How to check for real gemstones. How to recognize essential minerals. Comparison of two minerals

When creating our jewelry, we think not only about the convenience and beauty of bracelets, but also, above all, about the beneficial properties that gems have. That is why we always choose exclusively natural stones, after first making sure and checking their authenticity.

Progress does not stand still, and nowadays imitation stones have become so common that sometimes even specialists find it difficult to distinguish a fake without special equipment. We will tell you a little about how you can check the naturalness of some stones. Let's first look at the most common methods of counterfeiting:

ordinary tinted glass or plastic is passed off as natural stone

cheap minerals are passed off as more expensive and rare

stone chips are pressed, painted and passed off as natural stone

Paradoxically, at first glance, fakes very often look more beautiful than real stones, and, in principle, if you just need a new and inexpensive beautiful piece of jewelry, then they may well fulfill this function. BUT... Just once, feel the cold heaviness of natural stone in your palm, which in a few minutes will be replaced by a warm weightlessness that warms you throughout the day; take a closer look at what intricate patterns each pebble is covered with (but there is no second one exactly the same, there never was and never will be!); think about how many thousands or even millions of years it slowly grew in the depths of our planet, absorbing its natural strength, beauty and energy. And after all this, you most likely will not agree to a fake, albeit inexpensive, but stamped in thousands of copies, made in a few seconds at the factory. And needless to say that the above imitations do not possess those wonderful properties that people have endowed with gems all over the world since ancient times. And the durability of these imitations cannot be compared with natural stones. While pressed stones quickly begin to lose their original color from wear, crumble and peel, and glass imitations break, natural stones continue to delight and help their owners for many years :)

Currently, quite rare, but most often counterfeited semi-precious stones are moonstone, malachite, turquoise, amber, aventurine, and rock crystal.

And now let’s talk about how you can try to distinguish natural stone from glass or plastic. What should you be wary of when choosing jewelry? Firstly, the lightness of the product. Plastic is much lighter than stone and very quickly becomes warm in the hand, while stone will heat up slowly enough that you will immediately feel its weight, even if it is just a few small stones (except for amber, more about that next time!). Secondly, the same color and pattern of each bead. Each natural stone is unique and has its own characteristics, this may be an external pattern or heterogeneity inside. And if all the stones in the product look like twin brothers, then most likely you are looking at glass or plastic. With glass, however, it is a little more complicated. Over time, you can learn to distinguish glass from stone by external signs, knowing the characteristics of minerals. However, in temperature it is similar to stone. But if, after all, the geologist in you defeats the esthete, then you can try to take extreme measures and split the bead. The edges of the glass will be very sharp, they can easily hurt you, unlike stone, the chips of which can easily be touched.

We really hope that this information will help you when choosing jewelry made from semi-precious stones.

And in future posts we will talk in more detail about how to distinguish malachite and amber, as well as some other stones, from fakes.

Since ancient times, precious stones have attracted people's attention with their qualities: beautiful bright colors, hardness and durability, brilliance and play of light. The price of each piece depends on its size, jewelry characteristics and cut quality. Some imitations are of such high quality that it is very difficult to independently determine whether the gemstone you like is real or not. However, there are techniques by following which you can identify a fake. The methods are based primarily on knowledge of the unique properties of gems.

Of the more than 4,000 types of minerals, approximately 100 varieties are recognized as precious. These also include stones of organic origin: pearls, amber, jet and coral.

In jewelry stores you can find jewelry with inserts made from both natural precious stones and their synthetic analogues. Artificially grown crystals have the same optical, physical and chemical properties as natural ones. Differentiating them without special instruments is a difficult task even for gemologists.

There are methods for refining valuable but low-quality minerals to increase their value. The essence of this process is that, as a result of a certain impact, the crystal acquires a more saturated and interesting color. For example, pale varieties of amethyst or smoky quartz are turned into citrine by heat treatment. In such cases, only a specialist can find out whether the gemstone is used in jewelry or its ennobled version. This information must be displayed in the accompanying documentation.

