Lab Created Gems

There are a couple of different systems for forming synthetic rubies and emeralds. One is to use a seed chip of the natural stone and then combine chemicals, heat and pressure to "grow" rubies and emeralds. The latest processes are known as flux processes, which combine heat and/or pressure to work on the ingredients composing the gemestone to be synthesized (The ingredients are fairly easy to come by; i.e., carbon for diamonds or beryl for emeralds).

These flux processes are designed to produce richly colored stones and almost always do. They usually have greater clarity than the natural variety although sometimes offer distinguishing inclusions which telltale their origin.

The most famous emeralds are probably Chatham synthetics which grow in a group of crystals. They were first grown in 1935 by Caroll Chatham of San Francisco. The Chatham family still grows these gems but doesn't care to discuss the process. The Chatham emerald sometimes has small spicule inclusions on the face of the facets as a result of the crystal forming solution.

Gilson is another variety of snythetic emerald. There is also a Japanese gentleman by the name of Kazuo Inamora, President of Kyoto Ceramics, who has three showrooms in Japan and one in Beverly Hills selling "created" rubies and emeralds. These created stones have caught on quite well in other countries including Japan and may or many not catch on here. The price difference between the synthetic and the natural stones is quite great.

Once again, we've had experience with Chatham's emeralds and have had a number of gemologists that had great difficulty telling the natural emerald from the Chatham emerald. In many cases, they both would have passed off as natural stones.