By Olga Burmistrova
Terms and prospects for partnership regarding the manufacture of artificial precious stones were recently discussed at the Hanover Industrial Fair, hosted by Germany. Experts from Swarovski have highly praised the work of Belarusian scientists in growing artificial emeralds.
As a result of negotiations with the Vice President of the company, an agreement has been signed on sci-tech co-operation in this area. “An agreement has been reached to supply a trial batch of artificial emerald samples,” explains Vladimir Merkulov, who heads the laboratory for superconductive materials. “If our partners are satisfied, we can hope to expand collaboration in future.”
Scientists from the Scientific and Practical Centre have been successfully producing synthetic precious stones for several years: rubies and emeralds. For the first time recently, they have grown a red emerald. The quality of Belarusian emeralds has been highly praised by domestic consumers, as well as by customers abroad — including those in Latvia and Israel. Artificially grown stones rival natural gems in their optical characteristics and transparency while boasting fewer defects. A natural emerald is unique and rare, with deposits being limited, so they will exhaust quicker than oil. Accordingly, a growing number of companies manufacturing jewellery are giving preference to synthetic analogues.
The Scientific and Practical Centre can manufacture around 10,000 karats of precious stones annually but is keen to expand production and attract foreign investment.