As simpler imitations, cheap minerals painted in the appropriate color, ceramics or glass can be used. It is much easier to distinguish them from real gems at home. Sometimes manufacturers create composite stones (doublets, triplets) - crystals glued together from several pieces, the layered structure of which is visible if you examine the sample from the side.

The main proof of the natural origin of precious minerals is the presence of a certificate from the seller.

It must indicate:

type of stone;
size and weight;
color;
purity;
cutting method;
defects;
mining site.

If it is impossible to check the availability of documents or the jewelry has already been purchased, you can evaluate it yourself. To do this, you need to understand the basic properties and characteristics of minerals. The key criteria for checking stones for authenticity is to evaluate the following parameters:

hardness;
electrification - the ability to attract small objects;
light refraction and shine;
pleochroism - the property of changing color depending on the viewing angle or when lighting changes;
luminescence - the ability of some minerals to glow when exposed to ultraviolet rays, for which you can use a pen to check banknotes with a UV flashlight;
reaction to chemical exposure - not used for assessing organic stones.

Diamond or diamond

Diamond has become one of the most popular jewelry stones due to its exceptional brilliance. Scientists in different countries have been working on technologies for growing synthetic diamonds. It was possible to obtain jewelry-quality samples for the first time only in 1955 in the USA. Colorless zircon, synthetic transparent sapphire or spinel, and cubic zirconia can be passed off as diamonds.

To determine the authenticity of a diamond, it is necessary to take into account the following properties:

A diamond is a standard of hardness, therefore, if the edges of the crystal seem to be erased or there are scratches on the surface, it is a fake.
If you apply glycerin to a real diamond and then put it in water, it will continue to shine brightly, but imitation sapphire, crystal glass or spinel will be difficult to see.
The cut of the diamond allows light to be reflected from the lower edges, as if from mirrors, so when looking through the crystal you cannot see what is underneath - only a luminous point in the center.
In a diamond, light is reflected by all facets; if you look at the crystal from the side, it will also shine.
Most diamonds glow blue under ultraviolet light.

Identifying a synthetic diamond in a piece of jewelry is more difficult than identifying a single sample, since the presence of metal limits the use of some methods, and the setting of the jewelry does not allow viewing the mineral from all sides.

Turquoise

Despite the fact that turquoise is not a rare mineral, most of the mined raw materials are of low quality. Therefore, the stones are subjected to additional strengthening and coloring. In addition, pressed gems are common, which are made from the powder remaining from the processing of turquoise. These jewelry are not fake, but over time they acquire a dirty tint.

The popularity of turquoise and its properties were the reason that the first attempts to imitate this stone were made in Ancient Egypt and during antiquity. Today on sale you can find both synthetic stone and simpler imitations made of plastic, enamel, as well as turquoise-colored minerals, for example, howlite is very close to turquoise in many characteristics.

To check the naturalness of a stone, you can use the following methods:

Turquoise has a hardness of 6 on the Mohs scale. With a little force, it can be scratched. If this cannot be done, then it is a glass or porcelain imitation, and if the sample is easily scratched, leaving white shavings, it is plastic.
Like many minerals, turquoise remains cool for a long time when held in your hand.
When the size of the stone allows, you can conduct an experiment with a hot needle. If you touch the tip to the surface, the plastic will melt. The color of the colored mineral at the point of contact will lighten. If a sample of hardened turquoise is examined, a drop of impregnation may appear at the point of contact.
When the surface of the stone is exposed to hydrochloric acid, some fakes (Neolithic and Viennese turquoise) will develop yellow spots, but the original will not change.

Pomegranate

Grenades are not counterfeited very often, due to the fact that there are effective methods for checking them. As an imitation, colored glass, cubic zirconia, or less often plastic can be inserted into the decoration.

