Artificial Sapphire
Artificial Sapphire or Rubi are actually polished gems of the corundum mineral that is produced in lab conditions and is not produced naturally in the depth of the earth.
They posses supreme and good features according to the quality, they usually imitate the natural stones in a high standard but they are significantly cheaper than entirely natural stones or enhanced stones.
Important to know!
- Many times, the traders use the word corundum in order to sell artificial/synthetic Sapphire or Rubi.
- The pricelist for artificial Sapphire is significantly cheaper than natural Sapphire.
- It is illegal to sell an artificial/synthetic stone and not mention it in the purchase documents (mainly).
- Even tough they are synthetic, these stones are in very high quality and give high value in term of cost-appearance-durability.
There is no shame in buying synthetic stones, but it is important to understand what you are buying to not overpay!
Many times, they are marketed with names that give a less “synthetic” vibe, but they are still synthetic.
Pay attention that by law any place must specify and confess orally and in the purchasing documents that the stones aren’t natural.
Additional common names for synthetic Sapphire and Rubi – lab made stones, artificial stones and of course the misleading name – corundum.
To our professional opinion, there is a preference for synthetic stones over stones that have been treated for color or clarity.
The reason is mainly that treatments may be reversible, these stones tend to be more vulnerable, they are more expensive and mostly they don’t look as good as a nice synthetic stone.
In this context, pay attention while purchasing a natural Sapphire, you should go through the attached purchase documents and search for the word “Natural” and make sure there aren’t any words as enhanced, diffusion or any unclear letters near the color or clarity description.
In case you are purchasing a relatively large stone with a large budget and aim for a natural stone, it wouldn’t hurt to ask for external gemological accreditation despite the cost.
It gives you peace of mind that the Sapphire or Rubi are actually natural and not treated, the reason is that gems are a much harder specialization and much less common than diamonds in Singapore and there is not organized pricelist for gems.
We are not ashamed to say that even us, jewelers that specialize with diamonds, and even though we buy gems in the diamond exchange and from experts, might get played once in a while.
A few tips to differentiate between natural and synthetic Sapphire
In contrast to an enhanced stone, it is possible to recognize synthetic Sapphire relatively easily.
- That stone as very uniform color.
- Relatively low price for the high quality appearance (ask to evaluate several stones with different shades and different qualities and you will have easier time understanding).
- The stone in very clear with the naked eye and with a Lupa (x10 magnification).
- High stone clarity.
- The stone has a deep color.
- The purchase documents have some fine print 🙂
In which jewelry it is possible to inlay synthetic Sapphire?
Diamonds the synthetic sapphire looks nice but it looks even better when surrounded by diamonds.
Vintage gems and especially gems like Sapphire look best with designs that have an old fragrance. Either natural or synthetic.
Dianna – the most famous ring inlayed with Sapphire is called Dianna. The Sapphire may be natural or synthetic according to your budget.