Seeking Low-Cost Perfection:
Synthetic Gems
Robert E. Kane*
1811-5209/09/0005-0169$2.50 DOI: 10.2113/gselements.5.3.169
S
ynthetic gems are superlative examples of crystal growth. Today,
industrial and scientific crystal growth is a highly sophisticated endeavor
employing a wide range of methods. Many of these have been adapted
to grow gems for jewelry use. Most major gemstones have been synthesized,
and these products are commercially available around the world, often at a
fraction of the cost of a natural gem of comparable size and quality. Distinguishing
them from their natural equivalents involves a number of interesting challenges.
Inclusions (internal features) observed by microscopy often provide conclusive
proof of synthetic origin. When routine testing procedures (refractive index,
specific gravity, fluorescence, and internal inclusions) do not provide sufficient
evidence, laboratories must employ more advanced analytical instrumentation.
Keywords : gemstone, synthetic gem, man-made gem, laboratory-grown gem,
gem testing, gemology
Why Synthetic Gemstones?
Synthetic gemstones are produced in a laboratory—they
are gems made by man (Fig. 1). They have essentially the
same chemical composition and crystal structure as their
natural counterparts. Thus synthetic gems closely duplicate
the physical and optical properties of natural stones. Gemological
guidelines dictate that the name of a man-made gem be
preceded by the word synthetic (e.g. synthetic ruby), though
many manufacturers use the terms created or cultured (e.g.
created emerald).
Scientists often ask why synthetic gems are considered in
such a different light from natural gems, since they are chemically and crystallographically analogous to the natural gems.
In fact, the physical and optical properties of synthetics
are often “better” than those of natural gems: larger dimensions,
better and more homogeneous color, and fewer inclusions.
But since the creation of the first modern synthetic gem
circa 1885, the “Geneva ruby” (see Fritsch and Rondeau 2009
this issue), manufactured gems have always sold at significantly lower prices than natural gems of equal size and
quality. A rather dramatic example was provided in 2006
by an 8.62-carat untreated Burmese ruby that sold at Christie’s
for a world-record price of $3.6 million, a staggering
$420,000 per carat. A comparable Verneuil (see Table 1) synthetic
ruby retails for around $6 per carat, and a similar flux-grown
synthetic ruby commands approximately $650 per carat.
The vast majority of buyers value the authenticity of a
natural gem over the “perfection” of its synthetic counterpart. It is often a question of affordability—when given
the choice, most of us would choose a natural product,
* Fine Gems International
P.O. Box 1710, Helena, Montana 59624, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
E lements , V ol . 5,
pp.
169–174
whether it is a natural granite
countertop over a man-made
Formica one, or a natural emerald
over a synthetic one. Rarity is also a
factor—fine-quality natural gem­­
stones are rare, whereas their
­man-made analogues can be massproduced.
Hundreds of minerals have been
synthesized for experimental and
industrial applications—often as
crystals too small to be faceted or
not of gem quality, or as species
not typically used as gemstones.
Table 2 lists the major gem materials and when they were first
synthesized.
Historically, many of the breakthroughs in gem synthesis have been a direct result of the
synthetic-gemstone manufacturer’s own investigations and
pioneering research. For example, Carroll Chatham,
founder of Chatham Created Gems, brought to market the
first commercially available, faceted, flux-grown, synthetic
emeralds in the 1940s. However, many synthetic minerals
were originally developed through experimental petrology;
for example, tourmaline was synthesized to study the
origin of color in tourmaline (Barnes 1950; Taran et al.
1990, 1993, 1996). These man-made tourmalines were overgrowths on the order of 1 mm or less in thickness, and
thus synthetic tourmaline has not yet reached the size and
quality required for the gem market. Also, the initial
synthesis of opal helped in the in-depth understanding of
the unique structure of natural opal (Jones et al. 1964) and
led to further development of photonic crystals, which
currently have widespread technological applications.
Interestingly, although patents for a technique to grow opal
were filed by the Australian organization CSIRO in 1964,
it was not until 10 years later that the French synthetic
emerald maker Pierre Gilson finally learned how to produce
man-made opals that were stable, beautiful, and large
enough for use in jewelry. In contrast, synthetic sodalite
was grown hydrothermally by the Chinese for gemological
applications (which apparently never came to be), but may
ultimately be of interest to materials scientists (see, for
example, Trill et al. 1999).