To test an individual gemstone, you can use the mineral's magnetic properties. To do this you will need a sensitive scale, a piece of magnet and a cork backing. The sample must be placed on a substrate and then on a balance. If you bring a magnet closer to a pomegranate, then at a distance of about 1 cm the scale arrow will begin to oscillate.

An important indicator of authenticity will be the size of the stone, since most mined stones are small - the size of a pomegranate seed.

Stone differs from glass in that garnet heats up more slowly and has a non-uniform color.

Emerald

Emerald, along with diamond, ruby and sapphire, is included in the first class of precious minerals. Synthetically grown analogues can only be determined by a specialist.

To distinguish a natural stone from a fake, you should pay attention to a number of features:

Emerald has a hardness of 7.5–8 Mohs, so the cut crystal should have clear edges and no scratches on the surface.
If you examine the sample through a magnifying glass, in the depths you can see cracks with gas-liquid inclusions, as well as parallel growth lines. The fake contains hollow air bubbles.
In ultraviolet light, emerald glows red, but not always - it depends on the place where the mineral was mined, so using the method you can only confirm the authenticity of the sample, and not identify a fake.

Amber

Amber is a precious stone of organic origin, it is the fossilized resin of ancient trees. The classification of amber includes dozens of varieties, each of which differs in color, transparency and place of extraction. The presence of prehistoric insects or plants in the hardened resin significantly increases the cost of the specimen. These semi-precious stones are often replaced with plastic fakes, and copal and burnite are also used.

To determine the nature of amber, you can do a number of things:

If the stone is not encased, you can dip it in a salt solution (3-4 tablespoons of salt per glass of water). Counterfeits, except polystyrene, will sink, but real minerals will not.
Natural amber is electrified. If you rub its surface with a woolen cloth, it will begin to attract small particles.
If you hold a sample close to a fire or apply a hot needle to the surface, you can smell the resin, but the fake will smell like plastic.
In ultraviolet light, original amber begins to fluoresce in bluish-white or green tones.
The natural sample is warm and pleasant to the touch.

Pearl

Wild sea pearls, perfectly round in shape, cost thousands of dollars. Therefore, the practice of growing cultured pearls has been developing for a long time. It costs less, but is also of natural origin. The cost of freshwater pearls is also low.

At home, you can determine whether pearls are real in several ways:

It is a fairly soft stone (3.5–4.5 Mohs). If you rub two beads together, dust will appear, but the mother-of-pearl surface will not be damaged.
To appreciate the pearls in the finished product, you need to pay attention to the mother-of-pearl surface. In natural samples, one can notice chaotically located spots with less shine and a slightly different shade, which are formed by a heterogeneous layering of conchiolin.
Tactile check. The surface of the pearl is porous and rough - if you run a stone over the surface of a tooth, the pearl will squeak.
The fluorescence of pearls is conditional and is determined by the composition of the water in which it grew.

Ruby

Ruby is a precious red variety of corundum. A natural specimen with high purity levels is comparable in cost to diamonds. Under the guise of rubies, jewelry can contain synthetic stones, red spinel, tourmaline or garnet.

The easiest way to distinguish the original from garnet, tourmaline and painted glass is:

Ruby is harder than garnet, it shines brightly, while garnet is dull and has a resinous shine.
Stays cool for a long time compared to glass.
You can determine the authenticity of a sample in ultraviolet light: tourmalines fluoresce orange, and rubies fluoresce red.
Many rubies fluoresce in sunlight; this ability is especially pronounced in specimens from Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
Natural stones exhibit a dichroism effect: the color alternates from purple-red to yellow-red depending on the lighting.
Rubies are characterized by the presence of rutile in the structure, which creates the effect of a silky whitish glow inside the crystal.
Unlike spinel, ruby does not contain inclusions resembling bubbles. Synthetic samples often have bubbles and funnels of color.

