
They are identical chemically, structurally, and optically to natural rubies. Synthetic sapphires are created by humans in labs using advanced technological processes. Synthetic Sapphire Lab-created sapphire ring by Brilliant Earth. Almost all natural sapphires on the market are heat treated to enhance or stabilize their color.

However, finding untreated natural sapphires is difficult. These sapphires are made of the mineral corundum and gem quality stones are relatively rare. Natural sapphires are formed in nature over several thousands of years and are extracted through intense mining processes. Natural Sapphire Natural sapphires by James Allen. To clarify any misconceptions of the differences in natural, synthetic, and imitation sapphire, here’s a quick look at these three categories and how to tell them apart. While there’s nothing wrong in buying an imitation or synthetic sapphire, what matters is that the retailer provides accurate information about the origin of the stone and that you are charged the appropriate price for the stone. It goes without saying that of the three, natural sapphires are the most desirable and have the highest value.

When shopping for a sapphire, you may come across the terms natural, synthetic, and imitation. Demand for sapphires is always on the increase. Furthermore, natural star sapphires rarely have perfectly even color, so if the color is excellent and perfectly blue, there is a good chance it was created in a lab somewhere.Sapphires are among the most highly coveted and valuable of all colored gemstones. This, however, is not usually the case with a natural star natural stars usually have at least one or two legs that are shorter than the others, and they can appear to be a little muddled, rather than perfectly straight. Synthetic star sapphires tend to have perfect stars, meaning they are very symmetrical and all of the legs on the star are straight and even.

The best way to determine a gemstone’s authenticity is always to bring it to a gemologist or trusted jeweler, but below we have listed some ways for you do some detective work if you are to ever come across one of these magnificent stones in your travels.ġ) If it looks too good to be true, it probably is… Now, something that we come across quite often is synthetic star sapphires, which are actually much more common than natural. A natural star on a sapphire cabochon we recently acquired
