I actually really like these synthetics. To me it's all about beauty, not the price tag. I have real gemstones too but a huge synthetic gemstone is just straight out of my childhood imagination. I'll definitely be visiting these shops when I come to BKK! Also hope to meet you Peter and talk Gemstones =)
I hear you - there is a lot of objective beauty in synthetics. The bizarre thing though is that the more you see exceptional natural stones, you start to recognize there are indescribable differences to the way they look that put them in a class apart from our best synthetics. I wish my degree in linguistics and lifetime love of words would help me out here, but i'm missing what I need to talk about how subtle and magical top tier stones can be. Cheers~
Thanks James~ There's a few videos where you can see one large piece i've done. Here's one where it's featured: th-cam.com/video/RSHnLgLNXKs/w-d-xo.html If you like big and green, here's a more recent one: th-cam.com/video/jM8gqpDbybI/w-d-xo.html
I like lab grown, I was anti lab up until recently! I love natural ofc but i separate them both now in my mind. Science is cool, my fav lab is the yag, i like that its not trying to be anything else, its just an alien lab stone😊
@@GemUnicornn lab definitely has its place, and especially the bizarre high science collectibles such as you mentioned. Theres a cool account called Angry Turtle on instagram that curates those sorts of things. Cheers
There is indeed no lack of nanosital, but there is no need to fear if you understand the process of identifying gemstones. At the end of the day, its still glass, and any gemologist will be able to detect it quickly. Those in danger are the individuals that think they can depend on mid-level advanced instruments to do the work for them.
@@GemologyforSchmucks of course they aren't the same but you can still appreciate them both. Both Take time, energy, effort, intelligence and craftsmanship to make therefore no matter what you have it should not be looked down on
Hallo~ to identify gems and distinguish natural and synthetic, you'll want to find an experienced gemologist in your area that can inspect and test the stone in person. There is no reliable way to do that over the internet.
Hi Oakley ~ "Can't" is a difficult one, because who knows how technology can be developed in the pursuit of money. Don't (YET!~) however, is an easier one to answer. Usually the stones that are chemically complex like tourmaline and the natural garnet species do not have true synthetics. I won't say its impossible, but it has not yet been done to my knowledge. Corundum and spinel were two of the first synthetics to be developed (1880's), but they have super simple chemical compositions Al2O3 for corundum, and MgAl2O4 for spinel. Now go check out the tourmaline group's composition. I don't even want to try and retype it... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourmaline
If you'd like me to source kilos of synthetic rough for you, send me an email at thegemshepherd@gmail.com and i'd be happy to discuss providing the service
🌹🌻🌹Thank You Teacher We Are Your Students In Africa Please If You Can Make A Video Of The History Of Gem Market... It Will Be Good Sir.... So Thnaks You Very Much For Your Free Lessons For Poor African Students Like Me Sir..🌹🌻🌹🌎
My pleasure to serve. I think the History of the Gem Market is a bit of a huge topic and stretches back waaay too far to speak about in a short video. I'll keep it in mind as I speak with those older and wiser than myself.
I'll be cooking up a new video on this quite soon ~ with the whole lockdown situation, what better time than now for story time? Do you do gem cutting Zack?