For the past several decades, many of the advances in gem
synthesis have been by-products of technological research,
particularly in the field of lasers. Indeed, ruby and emerald
make excellent solid-state lasers when the crystals are large
and homogeneous. Contributions also came from the semiconductor industry (most recently with moissanite, SiC),
and work on integrated circuits, microelectronics, computer
memory devices, and the like. In many instances, these
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16
17
1
13
2
3
18
15
21
14
6
19
7
5
22
20
4
10
23
9
8
11
12
25
Primary Methods of Gem
Crystal Growth
Different laboratory gem-manufacturing techniques
often employ specific growth methods, which produce
synthetic gems with predictable features: characteristic crystal habits
and most notably typical inclusions. Understanding these often enables
the gemologist to identify the growth method and the specific manufacturer. Shown here are synthetic flux-grown emeralds produced by
Gilson (3, 6, 7), Seiko (5), Lennix (8), Inamori (9), and Chatham (10,
11, 12), as well as Russian hydrothermal (1, 2) and Russian flux (4)
synthetic emeralds. The blue synthetic sapphire crystals (13, 15) were
grown by Chatham in a flux environment, and the faceted blue sapphire (14) by a melt method. The synthetic rubies were made by several
methods: Russian hydrothermal (16, 17), Chatham flux (19, 22),
Douros flux (18, 21), Ramaura flux (20, 23), and Kashan flux (24, 25).
The faceted synthetic stones range in weight from 1.21 to 6.57 cts, and
the synthetic crystals range from 10.21 to 482.51 cts. Synthetics
courtesy of Thomas Chatham ; photo © Tino H ammid and Robert E. K ane
Figure 1
Today, industrial and scientific crystal growth around the
world is a highly sophisticated endeavor employing many
different methods. Many of these have been adapted to grow
gems. The groupings in Table 1 (adapted from Nassau 1980)
illustrate some of the major techniques utilized by professional crystal growers.
developments originated from billion-dollar corporations
investing hundreds of millions of dollars in crystal-growth
research. In contrast to the very small number of jewelryquality synthetic gem manufacturers, many thousands of
researchers worldwide are involved in industrial crystal growth.
The general public is unaware that man-made crystals influence virtually every aspect of modern living, either directly
or indirectly. More than 400 tons of synthetic diamonds
are produced each year for industrial use, such as in machining
and cutting tools. Man-made crystals help to regulate our
cities’ power supplies. They play an integral part in the systems
used to manage our financial centers and credit card
purchases; enable operation of our cell phones, digital
cameras, televisions, and (synthetic) quartz watches; supervise communications; direct airline traffic; and help diagnose and cure diseases. As some of these synthesis technologies
make their way into gem and jewelry applications, the
gemologist is faced with increasingly difficult challenges
when it comes to differentiating between synthetic and
natural gems. In gem synthesis, there have been more
developments in the last two decades than in the previous
50 years.
E lements
24
Melt techniques are among the oldest and simplest—they
require that the gem species melts congruently. Melt techniques are commonly employed to grow ruby, sapphire,
chrysoberyl (alexandrite), and many crystals with a garnet
structure (e.g. yttrium aluminum garnet, YAG). For those
gems that melt incongruently—for example beryl—solution growth (in particular, under hydrothermal conditions)
comes close to their natural conditions of formation. Some
gem materials can be synthesized only by a single method;
synthetic moissanite, for example, requires sublimation
(Table 1), and cubic zirconia requires skull melting (Table
1; Fig. 2). Others, in particular synthetic ruby, are grown
by a variety of methods—for example, melt crystallization
(flame fusion or Verneuil), hydrothermal solution, and flux
growth (Fig. 3). In general, melt-crystallization techniques
are low-cost and high-volume, yielding very inexpensive
synthetic rubies and sapphires. Synthetic rubies and
sapphires grown by hydrothermal solution or flux solution,
on the other hand, are high-cost and low-volume. The synthetic
stones produced by these methods can cost as much as a
hundred times more than a melt-grown ruby or sapphire.
Also, the synthesis of diamond by high-pressure and hightemperature solution growth (Fig. 4) requires very expensive equipment.
