C3 corporation.
It is actually a 'side' business to that of creating improved
substrates for the electronics industry. However, I wouldn't be
surprised if the patent was ignored by someone overseas eventually.
Carl
1 Lucky Texan
m4816k wrote:
"Lawrence" wrote in message
...
Out of all the diamond simulants out there....is there a "best
kind/type"?
As has been pointed out, "created diamond" would suggest a true synthetic,
which
is actually diamond, just man made. These, of course are best in terms of
duplicating the properties and appearance of natural diamonds. However,
their
price is also commensurate with the fact that although man made, they are
still
diamonds.
For a simulant, there are a number of things on the market, but the two
that are
used in any quantity these days are moissonite and cubic zirconia.
Moissonites are initially a bit closer in appearance, though their very
strong
double refraction makes them easy to differentiate when you know what to
look
for. The fact that some people have more trouble telling them apart is
probably
due to the fact that they are newer, less commonly seen, and people even
in the
industry are not yet as used to checking to see if a stone is moissonite.
They
offer the distinct advantage over CZ of being much harder and more
durable, so in
use they will hold up well for a good long time. Not as well as diamond,
but
enough to be called a quite hard and durable stone. Their drawbacks are
that in
general, their color is not as nicely white, with them usually looking a
tad
greyish or greenish, rather than really white, and they are MUCH more
costly that
C.Z. I personally feel they are currently overpriced, and expect the cost
of the
things to drop dramatically (as it did with C.Z.) in coming years as other
producers learn how to make them.
A question. I heard that Moissonite production is a matter of a patent held
by a single company - therefore, anyone who wishes to make them has to pay
for "instructions" and permission. Isn't that true (read it online)?
C.Z., in contrast, is the most widely used simulant for diamond. it's
color is
very white and bright, and it's got more fire/dispersion than diamond,
which
consumers like. But that greater fire actually makes them also easy to
distinguish from diamond, so if you want the closest appearance to
diamond,
moissonite may have an edge. In addition, CZ is, while not butter soft,
much
softer than diamond, which means many stones on the market have somewhat
less
crisp facet edges, which makes them look easily different from diamonds
when you
know what to look for. And, in wear, they're soft enough that while they
will
last for a while, they're not an exceptionally durable stone. But it's
not a big
issue, because they're dirt cheap. Even high grade well cut stones are
only a
few dollars each, so replaceing a worn or abraded one is not a big deal
And,
regarding overall similarity in appearance to diamond, although the fire
is
greater than diamond, if the stone is really well cut with good sharp
facets and
a properly cut girdle, they can be quite tricky to differentiate without
very
careful examination. Moissonites, while slightly closer in actual optics
to a
diamond, are, at least for me, easier to spot due to that strong double
refraction (which, when viewed at an angle, makes the image of back facet
edges
look doubled or fuzzy). I've seen some C.Z. where I had to look quite
carefully,
with more magnification than just a simple loupe, to be sure a C.Z. was
not a
diamondl. Not often, mind you, but it's happened, especially withs
smaller
stones, and those in mountings that hide more of the side and back of the
stone.
Hope that helps.
Peter
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