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Gemstones and how they are created

Gems are highly demandable in the markets and businesses out there. Different departments of the market sector like the ornaments and jewellery business thrive on these gemstones. They are unique and rare. Millions and billions of years go by to form a natural gemstone. They are found on the surface of the earth. Different minerals and constituents of the soil makeup one gem. The jewelers cut polish and put them into perfect pieces or set, to finally sell off at a high price.

What are synthetic gemstones ?

Synthetic gemstones are the ones that are artificially created in the labs. With the constituents of their natural counterparts, these stones are created with utmost perfection that makes them appear similar to the real ones. They are quite cheap and affordable, unlike the real ones. They are sparkly and attractive and can be made easily since they are created in the labs. The real ones take years and ages to form while the synthetic ones can be easily made available when required.

How are the synthetic gemstones created ?

There are several ways of creating a gemstone in the lab. The most common of them all being the flame fusion process followed by crystal pulling, flux growth, hydrothermal growth processes.

Flame-fusion process:This process deals with dropping the chemicals in their powdered form into a high-temperature flame. As it melts, it starts to fall into a rotating pedestal to form the synthetic crystals. The least expensive method of them all, it is a common way to produce gems like the synthetic Spine

Crystal pulling process: Different constituents are melted, and as the synthetic crystals start to grow from a seed that remains dipped into the melt, they pull it away from the melt. Gemstones like synthetic corundum and garnet are produced in such a manner.

Flux growth process: Flux is a solid material that melts and dissolves the other materials along with itself. The dissolved chemical solution ultimately cools off, leaving behind synthetic crystals to form. The flux growth process is the most expensive one and a long one too. Sometimes crystals take up even a year to develop. Lab Created Gemstones like synthetic ruby, sapphire and alexandrite and Spinel form in this way.

Hydrothermal process:Similar to the flux process, this too is an expensive one and time taking. This is the sole process to form synthetic quartz as it takes time and creates heat and pressure equivalent to that of a natural process beneath the surface of the earth during the formation of real and natural stone. The nutrients and constituents are kept dissolved in a solution of water, and the synthetic crystals start taking shape as the solution cools off.

Synthetic gemstones are in high demand and benefit the jewellery and astrological departments brilliantly. Even though they are artificially created, they are quite reasonable and less expensive than the real ones that make it affordable for the people at large.