Artificial pomegranate: what is this stone and how to distinguish it from natural?

Pomegranate is a semiprecious stone, this gem is very popular and beautiful. The stone got its name due to its stunning resemblance to pomegranate seeds.

Natural pomegranate, however, can be not only juicy red, but also with tints of copper, orange, rose, and greenery. The variety of colors of real stones allows you to use imitation in jewelry. You can distinguish a fake yourself, but for this you need to know the properties of a natural mineral. Due to the high cost, artificial, synthetic pomegranate is very popular. It cannot be called a fake, since it is produced in laboratories using the hydrothermal method of growing natural stone from crumbs.

Garnets do not have such value as diamonds, emeralds, rubies or sapphires, however, their quality is very high. Mineral stone has the following characteristics:

• durability;
• unpretentiousness in leaving;
• external showiness.

The stone looks very elegant and noble.

Its rocks are few in number and resemble a scattering of pomegranate seeds, hence the name. Shades can be varied, ranging from raspberry-burgundy to orange-copper, red-pink, black, purple, green. It all depends on which component of the natural type is included in the rock. Natural stone has the properties of a mineral crystal. Not all stones are small, there are specimens the size of a chicken egg. A real stone can be either transparently homogeneous or interspersed.

Garnet became popular several hundred years ago, it was very popular, and even then dishonest jewelers began to fake the breed.

Today in jewelry stores departments with products from pomegranates occupy a large area. However, more than half of the stones are artificial. Imitate pomegranate with the help of cubic zirconias, which are painted in the desired shade. Zirconia itself is an artificial stone created in the Soviet Union.

Artificial pomegranate is grown in laboratories and is not related to fakes. Stone is usually faked with glass or plastic counterparts. Fake grenades are most often made from faceted glass. There is even a special pomegranate glass that replaces genuine stones in jewelry. In order not to buy a product with a commonplace glass, you need to know exactly the signs of not only natural, but also hydrothermal, artificial pomegranate, which, although grown in laboratories, is still not a fake.

Such stones are grown in specialized laboratories from natural material that remains after the cutting of a natural mineral.

Stones have almost the same hardness as natural, they are stored without problems. The cut is very high quality, such a gem plays excellent colors, if you substitute it under the light. An artificial specimen has the following characteristic features of crystal growth lines:

• arcuate segments;
• ring-shaped segments;
• straight lines.

Laboratories began to grow pomegranate and glass metal in the middle of the 20th century, technologically it is quite difficult, so the price of artificial pomegranate is rather big. In the Soviet Union, jewelry was created with pink, purple, yellow nano-garnets. Production was very widespread.

Sometimes pomegranate itself acts as an imitation - both natural and artificial. Most often they are used to replace rubies. However, you do not need to have any special knowledge to distinguish between these two stones:

• the ruby ​​glow is like a diamond;
• real stone is not magnetized;
• the glow is velvet, very soft, shimmering type.

There are several ways to determine the origin of a gem, and also to find out if it is fake. The first is a visual inspection, for it you will need a magnifying device, for example, a magnifier. It is necessary to analyze the stone in the light and determine such qualities as color, degree of transparency, size.

• Color. The color of the natural mineral is fragmented type, color zones, gradations are visible, the juiciness of the color is different, different tones of the same color may be present. Artificial stone has a uniform, uniform color and color. The nugget contains small inclusions, hydrothermal garnet - no. If bubbles are present, there is glass in front of you.
• The size. Most often, the natural gem has a value similar to the grains of a pomegranate fruit, after cutting it becomes even smaller. Large stones are most often fake. Particular attention should be paid to green pomegranates, they are the rarest. If you come across a product with large green pomegranate, this is most likely an imitation. In general, green pomegranates can only be bought at auction.
• Shine and shine. Natural stone has a muted radiance, its luster is weakly expressed, close to dullness. Artificial pomegranate sparkles dazzling. Natural garnet partially passes light, on the edges the beam is refracted, which creates the effect of the play of light.

The second method for determining the authenticity of the mineral is mechanical, it requires a characteristic of physical properties:

• natural and synthetic specimens are very hard and easily scratch the surfaces of the plastic and glass type - if you have a fake in front of you, it will be damaged just like the surface or even more;
• natural mineral heats up much longer; plastic and glass are heated most quickly;
• the natural gem is magnetized and electrified, you can rub it on a woolen product, for example.

To avoid troubles, it is necessary to purchase jewelry in stores that have all the necessary certificates of conformity. If you are refused to provide documents for the product, it is fake. If you received the product as a gift, in inheritance or in any other way, you can check it by the methods indicated above. If in doubt, take the stone to a specialist jeweler for a complete and in-depth evaluation.

How to distinguish ruby ​​from pomegranate is described below.