• A brief microscopic study of a Nigerian yellow tourmaline.

    Customer Blogs 15.05.2009 No Comments

    The following is a brief and exploratory study of a 3.87 carat yellow tourmaline I purchased from www.ajsgems.com Gems some time ago. The methodologies involved are non destructive and include microscopic testing as well as some imagery coupled with long wave UV testing. I thought I would share at least some of the more interesting pictures I obtained, and a few artifacts that threw me for a loop-but in a good way.

    Yellow tourmaline is more or less a collectors stone, and anything particularly of gem quality of a carat or better is considered a collector size stone. The rough is often incredibly included, so there is little yield as a result. This study is meant to be a brief version of a more complete study of like kind that may or may not be published later on. These are simply the highlights and some things that are of interest.
    I made the mistake of wiping the stone with a lotion containing tissue after rinsing it, hence why I could never get a good face up shot. It’s all dirty as a result, but it is remarkably clean for a yellow tourmaline-especially of this size. The polariscope without the polars crossed shows a slight pleochroism, but under various lighting conditions I have noticed a more obvious pleochroism within the stone. I can also tell you that it is uniaxial negative with a chronoscope, which is consistent with yellow tourmaline by pretty much any account I could find.
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  • “Further explorations of Joe” A brief microscopic study of a Nigerian pink tourmaline.

    Customer Blogs 28.04.2009 2 Comments

    The following is a brief study using microscopic imagery regarding a pink tourmaline specimen from AJS Gems that was acquired some time ago. This was originally documented as a study of 3 tourmalines; most of which were acquired from AJS Gems. There will be a 4th study conducted in a like manner at a later time to include another specimen. A more detailed study or addendum to this might be published at a later date perhaps.

    This following images depict a 4.16 carat pink tourmaline, and it was disclosed as being from Nigeria and unheated. The very strong and intense pink colors have been said to originate from Nigeria, and don’t need heating as a result. There is an absence of orange undertones, but in certain lighting conditions, you can see more or less of it. It doesn’t have the orange color shift property that a Brazilian specimen from acquired from AJS Gems as well. I found all sorts of interesting artifacts in this particular tourmaline.

    These images are uncompressed and unedited with the exception of green elliptical shapes to draw your attention to certain things that I thought were of interest. Other than the interpolation for resizing with the microscope software, no revisions have been made. Note that the blue background is actually a white napkin, so the colors for some reason are off a bit. I don’t have any software to color correct things anymore since my OS upgrade-otherwise I’d illustrate both the original and color corrected versions. Unless otherwise specified, the only light source being used is the LED light source from the microscope used. No ambient light was present at the time these images were obtained; a darkroom type condition was used for the study of this particular specimen.

    Under a polariscope, and 20x magnification, there is evidence of a pink to orange pleochroism without the filters crossed over the diffused light source. With the polarizing filters crossed, there is evidence of double refraction consistent with tourmalines. I could not obtain an accurate optic sign and character with my chonoscope. Then again, I suspect this is due to the scope itself as my particular one is a pain to work with. I did see some hint of yellow towards the outside perimeter of where the optic character would be, thus suggesting it’s negative. Tourmalines for the most part are uni-axial negative with some exceptions.
    Additionally, when I placed the stone directly over the bottom plate, I did see a lot lighter color and one portion of some growth rings. They seemed to be more or less linear with minimal delineation before an arc. They didn’t appear to be completely curvilinear like you would find in a synthetic stone. This region was between the bottom quarter and third of the stone in which these were observed with diffused polarized light. There was evidence of pink color zoning much like you might see in a Ceylon sapphire of some color, and the zoning appeared to be consistent with some other smaller specimens I examined under a loupe under incandescent lighting. This zoning was isolated, and the stone in it’s entirety appeared to be anisotropic through and through with crossed and uncrossed polars. I wasn’t able to obtain imagery of this zoning due to limitations of ergonomic design of the equipment being used, but I have found it in another tourmaline specimen. That imagery will be published at a later date.

    Note the solid crystal inclusions highlited in green.
    This was originally observed with some solid inclusions near the top left region of this image adjacent to each other at 30x that illustrate some misshapen inclusions. However, further examination of this image shows what looks like a terminal end on 2 crystals side by side. These appear to be in tact. Note the reflection off the faces of the one terminal end. These 2 are circled in green. This misshapen part could suggest thermal enhancement or some other thermal event that occurred naturally. However, the terminal ends suggest an absence of thermal enhancements.
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  • Metaphysical Properties of Gemstones

    AJS Gemstone Information 31.10.2008 2 Comments

    Cultures around the world have valued gemstones not only as a symbol of power, but also for their metaphysical properties. For millennia, gemstones have been revered as sources of healing power, protection, strength, and wealth. They were even found adorning the body of the oldest fossilized human, which was dated to 5 million years ago! Gemstones have been used by the powerful and the mystical; they have been embedded in royal crowns and scepters of royal kings and queens around the world, and they have been used by healers and psychics as metaphysical tools to help access mystical powers.

    Different gemstones are said to have unique metaphysical powers. Here is an overview of what metaphysical properties some popular gemstones hold:

    Burma Ruby - Burma Ruby can help bring clarity and wisdom to your world. This stone is believed to assist you in finding your most productive outlets. The fiery power of Burmese Ruby will ignite passion and keep its wearer motivated. Burma Ruby is known to protect its possessor against harmful intentions. This gemstone is also thought to shield against psychic or physical attack. Sleeping with a ruby is thought to stimulate lucid dreaming, allowing your conscious mind to interact with the subconscious. Interestingly a dream of ruby can signal new wealth or other financial opportunity soon to come in your future.

    Amethyst - Amethyst is one of the most popular and widely sold gemstones. It promotes happiness and spirituality, balancing intelligence, emotions, and the physical side of the body. It is also a healing gemstone and is said to calm the nervous system, promote healing in the stomach and heart, and ease the pain of arthritis.

    Tourmaline - Tourmaline gemstones have the power to enhance ones understanding, increase self-confidence and amplify ones psychic energies, and aid in concentration and communication. Conversely, they are said to neutralize negative energies, and dispel fear and grief. Tourmaline is believed to be useful in relaxing the body and the mind, and to help in the treatment of many different diseases such as anxiety, blood poisoning, arthritis, and heart disease. Read more…

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