History of Quality Artificial Gem Diamonds
Today's jewelry consumer has many more options than ever before, thanks to the innovation of artificial gem diamonds. While many take these stones for granted, few give much thought, if any, to how they are created. Does this Spark an idea?
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The First Artificial Gem Diamonds
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Artificial gem diamonds were first produced in Sweden in 1953. Researchers had been trying for many years previously to reproduce the conditions that would result in diamond synthesis, a process that, up until that time, had only been found in nature. This discovery was kept secret from the general public for many years, and the diamonds produced by this process were used for electronics and research purposes.
Quality Artificial Gem Diamonds as Jewelry
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Until the 1970s no one thought of using artificial diamonds as jewelry. Then, scientists created cubic zirconia and marketed it under the name Djevalite. This artificial diamond became widely popular due to the marketing efforts of the famed Swarovski company and is the most popular type of artificial diamond, or diamond stimulant on the market today.
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Uses for Artificial Gem Diamonds
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Today, a majority of artificial, gem-quality diamonds are used in jewelry. Diamonds are the most popular type of gem in the world and are also very rare and difficult to mine. This is where the need for artificial gem diamonds comes in. Synthetic diamonds, since they have the same chemical composition as natural diamonds, possess all of the same qualities--i.e. luster, hardness and brilliance--and may actually be superior in some cases to their natural counterparts.
Historically, other applications for artificial diamonds have included the manufacture of electronic components, particularly semi-conductors, as well as radiation-detection devices and even electrodes in labs.
How Artificial Gem Diamonds Are Judged
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Artificial gem diamonds, just like regular diamonds, are judged by what is known as the four Cs: cut, carat weight, color and clarity. In terms of color, the more colorless a diamond is, the more valuable it is. Clarity is determined by the number of flaws, cracks or blemishes on a diamond's surface, and is sometimes referred to as "brilliance." The more brilliant a diamond is, the higher its clarity rating.
When a diamond is cut, care is taken to make sure that it is in proportion and correctly sized and shaped. This is where the cut rating can have an effect on the overall rating of an individual stone, and the same holds true for the carat weight rating. The more carats a diamond is determined to have, the more valuable it is determined to be. All of these criteria come together to form an overall rating of a diamond, whether artificial or natural.
The Future of Quality Artificial Gem Diamonds
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As scientists continue to improve on their artificial diamond creation process, the uses and applications for artificial diamonds are expanding even while the commercial demand for them grows. Some predict that in the future, artificial diamonds may even be more in demand than their natural counterparts.
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