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Table 1
General Categories of Gem and Mineral
Crystal-Growth Techniques
A
Melt growth
Solidification in a container
Czochralski growth (pulling from a seed in contact
with the corresponding melt)
Verneuil or flame-fusion growth
(projecting molten oxides from a flame on a seed)
Zone growth (crystallizing from a seed in a corresponding
powder, locally molten)
Skull melting (mass crystallization from a molten volume
using the same unmelted powder as the crucible)
Solution growth
Growth from water or other solvents
Gel reaction growth
Hydrothermal growth (growth in a fluid under
an appropriate pressure and temperature)
Flux and flux zone growth (growth in an anhydrous molten salt)
Growth by electrolysis
High-pressure flux growth
Vapor phase growth
Sublimation growth
Growth by reaction in a vapor phase
Chemical vapor phase transport growth
A dapted from Nassau (1980)
Variations Unique to Gem Synthesis
Reagent-grade chemicals and controlled conditions enable
the gem crystal growers not only to perfect a natural process,
but in some cases “improve” upon it by creating unique
gems. Exceptionally bright, vivid colors not found in nature
can be created in synthetic gems. For example, Co2+ in
sufficient quantity can produce an unnaturally bright blue
color in hydrothermally grown synthetic quartz. In the
hydrothermal beryl crystals grown in Russia, a rich “turquoise”
blue has been achieved by adding copper.
B
While naturally yellow sapphires can be colored by Fe3+,
heated dark yellow sapphires owe their color to the O - ion
that accompanies Mg2+ in a charge-compensation mechanism
(Emmett et al. 2003). The O- ion is also referred to as a trapped
hole center. Ni is responsible for the bright lemon yellow
of Verneuil-grown (or flame-fusion) synthetic sapphires.
The use of alternative color-causing elements might lead a
purist to wonder if these are imitations rather than true synthetics,
since there are no naturally occurring equivalents.
Identification of Synthetic Gemstones
Identification of gems is one of the core activities of gemologists (Fritsch and Rondeau 2009 this issue). For much of
the twentieth century, the modestly equipped expert
gemologist could successfully identify most synthetic gem
materials. As the technological sophistication of gem
synthesis has increased—exponentially in the case of
diamonds—the challenge facing the jeweler-gemologist has
also increased.
Colorless synthetic cubic zirconia (CZ) is produced annually
by the ton for use as a faceted imitation of diamond (A).
Numerous colors can be produced to imitate other gem species and
varieties. For example, the addition of cobalt produces purple cubic
zirconia, and the color becomes a deep blue with increased stabilizer
concentration. (B) The irregular shape of the rough CZ crystals is
typical of the skull melting method used to grow them. Photo A by
Shane F. McClure, courtesy of GIA, and photo B by Tino Hammid
Most physical and optical properties of synthetic gems
overlap with those of their natural counterparts (with the
exception of the presence and nature of internal inclusions). However, a few other differences in properties
between natural and synthetic gems also exist. Some
hydrothermal synthetic emeralds, such as those made by
the Biron Corporation, possess lower refractive indices and
birefringence than typical natural emeralds (Kane and
Liddicoat 1985). This is also the case with flux-grown
synthetic emeralds. These differences in properties can be
explained in part by the lesser number of molecules or ions
occupying channel positions.
E lements
Figure 2
Inclusions can often provide conclusive proof of synthetic
origin. The first “Geneva rubies” caused panic in the mid1880s among European jewelry dealers because they were
initially sold as genuine natural gems. Since then, detailed
observation under the microscope and the interpretation
of internal features have continued to provide conclusive
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After decades of anticipation, synthetic diamonds
grown under high pressure and high temperature
(HP–HT) conditions are now a commercial reality in the international
market, both as loose stones and set in jewelry. Shown here are
examples of 1.00–1.25 carat synthetic yellow diamond jewelry
produced by Gemesis Corp (the colorless diamonds are natural). The
unset synthetic diamonds (weighing less than 1.00 carat each) are
from Chatham Created Gems and Lucent Diamonds. Composite photo
jewelry images courtesy of G emesis Corp. Loose diamond photos by H arold
and Erica Van Pelt; courtesy of GIA
Figure 4
Hand-painted illustration from Edmond Frémy’s 1891
book on the synthesis of ruby. In 1887, Frémy and Feil
were the first to synthesize ruby by the flux method. This rare plate
shows tiny flux-grown synthetic rubies filling a crucible, as well as
beautiful examples of 19th century French-made jewelry set with
Frémy’s faceted flux-grown synthetic rubies. Courtesy of GIA
Figure 3
proof of synthesis in many types of man-made gems (Fig. 5).
