Imitation gems were first substituted for diamonds in necklaces, bracelets, and other types of jewelry in the mid-18th century, when an Alsatian jeweler named Georg Friedrich Strass mimicked diamonds by coating glass with metal powder. Made of rock crystal, acrylic, and leaded glass, these fakes were originally called paste or diamante, as well as strass after their inventor. While Strass may have devised the formula, it was Empress Maria...Continue Reading