Essay Synthetic Gems

Submitted By cassiegluck
Words: 495
Pages: 2

Synthetic Gems

There are many types of gems. Gems can either be found or formed. These formed gems are synthetic. Synthetic gems are basically identical to natural found gems, besides the fact that they are created in laboratories, and not found in the earth. They are made to look like the gems that are found in nature. The process of making synthetic gems is much simpler than mining for natural gems. This made it more desirable and more cost effective to use synthetic gems. There are many different types of synthetic gems. Some include Rubies, Emeralds, Opals, Sapphires and Diamonds. These synthetic gems are made to trick people into thinking that they are actual gems. Lab scientists do this by making their own gems that are identical to natural gems. The synthetic gems have the same physical and chemical characteristics as the natural gems. It is also ideal because it is much cheaper than natural gems. This means that instead of buying a natural diamond for an engagement ring, a synthetic diamond would look exactly the same and not coast as much. There are a few different ways to produce synthetic gems. The three main ways of growing synthetic gems are Verneuil flame-fusion process, the Bridgman-Stockbarge solidification method, and the Czochralski pulled-growth method. The Verneuil process is used for sapphire, spinel, rutile and strontium titanate. In this process you first get a single crystal and put it into an oxygen-hydrogen blowtorch. Once the crystal becomes a pure oxide, it is melted, and then other oxides are added to make the color needed. Once it cools and turns into solid, the material is now a 75 to 250 carat synthetic gem. The Bridgman-Stockbarge is shaped like a cylinder with a pointed top at one end. The pointed end is filled with powdered chemicals that are needed to grow that crystal. It is next put into the furnace, and then it cools and becomes a solid. Finally the Czochralski method is used for rubies, sapphires, spinels and alexandrite. This method