Sapphire

Traditionally, sapphire is a blue variety of corundum. In addition, there are yellow, black, blue, greenish, pink, purple and colorless varieties. You can find refined crystals on sale.

Sapphires are replaced with colored glass, blue spinel or tourmaline, and doublets are also used.

The following properties will help you distinguish a gemstone:

in hardness the original is second only to diamond;
dichroism is inherent in a natural crystal: if you look at a sapphire from above, it has a rich blue color, if from the side it has a yellowish-blue or greenish color;
sapphires, like rubies, sometimes contain rutile inclusions, creating a silky shine to the stone or an asterism effect;
As a rule, they do not glow in short-wave ultraviolet light, but artificial analogues fluoresce pale green.

Topaz

Topaz is a popular jewelry stone that comes in a variety of colors. On sale you can often find ennobled samples of rich colors and rainbow mystic topaz, which is obtained by applying a special coating to the surface. Methods for creating synthetic topaz have been developed, but they are not widely used due to the high final cost. Quartz or glass are used as imitations.

The natural origin of topaz is determined by the following characteristics:

The hardness of the stone is Mohs 8, it is harder than quartz and glass and, unlike the latter, remains cool.
The surface of polished topaz feels slippery to the touch.
The mineral becomes electrified if you rub it with a napkin made of natural materials.
In ultraviolet light, natural stone glows green or brown.
Topaz is characterized by pleochroism. Blue crystals turn to green or colorless shades when changing lighting. Yellow - to dark yellow or reddish, pink - to red and rarely to orange.

Aquamarine

Aquamarine has a sea greenish-blue color and is often confused with blue topaz. To increase color intensity, pale stones are heated.

There are no synthetic aquamarines on sale - glass, synthetic spinel and quartz are used as imitations.

The naturalness of aquamarine can be confirmed by the following characteristics:

mineral hardness - 7.5–8 Mohs;
Natural aquamarines are characterized by inclusions of white color, reminiscent of chrysanthemum and snowflakes;
transparent varieties have a glossy sheen;
at different angles the crystal changes color slightly;
the mineral scratches glass and does not heat up, unlike glass.

Corundum

Corundum is a gemstone in the same way as its popular varieties - ruby and sapphire. Pure transparent corundums are extremely rare in nature. In deposits, colored varieties are more often found, whose color is determined by the presence of impurities in the rock.

The natural origin of the mineral is checked in the same way as in the case of rubies and sapphires, with the exception of color:

How to identify a stone in jewelry

Determining the authenticity of gemstones set in metals is more difficult because the setting limits visual inspection. However, the following methods remain effective:

You can find out which mineral is inserted into a ring or earrings using ultraviolet light;
examine the holes in the beads - their edges should not be melted;
you can evaluate the inside of the stone and see if there is a sharp change in color;
Expensive gems cannot have a cheap setting.

It takes experience to properly evaluate gemstones. Since the main competitors of natural minerals are synthetic crystals, the main protection against error would be to contact a gemologist and purchase jewelry from trusted sellers.

Nowadays, when jewelry with synthetic stones is increasingly found on the market, the issue of identifying them and distinguishing them from natural stones is becoming acute. We do not urge you not to buy synthetics at all; on the contrary, you can safely purchase them and enjoy wearing them.

The main thing is not to overpay, pay the real price and avoid becoming a victim of scammers. At the same time, there is no guarantee that you will not be deceived both in the market and in a fashionable jewelry salon. Deception can be either conscious (with forged documents, fake certificates or convincing oral assurances) or out of ignorance (the seller himself was misled).

Fraud is the sale of synthetics at a deliberately inflated price, passing it off as a natural material. Even if you were allegedly sold chrysoberyl beads for $15, this is not a criminal offense or even a violation at all (rejoice at your successful purchase!!). But if you are charged $70 or more for counterfeiting and deception, this is already fraud and an administrative offense, and if there is an illegal markup and deception of more than $110, this is already a criminal offense (in Ukraine). Forgery of any certificate of conformity is a crime, regardless of the amount of the transaction. You should get help from the nearest police station and consumer protection society at the place where the overly expensive and falsified counterfeit was sold.

