@@RockOnRickMaritta On the other hand the spinel boule with that "frosty" surface and by its dimension looks very much like it was made with the Verneuil method
Great video! You know what's weird? Ice is a mineral in nature...but in our freezers it's synthetic too! Lol. THAT is the BIGGEST Corundum boule I've ever seen! Thanks for sharing.
@@nickitoff9629 hahaha I do sometimes talk about ice as a mineral if it's naturally occurring, but not a mineral if it's formed in the freezer! Glad you liked the video.
Thanks for the fun overview of synthetics. I'm a collector, cutter and jeweler and I'll say that your suite of these specimens is comprehensive and awesome! I've subscribed now and have a happy and healthy New Year!
Beautiful crystals, especially the ruby boule! I'm a jeweler and have been looking for small (~4mm diameter) cylindrical rubys for a project but the closest I can get is laser crystals that need significant machining or sintered ruby sharpening rods.
I really want a monocrystalline Corundum desk. The thermal conductivity and hardness properties would be very useful for a lot of projects. Would be cool to have optical gear directly integrated into the desk as well.
@@RockOnRickMaritta I suppose it would depend on the orientation we cut the desk out. Let's say a 48" wide by 20" deep by 1" thick desk. If we slice the desk out vertically the boule would "only" need to be slightly bigger than the desk right? Around 25" in diameter? It would need to be at least 48" long. We need to find the volume of a cylinder with base diameter 25 in and height 48 in. Start with an equation that relates the base diameter d, height h, and volume V: V = (25^2×48 π)/4 7500 π in^3 (cubic inches)≈23561.9 in^3 (cubic inches) Switching units now sorry, So about 386,111cm³ in volume. (386,111 cm³ ) * 4 g/cm^³ = 1544 kg Switching units again. The boule would need to weigh at least 3,405 lbs. So the boule would be about the size of a large water heater but weigh as much as a car. 🤣
@@usopenplayer you could build a tabletop out of corundum intarsia style. making it out of many small pieces should be much easier and cheaper than making a giant boule. edit: you could probably even afford to do so. and since you care about thermal conductivity, you could make the inlay table out of silver or copper. would be a very cool table.
Great video, got any more info on the green balls that form in the bottom of the crucibles, seems weird that glass would sink passed the metel in a crucible and not float on top. There nice color likely not stable enough to facet
@@theplumbingprospector9024 I've had them faceted, and you're right... It takes a lot of material to find one that holds enough to cut. I also agree, it seems backwards that the metal would float, but it does.
You described the Vermeil ( ver - MAY ) process, but the boule you were holding was clearly grown by "pulling" from a melt puddle, which uses a seed crystal. Vermeil's process grows by addition at the top with something that lowers it, while the more modern process grows by addition at the bottom while the boule is raised upwards. Also, pure sapphire/aluminum oxide/carborundum is clear. The red color means that impurities ( usually chromium related ) were added. Synthetic sapphire is even used for stove cooktop now, so it can be grown/formed in large sheets.
I am looking for something exactly like that large ruby boule you have, even something a bit smaller would work. Could you tell me where you got it please?
Where can I find a ruby boule like the one in the beginning of this video? I often wonder if someone could make a huge (synthetic) cut gem from a boule of that size.
They used to cut gemstones from this synthetic material, even bigger than mine. I have no idea where you could find one these days though, mine came in an old collection I bought years ago.
I get the quiet part at the end 😅 $1500 on a limo, I would harbor a guess that is the aprox spent on the last box of lab grown beauties. Fun fact. Now you can get lab grown diamonds w choice of color made from the ashes of a loved one or pet.😊 Great video. Very informative
As an enthusiast of synthetic materials... I must ask, where did you acquire that czochralski ruby boule? Ive been wanting more czochralski samples for months but I cant find anywhere to source them other then actual optics companies who charge a small fortune
@@mistersircode it was gifted to me many years ago with a mineral collection I acquired. Very lucky for me. I saw a similar one in Tucson long ago, priced $20k even then.
Question: Do flux-grown gems look better in jewelry than flame-grown gems? Can you tell the difference by looking at them? (The way people do with, say, CZ and real diamonds?)
