Zincite (synthetic)

Item Description

Some of you might be familiar with these Polish Zincites, which have been on the market for a few decades. It's important to point out that that they are not natural, even though stories have circulated for years that they formed as a by-product from vapor deposition from a large smelter/smokestack attached to an industrial kiln that was used to manufacture zinc-based paint in Pland. Now, we can't say if this story is true or not, but we know that a good portion of this material is lab grown Zincite, and appeared after the smelter/smokestack material, but because it was cost prohibitive, it hasn't been produced in recent years. The allure of this material lies in the vivid hues (particularly red, orange, yellow and green), along with the high refractive index (around 2.01-2.02), which makes it one of the most refractive gems out there. This "Round Brilliant" cut stone has a strong glowing red-orange color, with essentially eye-clean clarity, and it sparkles all over, especially in sunlight. A beautiful example of these well-known, albeit synthetic gems. Please note that not all Zincite on the market is synthetic, there are natural stones from Franklin, New Jersey that are some of the finest examples of the species ever found.