I look forward to this. I am a hobby factor, silversmith, and high relief engraver. These have all led me in a circle. my greatest problem is finding quality rough that is real. The sights I keep finding are ones that are selling rough at such a high price on one of their pages and a cut stone for less than the rough. So I am going to Learn all I can from you my friend and hope you might be able to find a quality source. I thank you for all of your efforts greg
@@gregleak5134 Rough is definitely a challenge... for everyone. Its difficult to buy, difficult to sort, and a dreadful challenge to appropriately evaluate for business and for optimal cutting. Cheers
Where is this place? And they ship international? I'm asking because i never heard of rough synthetic emerald suppliers here in Brazil, neither pulled or rough hydrothermal alexandrite company here in Brazil and since the price for us Brazilians are so high to ship here im searching some place to buy synthetic alexandrite but cant find. Im passionate about Alexandrite but a rough pulled alexandrite of 5 grams costs up to U$75,00 plus shipping which costs half of the minimum wage i receive
A question, between star wars and gemstones Market. Is this place have a name or a website? 😅 Because I am a newbie in the market and it will be very interesting for me to buy some of them products. 🙏🏻 Thanks for all your videos soo much informative. ✨
It doesn't really have a name to my knowledge - folks just call it "the synthetics market over in China Town" and its near one of the temples in that area (the name of which I never seem to be able to find on a map.) Hopefully i'll come across the name again in the future. This is like that island in Pirates of the Carribean... that cannot be found except by those who already know where it is XD Sorry for the hassle
That is correct 99.9...% of the time Daniel, yes. There are minerologists (and rumour mills) that talk about the existence of natural cubic zirconia, (aka CZ) but practically it isn't around. Zircon however is a natural mineral and gem material, which may or may not be heated, and that is typically related to the colours you'll see. Thx for the question~
Hey Peter, I love gems and for collectible and crafts purposes love synthetic corundum. Is there any chance I can be hooked up with similar synthetic Ruby’s that are shown at 7:47 preferably flame fusion since I’d like to keep the cost low. I’d love to purchase some
Another great video on synthetics ,it's been very helpful but I was wondering if you have seen alot of hydrothermal rubies and flame fusion rubies and how different are the two as they are both chemicaly and physicaly the same as a natural rubie why is the flame fusion rubies like only a few dollars a carat to buy and the hydrothermal rubies are 2 to 300 dollars, a carat ? Can you help give any information on the different types of lab grown synthetics.
Excellent observation Oakley, and there is a good reason for the price difference. Flame Fusion corundum and spinel can be made in an afternoon, and flux melt and hydrothermal synthetic gemstones take muuuuch longer to make. On the order of months or as long as a year at times. Hydrothermal synthetics are often incredibly clean and you can grow huge sizes though, and id say that Flux melt stones are the most convincing imitations for corundum when you look at the inclusions within. These latter two synthetic processes mimic natures process of forming crystals much more closely than flame fusion. At the end of the day, they are all synthetics, so you just need to decide what your priority is. If you're looking for any ol' simulant, flame fusion is the best bet. If you want something that more closely mimics natural, whether for reasons of scientific interest, or nefarious ones, flux or hydrothermal are better choices. Naturally I wouldn't support anyone looking to be deceitful.
@@GemologyforSchmucks just another quick question I have found it very hard to find a flux grown ruby I've only had hydrothermal and flame fusion rubies,I was wondering if you know where to buy a flux grown ruby and are they priced the same as a hydrothermal 1 carat ruby or are they more ? Thanks .
@@oakleymills4847 Hi again ~ Flame fusion are indeed more difficult to find, because they're not sold as much as they used to be. Hydrothermal and flame fusion are both much more common than flux now because they're cheaper to grow now, because their process is much more refined. Flux process corundum is interesting for us gem folk, but to the average person who is just looking for a synthetic stone, they're mostly looking for the best colour with the highest clarity for the cheapest price. Hydrothermal gives you 2 of the three (colour and clarity). Flame fusion gives you the other 2 (colour and cheapness). I'm not certain how to find Flux stones, but i'd suggest googling it and see if there are any specialist companies still selling them. As i've said previously ~ I dont deal in synthetic stones, so if I had one, it would mostly be as a curio/ collectors item.
For crystalline gemstones, not in a way that is stable. There are a few processes that will crack the crystal with thermal shock, and then infill that with a coloured oil or something (trash rocks). Some porous gemstones will take dye, but blue sapphire must be heated or otherwise coated, and these are all easily detectable treatments (and also puts your stone in the trash rock category.)
