[RPM] Gem Lore, Lapidaries and Precious Stones as Traditional Trappings

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by lwcamp

How do artificial gems work? I mean, you can pull a flawless ruby crystal the size of a trash can out of a melt of aluminum oxide and a bit of chromium. We can even produce artificial diamonds using carbon vapor deposition; this is more challenging, but 10 carat cut diamond gems have been made from synthetic stock and the upper limit is only going to grow as interest in bulk diamond for industrial applications grows.

Luke

They don't, obviously.

They might be able to hold magical energy the way any ordinary Charm object might, but mystical potency is strongly correlated with whatever intangibles that cause humans to value certain stones far above others.