Diamond is one of the most precious materials traded all over the world. As with many precious products, people have been trying to make imitations of diamonds for ages.
“The two most well-known and used diamond imitations are cubic zirconia (zirconia) and synthetic moissanite.”
Zoals met alle diamant-imitaties het geval is, zijn de eigenschappen onvergelijkbaar met natuurlijke diamant. Wanneer alle imitaties tot stof zijn vergaan zal een natuurlijke diamant met zijn unieke eigenschappen over duizenden jaren nog bestaan. Wat is er mooier dan een natuurlijke diamant met unieke kwaliteiten, vastgelegd in een eersteklas certificaat, mooier kan toch niet? Diamant die in de sieraden van Diamantwerp wordt gebruikt worden ingekocht bij de grootste diamantairs in Antwerpen. Wanneer de diamant groter is dan 0,30 ct ontvang je tevens bij de steen een officieel hoogwaardig GIA of HRD-certificaat. Voor meer informatie over onze GIA of HRD certificaten klik hier.
If you would like to have a beautiful imitation, such as a synthetic moissanite or another beautiful stone set in a piece of jewelry, you can email questions@diamantwerp.be, our specialists will be happy to help you.
What many people are mistaken about is the idea that Lab Grown Diamond is an imitation. Lab Grown Diamond is a real diamond made by man himself. For more information about Lab Grown Diamond click here.
Cubic Zirconia (CZ) – zirconium oxide
Cubic Zirconia, also known as zirconia/zirconia is one of the most used imitations in the world of jewelry. This synthetic imitation appeared on the market around 1976 in numerous colors and large quantities. Cubic zirconia is often confused with the natural gemstone zircon (see zircon below). In contrast to diamond, zirconia shows a number of annoying properties. For example, cubic zirconia can become dull over time. Despite its reasonably high hardness, zirconia can easily get scratches. In addition, zirconia is known to experts for its often less well-cut facets. The corner facets of zirconia are often rounded, while those of diamond are straight. This is not visible to the naked eye, only with a loop or other magnification of at least 10x.
Synthetic Moissanite – Silicon Carbide
This is a diamond imitation that comes closest to the natural diamond in terms of properties. Due to the high degree of hardness, synthetic moissanite can be cut much better than other imitations. The facets can be cut almost identically to those of a real diamond. Synthetic moissantite is not used much because of its deviations in larger sized stones. When synthetic moissanite is made in a larger size, there is a chance that a green or blue tinge can be seen in the stone. You can see this tinge as a kind of colored haze that runs through the stone.
Synthetic: does not occur in nature (is not produced by nature)
Glass (Swarovski)
Glass, also known as Swarovski crystal, is one of the many imitations of diamond. Unfortunately, as you can see in the table, glass is much softer than diamond. Because glass is much softer, the chance of scratches and even breaking is much higher. In addition, glass can become dull after regular wear and does not have the beautiful fire (play of colors) that can be seen in a real diamond. The fire of diamond refers to the play of colors inside the stone, these are the rainbow colors that many people recognize.
Diamond fire: The beautiful play of colors within the diamond.
Glass has the property of being made in all kinds of colours. This also allows glass to imitate multiple gemstone colours. Glass is therefore not only used to imitate diamonds. This is something you should be especially careful about in holiday countries. In the Netherlands, the rules are strict regarding the naming of a product. In holiday countries, however, it is still common for glass to be sold as a precious gemstone.
Synthetic spinel
Synthetic spinel as an imitation for diamond is no longer common due to the rise of synthetic moissanite and cubic zirconia. Synthetic spinel is an imitation that is made by man himself. By means of melting techniques, the same particles that can be found in spinel are collected and then melted by means of high temperature, the melt is transformed into a melted pear. This is so called because the melt takes on a pear-like shape. The melt has a completely different structure than the natural variant of spinel, but has the same chemical composition. Conclusion: The small particles (molecules) are the same as the natural stone, but the physical properties and crystal structure are often not the same. Physical properties: Visible properties, for example the color, inclusions, growth lines, etc. Synthetic spinel can be made in all kinds of colors. In addition to white, the imitation of diamond can also be made in all kinds of other colors. For example; red, brown, green, pink and blue.
Synthetic corundum
Synthetic corundum is similar to synthetic spinel. Not only are both imitations no longer found as imitations within the diamond trade, they are also produced by means of the same smelting technique. In addition to white, the imitation of diamond, this synthetic corundum can also be produced in all kinds of other colors. These different colors are also used, just like with synthetic spinel, to imitate other colored gemstones.
YAG – yttrium (pronounced it-tree-um), aluminum, and garnet
For most people, the YAG imitation does not sound familiar. This stone was used for a short period as an imitation of diamond. Even though the name is not mentioned, this imitation is also a synthetic stone. So developed by man himself. Every synthetic stone is made on the basis of the chemical formula of the natural variant. This is not the case with YAG, it has no natural variant. It was therefore really created to imitate other stones. YAG was already developed in 1950, but was only used in the jewelry world years later. The stone was known as a man-made imitation diamond. At that time, this was the best diamond imitation, but the fire was not nearly as beautiful as that of a natural diamond. Shortly after YAG became famous, cubic zirconia appeared on the market. Due to the higher hardness and more beautiful color of cubic zirconia, YAG was quickly defeated. This imitation is therefore not found much anymore.
Zircon
This natural gemstone is often confused with cubic zirconia (popularly called zirconia). The difference is that zircon is a natural gemstone and cubic zirconia is a man-made stone. Zircon is a beautiful stone and comes in many colors. Unfortunately, this stone is not strong, which is why it is often found with many inclusions and breaks easily when set in jewelry. For this reason, zircon is not often used as an imitation for diamond.