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Gems You can FireMania

The gems listed below are man made, but they really are what they say they are. The ruby is a man made corundum. They can be fired with all 3 types of PMC or Art Clay.

The easy way to use these VERY SMALL stones is to use a stir straw from your last visit to the martini bar. Make a hole all the way through the piece, push the stone down in the hole so that the silver will grab the stone at the widest point.

More about Gem Stones
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Part# Description Size    Price 
SILG-AM4 AQUA MARINE ROUND 4mm Pkg-1     QTY  $   2.25
    Pkg-10     QTY  $ 15.75
SILG-AX4 ALEXANDRITE ROUND 4mm Pkg-1     QTY  $   2.25
    Pkg-10     QTY  $ 15.80
SILG-BZ4 BLUE ZIRCON ROUND 4mm Pkg-1     QTY  $   2.25
    Pkg-10     QTY  $ 15.80
SILG-CZPNK4 CZ PINK ROUND 4mm Pkg-1     QTY  $   2.25
    Pkg-10     QTY  $ 15.75
SILG-CZPRPL4 CZ PURPLE ROUND 4mm Pkg-1     QTY  $   2.25
    Pkg-10     QTY  $ 15.75
SILG-CZW2.5 CZ WHITE ROUND 2.5mm Pkg-5     QTY  $   2.00
    Pkg-100     QTY  $ 20.00
 
SILG-CZW4 CZ WHITE ROUND 4mm Pkg-2      QTY  $   1.25
    Pkg-100      QTY  $ 32.50
 
SILG-GT4 GARNET ROUND 4mm Pkg-1      QTY  $   2.25
    Pkg-10      QTY  $ 15.80
SILG-R4 RUBY ROUND 4mm Pkg-1      QTY  $   2.25
    Pkg-10      QTY  $ 15.80
SILG-SB4 SAPPHIRE BLUE ROUND 4mm Pkg-1      QTY  $   2.25
    Pkg-10      QTY  $ 15.80
 

An article from www.artclayworld.com

 
 
 
Laboratory Grown Gems

The gems that you can count on to fire and which will not change color, crack or melt are man made, laboratory created stones. They are the same chemical composition as the natural stones. They are perfect, without inclusions, and made under tremendous heat. This speeds up the process that, in nature, takes thousands of years. Because they do not have inclusions, the heat of the firing will not fracture the stones. At the same time, you must be careful not to cause thermal shock by reducing the temperature of the piece too rapidly after firing. This can result in damaged stones.

Synthetic

Synthetic is a term that can mean any type of man made gemstone. This could be a duplicate of the chemical and physical properties of the natural stone or an imitation of the natural stone through the use of other materials, such as glass or even plastic. Therefore, you need to ask for laboratory grown stones.
Be careful of doublets. They may be laboratory grown but have two layers. The bottom layer usually is colored while the top layer is clear. The top clear layer may melt. This, however, can be an interesting technique if you know it is going to happen. Examples of doublets are emerald and peridot.

Cubic Zirconium

CZs are beautiful in the clear form and look like diamonds. Most of the colored CZs fire well. We have encountered a few CZ’s that have changed colors. For example, a red CZ may turn brown. You will need to experiment. If you need a particular color to be reliable, it is better to use laboratory grown gems.

Natural Stones

You can fire some natural stones but usually they are at least a 7 on the Mohs scale. This would include stones such as granite, quartz and the corundum family. Bone, fossils, turquoise, etc. are low on the Mohs scale and will fracture and even powder in the kiln at 1470 degrees F.

If you really want to try a stone to see if it will work, test your stone at 1470 degrees for 30 minutes in the kiln before adding silver or gold. If the stone is too soft or too precious to test, then plan on a setting where you can place the stone after the firing. You can set fine silver bezel wire into the Art Clay and fire it in place. Art Clay also has pure silver settings for certain sizes of faceted stones (check the Art Clay catalog for available sizes and shapes). After firing, place the natural stone using traditional jeweler’s techniques.

