A diamond simulant, diamond imitation or imitation diamond is an object or material with gemological characteristics similar to those of a diamond. Simulants are distinct from synthetic diamonds, which are actual diamonds exhibiting the same material properties as natural diamonds. Enhanced diamonds are also excluded from this definition. A diamond simulant may be artificial, natural, or in some cases a combination thereof. While their material properties depart markedly from those of diamond, simulants have certain desired characteristics—such as dispersion and hardness—which lend themselves to imitation. Trained gemologists with appropriate equipment are able to distinguish natural and synthetic diamonds from all diamond simulants, primarily by visual inspection.
The most common diamond simulants are high-leaded glass (i.e., rhinestones) and cubic zirconia (CZ), both artificial materials. A number of other artificial materials, such as strontium titanate and synthetic rutile have been developed since the mid-1950s, but these are no longer in common use. Introduced at the end of the 20th century, the lab-grown product moissanite has gained popularity as an alternative to diamond. The high price of gem-grade diamonds, as well as significant ethical concerns of the diamond trade,[1] have created a large demand for diamond simulants.[2]
^"Stop Blood Diamonds". Archived from the original on 2016-05-22.
^"Why Diamond Replicas?". Archived from the original on 2016-10-12. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
A diamondsimulant, diamond imitation or imitation diamond is an object or material with gemological characteristics similar to those of a diamond. Simulants...
zirconia, is synthesized in various colours for use as a gemstone and a diamondsimulant. Zirconia is produced by calcining zirconium compounds, exploiting...
crystallographically isometric, an important attribute of a would-be diamondsimulant. During synthesis zirconium oxide naturally forms monoclinic crystals...
in its synthesized form wherein it is occasionally encountered as a diamondsimulant, in precision optics, in varistors, and in advanced ceramics. The name...
from diamond grown by chemical vapor deposition A diamondsimulant is a non-diamond material that is used to simulate the appearance of a diamond, and...
naturally formed diamond, which is created through geological processes and obtained by mining). Unlike diamondsimulants (imitations of diamond made of superficially...
feature a pair of ladylike legs. His last name is a reference to the diamondsimulant of the same name. A Terry Gilliam animation sequence from the British...
A rhinestone, paste or diamante is a diamondsimulant originally made from rock crystal but since the 19th century from crystal glass or polymers such...
Diamond color Diamond cutting Diamond enhancement Diamondsimulant Famous diamonds Material properties of diamond Princess cut Synthetic diamond "Expedition...
Silicon carbide is used as an abrasive, as well as a semiconductor and diamondsimulant of gem quality. The simplest process to manufacture silicon carbide...
Michelle Mone, Baroness Mone Scott Kay Netali Nissim Lisa P. Mason Diamondsimulant "Diamonique Corporation v. Wieck Family, Ltd.1" (PDF). United States...
film of synthetic diamond to the surface of a diamondsimulant. This gives the simulated diamond certain characteristics of real diamond, including higher...
films (magnetic bubble memory). It also finds use in jewelry as a diamondsimulant. GGG can also be used as a seed substrate for the growth of other garnets...
pencils, which apply a line of grease to the surface of a suspect diamondsimulant. Diamond surfaces are hydrophobic when the surface carbon atoms terminate...
development of improved quality artificial gemstones such as moissanite (a diamondsimulant), has placed jewellery within the economic grasp of a much larger segment...
Flint glass is optical glass that has relatively high refractive index and low Abbe number (high dispersion). Flint glasses are arbitrarily defined as...
scintillator. YAG for a period[when?] was used in jewelry as a diamond and other gemstone simulant. Colored variants and their doping elements include: green...
Diamond cutting is the practice of shaping a diamond from a rough stone into a faceted gem. Cutting diamonds requires specialized knowledge, tools, equipment...
behaves as a solid and a liquid depending on applied load Paste gem, a diamondsimulant made from rock crystal, glass, or acrylic Paste (Unix), a Unix command...
point. While its Mohs hardness of 5.5 has made it ill-suited as a diamondsimulant, it is of sufficient hardness to withstand some forms of accidental...
uncolored, synthetic corundum or spinels; all of which are diamondsimulants. The simulants imitate the look and color of the real stone but possess neither...
refractive index, YAG was used as a diamondsimulant in the 1970s until the methods of producing the more advanced simulant cubic zirconia in commercial quantities...
sapphire and padparadscha varieties of corundum, as well as the diamondsimulants rutile, strontium titanate and spinel. The principle of the process...
1960s through the 1990s. The jewelry store chain specialized in artificial diamond jewelry and sold high-quality gold and platinum settings containing imitation...
Diamonds become famous typically for some combination of their size, color and quality. Diamonds occur naturally in many different colors, so the largest...
differentiate gems and identify simulants, particularly diamondsimulants. GIA was also responsible for the first modern diamond grading reports, where it introduced...
colored diamonds, including red diamonds. Color grading of diamonds was performed as a step of sorting rough diamonds for sale by the London Diamond Syndicate...
Diamond clarity is the quality of diamonds that relates to the existence and visual appearance of internal characteristics of a diamond called inclusions...