AVASPEC 2048: an innovative spectroscopic methodology to differentiate the natural emeralds from the synthetic ones

Abstract

New and sophisticated synthetic gems are constantly introduced in the market making the identification of them very difficult, if one uses only the microscope. In this paper we present the results obtained from a new methodology, the AvaSpec-2048 spectrometer, that can help to identify the natural emeralds from the synthetic ones. The AvaSpec-2048 spectrometer is an original instrument that can acquire electromagnetic spectra in a range between 400 nm and 1000 nm (VIS-NIR), and can be used to identify gemological materials allowing an accurate discrimination of natural products from the artificial ones. The physical and optical properties, microscopic features and absorption spectra of natural and synthetic emeralds have been also investigated through others traditional methodologies such as optical analysis, specific gravities, refractive indices and Vis-NIR spectroscopy. The comparison of the absorption spectra obtained with the AvaSpec-248 spectrometer allows identifying and distinguishing the origin of the analyzed gems.