Most imitations today are made from glass of various qualities with various additives (Savrovsky stones, glass rhinestones, black and golden aventurine, colored cat's eye, milky moonstone, green chrysoberyl, opal glass, etc.). A number of other synthetic stones are more valuable; they have their own chemical formula (cubic zirconia, corundum, sapifre, ulexite, citrine, amethyst, ametrine, Viennese turquoise and neolith).

Why is it important to distinguish natural stones from synthetic ones? One of the attributes of a gemstone is its rarity. Pure, defect-free stones are rare in nature, so their cost sometimes reaches very high levels, especially for large specimens. Synthetic jewelry stones almost always have higher quality characteristics compared to natural stones, but cost significantly less than the best natural stones. A flawless, good-colored natural ruby weighing 5-10 carats can cost several thousand dollars per carat. Synthetic ruby (corundum) of the same size costs only a few dollars for a whole stone, and raw corundum is sold by the kilo.

The world has significant reserves of substandard or low-value varieties of topaz, agate, jade, turquoise, rock crystal, chalcedony, etc. This has necessitated the development of technological processes for refining gemstones.

Which of the characteristics of natural, refined and synthetic stones allow us to distinguish them from each other? In nature, the formation of a precious stone takes several tens, or even hundreds of thousands of years. In the laboratory, growth can take anywhere from a few hours to (at most) several months. Also, in the laboratory it is impossible to recreate a process that completely replicates the natural one, so it seems logical to assume that in any crystal of artificial origin one can detect signs determined by the conditions of its growth that will distinguish it from natural stone.

What signs do gemologists pay attention to when diagnosing the origin of a stone? First of all, these are the internal features of the stone, such as inclusions, zoning (color distribution), growth microstructures, for observation of which a magnifying glass or microscope is used. Previously, to diagnose synthetic jewelry stones, experts only needed standard gemological equipment, including a magnifying glass, a polariscope, a dichroscope and an ultraviolet lamp. Nowadays, when synthesis technologies are constantly improving, it is becoming more and more difficult for experts to work; Often standard equipment is not enough for an unambiguous diagnosis, so you have to resort to more complex laboratory methods. The main requirement for stone identification methods is their non-destructive effect on the sample under study.

SYNTHETIC DIAMONDS. In the last decade, great strides have been made in the synthesis of jewelry diamonds. Modern technologies make it possible to obtain gem-quality diamond crystals weighing up to 10-15 carats. For example, inclusions of minerals indicate natural origin, while inclusions of metals (iron, nickel, manganese) indicate synthetic origin. Synthetic diamonds are also characterized by an uneven zonal-sectoral distribution of fluorescence in ultraviolet light (cross-shaped figures of UV fluorescence can often be observed), on the contrary, natural diamonds are characterized by a uniform or irregular distribution of UV glow. Read more about synthetic gem-quality diamonds.

SYNTHETIC RUBIES AND SAPPHIRES (CORUNDUMS). Today on the gemstone market there are many synthetic rubies and sapphires grown by various synthesis methods, each of which has its own distinctive characteristics. Almost all red stones in jewelry are synthetic corundum. Most natural rubies have internal defects. Thus, the majority of synthetic rubies and sapphires found on the market are obtained by the Verneuil method; the distinctive features of these stones are curvilinear zoning (which is not observed in natural stones), and sometimes they contain inclusions of gas bubbles. But visually synthetic corundums look flawless. Moreover, it is synthetic corundums that are quite cheap and almost eternal red and dark pink inserts in jewelry. This is a very beautiful synthetic gem. Unfortunately, today red corundums have become very rare in jewelry stores, and synthetic sapphires are almost impossible to find.
Rubies and sapphires grown by flux and hydrothermal synthesis methods are the most difficult objects to diagnose. Fluxed rubies and sapphires are characterized by inclusions of flux and growth chamber (crucible) materials - platinum, gold and copper, and a distinctive feature of hydrothermal corundums is irregular growth microstructures.

