Fake jewelry has been around for centuries, imitating natural gemstones using materials such as glass, crystal, and cubic zirconia. It can be difficult to distinguish from the real thing, and some designers have made their fortune creating elaborate fakes. Fake jewelry is also more environmentally friendly and affordable than natural gemstones.
If poor Mathilde in Guy de Maupassant’s story “The Diamond Necklace” had known anything about fake jewelry, she might have saved herself a lot of trouble. Faux is a French word meaning “fake,” so of course “fake jewelry” refers to jewelry that is not made from genuine gemstones.
Humans have been fascinated with jewelry and jewelry for thousands of years. Even the gates of heaven, according to the Bible, are made of pearls. Since genuine gemstones have always been a rarity, it follows that enterprising jewelers would have created attractive fakes for those who couldn’t afford “the real thing.”
Fake jewelry can be made to imitate almost all natural gemstones. It can be made of glass, crystal or other substances that mimic the actual composition of natural gems. Often called “glass” or “paste,” fake jewelry has improved to the point where an untrained eye has a hard time distinguishing good “paste” from the real thing. In fact, some designers have made their fortune designing elaborate fake jewelry that looks just as good as the real thing.
Cubic zirconia is probably one of the most popular synthetic stones on the market. It is made of zirconium oxide and, when finished, has a hardness of approximately 8.5 on the Moh’s hardness scale. A diamond is a 10 on the scale. Cubic zirconia is also heavier than a diamond, but a well-cut stone can temporarily fool even a gemologist. Zirconium oxide is heated and a stabilizer is added, then oxides are added to produce various colors. The stones are cut and set. To the untrained eye, they are indistinguishable from the gemstones they imitate.
One advantage of fake jewelry is that the stones in it do not come from nature and therefore are not depleting natural resources. Nor does it contribute to impoverished people being exploited to supply the market for natural gemstones.
Fake jewelry runs the gamut when it comes to price points. A nice piece of jewelry can start at US$10 and the price goes up from there, depending on the designer and quality. Good fake jewelry is available in department stores and online.
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