SYNTHETICS

Gemstones can also be made in the laboratory. Where they have the same chemical composition as their natural counterpart, they are referred to as synthetic. Synthetic gemstones therefore have virtually the same physical and optical properties of the natural gemstone.

The ruby was the first gemstone to be made artificially. In 1837 a French Chemist Marc.A.Gaudin tried to produce some synthetic rubies but eventually gave up, admitting defeat in the published notes of his final ruby experiments as they were not of any value as gems because they became opaque as they cooled.

In 1877, the French Chemist Edmond Fremy (1814-94) and a student assistant developed a method what is now known as Flame Fusion method. They heated 44.1-66.15 lbs (20-30 kg) of a solution of Aluminium Oxide dissolved in Lead Oxide in a porcelain vat for 20 days. As the solvent evaporated and che,mical reactions took place among the solution, the vessel and furnace gases, a large number of very small Ruby crystals formed on the basin's wall but the crystals could not be used in jewellery as they were very small.

Later in 1891, a French Scientist Auguste Verneuil (1856-1913) developed a somewhat different process that eventually became successful. He did not publish a description of his technique until 1902. His assistant exhibited the synthetic rubies in 1900 at the paris World's Fair, where they were quite popular. By the time Verneuil died at the age of 57 in 1913, the process he had invented was being used to manufacture 10 million carats of rubies annually.