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"created diamond"



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 13th 04, 06:12 AM
Lawrence
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default "created diamond"

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.

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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  #2  
Old September 18th 04, 05:38 PM
m4816k
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"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



  #3  
Old September 19th 04, 05:08 AM
Carl 1 Lucky Texan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

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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  #4  
Old September 19th 04, 05:14 AM
Peter W.. Rowe,
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Sat, 18 Sep 2004 09:38:31 -0700, in "m4816k"
wrote:

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)?


It's been a few years since I paid attention to how they structured their
affairs, but moissonite was, and still is, made by only a single company. My
recollection is that rather than publicly disclosing their technology, they kept
it secret to avoid the problems of overseas manufacturers ignoring patents, as
happened rather quickly after the development of cubic zirconia. Moissonite is
silicon carbide a material made fairly easily and simply, and widely used as an
abrasive. However, the easy and simple stuff to make is an almost opaque dark
green color, pretty useless as a gem. What C3 corp people did was to work out a
way to grow it nearly colorless, and thus useful as a gem. Apparently, at least
according to their own descriptions, this was no small feat, and they at least
initially felt that simply keeping their method secret would prove a better
impediment to copying than legal patent protections. At least that's what I
recall. I could be wrong, and it could have changed by now. So far, at least,
I've not seen any moissonite available that's made by anyone else. That doesn't
mean it might not be out there, but I've not seen it yet...

Peter
 




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