History
Since the time of the alchemists, there have been attempts to synthetically produce precious stones, and ruby, being one of the five highly prized cardinal gems, has long been a prime candidate for synthesis. In the 19th century, those attempts became successful, with the first ruby produced by melting two smaller rubies together in 1817, and the first microscopic crystals created from alumina (aluminium oxide) in a laboratory in 1837. By 1877, chemist Edmond Frémy had devised an effective method for commercial ruby manufacture by using molten baths of alumina, yielding the first gemstone-quality synthetic stones. The Parisian chemist Auguste Verneuil collaborated with Fremy on developing the method, but soon went on to independently develop the flame fusion process, which would eventually come to bear his name.
One of Verneuil's sources of inspiration for developing his own method was the appearance of synthetic rubies sold by an unknown Genevan merchant in 1880. These "Geneva rubies" were dismissed as artificial at the time, but are now believed to be the first rubies produced by flame fusion, predating Verneuil's work on the process by 20 years. After examining the "Geneva rubies", Verneuil came to the conclusion that it was possible to recrystallise finely ground aluminium oxide into a large gemstone. This realisation, along with the availability of the recently developed oxyhydrogen torch and growing demand for synthetic rubies, led him to design the Verneuil furnace, where finely ground purified alumina and chromium oxide were melted by a flame of at least 2000 °C (3,600 °F), and recrystallised on a support below the flame, creating a large crystal. He announced his work in 1902, publishing details outlining the process in 1904.
By 1910, Verneuil's laboratory had expanded into a 30 furnace production facility, with annual gemstone production by the Verneuil process having reached 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) in 1907. By 1912, production reached 3,200 kg (7,100 lb), and would go on to reach 200,000 kg (440,000 lb) in 1980 and 250,000 kg (550,000 lb) in 2000, led by Hrand Djevahirdjian's factory in Monthey, Switzerland, founded in 1914. The most notable improvements in the process were made in 1932, by S. K. Popov, who helped establish the capability for producing high-quality sapphires in the Soviet Union through the next 20 years. A large production capability was also established in the United States during World War II, when European sources were not available, and jewels were in high demand for their military applications.
The process was designed primarily for the synthesis of rubies, which became the first gemstones to be synthetically produced, thanks to the efforts of Fremy and Verneuil. However, the Verneuil process could also be used for the production of other stones, including blue sapphire, which simply required ferric oxide to be substituted for chromium oxide, as well as more elaborate ones, such as star sapphires, where titania (titanium dioxide) was added and the boule was kept in the heat longer, allowing needles of rutile to crystallise within it. In 1947, the Linde Air Products division of Union Carbide, pioneered the use of the Verneuil process for creating such star sapphires, until production was discontinued in 1974 due to overseas competition.
Despite some improvements in the method, the Verneuil process remains virtually unchanged to this day, while maintaining a leading position in the manufacture of synthetic corundum and spinel gemstones. Its most significant setback came in 1917, when Jan Czochralski introduced the Czochralski process, which has found numerous applications in the semiconductor industry, where a much higher quality of crystals is required than the Verneuil process can produce. Other alternatives to the process emerged in 1957, when Bell Labs introduced the hydrothermal process, and in 1958, when Carroll Chatham introduced the flux method. In 1989 Larry P Kelley of ICT, Inc. also developed a variant of the Czochralski process where natural ruby is used as the 'feed' material.
Read more about this topic: Verneuil Process
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