World-first rubies grown in situ from waste materials
A UWE Bristol researcher looks set to transform the jewellery industry after successfully growing the world’s first ruby in situ, in a platinum ring.
Sofie Boons, a Senior Lecturer in Design Crafts at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), grew the gemstone from a ‘ruby seed’ – which can be produced from discarded gemstones or waste gemstone materials readily available in industry.
The jeweller-turned-scientist has spent the last four years developing the process to grow this waste material in situ in metal structures; she hopes to use her groundbreaking research to change negative attitudes towards lab-grown gemstones and make way for a new era of using urban mined gemstones.
Unlike gems grown from scratch in a lab, which can be energy-intensive, or gems mined unsustainably from the ground, these gems require a flux solution* to grow in a furnace from pieces of waste gem material or grit** – a process that takes just days.
The lab-grown gems are identical to mined ones, with the same structure and quality – the only difference is where they have been grown.
