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by wickedwillie on June 7th, 2005

wickedwillie

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How can you see the difference between a synthetic gem and a natural one?

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Answers. 4 helpful answers below.

  • by Glenn Blaylock on August 30th, 2005

    Glenn Blaylock

    What to look for depends on what type of gem stone you are talking about. To distinguish between synthetic and natural diamonds, you need to look at the inclusions. Even the best natural diamond will some other minerals grains inside of the stone. Synthetic diamonds, on the other hand, will not have mineral inclusions. Instead, they will have primarily gas-filled voids as inclusions.

    Inclusions will show the same pattern with the colored gemstones (rubies, sapphires, and emeralds) as they do for diamonds. However, colored gemstones have something else for which you can look. If you look at a synthetic colored gemstone under magnification, then you will often see that there are variations in the color of the stone. These variations will usually occur as curving bands. This reflects the way in which synthetic gems are created. The process grows them as conical or cylindrical boules. I can't remember if natural stones will have banded color variations*, but if they do, the bands would be in concentric hexagons (or parts of hexagons depending on the cut of the stone). This would reflect the way the stones grow naturally.

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  • by jenniferprofitt on June 15th, 2005

    jenniferprofitt

    First, look at the setting and mount. Since stones such as cubic zirconias are so much cheaper than diamonds, they are sometimes set in inferior metals. Then check the wear and tear on the stone. A cubic zirconia is not as durable as a diamond and may show signs of scratches or nicks. No matter what you see, you should take the stone to a trusted jeweler. Looking through a jeweler's loupe, he or she should be able to spot a fake stone right away. If the jeweler cannot tell by examining the stone, he or she will have instruments that can verify its authenticity.

    http://www.pointask.com/pointask/f_q.php3?qid=23036

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  • by Dhaaaaa on November 24th, 2011

    Dhaaaaa

    Any natural Gemstone like everything els has it's own unique Identity,
    I believe the answer to this question would be that the process with manufacturing a synthetic Gem does not lend it's self to a quality varience.
    As the saying goes,"Anything that is too good to be true, isn't" real Gems almost always contain flaws or Feathers within, no matter how small Cutters are trained to hide these inclussions when faceting. This is only my opinion.

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  • by morales.ronaldo on February 24th, 2011

    morales.ronaldo

    There are synthetic sapphires, rubies and emeralds with the same base composition as natural ones that are left to crystallize by itself or with seed crystals on platinum crucibles under constant heat. The crystals that form reflect their natural counterparts instead of being cut out of a single diffusion-created glassy boules. But these synthetics have tell-tale hexagonal or triangular platinum platelet inclusions under a microscope. For naturals, a zoo of inclusions can be seen.

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