Loose Diamond Stones

Simulant Loose Diamonds

Simulant diamonds (imitation diamonds) may be considered as artificial, natural, or in some cases a combination thereof. While their material properties depart markedly from those of diamonds, simulants have certain desired characteristics—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-lead glass also known as rhinestones and cubic zirconia (CZ), both of which are artificial materials.

A number of other artificial materials, such as strontiu, titanate and synthetic rutile have been developed since the mid 50s, 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.

source wiki