@@hg2. I expect a layperson wouldn't notice a difference, but a trained gemologist would know what to look for. There is a helpful chart of comparisons on this website: lifegemdiamonds.com/lifegem_comparison.php
@RockOnRickMaritta Thanks! The chemistry/chemical engineering is "a little over my head". For whatever reason, I've been banging my head over this question for a while (re: do "Chatham-Crysta" or flux-grown blue sapphires make better visible jewelry than the "cheap" dime-a-dozen flame-grown sapphires?). And the answer seems to "no". Nobody seems to care that much about where blue sapphires come from. "Good!". Some of us go nuts over blue sapphire jewelry, so "the more the merrier". Confession: I think I'd have just as much fun working with cobalt blue Noxzema-jar glass. 🤣😆😁 Cheers.
But the rubby rod looks like a result if Czochralski method. Verneuil yields smaller boules, mostly full of porousity and impurities. They are mostly for decorative purposes not optical applications.
@RockOnRickMaritta oh! sorry for the repetitive comment. When I was young I was a faculty member of a semiconductor research institute with a Russian background. There we had many crystal growth machines like Czochralski, horizontal and vertical bridgeman, Hydrothermal, zone melting and a couple of home made machines including a Verneuil!
@@RockOnRickMaritta as a matter of fact that workplace was so toxic that totally changed my life ! Now I am working as an electron microscopy specialist with biologists 😂 But instruments were really cool.
@@ConcreteBombDeep honestly I'm not sure. I've been offered $6k for it from a jeweler who wanted to cut it & facet, a collector offered me $9k... I don't think they make them this size anymore, so it's hard to value.
@@RockOnRickMarittaSeems reasonable considering it's size. I could see it being faceted like the giant Dom Pedro aquamarine or a solid ruby sword would be pretty cool too. But it is impressive how it sits now.
Want to know those syntetics sapphire,ruby or emerald corundum,or berillium, cut ones how much are those. Inexpensive of course uncut a pence per carat.
@@Allan_aka_RocKITEman we've got a couple of videos about quartz, most are short like this one: ua-cam.com/video/clgwqtk5Kbw/v-deo.htmlsi=RCp_O8gOBDB0Zh3j
I used to grow SiO2 on Si wafers in steam. it took 4 weeks to grow 20um thick. sure we could cut the time in half with higher heat but, any hotter than what we used, the SiO2 would flow and fuse to the quartz wafer carriers. So we ended up with a 4 week long process. This required specially designed steam generators that I came up with.
Actually they aren't "synthetic", they are actually chemically and physically the same as naturally occurring gems, they are created in a facility by human hands, and are indistinguishable from natural gems
Are sure that large one wasn’t czochralski pulled rather than flame fusion verneuil! Looks it to me
Checking.
You're right
Completely forgot to come back on this!!! YES YOU ARE RIGHT-- I had it backwards in my head on this. Thanks for the heads up.
@@RockOnRickMaritta On the other hand the spinel boule with that "frosty" surface and by its dimension looks very much like it was made with the Verneuil method
This was a very nice video. I have wanted to grow my own synthetic crystals for a long time.
@@RinoaL let us know how it turns out 😁🙌
Great video! You know what's weird? Ice is a mineral in nature...but in our freezers it's synthetic too! Lol. THAT is the BIGGEST Corundum boule I've ever seen! Thanks for sharing.
@@nickitoff9629 hahaha I do sometimes talk about ice as a mineral if it's naturally occurring, but not a mineral if it's formed in the freezer! Glad you liked the video.
Thanks for the fun overview of synthetics. I'm a collector, cutter and jeweler and I'll say that your suite of these specimens is comprehensive and awesome! I've subscribed now and have a happy and healthy New Year!
Awesome! Glad you liked it 😊
Beautiful crystals, especially the ruby boule!
I'm a jeweler and have been looking for small (~4mm diameter) cylindrical rubys for a project but the closest I can get is laser crystals that need significant machining or sintered ruby sharpening rods.
Interesting. Yes mine is a little too big for you 😂
@@RockOnRickMaritta maybe he can take yours if you used a lot of lube?
I really want a monocrystalline Corundum desk.
The thermal conductivity and hardness properties would be very useful for a lot of projects.
Would be cool to have optical gear directly integrated into the desk as well.
@@usopenplayer 🤣🤣🤣 could you imagine the size of the boule you'd need?
@@RockOnRickMaritta I suppose it would depend on the orientation we cut the desk out.
Let's say a 48" wide by 20" deep by 1" thick desk.
If we slice the desk out vertically the boule would "only" need to be slightly bigger than the desk right? Around 25" in diameter? It would need to be at least 48" long.
We need to find the volume of a cylinder with base diameter 25 in and height 48 in. Start with an equation that relates the base diameter d, height h, and volume V:
V = (25^2×48 π)/4
7500 π in^3 (cubic inches)≈23561.9 in^3 (cubic inches)
Switching units now sorry,
So about 386,111cm³ in volume.