I had a blue sapphire and upon testing the laboratory has given report that it's a natural blue sapphire..."Indication of dyed blue".I was confused.Could you pls throw some light on this.
@@bini2181 I'd have to see the stone myself to have definite information, but its probable that there was either blue coloured glass fracture filling, or a blue oil/substance was filled into the fractures.
@@GemologyforSchmucksThanks.. Is it possible to do that by just placing the stone in the dye or something..without heating? I may sound wierd .but I think you could answer that question.
I have a large collection of flux grown rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. Think of these as being worth the price of between a very good quality television, and a mink coat. They take about a year to make, require a solid platinum growth chamber called a crucible, and are the most beautiful lab grown crystals available at ANY price. Currently, they are extreamly hard to come by because the only company that makes them in high quality (Chatham Created Gemstones) will no longer sell rough gems. That is because the company president, Tom Chatham, is an arrogant dick who stole the formula for flux grown gems from his brother John (who is now deceased). His new book, The Chatham Legacy: An American Story, completly glosses over his brother John's contributions. He also doesn't spend much time talking about his decision to fire John and other family members and move the entire operation to the FAR EAST.
The gemstone industry has the most juicy gossip, doesn't it? Flux grown synthetics are indeed super interesting and often incredibly attractive. The price point makes it difficult for some to accept, but I think there's an interesting "scientific discovery" niche that flux satisfies compared to melt methods and hydrothermal. Thanks for sharing that back story.
Synthetic gems are genuine but not natural. The trade dislikes them because they are superior quality e, it is not a simulant, it is not a fake. HOWEVER the scam is selling them as natural.
In this situation, genuine may not be a very productive word. Synthetics definitely have the same crystalline, physical and optical properties as their natural counterparts, and are often times cleaner and more intensely coloured than natural stones. What people choose to like is certainly up to their own preferences, indeed.
For only 2 types of people: - rich people who aren’t special anymore because “commoners” can have real gems at 20% cost. - jewelers and gemologist sellers who cannot scam you with expensive natural gems. Thank you
I actually really like these synthetics. To me it's all about beauty, not the price tag. I have real gemstones too but a huge synthetic gemstone is just straight out of my childhood imagination. I'll definitely be visiting these shops when I come to BKK! Also hope to meet you Peter and talk Gemstones =)
I hear you - there is a lot of objective beauty in synthetics. The bizarre thing though is that the more you see exceptional natural stones, you start to recognize there are indescribable differences to the way they look that put them in a class apart from our best synthetics. I wish my degree in linguistics and lifetime love of words would help me out here, but i'm missing what I need to talk about how subtle and magical top tier stones can be. Cheers~
Looking forward to the faux ruby getting faceted. Cool series! 👍 😃
Thanks James~ There's a few videos where you can see one large piece i've done. Here's one where it's featured:
th-cam.com/video/RSHnLgLNXKs/w-d-xo.html
If you like big and green, here's a more recent one:
th-cam.com/video/jM8gqpDbybI/w-d-xo.html
Yeah, teach us about Bangkok market, please!
When it opens back up after all this Covid-19 madness ~ I shall :D
I love this channel.
Im so glad to hear it~~~
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Katie Gasiecki ~ absolutely. Keep an eye out - more coming each week.
I subscribed when you got up on your desk and played air guitar lol
Points~! Thanks Stacy.
Being a SW fan I had many giggles. Hopefully will be able to visit one day!
Glad to contribute to your giggles ~ Welcome to BKK once the global madness gets a little more manageable ^_^
I like lab grown, I was anti lab up until recently! I love natural ofc but i separate them both now in my mind. Science is cool, my fav lab is the yag, i like that its not trying to be anything else, its just an alien lab stone😊
Also I feel better wearing lab gemstones everyday cos I loose things constantly I would rather loose synthetic sapphire than my prized paparasha 😅😅
@@GemUnicornn lab definitely has its place, and especially the bizarre high science collectibles such as you mentioned. Theres a cool account called Angry Turtle on instagram that curates those sorts of things. Cheers
Yeah, would love to know the history of the market and why it's in BKK
cool - perhaps that can be a good video for the future.
