Lab Finds Synthetic Sapphires Posing as Diamonds

RAPAPORT... Gemological Science International (GSI) has identified undisclosed lab-grown white sapphire melee set in pendants that had been submitted as natural-diamond jewelry. The pendants, which GSI's NewYork lab had received for a routine screening, contained near-colorless synthetic sapphires, placed next to natural white diamonds. "While the industry has taken considerable steps to addressthis issue, the problem still persists," GSI president and co-founder DebbieAzar said Monday. "What makes this finding unusual and very atypical was theuse of melee-sized synthetic white sapphires." Many cases in which labs identify stones that are not what they had been submitted as involve undisclosed lab-growndiamonds in place of natural. However, there have been cases involving other materials. Last year, the Gemological Institute of America spotted a 9.71-carat synthetic moissanite stone, which was submitted to its labas a natural rough diamond. In 2017, two large, near-colorless rough stonessent to HRD Antwerp as natural diamonds turned out to be topaz. Image: A GSI lab. (Gemological Science International)