Your Guide to Differentiating a Real Sapphire from a Synthetic One

Any gemstone regardless of its origin can legally be classified as “real” if it contains identical mineral makeup. This is why synthetic sapphire is commonly sold as “real”, but not “natural”. To be labeled as natural, the sapphire gemstones in question has to be taken out directly from the marvelous treasures of mother earth. Then they are only washed, polished and cut into proper shapes. Natural gems are directly sold in the market as is with no “treatments”.

Educating yourself on the differences between a real sapphire and its synthetic variant will make you a more informed buyer. This will help you when you are out shopping for an engagement ring. It will also ensure that you are getting exactly what you paid for.

Read: Your Guide To A Sapphire Engagement Ring

Why is it important for the gemstone to be natural?

The term Natural refers to a gemstone that is found growing in the natural world, sometimes over a span of millions of years, without the influence of human activity. Natural gems have the allure of rarity when compared to synthetic gems. A natural Sapphire harvested from the Earth’s crust can be hundreds if not thousands of times more expensive than its synthetic counterpart. A natural star sapphire is a premium because of its rarity next to a lab-created star sapphire.

Treated or Enhanced Sapphires

Although a gemstone could be natural, it could also be treated or enhanced. This could mean that the gemstone was heated to increase the intensity of its color. This is especially common with sapphires.

Heat treating a natural gemstone is a very common and widely accepted practice in the industry. For example, the majority of all sapphire extracted from your ground is not gem grade. In order to get that beautiful blue hue, it must be heat treated.

Keep in mind that heat-treated stones are still natural! Any gemstone that originates in the Earth is natural, the difference is in that they could be natural and untreated or natural and treated. Today, tmore than 90% of all natural sapphires undergo heat treatment to enhance their clarity and color.

Synthetic Sapphires Created or Grown in Labs

As time changes and technology advances, humans keep imitating real things as a rule of our nature. Gemstones, in particular, Sapphires, are no different. Synthetic, or in some other common terminologies, cultivated, cultured, man-made, lab-made, or lab-created sapphires, get their name labs produce them. These labs use advanced techniques to recreate such crystals in a controlled setting. They manipulate aspects such as time, pressure and temperature of different elements to create different gemstones. Chemically and physically, synthetic sapphires demonstrate identical properties to the sapphires found existing naturally. They even have the same look and feel. In short, you can easily mistake a synthetic Sapphire as real.

Synthetic sapphires have fewer inclusions, mainly because the stone has not been impacted by ‘impurities’. Being man-made, these stones typically command a lower price than naturally sapphires.

Simulants and Imitations of a Real Sapphire

If a lab-created gemstone contains other materials, we cannot consider the gemstone to be real. Instead, we use the term ‘simulated’. Simulated gemstones may also include natural gems passed off as others.

Cubic Zirconia (commonly called “CZ”) is a common diamond simulant, and Iolite, blue Tourmaline, and blue Zircon may resemble blue Sapphire. Though these minerals may look similar, that is where the similarities end. They do not have the same chemical or light-refracting properties of Diamonds or Sapphire and being much lower of the Mohs scale, they are far less durable. Interestingly, since you can find Sapphire is every color of the rainbow, it is also common to confuse a few variants of sapphires as some other gemstone. However, their extreme hardness can instantly distinguish them.

Additionally, you will find glass and plastic cut and dyed to resemble natural gemstones ranging from sapphires to rubies. Since, other than trying to mimic a color or similar characteristic, these stones have no actual chemical similarity to the natural stone, we simply call them imitations.

Can You Visually Tell Apart a Real Sapphire from a Synthetic?

Because natural gemstones can range so greatly in price depending on their color and clarity, it is first important to determine if your gemstone is natural or synthetic. Although without the microscope it is difficult to tell the difference between a lab-created gemstone and a natural gemstone, there are a few things you can look for. Synthetic gemstones are more likely to be rich and vivid in color and are virtually inclusion or blemish-free when you look at them. Almost always, natural gemstones will have some type of inclusion or color differentiation.

The Industry Standard Method for Determining If A Real Sapphire

While many professional jewelers may be able to tell apart a real sapphire from a fake one from experience, no one wants to risk it with such expensive items. Not to mention hardly anyone has the time to examine the gem under a microscope. So how do they differentiate natural sapphire and synthetic variants? The answer to this is so obvious it’s funny: they simply refer to the stone’s gemology report by a recognized laboratory such as the GIA or AGL.

So,  if you are looking to buy a real sapphire engagement ring, see to it that it comes with a certification of authenticity. If not, we advise asking your jeweler to procure one for you. These reports are inexpensive, and jewelry companies should have no problem getting one. This way, you will have complete knowledge of what exactly it is that you are paying for, and will avoid getting scammed. Without a gemology report, it’s prudent to treat a sapphire as fake or synthetic.

Contrary to popular belief power, synthetic sapphires are not all bad. In fact, they present yet another choice for consumers. If you’re on a limired budget, then opting for a synthetic is not a bad idea. For a fraction of the price you get a stone with amazing color and durability.

If you looking at a natural sapphire ring or have questions, contact us! We are here at your service, 24/7 365 days a year.