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Gemstone Encyclopedia
Why Some Iolite Sold as Natural Is Actually Rec...
Reconstructed iolite is a manufactured composite, not a natural crystal. Learn the gemological clues that distinguish it from natural iolite, including seams, bubbles, pleochroism, and optical continuity.
Why Some Iolite Sold as Natural Is Actually Rec...
Reconstructed iolite is a manufactured composite, not a natural crystal. Learn the gemological clues that distinguish it from natural iolite, including seams, bubbles, pleochroism, and optical continuity.
Chrome Diopside: How a Chromium Trace Element T...
Learn how chromium turns common diopside into the green gem variety chrome diopside. Explore its trace-element chemistry, physical properties, formation, and how to distinguish it from emerald and other green...
Chrome Diopside: How a Chromium Trace Element T...
Learn how chromium turns common diopside into the green gem variety chrome diopside. Explore its trace-element chemistry, physical properties, formation, and how to distinguish it from emerald and other green...
Tourmalinated Quartz: Why the Needles Are Not a...
Tourmalinated quartz contains black tourmaline needles enclosed by later quartz. Learn why the needles form, which host rocks produce them, and how they differ from lookalikes.
Tourmalinated Quartz: Why the Needles Are Not a...
Tourmalinated quartz contains black tourmaline needles enclosed by later quartz. Learn why the needles form, which host rocks produce them, and how they differ from lookalikes.
Why Some Indicolite Tourmaline Is Cut as Caboch...
A gemological explanation of why some indicolite tourmaline is cut as cabochons, including chatoyancy, cat's-eye tourmaline, fractures, color zoning, and the limits of faceting.
Why Some Indicolite Tourmaline Is Cut as Caboch...
A gemological explanation of why some indicolite tourmaline is cut as cabochons, including chatoyancy, cat's-eye tourmaline, fractures, color zoning, and the limits of faceting.
What Specific Gravity Can and Cannot Tell You A...
Learn how specific gravity helps identify pink sapphire, which lookalikes it can separate, and why it cannot distinguish natural from synthetic corundum or determine origin.
What Specific Gravity Can and Cannot Tell You A...
Learn how specific gravity helps identify pink sapphire, which lookalikes it can separate, and why it cannot distinguish natural from synthetic corundum or determine origin.
Colombian Emeralds and Green Beryl: Distinguish...
Colombian emerald and green beryl share the same mineral species but differ in color quality, trace elements, and formation. Discover how gemologists tell them apart using color, fluorescence, inclusions, and...
Colombian Emeralds and Green Beryl: Distinguish...
Colombian emerald and green beryl share the same mineral species but differ in color quality, trace elements, and formation. Discover how gemologists tell them apart using color, fluorescence, inclusions, and...