Synthetic or Simulant?
By Suzanne Wade

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Lawsuits Ignite Over Created Opal Companies & Organizations • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) • Gemological Institute of America (GIA) • FTC Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) defines a synthetic gemstone as having "essentially the same optical, physical, and chemical properties as the stone named." The question is, what does "essentially the same" mean? How different can a manufactured stone be from the natural gem and still be called "synthetic?"

Because none of the manufactured opal currently on the market contains water - as virtually all natural opal does - there are some who argue that none of the material can legitimately be called "lab-created."

"If a piece of man-made opal doesn't contain water, then it is not physically the same as the natural, and it then doesn't comply with the FTC regulations of being able to call it lab-grown," argues Robert Silverman of Lannyte Inc., a synthetic gemstone dealer in Houston, Texas. He does sell manufactured opal, labeling it as a simulant. "[Calling Gilson opal lab-grown] is wrong, it's incorrect, but it's been promoted as lab-grown material by people who should know better, who feel it's close enough to be correct. But if it doesn't contain water, I don't see how it can possibly qualify as a lab-grown material."

That view has its supporters in the gemological community. A 1987 Gems & Gemology article by two German gemologists, Karl Schmetzer and Ulrich Henn, concluded that "Because of the complete absence of water, these man-made materials are not within the compositional range of natural opals. . . . Consequently, the authors propose that these products of Kyocera Corp. should be designated opal simulants rather than synthetic opals." Since Gilson opal doesn't contain water either, they argued that it should also be called a simulant.

Others take a less hard-line stance. Both the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF) in Basel, Switzerland, have identified Gilson and similar opals as synthetics in lab reports for years. "If a material fulfills the criteria for synthetic opal - that is, it has essentially the same physical, optical, and chemical properties and, when checked, shows the same type of structure as natural opal - it would be identified as 'synthetic opal,' " says a GIA representative. "If it has been treated in some way, such as dyed or impregnated, or if the material is assembled, treatment is disclosed in the conclusion."

"Natural opals have 5 to 15 percent of water, while synthetics do not. Synthetic opals sometimes have a zirconium content, while naturals have barely any. Synthetic opals are sometimes bound with epoxy, while naturals are usually not, but they could be treated with epoxy, too," observes Dr. H.A. Hänni of the SSEF. "The situation is complex. [So] a practical and simple approach is to call them synthetic, because the majority of features are in agreement with natural."

But extending the description "lab-created" to polymer-impregnated material may meet greater resistance in the industry. "It's an imitation," says Leonid Bride at Morion Co., who sells the polymer-impregnated manufactured opal. "It imitates the best opal, but it's not real opal, because it has 25 to 30 percent resin." He adds, "We also sell two different [synthetic] opals produced in Russia, and those opals are really lab-created because . . . [they are] really close in all properties to Australian opal."

"When you look at [the impregnated] material you say, 'This isn't opal,' " comments Tom Chatham of Chatham Created Gems, who sells the Gilson synthetic opal. "It doesn't even look like opal. It's not like oiling of emerald or that type of subtle improvement. It's a major change."

Chatham adds that he supports Manning's efforts to change industry practice. "I applaud him for the effort. He's spent a lot of money trying to get Gilson opal accepted and used in the marketplace, and along comes this stuff that in our collective opinion is fake opal . . . and the mass merchandisers of this world have jumped at this opportunity to pull a fast one."

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