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Yttrium Aluminium Garnet


Properties
Chemical Composition: 
Yttrium Aluminium Oxide - Y3Al15O12
Classification / Type: 
Y.A.G. is a man made material with a garnet internal structure. The term synthetic is not used to refer to this material since it does not have a natural counterpart.
Colors / Varieties: 
Colorless, blue, green, yellow, lilac, pink.
Crystal System / Forms: 
Cubic System
Hardness: 
8.5
Specific Gravity: 
4.55 - 4.60; may vary with dopants used.
Cleavage / Fracture: 
None / Conchoidal fracture
Optic Character: 
Isotropic (S.R.)
Lustre: 
Adamantine to vitreous.
Refractive Index / Birefringence: 
1.833
Pleochroism: 
Nil
Dispersion: 
0.028
Magnification: 
Gas bubbles aligned in fingerprints, twisted droplets, and stringers.
U.V. Fluorescence: 
Varies with dopants used.
Spectrum: 
Varies with dopants used.
Cause of Color: 
  • Green: Chromium
  • Blue: Cobalt
  • Purple: Neodymium
  • Red / Pink: Manganese
Treatment (Enhancement): 
-
Specific Tests & Remarks: 
Strong see-through effect.
Synthesis: 
Czochralski method.
Simulants (with key separation tests): 
G.G.G. (S.G.), Synthetic Cubic Zirconia (S.G., dispersion), Zircon (spectrum, optic character, doubling), Sphene (optic character, doubling, dispersion), Strontium Titanate (dispersion, S.G.), Synthetic Rutile (optic character, dispersion), Diamond (dispersion, inclusions, S.G.), Demantoid (inclusions, spectrum, S.G.), Spessartite Garnet (spectrum, inclusions, S.G.), etc.
Geological Occurrence: 
In a laboratory. No natural counterpart.
Sources: 
-
Cuts & Uses: 
Facetted cuts, beads, etc.
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