The high price of gem-grade diamonds, as well as significant ethical concerns of the diamond trade,[1] have created a large demand for materials with similar gemological characteristics, known as diamond simulants or imitations or cubic zirconia. Simulants are distinct from synthetic diamond, which unlike simulants is actual diamond, and therefore has the same material properties as natural diamond. Enhanced diamonds are also excluded from this definition.
A diamond simulant may be artificial, natural, or in some cases a combination thereof. While their material properties depart markedly from those of diamond, simulants have certain desired characteristics—such as dispersion and hardness—which lend themselves to imitation. Trained gemologists with appropriate equipment are able to distinguish natural and synthetic diamonds from all diamond simulants, primarily by visual inspection.
The most common diamond simulants are high-leaded glass (i.e., rhinestones) and cubic zirconia (CZ), both artificial materials. A number of other artificial materials, such as strontium titanate and synthetic rutile have been developed since the mid 1950s, but these are no longer in common use. Introduced at the end of the 20th century, the lab grown product moissanite has gained popularity as an alternative to diamond.
Diamond has been imitated by artificial materials for hundreds of years: advances in technology have seen the development of increasingly better simulants with properties ever nearer those of diamond. Although most of these simulants were characteristic of a certain time period, their large production volumes ensured that all continue to be encountered with varying frequency in jewelry of the present. Nearly all were first conceived for intended use in high technology, such as active laser mediums, varistors, and bubble memory. Due to their limited present supply, collectors may pay a premium for the older types.
Diamond simulants and their gemological properties