2024 it is Nanosital(R) glass ceramic everywhere. It has near same specific gravity SG as gemstone it is trying to emulate.
There is indeed no lack of nanosital, but there is no need to fear if you understand the process of identifying gemstones. At the end of the day, its still glass, and any gemologist will be able to detect it quickly. Those in danger are the individuals that think they can depend on mid-level advanced instruments to do the work for them.
I dont care if its natural or not they are both pretty and should both be appreciated
Beauty indeed must come first. Then the discerning eye and the honest mind must ask themselves over time if the one thing is the same as the other.
@@GemologyforSchmucks of course they aren't the same but you can still appreciate them both. Both Take time, energy, effort, intelligence and craftsmanship to make therefore no matter what you have it should not be looked down on
@@Rachel0400 Time, energy, effort, intelligence and craftsmanship certainly deserve our undying respect.
@@GemologyforSchmucks so if I grow a tomato its fake because I grew it and didn't find it got it
im a schmuck, this channel is for me, subscribed!
Welcome to the channel ~!
Hey Peter I've stone that might be ruby or not please help me identify it
Hallo~ to identify gems and distinguish natural and synthetic, you'll want to find an experienced gemologist in your area that can inspect and test the stone in person. There is no reliable way to do that over the internet.
Hey Peter do you know what gemstones that they can't make as true synthetics ?
Hi Oakley ~
"Can't" is a difficult one, because who knows how technology can be developed in the pursuit of money. Don't (YET!~) however, is an easier one to answer.
Usually the stones that are chemically complex like tourmaline and the natural garnet species do not have true synthetics. I won't say its impossible, but it has not yet been done to my knowledge. Corundum and spinel were two of the first synthetics to be developed (1880's), but they have super simple chemical compositions Al2O3 for corundum, and MgAl2O4 for spinel. Now go check out the tourmaline group's composition. I don't even want to try and retype it...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourmaline
Tanzanite! Very rare, beautiful, 6.5 moh hardness. Cannot be made synthetically. Cant really be imitated either. The color is incredible!
Would love a kg of each color of rough to cut. Enjoyed the video.
If you'd like me to source kilos of synthetic rough for you, send me an email at thegemshepherd@gmail.com and i'd be happy to discuss providing the service
🌹🌻🌹Thank You Teacher We Are Your Students In Africa Please If You Can Make A Video Of The History Of Gem Market... It Will Be Good Sir.... So Thnaks You Very Much For Your Free Lessons For Poor African Students Like Me Sir..🌹🌻🌹🌎
My pleasure to serve. I think the History of the Gem Market is a bit of a huge topic and stretches back waaay too far to speak about in a short video. I'll keep it in mind as I speak with those older and wiser than myself.
@@GemologyforSchmucks thank you sir...
ㄥㄖᐯ乇 ! 千尺ㄖ爪 >> Sri lanka 🇱🇰
Nice haa ! 👍
𝙏𝙝𝙣𝙭 !
Yes to the market history! More context always ha. Great video, now I definitely know I’ve been overpaying for my synthetics haha
I'll be cooking up a new video on this quite soon ~ with the whole lockdown situation, what better time than now for story time? Do you do gem cutting Zack?
I really would like to hear about the gem market
These videos are in the planning stages now. There's no one size fits all video, but hopefully we can demystify to some extent.
