Has anyone tried firing gems like cubic zirconium or synthetic ruby under enamel?

Thanks, Trish.

I'm going to do some experimentation on my own as well and will report back.

I've haven't tried it myself but have seen Cubic Z done with very good success.

Tig Lichty said:

I've haven't tried it myself but have seen Cubic Z done with very good success.

Can you point me to some examples online?

Hi Henry, If you are a member of Merry-Lee Rae's Facebook page there are images there of people doing it with success.  It's a private group, though, so if you are not a member you will not see the images. I went way back and found one for you to see.  The image is of 2x Cubic Z's that were fired into the enamel.

Thanks, Tig.

I don't have facebook but I looked up  Merry-Lee Rae.  What beautiful work she does!  In this image  the stones actually under the enamel or are their tables above the surface?  Hard to tell from the image.

I did an experiment yesterday and did fire a CZ under some transparent blue enamel.  The first firing worked great.  You could see the gemstone under the enamel.  It turned the stone blue.  I added more enamel for a second firing.  It didn't take much to obscure the stone.  My takeaway - the enamel on top of the stone must be pretty thin!

CZ is ok. Quartz-based stones will hold but can discolour (for instance, amethyst or citrine will turn clear). Ruby/sapphire will cause stress. The key point is whether the thermal expansion coefficient of your stone is similar to enamel.