Antique jewelry glossary

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Synthetic garnet

A misnomer for a synthetic stone that has no counterpart in nature but is a compound synthesized by the Czochralski process ( a variation of the flux fusion process); it is not a silicate as is a natural garnet, but has a similar structure. One colourless variety has been called YAG (for yttrium-aluminium-garnet) or 'Diamonair'; it simulates the diamond. Other varieties are made in many colours. They have single refraction but can be distinguished from a natural garnet by several tests.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson