Alternative Gemstones

Imitation gemstones usually resemble the natural gemstone only in color, and can be easily identified as an imitation. The ancient Egyptians were the first ones to make faux gemstones with glaze and glass, since the genuine stones were too rare or too expensive. One of the earliest imitations made to resemble turquoise was made from a ceramic substance the color of turquoise, used for rings, pendants, amulets and beads. Imitation gems made from blue glass were even found in the tomb of King Tut.

One of the most popular and well known simulated diamonds is cubic zirconia. This is visually quite similar to a diamond, but slightly more sparkly. These can be cheaply mass produced, and so are widely used in cheaper pieces of jewelry.

Another imitation of gemstone is hematine, which is imitation and synthetic. This is a synthetic as well as an imitation. It's a simulation of stainless steel, made with nickel sulfides and chromium. It was created as a stone to simulate hematite. The two can be told apart, however. Hematite has a brownish-red steak, and the artificial or created stone has a blackish-brown stripe. To perform this test often means destroying the specimen. In addition, hematite isn't magnetic, while hematine is very magnetic.

Glass is a non-organic substance created by mixing it in a molten form and then cooling it until it is rigid but not crystallized. Glass comes in two types, flint and crown. Flint glass is made up of soda and silica, with metal oxides in lieu of lime. Crown glass is made with soda, silicone and lime. This type of glass is used for costume jewelry, optical glass, windows and bottles. Flint glass was once a diamond substitute, and was at one time prohibited. Imitation glass is sometimes called paste, since the ingredients are mixed together wet to assure that the whole batch will be uniform.

Stones that are cut from pieces of flint glass resemble the gems they are made to simulate because the lead in the flint glass gives the stones a higher level of refraction of light. The glass is colored to mimic many kinds of precious stone.