SYNTHETIC EMERALD. In the last decade, in addition to a large number of hydrothermal rubies and sapphires, most synthetic emeralds are also obtained by this method. Such emeralds are characterized by tubular inclusions, brownish inclusions of iron oxides. In ordinary jewelry stores, natural emeralds can be distinguished from synthetic ones based on the fact that most natural emeralds in our jewelry are imperfect, have cracks and internal defects visible to the eye, uneven coloring, and are opaque in places. A stone that is too pale in color may turn out to be not an emerald, but an ordinary beryl. It is better to transfer perfect dark green and perfectly transparent emeralds to independent specialists for analysis, since the likelihood of acquiring very high-quality synthetics passed off as natural stones is too high (especially in imported gold jewelry). Synthetic emeralds have a very distinctive rich bluish-green color that somewhat reveals their origin, although some Colombian emeralds have almost the same hue. Synthetic emeralds of hydrothermal origin usually contain small liquid or gaseous inclusions. Natural emeralds often have inclusions of mica platelets and microplates and pyrite crystals (even a natural emerald clogged with mica is much more expensive than its ideal synthetic counterpart). When choosing what to buy: green synthetic zircon or synthetic emerald, if possible, preference should be given to emerald, since it is much more beautiful and durable.
There is another variety of emerald, which is in an intermediate stage between synthetic and refined. They are non-jewelry beryls that do not have jewelry value in the original raw material, but covered with a layer of extended synthetic emerald thickness from 0.3 mm or more. The color of such stones is pale green. When using the hydrothermal method, which is popular today, a layer of emerald 0.8 mm thick grows within a day. The structure of the stones is imperfect; the cracks and structure of the stone seem to be emphasized. The stones are opaque or translucent and are characterized by crack-like lines in the surface layer, which appear as a thin, intense green rim when immersed in liquid. Silver items studded with such ennobled beryls appear in jewelry stores. In stores, the most expensive giant domed silver ring studded with these beryls costs about $200, small rings cost up to $50.

SYNTHETIC QUARTZ. Synthetic rock crystal is transparent. The most important variety of synthetic quartz found on the market is hydrothermal amethyst. This jewelry material is widely used in trade mainly due to its strong similarity to its natural counterpart and the difficulty of distinguishing them. Synthetic amethyst is usually very transparent, clean, bright, without internal defects or irregularities, and can reach large sizes while maintaining purity. Some of its varieties may slightly change color in sunlight and artificial light (pictured with a coin). Another important variety of synthetic quartz is amitrine (there are zones of purple and yellow color), which is produced using the hydrothermal method.
Rose quartz after ionizing radiation becomes smoky (up to morion). When annealed at 450-500 o C, amethysts lose their color, which is restored under ionizing radiation. At a temperature of 700 o C the changes are irreversible.
Synthetic citrine can be obtained by firing (baking) for many hours at a temperature of about 500 o C amethyst (lilac and purple quartz, orange-yellow and yellow-brown citrine is obtained) or rauchtopaz (smoky quartz, soft yellow citrine is obtained). Natural citrine is often cloudy (opaque) with areas of white, opaque quartz. Large transparent citrine crystals or too dark high-quality crystals usually indicate the artificial origin of the stone.

SYNTHETIC ALEXANDRITE. The stones sold in jewelry before 1973 under the guise of alexandrite were varieties of synthetic spinel and synthetic corundum with vanadium additives. Many synthetic alexandrites are actually either synthetic corundums, colored with vanadium and having a purple color that turns redder under artificial light, or synthetic spinels, which have a denser green color. In 1973, products with synthetic alexandrites appeared on the market, which also have a spectacular color change, but from purple-blue to pink, rather than from green to red. The photo to the left shows synthetic corundum imitating alexandrite, the photo to the right shows synthetic spinel that changes color (a rare and expensive stone). Technologies for growing alexandrites (close to natural ones) are complex and expensive, so the price of synthetic alexandrites is such that they can be used as central stones in expensive products.

