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Gemstone Science
What X-ray Diffraction Reveals About Zircon: Re...
X-ray diffraction measures zircon's lattice and radiation damage, but cannot alone establish treatment or origin. A focused look at structural evidence, metamict zircon, and the limits of one analytical method.
What X-ray Diffraction Reveals About Zircon: Re...
X-ray diffraction measures zircon's lattice and radiation damage, but cannot alone establish treatment or origin. A focused look at structural evidence, metamict zircon, and the limits of one analytical method.
Jasper and the Limits of Elemental Fingerprinti...
Jasper's bulk chemistry cannot reliably identify it or its origin. Learn why cryptocrystalline quartz rocks resist elemental fingerprinting and what evidence actually supports a conclusion.
Jasper and the Limits of Elemental Fingerprinti...
Jasper's bulk chemistry cannot reliably identify it or its origin. Learn why cryptocrystalline quartz rocks resist elemental fingerprinting and what evidence actually supports a conclusion.
When the Growth Record Disappears: Why Syntheti...
Why synthetic tsavorite can match natural grossular in color and structure, and why origin testing depends on growth features rather than bulk properties alone.
When the Growth Record Disappears: Why Syntheti...
Why synthetic tsavorite can match natural grossular in color and structure, and why origin testing depends on growth features rather than bulk properties alone.
When a Gem Is Not a Crystal: Solid-Solution Gra...
How solid-solution chemistry and interfacial diffusion affect assembled gemstones, why bulk measurements average across boundaries, and what analytical methods can and cannot establish.
When a Gem Is Not a Crystal: Solid-Solution Gra...
How solid-solution chemistry and interfacial diffusion affect assembled gemstones, why bulk measurements average across boundaries, and what analytical methods can and cannot establish.
When Hardness Misleads: Synthetic Sapphire, Fra...
Why synthetic sapphire is hard but not tough: crystallographic fracture paths, defect effects, and emerging analytical methods for studying crack behavior in corundum.
When Hardness Misleads: Synthetic Sapphire, Fra...
Why synthetic sapphire is hard but not tough: crystallographic fracture paths, defect effects, and emerging analytical methods for studying crack behavior in corundum.
When Danburite Shows a Star: Oriented Inclusion...
How danburite can display asterism through oriented inclusions in its orthorhombic lattice, why cutting and illumination geometry matter, and what microscopy and spectroscopy can and cannot prove.
When Danburite Shows a Star: Oriented Inclusion...
How danburite can display asterism through oriented inclusions in its orthorhombic lattice, why cutting and illumination geometry matter, and what microscopy and spectroscopy can and cannot prove.