The Hong Kong Jewellery Manufacturers’ Association invited Louis Lo, honorary president of Gemmological Association of Hong Kong to give a presentation on synthetic gemstones on 15 April 2016. The workshop offered an overview of the development of synthetic gemstones and the recent trends of synthetic diamonds.
Lo had four decades of experience in the synthetic gemstone industry and witnessed the rise and fall of many synthetic gemstone products. First of all, he explained that terms such as ‘synthetic’, ‘lab-created’, ‘lab-grown’ and ‘cultured’ are basically the same, meaning non-natural synthetic gemstones. While ‘imitation gemstone’ refers to simulants of natural gemstones like cubic zirconia, ‘synthetic gemstones’ refer to products that share highly similar physical and chemical properties with natural gemstones.
Since synthetic ruby first appeared in 1910, synthetic emeralds, blue sapphire, alexandrite, opal, amethyst, citrine, glass and more have appeared. Producers from different regions kept improving production techniques, resulting in great competition. In terms of synthetics that imitate diamonds, cubic zirconia which appeared in 1980 had replaced all other simulants at that time such as YAG and YGG. In recent years, as cubic zirconia becomes increasingly popular, some manufacturers especially those in the watch industry are adopting white sapphire instead as ‘sapphire’ sound more expensive and special compared to cubic zirconia. In 2000 General Electric successfully produced synthetic fei cui. But the price was too high at that time to be popularised. Many other gemstones have not yet been synthesised due to market considerations. Examples include aquamarine, topaz, tanzanite and chrysoberyl.
Regarding synthetic diamonds, Lo thought it is not a big issuebecause in the production of melee synthetic diamonds the labour costs are so high that the final price is not attractive. Diamonds of larger sizes always carry certificates so there is not much room for synthetic diamonds to make a profit. He added that nowadays most CVD diamonds come with certificates while some consumers mistake diamonds with certificates to be natural diamonds. This highlights the need for consumer education.
Due to the shortage of natural gemstones, Lo predicts that demand for synthetic gemstones will grow due to several factors: affordability, design-friendliness (due to larger sizes), triumph over scarcity of the natural gemstones, more stable structure and the changing consumer behaviour which results in lessconsumer spending on jewellery. Using opal as an example, while synthetic opal offers consistent fire, it could accommodate more designs than natural opal does. While natural opals of less stability may crack over time, it will not happen to synthetic opals. Lastly, Lo said the price of synthetic gemstones could drop anytime so buyers should be careful. Also, as synthetic gemstones could come in different shades, he advised jewellers to discuss with clients in advance so that they would accept products in a range of colours instead of a single specified colour to avoid disputes.
← Back