Home Page | Jewelry Metal
Alterng Gemstone
Amber
Chrysoberyl
Coral
Cultured Pearls
Decorative Stones
Diamond
Contacts Us

Diamond Imitations and Others


The appearance of rutile on the market started a hunt for crystals that, when cut, would resemble diamonds. A problem exists with rutile because of its inevitable yellowish color. This problem was solved with the introduction of strontium titanate in 1955. Closely related to rutile, strontium titanate's advantage is its pure white color, with no yellowishtinge. The hardness is, however, 6 on the Mohs scale, still too soft to be very useful in rings. Another advantage of strontium titanate is its dispersion, which, though very high (four times higher than diamond), is lower than that of rutile and thus more realistic.

 

Cut gems do resemble diamonds very strongly, especially when they acquire a slight oily film which further cuts down the dispersion. Strontium titanate does not exist as a natural mineral. Its softness left an opportunity for a still better diamond imitation material.
 

This marketing gap was filled by a material called YAG, an acronym for Yttrium Aluminum Garnet. YAG is one of a family of so-called "gar¬nets," named because their internal atomic structure is like that of the natural garnets. But here the similarity ends, because YAG and its brothers with similar rare-earth chemistries, such as GGG (Gadolinium Gallium Garnet), do not occur in nature.

DIAMONDS, GEMSTONES & CRYSTALS
FACTS & FIGURES

YAG was originally grown for use in lasers, which is still its major application. It was accidentally discovered that, when properly cut, YAG strongly resembles cut diamond, even though its dispersion is relatively low. In addition, the hardness of YAG is about 8 on the Mohs scale, so cut gems are durable and do not scratch easily.

YAG can be colored richly by impurities, and cut stones may resem¬ble emerald, kunzite, sapphire, and other gems, although YAG's are too brilliant and hard to be convincing substitutes for most gems.

.

The newest and most important imitation diamond material is cubic zirconium oxide, or "zirconia." This material is as hard as YAG (8.5), hut has a much higher dispersion. In fact, the dispersion of zirconia is slightly higher than that of diamond, giving extremely realistic "fire" to cut gems. Such stones are lively, hard and durable, and virtually indistinguishable from diamond to the untrained eye. Small zirconia gems in jewelry settings will undoubtedly pose severe detection problems for the jewelry trade. Zirconia sells for several tens of dollars per carat, offering the consumer a stone with much of the beauty of diamond at a fraction of the diamond price.

Other gem materials created solely in the laboratory include lithium niobate, sometimes sold as "Linobate," with a Mohs hardness of 6, yttrium aluminate, and potassium tantalite - niobate, whose chemical acronym is KTN.
   
  • Native American Jewelry
    Native American jewelry including Native American silver jewelry at Double Dee Deals. We Offers you Native American Jewelry, Southwestern Turquoise Jewelry, Native American Necklaces, Native American Bracelets, Native American Belt Buckles, Native American Watches, Native American Earrings and Native American Pendants with free Shipping.

  • Beads, Jewelry Tools, Wire, and Jewelry Making Supplies by WigJig
    Over 2,700 free web pages with designs and instructions for making jewelry with beads, jewelry wire & gemstones. Online store for purchase of beads, jewelry tools, wire, gemstones and jewelry making supplies.

  • Natural Mystics
    Natural Mystics. Amazing Handmade Crystal Bead Jewelry. Healing Gemstone Jewelry.

  • Handmade Jewelry and Unique Gift Ideas
    Handmade jewelry, handcrafted copper jewelry, wholesale unique jewelry individually silver plated and diamond cut animal jewelry, wildlife jewelry and native American jewelry designs on handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, handcrafted necklaces and unique rings. http://www.copperreflections.com/
Copyright © 2006 wonderxtreme.com
All Rights Reserved.