Jeweller - December 2021

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Completing my Diploma in Gemmology has benefited me as a jeweller in more ways than I ever expected. I have always had an interest in gemstones and found the course was not only informative and challenging but immensely rewarding. Studying with the GAA has also allowed me to meet like-minded people from many facets of the jewellery industry and grants me access to resources that I will continue to use throughout my professional career. Emma Meakes FGAA Jeweller, John Miller Design - WA Diploma in Gemmology Enrolments now open For more information 1300 436 338 learn@gem.org.au www.gem.org.au Be Brilliant Gem-Ed Australia ADELAIDE BRISBANE HOBART MELBOURNE PERTH SYDNEY Passionately educating the industry, gem enthusiasts and consumers about gemstones
REVIEW Gems Part I: Synthetic Diamonds L to R: Anabela Chan earrings; Vrai necklace; Diamond Foundry's lab-created diamond rough before cutting Below: Kimai necklace; Lightbox Jewelry earrings Of all the great debates in the gem and jewellery industry, the ‘hottest’ topic continues to be natural versus synthetic diamonds. Varying, and sometimes, ‘opposing’ information is continually published as both synthetic and natural diamond technologies continue to develop. The initial confusion: what’s in a name? It appears the industry prefers the term ‘lab-grown’ or ‘lab-created’ diamonds to ‘synthetic’ diamonds. Technically, ‘synthetic’ is the most accurate term, although both ‘laboratory-grown’ and ‘laboratory-created’, without shortening to ‘lab’, are also accepted by the CIBJO industry standard. These names all represent diamonds manufactured in a laboratory that have the same chemical composition and physical properties as natural diamond. On the other hand there are synthetic stones designed to look like diamonds but are imitants because they are not the same chemically and/or physically, such as cubic zirconia and moissanite. The first recorded synthetic diamonds were largely experimental, designed for use in advanced technological settings. In 1970, General Electric announced it had produced gem-quality colourless, blue, and yellow synthetic diamonds suitable for the jewellery industry. As technology and the understanding of diamond synthesis improved, new variations of these gems were produced including synthetic blue diamonds, supposedly ‘grown from human remains’! The first method of diamond synthesis responsible for commercially available synthetic diamonds, still available today, was a High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) synthesis. This aims to recreate natural diamond growth by subjecting carbon to extreme pressure and temperature, as the name suggests. The apparatus grows diamonds at pressures around 53,000 atmospheres (1 atmosphere is the average pressure we feel on Earth) and temperatures around 1,300–1,600°C. Generating this level of energy is expensive and requires larger equipment than the more recently introduced synthesis method of Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD). This method is very different to the geological processes that create natural diamonds. CVD diamonds are grown within a vacuum chamber from a gas containing carbon, such as methane. Exposing the gas to microwaves ionises the carbon atoms, which deposit and grow on a diamond seed crystal within the chamber. Over time, changing the gas used and the purity of the diamond seed plate has resulted in better quality CVD synthetics. CVD synthetic diamonds are usually Type IIa – a ‘purer’ type of diamond with negligible nitrogen impurities, found in only 2 per cent of natural diamonds. Although HPHT synthetic diamonds were mostly Type Ib in earlier production, introducing a new step in the growing process means Type IIa are now commonly grown for the jewellery industry. These days, portable testing equipment designed to identify and separate colourless natural diamonds from synthetic, such as the Presidium Synthetic Diamond Screener II, measure diamond’s response to Synthetic Diamond Also known as labgrown or lab-created diamonds Colour: Multiple Manufactured in: China, India, USA Mohs Hardness: 10 Refractive Index: 2.42 Formula: C ultraviolet light in order to suggest whether it may be Type IIa. In the screening process, any colourless diamonds that show signs of being Type IIa should be sent to a gemmological laboratory for further testing for confirmation of natural or synthetic growth. The most well-known features of synthetic diamonds include metallic inclusions in HPHTs (which can cause them to be attracted to magnets), stronger fluorescence in short-wave ultraviolet light than long-wave (the opposite of natural diamonds), phosphorescence, and strain patterns caused by the growth process and their different morphology (crystal shape), which varies between HPHT, CVD, and natural diamonds. Accurate and reliable identification can be simple by identifying growth patterns, fluorescence and phosphorescence, or it may be difficult, requiring more advanced gemmological testing, such as spectroscopic analysis. As technology continues to improve, disclosure and education become increasingly important. Next month will provide insight into the treatments that may be applied to synthetic diamonds in Synthetic Diamonds: Part II. Mikaelah Egan FGAA Dip DT began her career in the industry at Diamonds of Distinction in 2015. She now balances her role as a gemmologist at Vault Valuations in Brisbane with studying geology at the University of Queensland. Visit instagram.com/mikaelah.egan For more information on gems and gemmology ,go to www.gem.org.au December 2021 | 35
Page 1 and 2: VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY I
Page 3: Helping you shine yesterday, today
Page 8 and 9: We are COLOUR Welcome to the Gift &
Page 10: Leaders and numbers have one thing
Page 13 and 14: Colours of Chemgold Your Casting Sp
Page 15 and 16: News More turmoil at Baselworld; 20
Page 17 and 18: News New Australian sapphire gemsto
Page 19 and 20: News Lightbox issues new treatment
Page 21 and 22: News Crime gang apologises to Graff
Page 23 and 24: News 7,525-carat emerald; one of th
Page 25 and 26: News Colour diamonds continue to im
Page 27 and 28: Available at Pandora Concept Stores
Page 30 and 31: INSIDE My Store Black Betty SEA POI
Page 32 and 33: INSIDE Now & Then G W Cox My Jewell
Page 36 and 37: CELEBRATING Local Talent MILLIE SAV
Page 38 and 39: TRADE ANALYSIS Golden Connections T
Page 40 and 41: Tiffany & Co. 2019 - 2021 GOLD JEWE
Page 42 and 43: Golden Connections | TRADE ANALYSIS
Page 44 and 45: Golden Connections | TRADE ANALYSIS
Page 46 and 47: FORECAST REPORT The Synthetic Futur
Page 48 and 49: Inset: Diamond Foundry Right: Anabe
Page 50 and 51: BUSINESS Strategy Reduce customer c
Page 52 and 53: BUSINESS Selling How to run a succe
Page 54 and 55: BUSINESS Marketing & PR The dirty l
Page 56: My Bench Cosimo Mirarchi COSIMO. Sy
Page 59 and 60: THE JEWELLERY INSURANCE SPECIALIST

Jeweller - December 2021

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