Characterization of the New Malossi Hydrothermal Synthetic Emerald

A new production of hydrothermal synthetic emeralds, grown in the Czech Republic with Italian technology, has been marketed since December 2004 with the trade name Malossi synthetic emerald. Several samples were investigated by standard gemological methods, combined with chemical analyses and UV-Vis-NIR and IR spectroscopy. A comparison of this material with natural and other synthetic emeralds (the latter grown by the flux and hydrothermal techniques) reveals that Malossi hydrothermal synthetic emerald can be identified on the basis of microscopic features and chemical composition, along with the mid-infrared spectrum.

Because of emerald's commercial value, a remarkable number of synthetic emeralds, grown by flux and hydrothermal processes, have entered the market over the past five decades. The hydrothermal synthetic emeralds are particularly notable in terms of the quantity produced and their availability (see, e.g., Kane and Liddicoat, 1985; Koivula et al., 1996; Schmetzer et al., 1997; Koivula et al., 2000; Chen et al., 2001; Mashkovtsev and Smimov, 2004).

The present study focuses on a new hydrother-mally grown synthetic emerald manufactured since 2003 in Prague, Czech Republic. This new gem material, called Malossi synthetic emerald (figure 1), has been marketed since December 2004 in Italy by Arsaurea Gems (Milan) and in the U.S. by Malossi Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Malossi Created Gems (Raleigh, North Carolina). Currently, about 5,000-6,000 carats of the faceted synthetic emeralds are produced per year, and this rate is expected to increase (A. Malossi, pers. comm., 2005). The crystals produced so far range from 25 to 150 ct, with a mean weight of about 11 ct, and the largest faceted stone obtained weighs about 15 ct (A. Malossi, pers. comm., 2005). In this article, we report those features of Malossi synthetic emeralds that can be used to distinguish this material from natural and other synthetic (hydrothermal and flux) emeralds.