.
What it means for disclosure
GB/T 16552-2017 keeps the qualifier off the natural side: clause 5.1.2.2 a) lets a natural jade be listed under its mineral or rock name with no qualifier, natural glass excepted. Clause 5.1.3.4 goes the other way, requiring the word for material rebuilt from fragments to stand ahead of the base name. Whether a piece was later worked on is settled elsewhere, so nothing on this axis is a statement about treatment.
Controlled values on this axis
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Value | Definition | Entries | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural materials | Formed by nature; subsequent treatment does not alter the natural substance, but must be disclosed separately under construction & treatment status. | 373 | Has its own page |
| Artificial products / Manufactured products | Partly or wholly manufactured; the synthetic, assembled, reconstructed, glass or imitation relationship is recorded separately. | 49 | Has its own page |
| Material identity unspecified | Records only a market name or bead form; the name alone is insufficient to determine natural or artificial origin, or the specific material. | 11 | Has its own page |
CIBJO definitions
- Artificial products
products which are partially or completely made by man.
CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.3, p.20; CIBJO Blue Book — Pearl Book (Pearl Commission 2024-1) (CIBJO): §5.11, p.23; CIBJO Blue Book — Coral Book (Coral Commission 2024) (CIBJO): §5.5, p.11
- Natural materials
materials that are completely formed by nature, without human intervention during its formation, that may subsequently be modified by normal lapidary practices (5.54),or which are altered by a treatment, see clause 4.2.5.2.
CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.53, p.25
Materials that are completely formed by nature, without human intervention during its formation, that may subsequently be cut, drilled, polished or treated.
CIBJO Blue Book — Pearl Book (Pearl Commission 2024-1) (CIBJO): §5.135, p.38
materials that are completely formed by nature, without human intervention during its formation, that may subsequently be modified by normal lapidary practices (5.69) and or altered by a treatment that require general (5.45) or specific (5.91) information.
CIBJO Blue Book — Coral Book (Coral Commission 2024) (CIBJO): §5.68, p.18
The books word this differently; each wording is given with its source.
- Natural
substances which have been formed completely by nature without human interference and subsequently modified, if at all, only by means set out in clause 4.4.2.1.
CIBJO Blue Book — Pearl Book (Pearl Commission 2024-1) (CIBJO): §5.132, p.36
Qualifying words
- Genuine
actually possessing the alleged or apparent attribute or character. See clause 4.2.2.
CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.39, p.24
actually possessing the alleged or apparent attribute or character.
CIBJO Blue Book — Pearl Book (Pearl Commission 2024-1) (CIBJO): §5.81, p.30; CIBJO Blue Book — Coral Book (Coral Commission 2024) (CIBJO): §5.46, p.16
The books word this differently; each wording is given with its source.
- Real
genuine (5.39); not artificial (5.3 and 5.4). See clause 4.2.2.
CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §5.68, p.27
genuine (5.81); not artificial (See clause 5.11).
CIBJO Blue Book — Pearl Book (Pearl Commission 2024-1) (CIBJO): §5.170, p.42
genuine (5.46); not artificial (5.5 and 5.6).
CIBJO Blue Book — Coral Book (Coral Commission 2024) (CIBJO): §5.81, p.19
The books word this differently; each wording is given with its source.
Definitions are quoted verbatim from the cited CIBJO Blue Book; […] marks an excerpt, and the full definition is at the cited clause.