The History of the Synthetic Pink Sapphire

Earrings embellished with natural blue sapphires.

Pink is not commonly seen in gemstones, and no pink sapphire exists in nature. However, thanks to modern artificial gemstone growth techniques that have been developed over the last century, you can find a pink sapphire. A gemstone can be made synthetically and still be identical to its natural equivalent, with the exception of the price, in both chemical composition and appearance or it can be composed of glass, ceramics, or most commonly plastic.

Synthetic Gem Production

Flame fusion is a method that resembles the shaping of blown glass.

Sapphire is currently one of the most commonly produced synthetic gems, but the first gem was successfully produced in a laboratory in 1905 when a French scientist named Auguste Verneuil made a ruby using synthetic techniques that were only three years old, and the process still bears his name. A novel polishing technique that was developed in the United States involved mounting the synthetic gemstone on a drill and flexible shaft then slowly rotating the stone by machine to ensure a smooth, even shine.

Natural vs. Synthetic

Genuine gemstones are alluring, but their prices can make owning them restrictive, even dangerous if they should be stolen. It takes some skill and experience to be able to discern real from imitation gemstones unless they are a distinct and unnatural color. A pink sapphire is obviously artificial, but synthetic pink sapphires have been labelled and sold as alexandrite for many years, and since alexandrite comes in a variety of colors that include pink and red shades its difficult for a layperson to tell if a gem is authentic or not.

Synthetic Sapphires

Synthetic gems are made for price, imitation, or shock value.

Sapphires are among the most commonly manufactured gems and also have a variety of industrial and military uses. Although cost is one reason that synthetic pink sapphires are produced, consumers will chose synthetic pink sapphires over real ones for other reasons besides price or to imitate real gems. Pink sapphires are strikingly different from their natural counterparts and cannot be used to imitate the real thing but rather to impress others by being unique and strange.

Shades of Pink

The color of natural gemstones can sometimes be changed using methods like irradiation and x-rays, or painting them with dyes, paints or oils. Pink sapphires cannot be made from natural sapphires using these methods, so this kind of gemstone is always made in a laboratory. The synthetic pink stones can be cut and shaped with more precision and detail than their natural counterparts because their shape and size can be pre-determined and controlled.

References

• Swiss Gem Shop: Synthetic Pink Sapphire
• Alexandrite: Alexandrite Synthetics and Imitations
• Alexandrite: Color Change
• Gemstones Guide: Synthetic Gemstones in Jewelry
• Swiss Gem Shop: Natural Gemstones, Loose Precious and Semi-Precious Gemstones