Synthetic Ruby



Background

Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds are known as precious gems. Next to the diamond, the ruby is the hardest gemstone; it is also resistant to acids and other harmful substances. Because large, gem-quality rubies are very rare, the value of a fine ruby may be quadruple that of a similar-quality diamond.

Rubies and sapphires are both composed of corundum, which is the crystalline form of aluminum oxide. They differ only in small amounts of color-producing minerals. Chromium gives rubies their characteristic red color, with higher concentrations producing darker shades. Aluminum oxide crystals not containing chromium are called sapphires; they come in many hues including blue, yellow, green, pink, purple, and colorless.

Natural rubies are found in a handful of sites around the world, most notably in Myanmar (formerly Burma), Thailand, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Tanganyika, and North Carolina. Beautifully colored, transparent crystals are prized for jewelry use, while translucent or opaque stones are used for ornamental items such as clock bases.

In addition to their decorative functions, rubies serve a broad range of utilitarian purposes. For example, because of their hardness, they make long-lasting thread guides for textile machines. Ruby is even harder than steel, so it is an excellent bearing material for metal shafts in devices like watches, compasses, and electric meters. Rubies have exceptional wave-transmitting properties for the range from short, ultraviolet wavelengths through the visible light spectrum to long, infrared wavelengths. This makes them ideal for use in lasers and masers (laser-like devices operating in non-visible ranges of microwaves and radio waves).

Because many of these industrial uses demand very high-quality crystals of particular sizes and shapes, synthetic rubies are manufactured. With the exception of minor amounts of impurities, synthetic gems have the same chemical, physical, and optical properties as their natural counterparts. Although some are used as gemstones, about 75% of modern synthetic ruby production is used for industrial purposes.

History

Natural rubies have been mined for 8,000 years or more. In many cultures, the gems have been prized not only for their beauty but also for supernatural powers; it was commonly believed that the ruby's red color came from fire trapped inside the stone. Ancient Hindus believed that rubies could make water boil, and early Greeks thought the crystals could melt wax. In other cultures (e.g., Burmese and Native American), the ruby was thought to protect a wearer because of its blood-like color.

Because it was so highly prized, the ruby was the first gemstone to be made artificially. Documented attempts to make rubies date to the experiments of Marc A. Gaudin, a French chemist who produced some synthetic rubies beginning in 1837. They were not of any value as gems, however, because they became opaque as they cooled. After 30 years of experimenting he gave up, admitting defeat in the published notes of his final ruby experiments.

Around 1885, some rubies sold as gemstones were discovered to be manmade (their unusually low price prompted the buyer to have them carefully examined). The method by which these so-called Geneva rubies were made remained a mystery until about 1970, when an analysis of surviving samples showed that they were formed by melting powdered aluminum oxide and a smaller amount of chromium oxide in an array of torches, and letting the molten material solidify.

Actually, the Geneva rubies may have come from an early developmental stage of what is now known as the "flame fusion" method. In 1877, the French chemist Edmond Frémy and a student assistant described how they heated 44.1-66.15 lb (20-30 kg) of a solution of aluminum oxide dissolved in lead oxide in a porcelain vat for 20 days. As the solvent evaporated and chemical reactions took place among the solution, the vessel, and furnace gases, a large number of very small ruby crystals formed on the basin's wall. The rubies were so small and the production costs so high that the crystals could not realistically be used in jewelry.

Later, Auguste Verneuil, another of Frdmy's students, developed a somewhat different process that eventually became successful. By 1891 he was producing rubies by flame fusion, although he did not publish a description of his technique until 1902. His assistant exhibited the synthetic rubies in 1900 at the Paris World's Fair, where they were quite popular. His process took only two hours to grow crystals weighing 12-15 carats (2.5-3 g); the stones were roughly spherical, up to 0.25 in (6 mm) in diameter. By the time Verneuil died at the age of 57 in 1913, the process he had invented was being used to manufacture 10 million carats (2,000 kg, or 4,400 lb) of rubies annually.

In 1918, J. Czochralski developed a different method for synthesizing rubies. Known as crystal pulling, this technique is fast, inexpensive, and effective in producing flawless stones. In fact, when cut as gems the stones are so clear that they look like glass imitations. Consequently, this technique is now used primarily for manufacturing industrial-use rubies.

During World War II, it was impossible to get rubies from traditional sources in France and Switzerland. Because these stones were vitally important for use as bearings in military as well as civilian instruments, efforts were made to improve manufacturing techniques. One such improvement, developed by the Linde Division of Union Carbine Corporation, modified Verneuil's flame fusion process to grow thin rods of ruby crystals up to 30 in (750 mm) long. Such rods can easily be sliced into disks to produce large quantities of bearings.

