In the 18th Century the chemical make up and structure of gemstones became of
interest in those who wanted to create these beautiful gemstones. By the end of
the 19th Century scientists were duplicating crystals with appearance and
physical properties of their natural counterparts. Laboratories grew up devoted
to synthesizing some of the most common and valuable gemstones we see today.
Many consumers today purchase synthetic gemstones as part of their jewelry
collection, as they are low cost and the quality of some synthetics are
excellent. The challenge comes when synthetic gemstones are either deliberately
or through lack of knowledge sold as natural gemstones. This article will
discuss some of the more common varieties of synthetic gemstones, so that you
can be aware they do exist. Most will require a gemologist or a laboratory to be
able to detect if the gemstone is real or synthesized. If you are not sure have
the gemstone authenticated by a gemologist or a reputable grading laboratory
like GIA or EGL, two of the worlds leading authority on gemstones.
There are many different ways to synthesize gemstones and as the processes are
very technical I will just mention some of them by name only. These are Flame
Fusion, Pulling, Floating Zone, Skull Melt, Flux Growth, and Hydrothermal
Growth. These processes can produce synthetic gemstones such as Ruby, Sapphire,
Spinel, Alexandrite, Cubic Zirconia, Emeralds, Amethyst, Opal, Turquoise, Lapis
and many others.
One of the key developments of synthetic Ruby was to accelerate the growth and
reduce the cost of components for Lasers. Today, nearly all ruby lasers use
synthetic Ruby. These lasers are used in everything from your supermarket
scanner to Medical Diagnostic Tools.
From Synthetic to imitations, these can be either man made or other natural
gemstones. For example Red Spinel can imitate Red Ruby, Amethyst can imitate
Tanzanite, Garnet can imitate Ruby. Most people will associate color with a
gemstone and make an assumption that if is has a rich red Ruby color it is Ruby.
In the previous paragraph we discussed how laboratories can product synthetic
versions of the real gemstone. It is also common to see synthetic gemstones used
to imitate other natural gemstones. Synthetic Sapphire has been used to imitate
Tanzanite by changing its color in the synthesizing process. Glass is probably
the largest imitator of them all, as it can imitate most gemstone colors and is
very cheap to produce. You will also see a lot of plastics used to imitate,
Turquoise, Malachite, Peal, Amber, Jade etc.
One other set of imitations are assembled stones, these assembled gemstones use
combinations of natural and synthetic material, to produce the desired effect.
This process involves making gemstones of 2 or 3 different materials and
cementing them together. An example might be a Sapphire and Synthetic Ruby
Doublet, where the crown is Natural Sapphire and the pavilion is synthetic Ruby.
To the unaided eye it looks like the natural gemstone but to a trained eye the
assembled stone will soon reveal its secrets.
Should you buy Synthetic or Imitation gemstones? Absolutely, as they offer good
value and you can assemble a colourful collection of them to match your mood and
accessories at a very low cost.
Just make sure that you are aware that when you purchase a natural gemstone that
you do not receive an imitation or a synthesized version.
Derek Parnell is a Graduate Gemologist (GIA) and owner of
Jewels
by Truros a division of Truros Corporation. For more information you can
reach Derek at
Jewels by Truros.
