In the past week, I have been flooded with calls about a television expose’ on “a new diamond substitute that jewelers can’t tell from diamond”. Many of my clients that saw the show are concerned and I can understand why. I did not get to see the program, but the subject matter was in regard to Synthetic Moissanite.
I first wrote about this in 1997 when the product became available. I told my clients that they would soon hear of victims of Synthetic Moissanite scams because this is the latest and greatest diamond simulant ever!
Moissanite is Silicon Carbide (SiC) and since it was first manufactured over a century ago, it has played an important role as an industrial abrasive. It is second in hardness only to diamond and my research revealed that in the first seven months of 1997, the United States had produced 159,000 tons, but only recently has it been produced in near colorless material for use in the jewelry industry.
The problem with detecting this new, near colorless Synthetic Moissanite is in the material’s thermal properties.
Almost every jewelry store uses a “Diamond Probe” to test stones before taking in a repair or to prove to a client that what they are buying is a REAL diamond. These testers are Thermal Reaction Testers, (TRTs). They measure the heat conductivity of a material and work very well to distinguish diamond from Cubic Zirconia, (CZ).
Unfortunately for jewelers and consumers, Synthetic Moissanite registers as a diamond on these testers because it conducts heat just as fast as a diamond, and that is what these probes measure. There are new testers on the market, but they cost in the $500.00 range and most jewelers are not willing to buy them.
Now you can see where the scam artist have a new opportunity to part you from your money. You can’t rely on what the stones look like, because they have close physical and optical properties to diamond. They even have needle like inclusions which appear natural when viewed under magnification. Diamond probes will register “DIAMOND” when tested, and even though the vast majority of jewelers are honest, they may give you wrong information. Only a qualified Graduate Gemologist or someone with training and magnification can identify this substitute.
Now for the good news. It doesn’t take much training or magnification to identify this new fake. A simple 10X jeweler’s loupe is all the equipment needed. I have trained many jewelers to separate diamond from Synthetic Moissanite with this $35.00 tool, which most jewelers already use everyday.
The training is simple. Diamond is singly refractive and Synthetic Moissanite is doubly refractive. What that translates into is simply this, when you look into a diamond, you see one of everything inside the stone. When you look into a Synthetic Moissanite with magnification, you see two of everything. That’s it! If you have a ten power jeweler’s loupe, and you can properly use it, and you can see the difference between one and two, then you can identify this diamond substitute.
I have saved numerous jewelers a lot of money on useless testers and you can benefit from my research. If you would like to see a Synthetic Moissanite and the doubling inside the stone, stop by our showroom for a demonstration.
A & S Gifts has a complete gemological laboratory including a video microscope which allows me to point out inclusions on a television for easy training and detailed appraisals. After viewing this doubling you will be trained to identify Synthetic Moissanite.
Now for the bad news. This is one of the easy stones to identify. There are countless synthetics in the jewelry industry which are very difficult to separate from the natural.
Nova, which airs on PBS, has shown an hour long program on Synthetic Diamonds. It has been on several times and it deals with Russian Scientist producing Gem Quality, Synthetic Diamond in several laboratories in Russia. I have written articles about this in the past year and this is the problem that should cause you concern.
Gemology is the science of faceted gemstones. The definition of a synthetic is that is has identical physical, chemical and optical properties as the natural. A substitute is a “look-a-like” with different properties. That is why Synthetic Moissanite is a substitute. (It has been found in nature and that is why it must be proceeded with the word Synthetic.)
Synthetic diamond is identical to the natural. It won’t show the doubling, the thermal tester’s will register “DIAMOND”, the new Moissanite Detectors will also register “DIAMOND” and magnification won’t help anyone but a qualified Graduate Gemologist with training in this difficult separation.
I also have Synthetic Diamond in my laboratory, (not for sale), and you are welcome to see this man-made marvel when I show you the easy to identify Synthetic Moissanite.
It is impossible for the layman to identify modern, sophisticated synthetics. There are no testers to separate natural from synthetic because all the properties are identical. It requires the skilled Graduate Gemologist in a well equipped laboratory to determine the origin of a gemstone.
Some gemstones have been enhanced by new treatments and this is a completely different problem. Some sophisticated diamond whitening treatments are totally undetectable by anyone in the world.
If you are looking for an expert in gems and jewelry, look no further than A & S Gifts. We are committed to the highest standards of knowledge, ethics and honesty. We strive for perfection and excellence in our gemological services, jewelry repair, restoration, design and creation and pearl and bead restringing.