SYNTHETIC STONES

By- JUHI D. VORA

 A Brief Historical Perspective
on Gemology
• Gemstones have fascinated mankind since
civilization. They are often
associated with symbols of status, wealth and
supernatural powers and for the past hundred
years they are associated with the ultimate
expression of love. Historically kings and queens,
rajahs and sultans, men and women of immense
wealth and powerful mandarins of influence are
collectors of rare gemstones.
• The science of gemology is concerned with
the study and identification of gemstones and gem
materials.
 Over the past 100 years gemological
technology has accelerated in parallel with the
creation of lab grown synthetic gemstones.
Almost every known gemstones has been
synthesized and this has made the task of a
gemologist a more demanding and exact one.
History is full of remarkable mistakes where
gemstones are wrongly identified based on colour
and luster itself - the most famous one being the
Black Prince Ruby set in the Imperial State Crown
of England. For centuries the sparkling red stone
was thought to be a priceless ruby until modern
gemological instrument made it possible to identify
the stone as a rare spinel of unsurpassed beauty.
Had it been a ruby its worth would be priceless.
 A Brief History of Synthetic
Gems

From the earliest records in human history, attempts have

been made to imitate precious gems. The ancient Egyptians
used convincing colored glass and porcelain to mimic their most
sacred stones, lapis, turquoise and coral. Mining, in ancient
history, had profound limitations, not the least of which was the
limited amount of travel most cultures accepted as a reality of
their lives. Until the end of the 19th Century, glass and porcelain
remained the mediums for imitating precious gemstones.
Chemical elements were discovered at the end of the Middle
Ages. Developments in analytical chemistry were widespread in
the 18th century. Technological advancements exploded in the
19th Century and provided the techniques for actually
synthesizing gemstones. Early chemists were attempting to
manufacture a synthetic product with the hardness and
toughness of gems which would have industrial applications.
Early synthetic gems were seen as an excellent and inexpensive
alternative for watch makers, not jewelers!
 Synthetics
Synthetics are man-made gem
products. The Federal Trade Commission
is quite specific in forbidding the use of
the term "gem" or "gemstone", unless
that product is solely and exclusively the
work of Nature. Acceptable terminology
for synthetics is variable, but would
include product labels similar to the
following: "synthetic gemstone",
"laboratory-grown ruby", "cultured pearl",
"created emerald", "man-made sapphire",
"reconstituted turquoise". Synthetics can
be exact copies of natural gems, or they
can be unique materials which are not
found in Nature.
 Synthetic Gems Include
 Ruby
 Sapphire (all colors)
 Emerald
 Aquamarine
 Red Beryl
 Spinel
 Quartz (all colors including Amethyst,
Citrine and Ametrine)
 Alexandrite
 Opal
 Fire Opal
 Forsterite (used as Tanzanite imitation)
 Peridot (not commercially available)
SYNTHETIC RUBY
SYNTHETIC DIAMOND
SYNTHETIC EMERALD
SYNTHETIC BLUE SAPPHIRE
SYNTHETIC QUARTZ
SYNTHETIC AMETHYST
SYNTHETIC MYSTIC QUARTZ
SYNTHETIC BERYL
SYNTHETIC CORAL
SYNTHETIC TURQUOISE
SYNTHETIC SPINEL
SYNTHETIC WHITE OPAL
GEM CRYSTALISATION
PROCESSES

MELT PROCESS-
1) Flame Fusion
2) Czochralski "Pulling"
3) "Skull" Melting
SOLUTION PROCESS-
1) Hydrothermal
2) Flux
VAPOR PROCESS-
1) CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition)
 SIMULANTS (Artificial
Products)
Artificial Products are defined as
crytalline gems produced by ay artificial process
which have no natural counterparts. Their primary
function is to imitate other gems, but their physical
and chemical properties are not related to the
stones they imitate.

