Feature Gems & Gemology, Winter 2005, Volume 41, No. 4

Characterization of the New Malossi Hydrothermal Synthetic Emerald

Ilaria Adamo, Alessandro Pavese, Loredana Prosperi, Valeria Diella, Marco Merlini, Mauro Gemmi, and David Ajò

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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.