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A simulated stone is one that is lab grown out of the same elements as the real stone. A jeweler can tell the difference, but it should be eye similar.
Think of it as a stone clone.
Look up sapphire on wikiapedia and read near the bottom. They've been making them since 1902...
Yeah I thought there was a distinction between "simulated" and "synthetic." Synthetic would be the "chemically identical" - a real actual genuine sapphire, that was created in a lab. It's still a sapphire. It's just not an organic sapphire that grew without a person to help it along.
And a "simulated" sapphire would be a fake sapphire, that isn't a real sapphire, whether synthetic or organic, that is just some other substance that is cut and polished to make it LOOK like a sapphire. Hence, the "simulated."
Yeah I thought there was a distinction between "simulated" and "synthetic." Synthetic would be the "chemically identical" - a real actual genuine sapphire, that was created in a lab. It's still a sapphire. It's just not an organic sapphire that grew without a person to help it along.
And a "simulated" sapphire would be a fake sapphire, that isn't a real sapphire, whether synthetic or organic, that is just some other substance that is cut and polished to make it LOOK like a sapphire. Hence, the "simulated."
Yeah, that's what I understand too but I am not 100% certain.
What you should do is go to a large reputable jeweler, not a mall store, and ask to see a natural sapphire and a synthetic one. Ask them to explain the differences -- but see it for yourself.
I know for a fact that I don't like synthetic diamonds -- I have a real preference for "D" color diamonds, and synthetics can't compare...to my eyes they look like cracked ice... they lack fire, and don't prism the light right so there are no rainbows from them.
But sapphires don't have the same qualities I'd look for in a diamond, so I might be convinced to use a lab created gem -- if they were really as nice as the real thing. And you can't tell that on the internet -- gotta do that in person.
What you should do is go to a large reputable jeweler, not a mall store, and ask to see a natural sapphire and a synthetic one. Ask them to explain the differences -- but see it for yourself.
I know for a fact that I don't like synthetic diamonds -- I have a real preference for "D" color diamonds, and synthetics can't compare...to my eyes they look like cracked ice... they lack fire, and don't prism the light right so there are no rainbows from them.
But sapphires don't have the same qualities I'd look for in a diamond, so I might be convinced to use a lab created gem -- if they were really as nice as the real thing. And you can't tell that on the internet -- gotta do that in person.
<sigh> The OP isn't asking about the difference between natural and synthetic. The OP is asking about the distinction between synthetic and simulated.
Simulated = fake, NOT lab-created.
Synthetic = real, but lab-created.
The hint is in the words themselves:
Simulated = similar, but not the same
Synthetic = synthesized, but not natural
That is the answer.
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