SYNTHETIC cubic zirconias and zircons. Even synthetic diamonds are still expensive. The beauty of a diamond is determined by its specific properties: high refractive index, high dispersion (the white color is divided into seven colors of the rainbow, which give the diamond play), hardness protects it from scratches and damage. The simulating material must have all these properties, but most importantly, it must be cheap. This problem was solved by different people in different ways, and today the most popular diamond simulator is cubic zirconia. The name comes from the abbreviation FIAN (Physical Institute of the Academy of Sciences), where this mineral was created in the early seventies of the 20th century. “Zircon” or “zirconium” are imported from abroad, which are actually cubic zirconia, grown under Soviet license or simply Soviet technology, but disguised under these commercial names. It is not a diamond at all, not a natural mineral, and not the chemical element (metal) zirconium. Cubic zirconia, painted in any color, with its diamond play, creates a unique image completely different from any natural stone (the refractive index of zircon is much higher than that of any precious colored gemstone, except for colored diamonds). In the periodic table there is an element, the metal zirconium (Zr), the mineral zircon is found in nature - zirconium silicate (actually a salt), which has independent jewelry applications, cubic zircon is grown in the laboratory - zirconium oxide with additions of rare earth elements and crystallizing in diamond-like cubic system, in contrast to natural zircon, which crystallizes in the tetragonal system. That is, zirconium, zircon and cubic zirconia are different materials.

For a jewelry designer, cubic zirconia (zircons) is a palette, a material with which you can safely experiment (especially with small stones). But it cannot be said that zircons cost little - they are quite comparable in price to natural gems of low price groups or some stones purchased directly from the manufacturer. Moreover, large and well-cut cubic zirconias are quite expensive and rare in jewelry (the creator of this electronic encyclopedia managed to buy such a ring after 5 years of searching). Usually small and small cheap zircons are used in “sprinkling”, and there are a lot of such products on our shelves. There are features of the jewelry use of zircon. It requires care when setting (roughly speaking, it cannot be hammered in like corundum). It may burst when fastened. It crumbles easily, and the yield of finished stones during machine cutting often does not exceed 15-20%. When cutting, differences in the refractive indices of diamond and cubic zirconia are masked by changing the ratio of the angles between the faces (zircon with an incomplete brilliant cut, on the contrary, is low and squat). Zircon is very sensitive to surface contamination and immediately ceases to shine; it must be constantly wiped and cleaned. Zircon is almost twice as heavy as a diamond and heavier than other gemstones. In addition, the edges of faceted cubic zirconia are slightly rounded, which also qualitatively distinguishes it from a diamond cut.
Visually, new cut small zircons (cubic zirconia) and small diamonds with incomplete brilliant cut, already inserted into jewelry, are extremely difficult to distinguish from each other, but instrumental methods make it possible to accurately diagnose them. The easiest way for non-specialists to read the tag in a reputable jewelry store (not a single normal store or factory will deceive you on new products under pain of criminal liability and the primitiveness of diagnosing deception), and it is best to show a dubious used stone not in a new product to a craftsman in the nearest jewelry workshop. You can scratch glass with a stone, but you need to know that glass can be scratched by diamonds, corundums, colorless topazes, beryls, rock crystals, etc.
It is almost impossible to find natural zircon in jewelry stores. The color of synthetic zircons due to impurities is very diverse: colorless, brown of various shades, red, green, yellow, black, blue, etc. It imitates diamond and almost all other evenly colored, non-chameleon-shaped transparent stones. Colorless zircons, although characterized by a diamond-like luster and strong play, are easily distinguished from diamond by their low hardness and low light refraction (which allows much of the light falling on the diamond-cut stone's surface to escape from the lower portion). Only large-sized synthetic zircons with a pavilion (the lower part of the stone) that is lower than that of a diamond give good shine. A good zircon should be open in the piece to light from all sides. Small zircons can quickly lose their original appearance and shine in products if they are not constantly looked after. It is better not to purchase red synthetic zircons that imitate ruby and spinel, but to look for synthetic corundum (rubies); they have a more marketable appearance, are harder than zircons (almost eternal) and are easier to care for.

