Gem Substitutes

Eastern Gemology   Diseases & gems   Gem Substitutes   Gems for Health   Gems   Installation of Gems   Power of Colors   Rashi stone   Relation of the Planets

 
There are two types of man-made substitutes, synthetics and simulants. A synthetic gem is made of exactly the same substance as the natural gem, but it is grown in a laboratory. It can sometimes be difficult to tell a natural gem from a synthetic one. Natural stones often have inclusions, which help with identification. Synthetics sometimes have lines or bubbles by which they can be identified.

Occasionally, a substitute substance or gem may be passed off as the real thing. For example, a cheaper gem may be substituted for a more expensive one—citrine quartz can be substituted for the more precious topaz. Such substitutions are fraudulent.

Simulants are not composed of exactly the same substance as real gems, but when one examines them, they appear to closely resemble the natural stone. Cubic zirconia (zirconinum oxide) highly resembles a diamond and may be sold as such. Imitation gems are often made of glass, plastic, or a combination of two (doublets) or three (triplets) substances. The parts may be imitation or real.                       

Constellations and Gems
Each constellation is ruled by a particular planet and is related to a particular gemstone: 

Twenty-seven	Planets	Gemstones
Constellations
Ashwini	Ketu	Cat’s Eye
Bharani	Venus	Diamond
Krittika	Sun	Ruby
Rohini	Moon	Pearl
Mrigashira	Mars	Coral
Ardra	Rahu	Hessonite
Punarvasu	Jupiter	Yellow Sapphire
Pushya	Saturn	Blue Sapphire
Ashlesha	Mercury	Emerald
Magha	Ketu	Cat’s Eye
Purva Phalguni	Venus	Diamond
Uttar Phalguni	Sun	Ruby
Hasta	Moon	Pearl
Chitra	Mars	Coral
Swati	Rahu	Hessonite
Vishakha	Jupiter	Yellow Sapphire
Anuradha	Saturn	Blue Sapphire
Jyeshtha	Mercury	Emerald
Mula	Ketu	Cat’s Eye
Purva Shadha	Venus	Diamond
Uttar Shadha	Sun	Ruby
Shravana	Moon	Pearl
Dhanistha	Mars	Coral
Purva Badra	Jupiter	Yellow Sapphire
Uttar Bhadra	Saturn	Blue Sapphire
Revati	Mercury	Emerald