Simulated and synthetic diamonds should never be confused. Simulated diamonds are essentially diamond ‘stand ins’ whereas synthetic diamonds are in fact real, sharing the same chemical and physical properties.
Simulated diamonds do however have their place. They can even share some characteristics with a real diamond, outside of looks, and are sometimes found in tools such as thermal probes in place of the real thing.
In terms of jewelry grade diamond simulants, most people are familiar with the most famous contender, cubic zirconia. While cubic zirconia is very hard, 8 on the Mohs scale, it is widely considered to be brittle.
Doping the gem with various impurities enables technicians to alter the colors to simulate a variety of gems. This is a simulant used in budget jewelry; though you are certainly able to find some stylish items, they are often found in garish items. Size is not always better, even with stand ins. The key in telling a zirconia from a diamond is to measure the refractive index. In a simpler sens,e that just means comparing the ‘sparkle’ of the gem to a gem you are certain is diamond. Guessing can be an interesting hobby, but you should take it to a jeweler to be certain.
Another major simulant is glass. Generally a bottom of the barrel stand in, but higher quality batches can be convincing to the untrained eye. The cheapest form of simulant glass is simply a clear glass bead, cut to gem specifications and backed with foil to better capture the light; this is the sort of thing found in costume jewelry. Higher quality glass simulants use metal impurities to increase the refractive index of the gem stand in without using foil. The altered glass process has a colorful history, leading all the way back to the 1700’s.
Some naturally occurring simulants include clear quartz, topaz, beryl and zircon. Zircon has a history of being mined in Sri Lanka, where before modern chemistry and understanding of gems it was thought to be a kind of low grade diamond. Zircon is soft and shows noticeable signs of wear and tear, being very brittle.
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