Fake glass

Rhinestone is an ancient name for glass used as an imitation of precious stones. Glasses are transparent materials of various compositions, made by heating and rapid cooling and having an amorphous structure, optically isotropic or with anomalous birefringence, the refractive index is usually in the range of 1.40-1.90. Used as imitation gemstones.

Glass, for example, is also transparent and is widely used to make inexpensive jewelry. Glasses differ from real crystals in that they do not have a regular arrangement of atoms and our “atomic microscope” would reveal a rather chaotic structure, without the consistent ordering characteristic of crystalline materials. This lack of order inevitably results in glasses that lack the internal reflection found in crystalline gemstones and therefore cannot be compared to real natural or synthetic crystals.

Glass is an amorphous substance. In 1758, Australian chemist Joseph Strass developed a method for making a glass alloy that was clear and colorless with a relatively high refractive index. The alloy, consisting of silicon, iron and aluminum oxides, as well as lime and soda, was beautifully cut and polished and, after cutting, vaguely resembled diamonds. Its composition is as follows: 38.2% silica, 53% lead oxide and 8.8% potash (soda). In addition, borax, glycerin and arsenous acid were added to the mixture.

Rhinestone is characterized by high dispersion and lends itself well to cutting. To obtain a ruby color, 0.1% cassium porphyry was added to the glass mass, sapphire - 2.5% cobalt oxide, emerald - 0.8% copper oxide and 0.02% chromium oxide. This artificial stone is called rhinestone.

Everything that is made of glass today is called imitation or fake. Imitation - this is the sale of a product in which the seller honestly warns you that you are not buying a natural stone. Fake - this is a deception, conscious or simply out of ignorance, as a result of which sellers mislead you.

Most imitations and fakes today are made from glass of various qualities with various coloring additives (Savrovsky stones, glass rhinestones, black and golden aventurine, colored cat's eye, milky moonstone, green chrysoberyl, opal glass, etc.). Even rauchtopazes (smoky quartz), morions (black quartz) and agates, the reserves of which are sufficient in nature, began to be counterfeited with glass.

Fraud is the sale of imitation at a deliberately inflated price, passing it off as a natural material. A criminal offense in Ukraine begins with an illegal price of 20 tax-free minimums - 340 UAH for counterfeiting. Everything else from 17 UAH. - administrative offense. Up to 17 UAH counterfeits are not really punishable.

source http://www.webois.org.ua/jewellery/stones/sintetica.htm

Today, the jewelry market is replete with artificial jewelry - their number far exceeds natural products. For this reason, the issue of distinguishing natural gems from artificial products has now become relevant. First, you should understand such concepts as imitation and synthesized precious product.

Peculiarities

A stone that is similar to a natural mineral but created in a laboratory is called a synthesized gemstone. In terms of its physical and chemical parameters, it completely coincides with natural stone. A product that replicates only external data, but not structural properties, is called an imitation.

Thanks to modern technologies, it is possible to artificially grow stone in a laboratory in a short time. Ideal conditions are created for the growth of minerals, in which specialists improve the characteristic properties of the product. For this reason, synthetic samples correspond to high quality natural materials.

The production of synthetic jewelry has been practiced since ancient times, using multi-colored glass as the starting material. In the 19th century, special institutions appeared in which high-quality rubies and sapphires were created, difficult to distinguish from real ones. Such centers have also appeared in Russia.