The appearance and nature of healed fractures, as well as
the presence of minute amounts of flux or crucible material,
are particularly helpful in the identification of synthetic gems.
The inclusions present in a synthetic gemstone are often
characteristic of a particular laboratory growth method
(see, for example, Sunagawa 2005). Rubies and blue
sapphires grown by the flame-fusion melt method often
show curved growth layers and spherical, elongated, or
distorted gas bubbles. Those produced by flux melt techniques frequently reveal residual unmelted flux, or inclusions of flux with a retraction bubble (due to volume loss
during cooling to room temperature). Hydrothermally
grown crystals often display “chevron-like,” “mosaic,” or
“zigzag” growth structures. These are phantom features of
fast-growing faces that are not smooth but covered by
growth hillocks centered on spiral dislocations.
When routine, standard testing procedures—refractive
index, specific gravity, fluorescence, internal inclusions
observed by microscopy—do not provide sufficient evidence
to determine the synthetic or natural origin of a gemstone,
E lements
laboratories must employ more advanced analytical instrumentation. For example, separating natural and synthetic
rubies on the basis of trace element chemical composition,
as determined by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence
(ED-XRF) spectrometry (Muhlmeister et al. 1998; Devouard
and Notari 2009 this issue; Rossman 2009 this issue).
Natural alexandrite contains water, whereas most synthetic
alexandrite results from melt growth and is therefore anhydrous. The difference is clearly seen using infrared spectroscopy (Stockton and Kane 1988). The same technique
can be applied to synthetic emeralds. Hydrothermally
grown emeralds, although they contain water, always show
small differences compared to their natural counterparts
in the presence, speciation, and topological orientation of
water (see, for example, Schmetzer 1989; Bellatreccia et al.
2008), as revealed by the presence or absence of certain
infrared absorption spectral features. Nondestructive, rapid
identification of mineral inclusions within faceted
gemstones by Raman microspectroscopy (Fritsch and
Rossman 1990) can indicate whether the stone was grown
in nature or the laboratory. Chemical fingerprinting by
laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) can help to distinguish a natural from
a synthetic origin for various gem species and varieties
(Günther and Kane 1999). The identification of synthetic
diamonds is aided by methods such as visible light, infrared,
and photoluminescence spectroscopy (Shigley 2005).
Conclusions
Man-made gemstones have a legitimate place in the market.
The concern is not the manufacture of these scientific
marvels, but the unscrupulous selling of them as natural
stones. As technological innovation continues to produce
extraordinary synthetic diamonds and synthetic colored
gemstones, research facilities around the world will
continue meeting the identification challenges they present
with practical and advanced analytical testing methods.
By doing so, public trust in the authenticity of gemstones
and jewelry will be maintained.
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J une 2009
Table 2
A
B
Chronology of the Synthesis of Major Gemstones
Approximate
year of
Synthetica
­availability
gemstone
in quantity
Chemical
formula
Manufacturing
technique
1885
1887
1905
1910
1910
1935c
1947
1948
1950
Ruby (Geneva)
Rubyb (Frémy and Feil)
Ruby
Sapphire
Spinel
Emerald
Star ruby and sapphire
Rutiled
Quartz
Strontium titanate
(not sphene) a,d
Rubyd,e,f
(Remeika U.S. patent)
Emerald
YAGa (yttrium
aluminum “garnet”)
Al2O3
Al2O3
Al2O3
Al2O3
MgAl2O 4
Be3Al2Si6O18
Al2O3
TiO2
SiO2
Crucible (melt)
Flux (solution)
Verneuil (melt)
Verneuil (melt)
Verneuil (melt)
Flux (solution)
Verneuil (melt)
Verneuil (melt)
Hydrothermal (solution)
SrTiO3
Verneuil (melt)
Al2O3
Flux (solution)
Be3Al2Si6O18
1970
Diamondd,e,g
C
1972
1973
1974
1974
1975
Cu2+ Al6 (PO4) 4 (OH) 8.4H2O
BeAl2O 4
SiO2.nH2O
SiO2
SiO2
1976
1976
Turquoise
Alexandrite
Opalh
Citrine (quartz)
Amethyst (quartz)
GGGa (gadolinium
gallium “garnet”)
Lapis lazulia,i
Cubic zirconiad
1976
Alexandrited
BeAl2O 4
1978
1981
Corala
CaCO3
Be3Al2Si6O18
