A furnace and a method of growing a high temperature oxide crystal in the furnace. The furnace includes a crucible having a melt therein and a heating element for generating heat in the melt. A thermal element within the furnace produces a thermal gradient within the melt to draw a cold spot of a convection cell of the melt away from a seed location of the crucible. A seed crystal is drawn from the melt at the seed location to form a boule to grow the high temperature oxide crystal.