GANZ Committee Phone Hm Phone Wk

President Jill Towers FGA DGA BSc 09 575 5955 09 489 9919 Gemological Association of New Zea- 412d Lake Road, Takapuna, Auckland. Email: [email protected] land Inc Vice Pres Gavin Canty FGA 09 278 6677 Secretary Kathryn Barcham FGA 09 524 9194 09 520 0991 Treasurer Donald Francey FGA 09 377 0730 027 496 6610 PO Box 20, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140. Email [email protected]

Committee Ian Bond FGA 09 09 638 9039 Paul Bunker GG 09 379 5815 Liz Carroll FGA 09 630 4134 Coralie Van Camp FGA 09 520 0362 Neil Hanna Volume 11 — Issue 1 July 2010

Newsletter Editor Graeme Petersen FGA; 9 Innverness Drive, Pyes Pa, Tauranga 3112 Phone 07 543 9282 or 027 4496 960; E-mail [email protected]

Would you call this a Ruby, see inside for more details !!!

My first Spectra; a Flame Fusion Synthetic Ruby (editor Graeme Petersen)

Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 28 Newsletter of the Gemological Association of New Zealand Volume 11 with spectrometers of other manufactur- Editorial July 2010 Issue 1 ers. Measurements: 65 x 50 x 27 mm; weight Hi all 70 gr; spectral range 300 - 1000 nm The portable GL Gem Spectrometer sys- Once again treatments and enhancements have kept the gemmol- tem includes attachable GL Halogen 10W ogists of the world on their toes. Many sellers of gems that have Gem light holder, fiber probe (1 m labo- enhancements seem to be very reluctant to give honest and true ratory grade UV-VIS), USB cable, 12 V descriptions of the gems they have for sale, this is especially so on power adaptor, software the major auction sites PLEASE NOTE: The spectrometer re- New Zealand’s biggest auction site allows traders to describe them quires a USB port (no separate drivers in virtually any way the like and at this time do not want to take necessary, USB 2.0/HID 1.0 compliant). any action to make these traders give accurate and true descrip- The software package contains the tions GLGemSpec program (WinNT/2000/XP/ I am on a campaign to get traders selling their gems to give HON- Vista/Win 7 and LINUX/Mac OSX (tested with wine 0.9.20 and MacOS inside Virtual- EST and TRUE descriptions of their gems and I have some of the Box); also provided is a runtime package for LabView 7.1 (for developers the VIs for rip offs and dishonest descriptions in an article in this issue. Go and LabView version 7.1 and 2009 are provided). cruise the Trade Me site for gems, you will see Glass Filled Rubies The Quick Manual explains the setup and operation of the spectrometer system but being sold with the only enhancement listed as heating or synthetic provides only sample spectra for demonstration purposes. It is hoped that users of Quartz being sold as Natural, obvious Diffusion Treated Sapphires the GLGemSpec system will help to build up an expansive spectra database which being sold as heat treated. will be made available on-line. I do not have a problem with these items being sold on auction Future upgrades to the GLGemSpec program can be down-loaded free. sites or anywhere, I do have a problem with the descriptions being This spectrometer can be order direct form the CIG supplied, some traders have a disclaimer saying they don’t know or cannot afford to have their gems tested, this is totally UNACCEPT- The total cost including freight is approx NZ$2,400 depending on the exchange rate ABLE, jewellery shops, genuine gem merchants cannot do this, so NZ v Canadian $ how come auction sites allow this!!! Their excuse is that because of Here is the link specialist nature of the types of items being listed makes it very Order now on-line at GL Gem Spectrometer System difficult for their staff to confirm whether products are accurately http://www.cigem.ca/601.html described or not. Further as a vendor, they do not take an active

part in the listing process and do not take possession of the goods nor do they pre-screen listings. (try listing a fridge or a car with an Editors Note: My Spectrometer has arrived and I have it up and running it incorrect description and they soon pounce on you) certainly is a wonderful addition to my instruments , easy to set up and As always my I deeply indebted and my heartfelt thanks to Bear get going. I recommend this to all of you. I will also be doing a full review Williams, Wolf Kuhen and others who supply me items and or allow of it in a future issue of our newsle me to reproduce their work for our newsletter please feel free to contact me (det Graeme Petersen F.G.A. If you see or have an item of interest please let me know Cheers Graeme Petersen FGA (editor) tter, if anyone would like more details ails on back page of newsletter) Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 2 27