Hydrothermal (solution)
Czochralski pulling
(melt)
High Pressure and high
temperature (solution)
Ceramic
Flux (solution)
Aqueous solution
Hydrothermal (solution)
Hydrothermal (solution)
Czochralski pulling
(melt)
Ceramic
Skull Melting (melt)
Czochralski pulling
(melt)
Ceramic
Hydrothermal (solution)
Al2O3
Flux (solution)
Cu2CO3 (OH) 2
BeAl2O 4
Aqueous Solution
Zone (melt)
Be3Al2Si6O18
Hydrothermal (solution)
MgAl2O 4
Al2O3
SiO2
Flux (solution)
Hydrothermal (solution)
Hydrothermal (solution)
SiO2
Hydrothermal (solution)
Al2O3
Hydrothermal (solution)
SiC (6H polytype)
Sublimation (vapor)
C
CVD (chemical vapor
deposition)
1955
1963
1965
1968
C
1975
D
Aquamarine e
Orange and
blue sapphire
Malachite
Cat’s-eye alexandrite
Red beryl (and
various other colors)
Spinel
Ruby
Pink quartz
Ametrine (citrine and
amethyst quartz)
Sapphire
(various colors)
Moissanite j
(silicon carbide)
1982
1983
1987
1988
1989
1993
1994
1994
(A) This large “nail-head spicule” in a
Biron hydrothermal synthetic emerald
consists of a cone-shaped void that is filled with fluid
and a gas bubble. Although not visible at this viewing
angle, the spicule is capped by a poorly developed,
ghost-like phenakite crystal. Dark-field illumination,
magnified 50x. (B) This Ramaura flux-grown synthetic
ruby displays characteristic, nearly straight, parallel
growth bands, which at some viewing angles exhibit
unusual iridescence. In this view, the very slight
differences in angle between facets cause the growth
features to be iridescent in one and not in the others.
Dark-field illumination, magnified 50x. (C) The shiny,
metallic appearance of platinum is very evident in this
large, thick, angular platinum inclusion in a Chatham
flux-grown synthetic blue sapphire. Dark-field and
fiber-optic illumination, magnified 35x. (D) The finger­
print appearance of this healed fracture in a flux-grown
synthetic sapphire is due to the capture of some flux
during crystal growth. Dark-field illumination, magnified
30x. Photomicrographs by Robert E. K ane
Figure 5
E lements
1995
1997
2003
Diamond
Y3Al5O12
Gd3Ga5O12
(Na,Ca) 8 (Al,Si)12O24 (S,SO 4)
ZrO2 + stabilizer
The majority of the 1885–1978 data were adapted from Nassau (1980).
a Gemologists use the term “imitation” for man-made materials that do not have a naturally occurring equivalent
in large crystals (e.g cubic zirconia) or do not share chemistry and crystallographic structure with a natural
counterpart (e.g. strontium titanate, YAG, GGG, lapis lazuli, and coral).
b Only small flux-grown ruby crystals (>3 mm)
c Nassau (1980) reported 1950; however, several gemologists published work on IG-Farben (“Igmerald”) synthetic
emeralds in 1935. In 1848 J.J. Ebelman reported success in growing flux synthetic emeralds. However, it was
Hautefeuille and Perrey’s 1888 and 1890 published reports that forged the path for all later flux emerald growth.
d Process developed for potential technological use
e Experimental production only
f Modern flux-growth of large ruby crystals
g In 1954 General Electric succeeded in synthesizing very tiny (150-micron) diamonds, which were not of gem
quality. Although only experimental and not commercially available, 1970 marked the first time that “sizable”
faceted synthetic diamonds had been synthesized by General Electric. In 1985, Sumitomo Electric Industries
(Japan) began marketing for industrial uses yellow synthetic diamond crystals in sizes up to 2 carats. By 2008,
faceted HP–HT synthetic diamonds were available for sale around the world in many colors, including colorless,
yellow, brown, blue, pink, red, purple, and green.
h The chemical formula listed is for natural opal. Some man-made opals do not contain H O (or as much as natural
2
opals do) and contain ZrO2. Thus they are considered imitations (not synthetics) by some gemologists.
i The chemical formula listed is for natural lapis lazuli, which is an aggregate of several minerals, predominantely
polycrystalline lazurite.
j Synthetic silicon carbide has been produced for technological uses for many decades. However, 1997 marked
the first time large, near-colorless crystals were grown for use as faceted imitation diamonds.
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E lements
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