A process developed by Bell Telephone Company in 1958 employed high temperatures and pressures to grow rubies on seeds that had been produced by flame fusion. Refinements of this technique became known as the hydrothermal method. Carroll Chatham, a San Francisco gem manufacturer who developed and used a hydrothermal process, also developed the first commercially successful application of the flux process of ruby manufacture. This technique, first used in 1959, essentially creates roiling magma in a furnace and grows very natural-looking gems in a period of nearly a year.

Methods of Synthesizing

Several methods are currently used to manufacture rubies; each has advantages and limitations. The most popular methods can be categorized into two main types: production from melt, in which powdered material is heated to a molten state and manipulated to solidify in a crystalline form, and production from "solution," in which the required aluminum oxide and chromium are dissolved in another material and manipulated to precipitate into a crystalline form. Verneuil's flame fusion and Czochralski's crystal pulling are the most commonly used melt techniques, while flux growth and hydrothermal growth are the most popular versions of solution processes.

Flame fusion rubies, generally the least expensive, are commonly used for bearings and relatively mundane jewelry like class rings. Pulled rubies, selling for upwards of $5 per carat, are preferred for laser use. Flux rubies, costing $50 or more per carat, are used in finer jewelry. The less-common hydrothermal process is used for industrial applications demanding strain-free crystals or large crystals in something other than a rod shape.

There are several processes used to create synthetic rubies. Verneuil's flame fusion and Czochralski's crystal pulling are the most commonly used melt techniques, while flux growth and hydrothermal growth are the most popular versions of solution processes.
There are several processes used to create synthetic rubies. Verneuil's flame fusion and Czochralski's crystal pulling are the most commonly used melt techniques, while flux growth and hydrothermal growth are the most popular versions of solution processes.

Raw Materials

The nutrient (material that will become the ruby crystal) consists primarily of extremely pure aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ); approximately 5-8% of chromium oxide (Cr 2 O 3 ) must be added to produce the essential red color. If an asteriated gem (a star ruby) is being produced, a small amount (0.1-0.5%) of titanium oxide (TiO 2 ) is also used.

Depending on the method being employed, additional chemicals may be needed. The flame fusion process uses an oxygen-hydrogen torch to melt powdered forms of the two basic components, whereas the Czochralski process uses some form of electrical heating mechanism. The flux method uses a compound such as lithium oxide (LiO), molybdenum oxide (MoO), or lead fluoride (PbF 2 ) as a solvent for the nutrient. The hydrothermal process uses as a solvent an aqueous (water-based) solution of sodium carbonate (Na 2 CO 3 ). A corrosion-resistant metal such as silver or platinum is used to line the vessel that contains the liquefied ingredients for the Czochralski, flux, and hydrothermal processes.

The Manufacturing
Process

Crystal growth

One of the following four methods is typically used to manufacture synthetic rubies.

Surface finishing

Whether it will be used as a gem or an industrial device, the ruby must be given a smooth, glossy finish after it has been cut or faceted to the desired shape. The following methods may be used.

Comparing Synthetic To
Natural

Rubies, grown as rods for industrial use, are readily recognizable as synthetic because of their shape. Manmade stones that are cut as gems are not so easily identified. However, microscopic examination can reveal characteristic patterns of inclusions (foreign particles), bubbles, and striations (growth bands) that can distinguish between natural and synthetic stones, even revealing the location from which a natural stone came or the process by which a synthetic stone was made.

Where to Learn More

Books

Elwell, Dennis. Man-Made Gemstones. New York: Halsted Press, 1979.

MacInnis, Daniel. Synthetic Gem and Allied Crystal Manufacture. Park Ridge, NJ: Noyes Data Corporation, 1973.

Periodicals

Sunagawa, I. "Gem Materials, Natural and Artificial." Current Topics in Materials Science 10 (1982): 353-497.

Tang, Seung Mun. "When Is a Ruby Real?" Physics World (October 1992): 21-22.

Ward, Fred. "Rubies and Sapphires." National Geographic (October 1991): 100-125.

Loretta Hall



User Contributions:

1
jasmine
I had a HUGE project about synthetic and natural materials and i chose to do synthetic gems it took me 2 whole weeks to look for the right research wich i am quite good at but all i could get was where u can buy the gems so i thought i will have to keep trying then i found this article and YOU SAVED MY LIFE THank you and i love your article it's clear and strait to the point,
i want to synthesise rubies in my laboratory so if any information you are having about machineries and devices with process also pls. let me know,rubies suitable for jewellary is needed.
thanks
dear sir or madam,

I was looking for verneuil process that i saw your web site. I want to make the verneuil apparatus in my laboratoy and do some experimental reserch.
could you please send me some information about this apparatus. i dont know any thing.
I am waiting for your responce
yours faithfully

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