Gem guys! What have I got?
- Thread starter BufordCityDawg
- Start date
Place on something black that isn't shiny and then shine the black light on it. Here's a link that will help you determine whether or not you should get a jeweler to look at it.
https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Black-light-and-gemstones
https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Black-light-and-gemstones
BufordCityDawg
Elite Member
Looks really red IRL. Looks pinker in the pictures that I am taking.
BCD
BCD
ArthurEvans
Senior Member
The chips on the surface look conchoidal... glassy. Ruby is 9 on the Mohs scale...
BufordCityDawg
Elite Member
ArthurEvans
Senior Member
Well, a lot of gems fluoresce, including rubies. But lots of other substances fluoresce as well, including certain kinds of glass. So, if it didn't fluoresce, that might prove it weren't a ruby, but the fact that it does unfortunately isn't proof that it is.
I'm sure a jeweler could identify it...
BufordCityDawg
Elite Member
Thanks. It was in a box of junk stones. I figured odds were low but because it fluoresced I was hoping.
BCD
Rubys fluoresce, whether they are natural or created in a lab. Natural and synthetic ruby gemstones have the same chemical composition and physical properties. However, there are slight differences in fluorescence patterns between natural and synthetic stones and even between natural rubies from different sources. For example, flame fusion is the most common way to synthesize corundum gems, which includes rubies and sapphires. Flame fusion rubies fluoresce stronger than natural gems.
You need to look under microscope and look at finger print inclusions which you can almost see in your pictures that will point out if it's natural or lab grown
Any Gemologist can quickly tell
I have a GIA Gemologist degree but would hate to tell you you without looking under microscope
You need to look under microscope and look at finger print inclusions which you can almost see in your pictures that will point out if it's natural or lab grown
Any Gemologist can quickly tell
I have a GIA Gemologist degree but would hate to tell you you without looking under microscope
BufordCityDawg
Elite Member
There's my guy! Okay. First, thank you very much for you input. Second, can you confirm/deny that it is a ruby, lab or natural I'll leave to the jewler. I happen to have a pair of ruby earrings that I gave my wife years ago. I'm 99% sure they are lab rubies as they were not overly expensive. Follow this link for some high quality pictures loaded on photobucket.
http://s91.photobucket.com/user/BufordCityDawg/library/?sort=3&page=1
BCD
Last edited:
DanMcG
Forum Supporter
Hey BCD, You left the L out of the first to your link.
Very nice stone you got there. I hope it's the real thing.
Slimpickuns
Forum Supporter
BufordCityDawg
Elite Member
A gemologist can certainly tell you whether it is ruby or spinel, and also can tell you if it is natural or synthetic, based both on inclusion patterns/fluorescent patterns/ and trace element content. Unfortunately, man has been making synthetic rubies since the early 1890s, and early on a lot of these stones once faceted were sold as real rubies...it was not until the early 1920s that it was discovered that many "natural" rubies at that time were actually man-made. Some of the typical fakery in jewelry that has happened. Many folks have gramma's ruby ring or brooch, but they are most often synthetic unless they can be documented to be older than 1890. The quality setting is no giveaway on these "fakes" either, because they were marketed in good settings as the real thing.
All those 17 and 21 jewel pocket watches that came out in the teens to 20s and on use synthetic ruby as the friction bearings, due to their hardness.
All those 17 and 21 jewel pocket watches that came out in the teens to 20s and on use synthetic ruby as the friction bearings, due to their hardness.
