With more eco-friendly options and synthetic gemstones boosting in popularity, the lab-created stone market has proportionately increased. High-quality blue sapphire lab created gems are particularly stunning and extremely durable, easily convincing buyers they were looking at a genuine precious gem. First thing first, what are lab-created blue sapphires, and why should you go for it if you have a new Jewelry in the pipeline? So what is lab-grown diamond science, and why does it deserve further investigation on Science Friday?
What is Blue Sapphire Lab created?
The blue sapphire lab created today are gems identical to their natural stone counterpart in terms of physical, optical, and chemical properties. The key difference? Yet, they are not formed in the bowels of the earth for millions of years but fabricated within a laboratory. With the use of synthetic sapphires created in a laboratory environment, scientists have learned to copy the conditions that give rise to natural sapphires and grow gems equal in every way.
How Blue Sapphires Are Made in A Labs?
- Raw Ingredient: Scientists use a base ingredient where aluminum oxide powder, is the main material in sapphires.
- Melt: Extreme heat causes the powder to melt into a liquid form.
- Crystal Healing: After cooling begins sapphire forming in its crystal corundum form.
- Doping: Titanium and iron, in small concentrations during the process to give the sapphire its wonderful blue color.
- Cutting and Polishing: The crystal is now cut and polished into the form it finally takes as a natural gemstone.
It is a complex method resulting in fantastic-looking stones and it allows for control over the clarity and color of gems.
Differences between Natural and Blue Sapphire Lab Created
A thorough examination reveals almost no difference between natural sapphires and lab-created ones. Here’s how they stack up:
- Source: Natural sapphires are extracted, whereas the lab-created ones are grown in controlled conditions.
- Clarita Y: Natural sapphires are never nearly as clear, lab-created models have fewer inclusions (flaws)
- Price: natural is much more expensive for the most part because lab-created sapphires cost less to manufacture.
- Ethical: Lab sapphires lack the environmental and human rights issues often faced in gemstone mining.
In other words, lab-created sapphires have the beauty of natural sapphires with fewer ethical and financial drawbacks.
Why Select A Lab-Grown Blue Sapphire
So, why opt for a lab-created blue sapphire and not just go with the natural? There are several reasons why:
- Cost Effective: Save money, a synthetic lustrous in the ruby family can cost 10% of that red rock you have been wanting for all your life.
- Less environmental degradation: There would be virtually no mining, which is a plus for sustainability.
- Ethical assurance: Since lab-created also called manmade), there are no responsible issues like human rights abuses or conflict zones that our latest attraction is going to be discussing very soon.
- Aesthetic: One of the things that can impact natural sapphires’ look is inclusions, which are imperfections within the stone making it not perfectly transparent; however because lab-created sapphires were grown under controlled environments they rarely have those types of flaws so often when looking at both specimens side by side you might notice a more attractive appearance.
Lab-created gemstones are a great alternative for eco-conscious or budget-conscious customers who may not be able to afford natural blue sapphires.
Environmental Footprint of Lab-Made Sapphires
This harms the environment greatly as part of it has to be dismantled and disposed of when mining some natural gemstones. For example, big gemstone mining operations can negatively affect ecosystems and local communities as well as destroy habitats. On the other hand, created sapphires are environmentally friendly.
Not only are you choosing a beautiful stone by going for the blue sapphire lab created, but supporting sustainability as well. It has a sustainable origin along with advanced technology to make it an eco-friendly substitute for these gems.
Affordability and Value
Blue Sapphire Lab is known for its lack of price tag. They usually go for about 20-30% of what you would pay had it been a natural sapphire matching the size and quality. The lab setting is simply a much easier, and inexpensive way to produce these.
Identification of Synthetic Sapphire
The sapphires that are created in the lab are very hard to differentiate from a natural ones without a few expensive equipment. Yet here are a few more nuanced cues that could give it away:
- Price: If the sapphire seems too inexpensive for its size and quality, it could be lab-created.
- Transparency: As the lab-created sapphires are produced under controlled conditions, they tend to have fewer inclusions than natural ones and are nearly free of any impurities.
- Documentation: One of the things that reputable sellers do is very clear, on-time, and up-front disclosure if the gemstone they are selling is artificially created lab or natural one.
If you have any questions, seek help from your local gemologist to confirm the authenticity of the sapphire.