I look forward to this. I am a hobby factor, silversmith, and high relief engraver. These have all led me in a circle. my greatest problem is finding quality rough that is real. The sights I keep finding are ones that are selling rough at such a high price on one of their pages and a cut stone for less than the rough. So I am going to Learn all I can from you my friend and hope you might be able to find a quality source. I thank you for all of your efforts greg
@@gregleak5134 Rough is definitely a challenge... for everyone. Its difficult to buy, difficult to sort, and a dreadful challenge to appropriately evaluate for business and for optimal cutting. Cheers
Where is this place? And they ship international? I'm asking because i never heard of rough synthetic emerald suppliers here in Brazil, neither pulled or rough hydrothermal alexandrite company here in Brazil and since the price for us Brazilians are so high to ship here im searching some place to buy synthetic alexandrite but cant find.
Im passionate about Alexandrite but a rough pulled alexandrite of 5 grams costs up to U$75,00 plus shipping which costs half of the minimum wage i receive
Rusgems is a company here that specializes in many synthetic gems. I expect they may ship internationally.
store.rusgems.com/
@@GemologyforSchmucks thanks.
A question, between star wars and gemstones Market. Is this place have a name or a website? 😅 Because I am a newbie in the market and it will be very interesting for me to buy some of them products. 🙏🏻
Thanks for all your videos soo much informative. ✨
It doesn't really have a name to my knowledge - folks just call it "the synthetics market over in China Town" and its near one of the temples in that area (the name of which I never seem to be able to find on a map.) Hopefully i'll come across the name again in the future. This is like that island in Pirates of the Carribean... that cannot be found except by those who already know where it is XD Sorry for the hassle
@@GemologyforSchmucks thanks for your reply, am sure it is very difficult to find back some of those little shops. Need a GPS to pin point them 😉
Isn't zircon the natural mineral and cubic zirconia is the synthetic?
That is correct 99.9...% of the time Daniel, yes. There are minerologists (and rumour mills) that talk about the existence of natural cubic zirconia, (aka CZ) but practically it isn't around. Zircon however is a natural mineral and gem material, which may or may not be heated, and that is typically related to the colours you'll see. Thx for the question~
Hey Peter, I love gems and for collectible and crafts purposes love synthetic corundum. Is there any chance I can be hooked up with similar synthetic Ruby’s that are shown at 7:47 preferably flame fusion since I’d like to keep the cost low. I’d love to purchase some
Hi Hardveer, If you send me an email at thegemshepherd@gmail.com we can talk further about what you're looking. Thanks for reaching out.
Gemology for Schmucks I’ve sent a email just waiting for a reply
Another great video on synthetics ,it's been very helpful but I was wondering if you have seen alot of hydrothermal rubies and flame fusion rubies and how different are the two as they are both chemicaly and physicaly the same as a natural rubie why is the flame fusion rubies like only a few dollars a carat to buy and the hydrothermal rubies are 2 to 300 dollars, a carat ? Can you help give any information on the different types of lab grown synthetics.
Excellent observation Oakley, and there is a good reason for the price difference. Flame Fusion corundum and spinel can be made in an afternoon, and flux melt and hydrothermal synthetic gemstones take muuuuch longer to make. On the order of months or as long as a year at times. Hydrothermal synthetics are often incredibly clean and you can grow huge sizes though, and id say that Flux melt stones are the most convincing imitations for corundum when you look at the inclusions within. These latter two synthetic processes mimic natures process of forming crystals much more closely than flame fusion. At the end of the day, they are all synthetics, so you just need to decide what your priority is. If you're looking for any ol' simulant, flame fusion is the best bet. If you want something that more closely mimics natural, whether for reasons of scientific interest, or nefarious ones, flux or hydrothermal are better choices. Naturally I wouldn't support anyone looking to be deceitful.
@@GemologyforSchmucks thanku for the reply you are always very helpful, keep sending out the videos I love gemmology .
@@GemologyforSchmucks just another quick question I have found it very hard to find a flux grown ruby I've only had hydrothermal and flame fusion rubies,I was wondering if you know where to buy a flux grown ruby and are they priced the same as a hydrothermal 1 carat ruby or are they more ? Thanks .