Most of the colored gemstones, especially those below 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, cannot withstand the temperature needed to fire Art Clay Silver or Art Clay Gold. Typically these stones have natural inclusions (unless they are a perfect stone). The inclusions in most natural stones have a different rate of expansion than the surrounding material. When you heat these stones, the different rates of expansion can result in cracks or splitting of the stone. Perfect stones do not have this difficulty. (See Technical Bulletin #3)

Traditional gemstones, however, are not the only material that you can include with Art Clay. After completing our initial testing of gemstones for use with Art Clay, we turned our attention to other stones: river rocks, driveway stones and those great rocks you pick up while hiking on vacation. The artists at Aida's studios have been using this type of material successfully and having great fun.

Many of these are rocks such as granite. Surprisingly, when fired they not only withstand the heat, they also can turn colors. Many have red iron oxide, which makes a handsome stone when fired.

So start collecting interesting rocks and place them in your kiln. Fire at 1470 degrees for 30 minutes, using a slow ramp up to maximum temperature and a slow cool down period. See what treasures you might find. This would be a great project for kids, camps, schools, or as a sentimental keepsake from a special trip.

 
SELECTED GEMSTONE CHARACTERISTICS

 
SPECIES
HARDNESS
(MOHS)
SPECIFIC
GRAVITY

REFRACTIVE
INDEX
DISPERSION
DURABILITY
Alabaster
1 - 1.5
2.2 - 2.4
1.52
med - high
low
Alexandrite
8
3.68 - 3.78
1.75
low
high
Amber
2.5
1.03 - 1.1
1.54
none
low
Apatite
5
3.16 - 3.22
1.64 - 1.65
low
medium
Aquamarine
7.75
2.68 - 2.7
1.57 - 1.575
low
high
Azurite
3.5
3.8
1.48 - 1.65
none
low
Beryl
7.75
2.70
1.58
low
high
Cat's Eye
8
3.68 - 3.79
1.54 - 1.75
low
high
Chalcedony
7
2.65
1.55
low
high
Chrysoberyl
8.5
3.71
1.75
low
high
Corundum
9
 
  
low
high
Diamond
10
3.52
2.42
high
high
Emerald
7.75
2.66 - 2.78
1.56
low
high
Epidote
6
3.25 - 3.49
1.73 - 1.76
med - high
high
Feldspar
6 - 6.5
 
  
low
medium
Garnet
7.5
3.7 - 4.16
1.74 - 1.89
med - high
high
Gypsum
1 - 1.5
2.3
1.53
med - high
low
Hematite
5.5 - 6.5
4.95 - 5.3
2.94 - 3.22
none
high
Jade
6.5 - 7
3.30 - 3.38
1.68
none
high
Jadite
7
3.33
1.66
none
high
Jet
3.5
1.1 - 1.4
1.64 - 1.68
none
low
Kunzite
7
3.13 - 3.31
1.66 - 1.68
medium
low
Labradorite
6
2.7 - 2.72
1.52
medium
medium
Lapis Lazuli
5
2.76 - 2.94
1.5
none
medium
Malachite
3 - 4
3.7 - 4
1.87 - 1.98
none
low
Marble
3
2.71
1.48 - 1.65
none
low
Moonstone
6
2.5 - 2.55
1.52 - 1.54
low
high
Nephrite
6.5
2.96
1.62
none
high
Obsidian
6
2.33 - 2.6
1.48 - 1.51
high
medium
Olivine
6
3.3 - 3.5
1.65
medium
high
Opal
6
1.97 - 2.2
1.45
none
low
Peridot
6.5
3.34
1.68
low
medium
Quartz
7
2.65
1.55
low
high
Rodonite
5
3.53
1.73 - 1.74
none
medium
Ruby
9
4.00
1.77
low
high
Sapphire
9
4.00
1.77
low
high
Serpentine
3.5
2.5 - 2.7
1.57
low
low
Sodalite
5
2.13 - 2.29
1.483
low
medium
Spectrolite
6
2.7 - 2.72
1.52
low
medium
Sphene
5
3.45 - 3.56
1.95 - 2.05
high
medium
Spinel
8
3.60
1.72
low
high
Spodumene
7
3.18
1.66
low
low
Steatite
1 - 1.5
2.7 - 2.8
  
none
low
Topaz
8
3.54
1.63
low
medium
Tourmaline
7
3.06
1.63
low
high
Turquoise
5
2.6 - 2.8
1.61 - 1.65
none
medium
Zircon
7
4.02
1.81
high
high