(386,111 cm³ ) * 4 g/cm^³ = 1544 kg
Switching units again.
The boule would need to weigh at least 3,405 lbs.
So the boule would be about the size of a large water heater but weigh as much as a car. 🤣
@@usopenplayer you could build a tabletop out of corundum intarsia style.
making it out of many small pieces should be much easier and cheaper than making a giant boule.
edit: you could probably even afford to do so.
and since you care about thermal conductivity, you could make the inlay table out of silver or copper.
would be a very cool table.
@@koloblicin This suggestion blew my mind. There are so many possibilities now.
Thank you!
@@usopenplayer 😂😂😂
If the crystalline structure is the same it is a crystal. 1:37
Great video, got any more info on the green balls that form in the bottom of the crucibles, seems weird that glass would sink passed the metel in a crucible and not float on top. There nice color likely not stable enough to facet
@@theplumbingprospector9024 I've had them faceted, and you're right... It takes a lot of material to find one that holds enough to cut. I also agree, it seems backwards that the metal would float, but it does.
You described the Vermeil ( ver - MAY ) process, but the boule you were holding was clearly grown by "pulling" from a melt puddle, which uses a seed crystal. Vermeil's process grows by addition at the top with something that lowers it, while the more modern process grows by addition at the bottom while the boule is raised upwards. Also, pure sapphire/aluminum oxide/carborundum is clear. The red color means that impurities ( usually chromium related ) were added. Synthetic sapphire is even used for stove cooktop now, so it can be grown/formed in large sheets.
@@gregorymccue5003 yes you are correct, we've had other comments on this also. I had them backwards in my head! Good catch!
I gave you the thumbs up after the dad joke. Very interesting video, thanks for sharing!
@@davidtverberg2606 glad you liked it!!!
Very cool! Loved this one ❤️
Glad you liked it!!! 😃🙏
Great video!Nice specimens' of lab-crystal!🥂
Glad you liked it! Rick's been collecting his whole life to come across ones like these 😁
I am looking for something exactly like that large ruby boule you have, even something a bit smaller would work. Could you tell me where you got it please?
Unfortunately it came in an old collection I bought, so I don't know where you could get one now. Maybe check with the Linde company? Linde.com
@@RockOnRickMaritta Thanks for the reply I will check them out!
Thanks for the class!
You bet. Glad you liked it!
Where can I find a ruby boule like the one in the beginning of this video? I often wonder if someone could make a huge (synthetic) cut gem from a boule of that size.
They used to cut gemstones from this synthetic material, even bigger than mine. I have no idea where you could find one these days though, mine came in an old collection I bought years ago.
I get the quiet part at the end 😅
$1500 on a limo, I would harbor a guess that is the aprox spent on the last box of lab grown beauties.
Fun fact. Now you can get lab grown diamonds w choice of color made from the ashes of a loved one or pet.😊 Great video. Very informative
@@necrophage5248 haha welllll I don't know that I want a gemstone from my loved one, but to each his own! Glad you liked the video 😁🙌
Thank you, this was really interesting!
Thanks Laura!!!
As an enthusiast of synthetic materials... I must ask, where did you acquire that czochralski ruby boule? Ive been wanting more czochralski samples for months but I cant find anywhere to source them other then actual optics companies who charge a small fortune
@@mistersircode it was gifted to me many years ago with a mineral collection I acquired. Very lucky for me. I saw a similar one in Tucson long ago, priced $20k even then.
@@RockOnRickMaritta Extremely lucky lol. Large ruby boules are expensive to begin with, but czochralski ones? wild
This is super fascinating!
@@ddiva1973 glad you liked it!
Question:
Do flux-grown gems look better in jewelry than flame-grown gems?
Can you tell the difference by looking at them? (The way people do with, say, CZ and real diamonds?)
@@hg2. I expect a layperson wouldn't notice a difference, but a trained gemologist would know what to look for. There is a helpful chart of comparisons on this website:
lifegemdiamonds.com/lifegem_comparison.php
@RockOnRickMaritta
Thanks!
The chemistry/chemical engineering is "a little over my head".
For whatever reason, I've been banging my head over this question for a while (re: do "Chatham-Crysta" or flux-grown blue sapphires make better visible jewelry than the "cheap" dime-a-dozen flame-grown sapphires?). And the answer seems to "no". Nobody seems to care that much about where blue sapphires come from. "Good!". Some of us go nuts over blue sapphire jewelry, so "the more the merrier".
