When you purchase from Finewater Gems you can rest assured that you buying a fine gemstone that has been:

• Professionally vetted by a GIA Graduate Gemologist with extensive contacts and experience buying rough stones and gemstones in source countries all over the world, has a "good eye" for color and cut quality, and is an Accredited Ethical Member of the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA)
• Cut to exacting standards by an AGTA award-winning gemcutter
• Photographed by an award-winning gemstone photographer, on a neutral non-distracting background for better color accuracy
• Owned and sold directly by Finewater Gems (never a third-party) 
• Shipped free (to US customers), with easy returns and no drama

I've received a lot of questions lately about the various types of lab-created gemstones, and which type is "best". There are many creation types but for the three most common are flame-fusion, hydrothermal, and Czochralski pulled (there are others but these are rarely available to cutters). Flame-fusion is the oldest and least expensive, and is typically used for ruby, sapphire and spinel. Gemstone size is limited to approximately 10 carats, and some colors are difficult to replicate well due to color zoning (blue sapphire is a good examples). Hydrothermal is primarily used for beryl (emerald, aquamarine, morganite, etc) since it mimics their natural growth processes, but gemstone size is limited due to the thin shape of the rough. The hydrothermal technique can also be used for ruby and sapphire, but it's relatively uncommon since other methods offer lower costs, better colors and larger sizes. The Czochralski pulled technique is the primary technique for YAG and alexandrite, but it can be used for ruby and sapphire. The primary advantages of this type are that the color is uniform throughout and that very large gemstones can be cut. 

In summary:
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Hydrothermal: Expensive, best for emeralds and other types of beryl. Limited color range and size.

Czochralski Pulled: Expensive, best for YAG, alexandrite, blue sapphire and/or extremely large stones. Limited color range.

Flame fusion: Inexpensive, available in a wide range of colors, best for ruby, spinel and most colors of sapphire (except for blue - see above).

Sapphires often have color zoning (which typically is undesirable) but this feature can be used to create cool effects when incorporated into the design. Here's an example where the blue color zoning in the culet was used to highlight the "flower" in this lab-created sapphire. ​

Finewater Gems is thrilled to announce its third place award in the Phenomenal Category of the American Gem Trade Association Spectrum Awards for this flawless 45.59 ct Ethiopian crystal opal. The design and cutting was performed over a period of several months to maximize color play, long-term stability, and beauty.
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The AGTA Spectrum Awards serve as the benchmark for industry design excellence and are the most important design competitions in the world for colored gemstones and cultured pearls. See the press release.

Unlike diamonds, there are no clarity standards for colored stones. "Eye-clean" is an informal definition used by many in the trade, but it is often misinterpreted by customers. Unlike most other vendors, Unlike most other vendors, we provide highly detailed photos that give a view similar to the use of a 10x loupe, so you may see inclusions in our photos that you would never notice in real life. With a bit of effort you may notice several tiny inclusions in this photo of a VS clarity amethyst. It is not flawless (nor is it claimed to be), but it is unlikely that anyone could see these inclusions at normal viewing distances without magnification - hence the description "eye-clean".