GEMSTONE MATERIALS

Year Synthetic gemstone CAS Registry Number Manufacturing technique 

Synthetic gemstone materials often have multiple uses. Synthetic mby and colodess sapphire are used for watch bearings, unscratchable watch crystals, and bar-code reader windows. Synthetic quartz oscillators are used for precision time-keeping, citizen s band radio (CB) crystals, and filters. Synthetic mby, emerald, and garnets are used for masers and lasers (qv). 

Usually at least five times the cost of the rough because cutting recovery is only 25% or even less. The cutting cost may become more important than the materials cost in small faceted stones. 

Flux crystal clusters seU for about the same price as faceting-quaHty rough. 

Star material has generally not been available as rough. 

There are three types of gemstone materials as defined by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (1) (/) natural gemstones are found in nature and at most are enhanced (see Gemstones, gemstone treatment) (2) imitation or simulated, fake, faux, etc, material resembles the natural material in appearance only and is frequendy only colored glass or even plastic and (3) synthetic material is the exact duplicate of the natural material, having the same chemical composition, optical properties, etc, as the natural, but made in the laboratory (2,3). Moreover, the word gem cannot be used for synthetic gemstone material. The synthetic equivalent of a natural material may, however, be used as an imitation of another, eg, synthetic cubic zirconia is widely used as a diamond imitation. 

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Aquamarine [1327-51-1] [GEMSTONES - GEMSTONE MATERIALS] (Vol 12) [GEMSTONES - GEMSTONE TREATMENT] (Vol 12)... 

ALUMDIUMCOMPOUNDS - ALUMINUM SULFATE AND ALUMS] (Vol 2) Gemstone materials, synthetic... 

Table 2. Price Ranges of Synthetic Gemstone Materials...

Diamond simulants are usually included under synthetics, even though not all of these have been synthetic gemstone materials, such as the garnets. 

Table 4. Techniques for Commercial Gemstone Material Synthesis...

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