Confession: I think I'd have just as much fun working with cobalt blue Noxzema-jar glass. 🤣😆😁
Cheers.
@@hg2. 😂😂😂 I think you're right that most consumers like bright color and don't care about source. A few will.
Well done.
Thanks.
Beautiful stones!
Ok, the dad joke is worth the like.
He can't help himself 😂 (~Maritta)
But the rubby rod looks like a result if Czochralski method. Verneuil yields smaller boules, mostly full of porousity and impurities. They are mostly for decorative purposes not optical applications.
@@farzaadkhaan yes you are correct, we've had other comments on this also. I had them backwards in my head! Good catch!
@RockOnRickMaritta oh! sorry for the repetitive comment.
When I was young I was a faculty member of a semiconductor research institute with a Russian background. There we had many crystal growth machines like Czochralski, horizontal and vertical bridgeman, Hydrothermal, zone melting and a couple of home made machines including a Verneuil!
@@farzaadkhaan wow!!! That would have been amazing to work around... Slightly envious 😁
@@RockOnRickMaritta as a matter of fact that workplace was so toxic that totally changed my life ! Now I am working as an electron microscopy specialist with biologists 😂 But instruments were really cool.
How much is a ruby boule of that size?
@@ConcreteBombDeep honestly I'm not sure. I've been offered $6k for it from a jeweler who wanted to cut it & facet, a collector offered me $9k... I don't think they make them this size anymore, so it's hard to value.
@@RockOnRickMarittaSeems reasonable considering it's size. I could see it being faceted like the giant Dom Pedro aquamarine or a solid ruby sword would be pretty cool too. But it is impressive how it sits now.
@ConcreteBombDeep I do like it best as a collector's piece, but agreed... Could be a very impressive gemstone or carving.
You got a BIG LIKE for the dad joke…and almost a sub. 😊. If you have a dad joke with every video I’ll sub.
@@notdonaldst hahaha it's hit or miss! Some vids have them, some don't 😁
That Ruby Rod is super green 😅
@@PoRRasturvaT right??!!!
i feel like he should host a geology/minerology yt channel
That's a GREAT idea!
I don’t even wanna know the history behind that red one
@@nealmaxwell790 😆😆😆
THANKS SIR GOD'S BLESS YOU
Thanks for sharing this we already ripped off by Indian fluxes made stones 💔
Bummer! It's hard to know who to trust online.
@@RockOnRickMaritta absolutely rite we bought from eBay most of them and 90% are man made synthetic
Want to know those syntetics sapphire,ruby or emerald corundum,or berillium, cut ones how much are those. Inexpensive of course uncut a pence per carat.
We don't really deal in gemstone material like that, Rick is usually looking for collectibles or specimen grade.
Those are cool.
Thank You
I need to make this owen
The Joys of Fatherhood !
"I spend $1500 for a limo-" HA! Good one!
@@AlejandroMeri 😆😆😆
fascinating
nothing to chauffeur it...hahahahah that's good.
Synthetic or not, those are beautiful crystals.
@@Allan_aka_RocKITEman agreed!!!
@@RockOnRickMaritta>>> FWIW, I have always been fascinated by clear quartz. To me it is _"transparent rock."_
@@Allan_aka_RocKITEman we've got a couple of videos about quartz, most are short like this one: ua-cam.com/video/clgwqtk5Kbw/v-deo.htmlsi=RCp_O8gOBDB0Zh3j
@@RockOnRickMaritta>>> Cool!
nice
@@Sir-Dexter glad you liked it!
I support synthetics. Keep organics uncut
@@beginnereasy agreed. Keeping the natural for mineral specimens is my favorite.
No diamonds, however.
@@Vatsek correct. Synthetic diamonds are a whole topic we didn't even touch on.
I used to grow SiO2 on Si wafers in steam. it took 4 weeks to grow 20um thick. sure we could cut the time in half with higher heat but, any hotter than what we used, the SiO2 would flow and fuse to the quartz wafer carriers. So we ended up with a 4 week long process. This required specially designed steam generators that I came up with.
That's very cool!!!
The piezoelectric effect will power very high power equipment in the near future.
ohio mentioned!!!
Best lab grown quartz in the world comes from Ohio! Be proud 😆🙌
I had to show for it
I had to chaufeur it
Okay
@@AurelienCarnoy 😆😆😆
Actually they aren't "synthetic", they are actually chemically and physically the same as naturally occurring gems, they are created in a facility by human hands, and are indistinguishable from natural gems
@@vobchopper exactly. We use the word "synthetic" to distinguish between naturally made vs man made. That's all.