Synthetic Gems And How Real Gems Are Mined
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The first synthetic Diamonds were produced by General Electric in 1954. A synthetic diamond is basically a rock that has the durability, refractive index and hardness of a natural diamond – but it is made by man. A synthetic diamond should not be confused with stimulant Diamond Gems, such as glass, cubic zirconia, or moissanite.
Although the technology for synthetic Diamonds came into play in 1954, no synthetic Diamonds were ever seen on the market until the 1990′s. This was due to the fact that it took many years for General Electric to produce a synthetic diamond that could compare with the quality of a natural diamond – and when they figured out how to do it, they found that it cost more to produce a synthetic diamond than it did to mine and cut natural Gems.
Finally, a small company by the name of Gemesis Corporation figured out a way to produce synthetic Diamond Gems that were of the same quality as natural Diamonds, at a cheaper price. Today, Gemesis produces synthetic white Gems, and colored Diamonds as well. These Gems sell for about 1/3 of the cost of a natural diamond, but there is a shortage of them, and they are hard to find. In fact, it seems that synthetic Gems are rarer than natural Gems!
We seldom think about how the Gems we wear came to us. Natural Diamonds, as opposed to synthetic Gems or fake Diamond Gems, are mined from the earth. There are currently two methods of mining Gems: Pipe Mining and Alluvial Mining.
When pipe mining is used, the Diamond Gems are extracted from the earth through volcanic pipes. These are not man-made pipes. These are natural pipes in the ground. Shanks are put into the ground next to the pipes, and tunnels are driven into the deepest parts of the pipe. The Diamonds are not sorted out at the mine. Instead, huge rocks that are full of Gems are brought out of the mine and moved to a screening plant for separation.
The Alluvial mining method is done in riverbeds and on beaches. Walls are built to hold back the water and the sand on the bank or beach is moved with a bulldozer until the level of earth that Diamond Gems can be found in is reached. Again, the Gems are not sorted here. Instead, the sand that contains the Gems is bulldozed into trucks, and taken to screening plants.
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