White Sapphire
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White Sapphire – Gemstone Engagement Ring
White sapphires, or clear sapphires, have been used as diamond simulates since the early twentieth century. Unlike other imitation, fake or man-made diamonds, sapphire is a natural gemstone
Sapphire is a variety of the mineral corundum. The mineral is aluminum oxide – diamond is carbon – that crystallized under high pressure and heat at a great depth in Earth’s core.
Sapphires make good diamond simulates because their radiance and brilliance are close to that of natural diamonds, but are less expensive. Sapphires are the second hardest natural mineral on the Mohs scale, exceeded only by diamonds.
Natural sapphire comes in many different colors, from the rare colorless to blue, pink, green, and purple. In its purest form, corundum is colorless. Blue sapphire is corundum that is contaminated with iron or titanium. Other elements turn corundum into red, pink, blue, black, brown, orange, yellow, green, indigo, or violet sapphire. Sapphires that are colors other than blue are called fancy sapphires. Red sapphires are called rubies and not red sapphires.
Because white sapphires are rare in nature, natural gray to light yellow stones are treated to remove the color to make them clear – or white.
Some companies also grow their own stones, creating synthetic sapphires that have the same properties as the real thing. A synthetic white sapphire, like a synthetic diamond, is usually less expensive that natural stones because consumers think of lab-grown gems as inferior to the real thing. However, man-made stones are usually better quality due to the controlled growing conditions.
Sapphire prices range from a few dollars per carat to thousands of dollars per carat. Just like the price of a diamond, the price of a sapphire can be gauged based on the four C’s: color, clarity, cut, and carat.
A sapphire’s birthplace also figures into its price. The most priced and expensive sapphires are from Kashmir. Next priced sapphires are Burmese sapphires, and then comes sapphires from Ceylon.
Sapphires are mined in Ceylon, Thailand, India, Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia. Other areas of the world where sapphires are mines are in Brazil, Australia, Columbia, Kenya, Madagascar and Malawi. Sapphires are also found in Montana and Colorado in the western United States.
Other Diamond Simulants: cubic zirconia, Moissanite, Russian Brilliants, Diamond Nexus, white topaz
Russian Brilliants
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Russian Brilliants
Russian Brilliants, Russian Stars and other names used to market these diamond simulates are high quality cubic zirconias (CZ). This fact may not be mentioned prominently on the company’s web site and the company apparently will only reveal this only when pressed.
Learn more about Russian Brilliants at the company’s website:
http://www.russianbrilliants.net
Other Diamond Simulants: cubic zirconia, Moissanite, Diamond Nexus, white sapphire, white topaz
Moissanite
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Moissanite Engagement Rings
Moissanite is a lab-created mineral that is a very good diamond simulant. Moissanite has been on the market as a fine jewelry choice since the early 1990’s. Engagement rings set with a quality moissanite stone will look as good as, if not better, than average grade real diamond engagement rings.
Moissanite stones are more brilliant than natural diamonds. Moissanite has a hardness of 9.25 on the Mohs Scale and, like diamond, will cut glass. While Moissanite is a very good diamond stimulant, and is gaining a fan base, it is quite expensive relative to natural diamonds
Shop for Moissanite loose stones and fine jewelry at www.moissanite-stardust.com
Other Diamond Simulants: Cubic Zirconia, Diamond Nexus, Russian Brilliants, White Sapphire, White Topaz
Diamond Nexus
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Diamond Nexus Labs gemstones are a specially processed, cut or prepared cubic zirconium stones (CZ), and have only recently been made available in the United States.
Diamond Nexus gemstones are excellent diamond simulants and come very close to matching the properties of mined diamonds at many different comparison points.
They cut glass, being virtually identical to diamond on the Mohs (hardness) scale. They refract perfect “hearts and arrows” and have radiance and brilliance readings extremely close to flawless diamond.
Learn more about Diamond Nexus at the company’s website:
http://www.DiamondNexusLabs.com
Other Diamond Simulants: cubic zirconia, Moissanite, Russian Brilliants, white sapphire and white topaz.
Cubic Zirconia
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Popular, abundant and inexpensive, Cubic Zirconia (CZ) is make from zirconium oxide, and has been around since the late 1970s.
High quality CZ’s are actually a very good diamond simulant. It has a hardness of 8.5 on the Mohs Scale. CZ is virtually flawless and often out-shines all but the most expensive diamonds in clarity and brilliance. Because CZ is widely available, it is one of today’s most popular stones for creating attractive-yet-inexpensive, diamond-look-alike jewelry. Cubic zirconia is used in rings, pendants, bracelets, earrings, other pieces where you might find diamonds.
Shop for Cubic Zirconia at Jewelers Direct.
Other Diamond Simulants: Moissanite, Russian Brilliants, Diamond Nexus, white sapphire, white topaz
Simulated Diamonds
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What are Simulated Diamonds?
Simulated diamonds, also called diamond simulants, imitation diamonds, or fake diamonds, are man-made stones that look like, or simulate the appearance of natural diamonds, but are made of material that is not carbon-based and do not have the same properties of natural diamonds. Some imitation diamonds currently on the market include cubic zirconia, Moissanite, Russian Brilliants, Diamond Nexus, white sapphire and white topaz.
New Age Diamonds
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The New Age Diamonds Company is a Russian manufacturer of synthetic diamonds. Using the high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) process, the laboratory produces gem-quality synthetic diamonds.
New Age Diamonds uses a unique marketing approach in Japan where “Heart-in Baby Diamonds” are cultivated from newborn baby hair. This is just one of many commemorative New Age Diamonds that are custom made from the hair of people or fur of pets, either living or dead.
The company does not market its synthetic diamonds as an alternative to natural, mined diamonds, but as a commemorative item in the form of a cultivated diamond. Unlike other “mass produced” man-made or synthetic diamonds which are usually marketed as being cheaper than natural diamonds, New Age Diamonds command a higher price that natural diamonds.
New Age Diamonds make diamonds in a variety of colors with yellows being the least expensive and Deep Red the most expensive.
Learn more about New Age Diamonds at the company’s website: www.newagediamonds.com