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Diamonds - And Other Rare Gems

By Derek Dashwood
Jul 21, 2009
In any comparison of diamonds with other gems it is useful to begin with hardness. Diamonds on the Mohs Scale from 10 to 1 show diamonds as 10. Synthetic Moissanite rates next as 9.25 and synthetic sappire rates 9. These are all in the very hard category. Next are cubic zirconia at 8.5 and also Yurium aluminum rates 8.5. Synthetic spinel is 8, and Zircon is 7.5. Two other gems discussed are 6.5 such as Gadolinium gallium garnet(GGG) and synthetic ruttle, which shows a yellowish color. Glass is 5-6.The rating of 5 is the lowest among.

In ability to read through, which is not a good sign, if you can read through your stone it is not a diamond. You probably do not have a diamond in your hands, as diamonds do not have read through ability. The next stones allowing no read through is Synthetic moissanite, Synthetic ruttle, and stronium titanate, also known as Fabulite or Wellington Diamond. GGG and Synthetic ruttle allow only moderate read through. All others were not much better than frosted glass. To measure degree of disperson, again a diamond rates as high, there is lots of fire and liveliness. There are many gems of this group that rate as high in dispersal.

In fact Synthetic moissanite rates as extremely high, much too high for a diamond; higher than CZ. Fabulite is extremely high in brightness, too high for diamonds. Fabulite also shows blue flashes. Synthetic moissanite is the only other gem that rates excellent in wearability as well as diamonds. Three gems rate as very good, that is cubic sirconia CZ), Synthetic sapphire, and synthetic spinel. Synthetic ruttle, which shows a yellowish color rates as poor, along with glass, which of course are both subject to scratch, chip or break. Synthetic diamonds are stones that have been created in the lab.

These stones have a similiar composition to diamonds. Different in composition, this group consists of CZ, moissanite and others. But they are not identical. As some of these gems are grown in the lab, they take on distinct forms than that found in diamonds.All synthetic stones now being created can be distnguished from natural stones. This can be a very subtle challenge however and identification can be limited to laboratories that have sophisticated testing rquipment. Diamonds are the hardest natural substance in existance with a Mohs Scale measurement of 10.

As noted, at 9.25 Synthetic Moissanite is the closest to stones in this and in all counts, however diamonds excel in each category. Synthetic moissanite is the only gem that comes close to diamonds in each category of hardness, read through test, degree of dispersion, and wearability. Again we recommend that you deal with a reputable gemologist if you are comparing several of these stones, or are uncertain whether what you hold is really as represented. In hardness, diamonds are the hardest material known in existence rated as 10 of 10 in the Mohns Hardness scale, with synthetic moissanite at 9.25 rated as very hard.

Next on the hardness scale is synthetic sapphire at 9, also rated very hard. Two gems rate as 8.5 in hardness and those are Yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), and Cubic zirconia (CZ).The only gem at rating 8 is synthetic spinel, which is rated hard. next in hardness is zircon which rates as 7.5. In degree of dispersion there are gems that show more fire than a diamond, including Fabulite, cubic zirconia, synthetic ruttle with a yellowish tinge, and synthetic moissanite, which has much too much brightness, even more so than CZ.

In contrast the synthetic sapphire, which has high ratings in hardness and wearability, has a very low degree of dispersion, which is rated very low, showing little life of display of color flashes. If you follow these simple rules and watch for your investment you can be richly rewarded with a good price on a quality diamond, or whatever other gem you intend to buy. It can be a question of when you purchase dimonds or any of these other gems, you can search and find options with reputable quarantees on the internet but you may still want to be in touch with a local gemologist to confirm your purchase. Enjoy.
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