To begin with, allow me to introduce myself.
I’m Karen Avakyan, Ph.D. in Geology and Mineralogy, the founder and owner of the Formica group companies (since 1992), and the author of the idea of using glass-ceramics in the jewelry industry as an imitation of colored gemstones.
Man-made artificial stones are traditionally divided into Synthetic Crystals (with the same chemical and physical properties as natural gems) and Imitations (that do not exist in nature) (Table 1).
Table 1. Jewellery stones classification.
Synthetic crystals include lab-grown diamonds and moissanite, hydrothermal emerald, alexandrite, quartz, sapphire, ruby, and others. Until recently, Imitations were represented by two main types of materials: glass or crystal-glass (Swarovski, Preciosa, Asfour...) and crystal-mineral (Cubic Zirconia, YAG, GGG). However, recently, imitations such as ceramics (polycrystalline material), polymers (Kyocera opal), epoxy resins, and other organic materials have become widely used.
SIAMITE® gemstone reflections debuted in the market of imitation-colored gemstones just over 15 years ago. It was Formica that first developed the technology and began producing a completely new material for the jewelry industry - glass ceramics (patented in the USA and 25 other countries). Its early trade names were nanocrystal and nanogem; later in 2018, we officially registered the trademark SIAMITE®.
During this time, it has become highly sought after by many jewelry manufacturers and is widely used by world-famous brands. However, many gemologists and jewelry professionals still do not have a precise understanding of the nature of this material and often ask "how does it different from cubic zirconia, corundum, and other traditional materials?"
In this and subsequent brief information, I will try to answer this and many other questions.