If you have shopped any jewelry store you have most likely asked the question,  ”What type of stone is that?”  The salesperson says “that’s a created ruby”.  Maybe you asked what that meant by created, or maybe you did not.  Either way you may not get the right answer.  A lot depends on the amount of training the saleperson has received on colored stones.  I have been cutting colored stones for years.  It’s something I learned in my college days way back in the late 70s.  It amazes me how little salespeople know even after they receive the so called training from the corporations and privatly owned jewelry stores. 

So here is the basics.  Genuine gemstones are found in the earth and are made by nature.  Man takes this natural gem and cuts, grinds and polishes into dome shapes or faceted shapes.  This enhances the beauty of the gem by directing the light to reflect back out of the gem.  This causes the glitter.   

Synthetic gems are man made.  When a gem is produced, be it by nature or man, a coktail of minerals are mixed and heated at extreme heat to form the gem.  Man made gems are the same ingredients that nature uses,  it is just done in a labarotory.  These gems are usually a little harder and wear better then there natural counterparts.  This is why they have become very popular in the jewelry stores.  Don’t think this is something new.  Synthetic gems were being made in the very early 1900s.  They were uses as bearings in watches.  They still are.  Take a close look at at a jeweled movement watch and you will see the little synthetic red rubies used as bearings.

The corporate jewelry world does not like the word synthetic.  You will never hear it from any sales person.  They think this word de-values man made gems.  They like the word “created”.    Created is synthetic but there are actually some retail people that will argue this point because they have been mis-informed by their employers.  The value of created gems are of course less then genuine but the wearability can far outweigh that fact.  I actuall like created gems and have cut many myself.  These stones usually are flawless and have great color, perfect for everyday wear.

One final note is the word “Imitation”  Do not confuse imitation with synthetic.  Imitation stones are not made of the material they look like.  You can have a man made ruby that is made of the same minerals as a natural ruby.  But if it’s red and made from glass it is an imitation ruby. Another example is rhinestones, made from plastic, glass or cystal, they look like diamond but they are imitation diamonds because they are not made of the same materials natural diamond are made from.

I hope this puts some clairity on the subject of natural, synthetic and created.  Here is a fine example of a created ruby ring.  Click the pic to view.