Artificial Products Include

 Moissanite
 Strontium Titanate
 Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG)
 Gadolinium Gallium Garnet (GGG)
 Cubic Zirconia
WHITE ZIRCON
STRONTIUM TITANATE
YTTRIUM ALUMINIUM GARNET
(YAG)
CUBIC ZIRCONIA
MOISSANITE
SYNTHETIC RUTILE (TITANIA)
 NATURAL GEMS AS
SIMULANTS
It is very common for one natural
gem to be used to imitate another of
similar appearance. For example
serpentine, aventurine quartz and
hydrogrossular garnet, all have long
histories as jade simulants. Likewise,
bone is a common substitute for ivory,
and white zircon has long been enjoyed
as a natural diamond simulant. Red
spinel commonly is substituted for ruby,
sodalite for lapis lazuli, and copal for
amber.
BONE CARVING (IVORY)
RED SPINEL (RUBY)
COLORLESS CUBIC ZIRCON
(DIAMOND)
YAG (EMERALD)
SODALITE (LAPIS LAZULI)
Partially FOSSILED Tree Resin
(AMBER)
 MAN MADE SIMULANTS
Glass:
Although its historical roots go way
back, glass is still one of the most popular gem
simulants today. Glass, itself, is an amorphous
material, but its main raw material, silica sand
(quartz), is crystalline. Two quite different
forms of glass are used to simulate gems:
crown glass and flint glass.
• The moral of the story for the gemologist is:
"Always suspect that the "gem" you are
looking at is glass--> and test for this
possibility."
A glass jade simulant showing
typical bubbles under
magnification.
AVENTURINE GLASS
A glass faux PEARL showing
scratches in the painted-on
surface coating.
Four colored GEMSTONE (China)
Plastic:
Plastics are quite soft, with
hardnesses ranging from 1.5 to 3, and
both the refractive index and specific
gravity are low.
Glass is a more convincing
simulant of transparent gems, but
plastic does a good job imitating
translucent and opaque stones like
amber, turquoise and coral. Certain
optical properties of some types of
plastic can be utilized to do a good job
of simulating phenomenal gems like
opal and moonstone.
Imitation OPAL, Faux PEARL,
Plastic MOONSTONE.
 Why make synthetics?
Outside their use as synthetic or simulant gems, physicists and chemists make large quantities of both copies of natural gems, and totally artificial ones, for industrial and research purposes.
At present over 90% of the diamond abrasives ("bort") for industry, used in everything from the saws that cut through pavement, to dentists' drills, are synthetics produced in a laboratory. Laser and electronic technologies depend strongly on the properties of laboratory created crystals. Even a cheapie "quartz" watch has, at its heart, a synthetic quartz crystal. Lasers based on synthetic crystals are used in medicine in a wide variety of ways from surgery to removing tattoos to improving vision.
 MAGNIFIED PICTURE OF SYNTHETIC
DIAMOND CRYSTALS USED AS ABRASIVES

Beyond these practical applications, laboratory study and

production of synthetic mineral crystals allows scientists to
test hypotheses, and extend knowledge in many areas of
the physical sciences.
Should you buy a synthetic gemstone or jewelry with
created stones over the natural gemstone choices?

I would recommend going with

your own personal preference. If you
want a piece of jewelry with a flawless,
perfect gem, then go with the synthetic
gemstone. Also, if cost is a deciding
factor. As a collector/investor my
preference would be for the natural
gemstone. It's value and appreciation
factor will be much greater, flawed or
not. But as an adornment in jewelry a
synthetic gemstone makes for a
gorgeous ring, earrings or pendant at
an affordable price.
 CONCLUSION
The science of gemology also made it possible to
identify natural gemstones which have been ‘treated’ to
enhance its beauty and mask its flaws, gemstones whose
black inclusions are busted with laser and filled with clear
polymer, surface coating to give it a vivid hue, irradiation to
change its body color to a desired rarer color and the more
primitive method of dying to improve the appearance of a
gemstone. A deeper understanding of gemology would also
enable a gemologist to identify the origin of a gemstone.
Unlike the olden days where the identification of a gemstone
was based on the whims and personal experience of the
dealer or the soothsayer, gemology is now an exact science
due to the various scientific instruments available and the
great body of knowledge accumulated and dispensed over the
years by various international gemological institutions.
THANK YOU