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Fine Jewelry University Articles matching: “Natural zircon”
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Gem in the Spotlight: Blue Zircon
…The crystal structure of zircon creates one of the liveliest displays found in any colored gem. In fact, before any of the manmade diamond simulates were made, the colorless version of zircon was used in jewelry to mimic diamond. Why? Natural zircon is known for its scintillation, brilliance, and flashes of color or fire just like diamond. Zircon also is known for its variety of colors. Blue zircon is the most popular color. But, zircon can be almost any color you can imagine …
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How to Tell If a Diamond Is Natural or Lab Grown
…synthetic diamonds before continuing with this article. So, now you know that lab grown diamonds are just as real as natural diamonds, but we still want to be able to tell them apart. When it comes to diamond simulants like Cubic Zirconia (… they aren’t diamonds. But, with lab grown diamonds, the chemical structure and properties are all the same as natural diamond, so it becomes much more difficult to differentiate them. Responsible Disclosure The first thing to realize is …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Spinel
… by mistake. Since then many processes have been used and perfected to create spinel in even more colors than it is naturally found in. Because of how easily it can be created in a lab, synthetic spinel has been used to imitate many other ….). In fact, the ubiquity of synthetic spinel may be part of the reason why most people have been slow to appreciate natural spinel in its own right. Interestingly, most lab-created spinel has a slightly higher refractive index than natural …
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Is a Lab Grown Diamond Right for Me?
… of misinformation and paranoia both from inside the trade and from outside observers. I have heard people say that natural diamonds come with a 400% mark up, or that most mined diamonds are conflict diamonds (both wild falsehoods). On the … consumers’ minds. While the real world issue is not nearly as severe as many people believe it is (over 99.9% of natural diamonds are conflict free, and you can buy verifiable Canadian diamonds of known origin if you want), it is still …
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Fake Diamonds: The Great Diamond Attack
… lookalikes. “What is a real diamond?” is a difficult question these days. And the problem of separating a fully natural diamond from all the modern possibilities is quite demanding. So what is a real diamond? Let’s start with the older … but is man made. So, a synthetic diamond is the same chemistry (carbon element) and crystal structure (cubic) as natural diamond but made in a factory. Yes, they can make synthetic diamonds and have for many years now. Most are used in the …
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What Are Lab Grown Diamonds?
… is being created. Therefore, a “synthetic diamond” has the same crystal structure and chemical composition as a natural diamond. The same cannot be said of the many imitation or fake gems that are often, incorrectly, described as synthetic … highly advanced technologies that produce crystals with the exact same chemical structure and optical properties as natural diamonds. Now, let’s compare lab grown diamonds to some of the other gems that you might have heard of. Lab Grown …
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Synthetic Gems: The Whole Story
… gemologist to detect. But if you had gem material that is the same chemically, optically and crystal structure as a natural gem, it would be very hard to tell them apart. In gemology we call this a synthetic gem. Synthetic gems are not bad…a man made synthetic ruby has the same exact chemical formula and crystal structure and optical characteristics as a natural ruby. How can a person tell them apart? I will tell you it is very very hard. It takes a lot of training, very good …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Tanzanite
… treated to help bring out the vibrant blues. The stones that haven’t been heated by humans were heated through natural effects while they were still underground. Without heating, most tanzanite would be a brown color, similar to smoky … only found in one place on earth. In 2002 tanzanite was added as one of the birthstones for December alongside blue zircon, turquoise, and blue topaz. Tanzanite is believed to symbolize transformation and spiritual awakening. It is often …
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The Birthstones
… is the product of an oyster’s defense mechanism. When a foreign irritant is introduced either by man (cultured) or naturally, the oyster immediately surrounds it with layers of a substance called nacre. Pearls form directly from the hand of… a current day birthstone for this month. Learn more about Topaz and Citrine December’s Birthstones: Turquoise (Blue Zircon, Blue Topaz, Tanzanite) Turquoise is found in Egypt, Persia (Iran), Tibet, and the Americas. It has been treasured …
