Garnet or daimoner, diamoner is an unsuccessful commercial term that is used in relation to synthetic jewelry materials, the structure of which is similar to the structure of garnet . It is believed that, due to their silicate nature, they cannot be classified as synthetic garnets that do not contain silicon and are complex oxides of gallium , yttrium and other chemical elements . By introducing impurities, the color of granatite can be changed: neodymium and erbium give a pink-violet color, chromium , thulium and vanadium - green, manganese - red. Replacing yttrium with terbium , holmium , europium, or ytterbium can give the resulting product a yellow-gold color, and chrome, cobalt , neodymium, or iron can be added to produce a green color with bluish tones. The hardness of granatite is usually 8 - 8.5, which is higher than that of garnets.
As a rule, granatite is synthesized in a deep vacuum at high temperatures by the method of “pulling” a crystal from a melt. In its pure form it has no color and is often used to simulate diamonds [1] .
The failure of the term “granatite” in geological disciplines is due to the fact that similar concepts in scientific research have long been used to describe rocks - pyroxenites , carbonatites , etc., which mainly consist, respectively, of pyroxenes , carbonates , etc. Moreover, there is a grossularite rock called “granatite” and consists mainly of grossular . A more adequate name for this type of material seems to be the term “granatoid” [2] .
Notes
- ↑ V. I. Marchenkov Jewelry , Moscow, Higher School, 1984, p. 39
- ↑ B. F. Kulikov, V. V. Bukanov Dictionary of gemstones, Leningrad, "Nedra", 1988, p. 35