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Synthetic alexandrite is an artificially grown crystalline variety of chrysoberyl, composed of beryllium aluminum oxide (BeAl 2 O 4). The name is also often used erroneously to describe synthetically-grown corundum that simulates the appearance of alexandrite , but with a different mineral composition.
Alexandrite in sizes over three carats are very rare. Today, several labs can produce synthetic lab-grown stones with the same chemical and physical properties as natural alexandrite. Several methods can produce flux-grown alexandrite, Czochralski (or pulled) alexandrite, and hydrothermally-produced alexandrite.
A rarer type, which comes from the Mogok area of Myanmar, features a vanadium chromophore, the same as is present in Verneuil synthetic color-change sapphire. Virtually all gemstones that show the "alexandrite effect" (color change or 'metamerism') show similar absorption/transmission features in the visible spectrum. This is an absorption band ...
Gemstones of the World revised 5th edition, 2013 by Walter Schumann ISBN 978-1454909538 Smithsonian Handbook: Gemstones by Cally Hall, 2nd ed. 2002 ISBN 978-0789489852 hide
Synthetic sapphire and spinel are durable materials (hardness 9 and 8) that take a good polish; however, due to their much lower RI when compared to diamond (1.762–1.770 for sapphire, 1.727 for spinel), they are "lifeless" when cut. (Synthetic sapphire is also anisotropic, making it even easier to spot.)
Synthetic diamonds are produced via high pressure, high temperature or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technology. These diamonds have numerous industrial and commercial uses including cutting tools, thermal conductors and consumer diamond gemstones.