@@oakleymills4847 Hi again ~
Flame fusion are indeed more difficult to find, because they're not sold as much as they used to be. Hydrothermal and flame fusion are both much more common than flux now because they're cheaper to grow now, because their process is much more refined. Flux process corundum is interesting for us gem folk, but to the average person who is just looking for a synthetic stone, they're mostly looking for the best colour with the highest clarity for the cheapest price. Hydrothermal gives you 2 of the three (colour and clarity). Flame fusion gives you the other 2 (colour and cheapness). I'm not certain how to find Flux stones, but i'd suggest googling it and see if there are any specialist companies still selling them. As i've said previously ~ I dont deal in synthetic stones, so if I had one, it would mostly be as a curio/ collectors item.
@@GemologyforSchmucks thanks again for the information you have been very helpful, keep the videos coming as I enjoy watching them 😊
I'm looking for a genuine Aquamarine birthstone
If you'd like, send me an email at thegemshepherd@gmail.com and we can discuss what your needs are.
Is it possible to dye a gemstone( blue sapphire) witthout heating it.What is the process called.
For crystalline gemstones, not in a way that is stable. There are a few processes that will crack the crystal with thermal shock, and then infill that with a coloured oil or something (trash rocks). Some porous gemstones will take dye, but blue sapphire must be heated or otherwise coated, and these are all easily detectable treatments (and also puts your stone in the trash rock category.)
I had a blue sapphire and upon testing the laboratory has given report that it's a natural blue sapphire..."Indication of dyed blue".I was confused.Could you pls throw some light on this.
@@bini2181 I'd have to see the stone myself to have definite information, but its probable that there was either blue coloured glass fracture filling, or a blue oil/substance was filled into the fractures.
@@GemologyforSchmucksThanks.. Is it possible to do that by just placing the stone in the dye or something..without heating? I may sound wierd .but I think you could answer that question.
@@bini2181 Not to my knowledge. There are some jokers that try, but its always embarrassing for them.
They can't stand the test of time... I say that about fake people who say their your friend... Lol 😂😂😂
I have a large collection of flux grown rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. Think of these as being worth the price of between a very good quality television, and a mink coat. They take about a year to make, require a solid platinum growth chamber called a crucible, and are the most beautiful lab grown crystals available at ANY price. Currently, they are extreamly hard to come by because the only company that makes them in high quality (Chatham Created Gemstones) will no longer sell rough gems. That is because the company president, Tom Chatham, is an arrogant dick who stole the formula for flux grown gems from his brother John (who is now deceased). His new book, The Chatham Legacy: An American Story, completly glosses over his brother John's contributions. He also doesn't spend much time talking about his decision to fire John and other family members and move the entire operation to the FAR EAST.
The gemstone industry has the most juicy gossip, doesn't it? Flux grown synthetics are indeed super interesting and often incredibly attractive. The price point makes it difficult for some to accept, but I think there's an interesting "scientific discovery" niche that flux satisfies compared to melt methods and hydrothermal. Thanks for sharing that back story.
I would like
To visit, or to get synthetic boule?
@@GemologyforSchmucks HAHAHA! I would like a video on market history. It made sense to me when I wrote it... 😂
Synthetic gems are genuine but not natural. The trade dislikes them because they are superior quality e, it is not a simulant, it is not a fake. HOWEVER the scam is selling them as natural.
In this situation, genuine may not be a very productive word. Synthetics definitely have the same crystalline, physical and optical properties as their natural counterparts, and are often times cleaner and more intensely coloured than natural stones. What people choose to like is certainly up to their own preferences, indeed.
🤣
But you Never know correctly knowledge.....bro
Pardon?
Synthetics are absolutely grotesque and pure gluttony.
Synthetics have their place, just not in my box of treasures ^_^
@@GemologyforSchmucks Absolutely!!
For only 2 types of people:
- rich people who aren’t special anymore because “commoners” can have real gems at 20% cost.
- jewelers and gemologist sellers who cannot scam you with expensive natural gems.
Thank you