What is the difference between Man-Made, Created, and Synthetic materials?

Some people make the distinction between different types of created or man-made materials. Here are a few general definition. Keep in mind that these definitions are variable and may be different depending on whose definition(s) you use.

Man-made - In general this phrase is used to describe various lab grown materials (not natural) and is a general term applied to the group of lab materials as a whole.

Remember there are all types and processes, some cheap some expensive.

Some lab grown materials are chemically exactly like natural rough, some are just made to imitate the natural stone and not chemically alike.

Simulated/imitation - In general, this term is used to describe a material that is created in a lab to be like, or simulate a natural material.

Note: Simulated/imitation can also mean glass, doublets, and other fakes. Some times a natural stone can be use to simulate some thing else. For example a Garnet doublet cut to look like a Ruby. So the term do not always mean a man-made material.

Usually the stimulant is not exactly like the natural stone and is chemically different as well as displaying physical properties that the natural gems may or may not have.

For example Forsterite is really a man-made Peridot but it is made in Tanzanite color and is the simulant that is used as a "look alike" to Tanzanite in the industry.

Synthetic - The term "synthetic" is used to refer to a material that is made by using the same chemical ingredients found in the natural material. Synthetic Emerald, or Synthetic Emerald.

Note: In modern marketing you will notice that the people selling this material will almost never use the word synthetic. They will almost always market it as "created" or some other term. So be aware that the word "created" can also some times be used, for example lab created Ruby... or created Emerald.

These materials are identical to the real thing in chemistry and optical properties.

Note: Depending on the method used to "lab grow" these man-made crystals. The flaws and typical structural characteristics that many gemologist use to identify natural stones are present and look exactly the same in the man-made lab stones.

Great care must be taken in testing to verify whether the stone in question is real or man-made. In some cases there is virtually no way to tell for sure.

Synthetics have been on the market for a long time, since the early 1900's and for synthetic Emeralds the 1940's. So do not assume that because the stone in question is old, that it is real.

In my opinion all these materials are man-made, and need to be called man-made. If God or mother nature did not make it, then it's man-made. But for a lot of different reasons you will hear various phrases and terms used to describe these materials in the market. Particularly in the marketing of these materials at the retail level to customers.

Be aware also that there are a lot of different "treatments" used to improve natural rough. For example heat is often used on Sapphire to improve color and melt silk. Some people would say anything "treated" is a man-made stone. I personally do not generally agree, although there are some extreme "treatment" cases that I would agree the stones in question are no longer natural and are man-made. This is a gray area...

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