How to Distinguish a Natural Amethyst vs. Synthetic Amethyst
Although this ultimately requires the opinion of a jeweler with professional equipment, depending on the size of the stone, you can see a few key indicators of the natural Amethyst with the naked eye or with a magnifying glass. As a branch of the quartz group, Amethyst and violet gemstones are suitable for shiny rings, pendants, and other jewelry. Synthesizing stones and learning to identify the “real article” when you have a gem in a band or necklace becomes essential.
Artificial Lab Amethyst Stones
Natural Amethyst Is an essential natural jewel in the world, which is also the most valuable. Laboratory-made amethysts are generally not commercially important, but we want our clients to know about them.
1. They are grown with an accelerated version of the natural growth process, so there is no way for foreign crystals to grow when other materials are introduced into the environment. They tend to be uniform in color so that they do not exhibit the defects of natural amethyst crystals.
Everyone wants to know the difference between natural and laboratory-made Amethyst. An experienced gemologist can say that the difference is due to variations in crystal growth and structure.
The best way to buy your amethyst jewelry is from a reputable jeweler. The jeweler must tell you whether the jewelry is made from laboratory amethyst or natural Amethyst and what type of stone the stone belongs to.
2. Gemstones used for jewelry making are treated in most cases. This treatment is a permanent and safe method to improve the appearance of the gemstone. The difference is that the stone is heated and treated, which means that it is natural. Remember that this treatment is used to correct flaws in natural stones, so there is no point in doing this when using synthetic stones.
Reveals many clues
Furthermore, natural Amethyst seldom shows a yellowish cacoxenite, which happens as tiny yarn-shaped crystals inside the gemstone. Other features reserved for natural amethysts include:
- Feather- or a fingerprint-like texture is visible on the inside of the quartz.
- The presence of light and dark stripes is known as Tiger and Zebra stripes.
When the Amethyst is brought to light, many clues can help determine whether it is natural or synthetic. When light is filtered through the gemstone, it creates a prism-like effect that does not occur in the synthetic version.
Flawed Goddess
Natural Amethyst under the light has characteristic inclusions – the presence of tiny stone splinters in liquid or air – look like dust or dirt particles, little crumbs, or small bubbles. Synthetic stones do not usually have these properties, but they are generally not as irregular as inclusions in natural Amethyst if they have inclusions. In particular, they typically refer to natural amethysts. When looking at translucent stones under light magnification, these defects serve as a critical indicator that natural quartz and synthetic stones are crystal clear and have only minor imperfections.
Amethyst Color
Many of you may be wondering how the natural amethyst gemstone got its color. Over the years, gemologists and chemists have discovered that the color of the Amethyst has two aspects.
- Iron is naturally present in quartz crystals.
- Under the right conditions, irradiated iron can produce a violet color.
The amount of iron radiation is relatively uniform in natural amethyst rocks. It allows the faceting of Amethyst and natural amethysts in cabochon style with very low color zoning. While most of the Amethyst used in jewelry is untreated, dark and bright natural gemstone crystals can be heat-treated to enhance their hue.
Amethyst can turn yellow (citrine) or green (prasiolite) at high temperatures. The color lightens at low temperatures (400-600C), and the Amethyst looks black, like a Siberian hue. It can also be produced to deepen Rose de France (Amethyst) to a Siberian color.
Pressure is applied to prevent the crystal from cracking and the color change to be permanent. Finely treated stones become natural AAA (Amethyst), and untreated stones are called AAAA.
Conclusion
In some cases, you need to ask your jeweler if a particular stone is natural or created. The abundance of synthetic Amethyst can make for a sticky situation – jeweler, Samy Cohen of Weldorf Jewelry Team, estimates that half or more of the Amethyst available is synthetic and sold to unsuspecting jewelers. Consequently, it may be necessary to seek a second opinion.
If you come across a substantial clear stone at a low price, ensure it has an enhanced chance of being counterfeit. A trained professional will detect seeds in the crystal, and if the crystal is artificial, it will grow into a stone.