Specifications of the GL Gem India’s Diamond Mining History Spectrometer Inside & Diamond Mining Active & Inactive Weight: 430 grams Dimensions: 102 this issue: mm x 84 mm x 59 mm Reprinted from www.Khulsey.com India’s 3 Detector:Toshiba: TCD1304AP linear Diamond array History India's Diamonds of Golconda Detector range: 200 - 1100 nm Pixels: Auction 12 3648 Pixel size: 8 mm x200 mm Rip Off’s Diamonds were discovered in India during the 4th cen- Signal-to-noise ratio:300:1 A/D reso- tury B.C., and India was one of the first countries to lution:14 bit LED’s the 18 mine the gem. India's diamonds were prized for their size and beauty for hundreds of years. "Indian" dia- Fiber optic connector: SMA 905 to way of the future monds were mined in numerous locations that included 0.22 numerical aperture single-strand optical fiber Borneo (Landak), Golconda, Hindostan, and Raolconda. Wavelength and Optical resolu- The majority of India and Borneo's diamond deposits GL Gem 24 tion: 300-1000 nm < 1 nm (with were alluvial as opposed to Kimberlite. Spec- 50 um slit) trometer India's most prized diamonds are known as the Exposure time: 2.5 ms-10 s CCD "diamonds of Golconda," and the most famous Gol- reading time: 14 ms Data trans- conda stones include the Hope Diamond, Koh-I-Noor fer speed: 200 ms / 100 ms (2 Diamond, Orlov Diamond, and Sanc Diamond. The points binding) Special Darya-i-Nur (Sea of Light) was a rare blue-diamond Power consumption: 200mA @ weighed 186 carats, which was owned by the Nadir 5V from computer interface: USB points of Shah of Persia after it was plundered from the last 2.0, HID 2.0 (USB cable included) interest: 'Great Mughal Emperor,' Aurangzeb's heirs in the 'sack of Delhi' in 1739. Operational system: Windows 98/ • New Geology Me/XP/Vista/Windows 7 and oth- Spec- ers trometer 'Golconda' diamonds found on the Indian subcontinent, Specifications of the GL Halo- now avail- were created from the enormous forces generated by gen 10W light source and able at a the 'Tethys Oceanic Crust' colliding, and being sub- gem holder very rea- ducted under the 'Asian Continental plate' (aka plate sonable tectonics). Although these massive continental plates GL Halogen 10W light holder with collided at the incredibly slow rate of 10 centimetres built-in cosine corrector, cooling Price from per year, this was enough force over 100s of millions of fan, includes 12V power adaptor the Cana- years, to create the Himalayan Mountain range, and to (12 V battery optional, under- dian Insti- cause the necessary volcanic activity to create diamon- neath spectrometer) for portable tute of diferous intrusive and extrusive igneous rock known as use with Gemmol- 'kimberlite.' laptop computer. The holder has ogy Millions of years of erosion caused by rainfall and snow- a SMA 905 coupler and is easily melt, unearthed the diamonds from their kimberlite unmounted from the spectrome- source, and washed them downstream to their final ter; it can be connected and used

Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 26 3 it is 35%, around 1000 nm it is 45% (with aver- aged efficiency for both polarizations around 55%). That is better than other units costing twice as much. Also important is a proper light source though the GLGemSpec can be used with the fiber alone; spectroscopists often develop their own setup de- pending on the material and the type of measure- ment. For gemstone analysis a tungsten halogen light source, a xenon light, various types of lasers resting place in the alluvial river gravels of the 'Golconda' region. Golconda (golkunda) was a region located between the lower reaches of and UV-LEDs are being used. The the Godavari and Krishna rivers, in the present-day state of Andhra GL Halogen 10W is a basic light Pradesh, central India (map above). Today, the exact source of the 'lost source with built-in cosine correc- mines of Golconda' are unknown, and the India's only remaining diamond tor, cooling fan, gem positioner and source is the Majhgawan pipe near Panna (see:" Mining in India Today" is mounted directly onto the spec- below). trometer; it can also be used with spectrometers of other manufactur- Diamonds are inextricably woven into the cultural fabric and mysticism of ers. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Tibetan Lamaism. The 'dorjes' is an ancient Bud- dhist talisman shaped like a pyramidal four-faceted diamond representing The GL Gem Spectrometer is a USB the sacred mountain of Mount Meru at the 'center of the universe.' 2.0/HID compliant device and does not need a soft-ware driver as many other spectrometers do; the GLGemSpec software is simple to install (only 104 KB; it would work on an old laptop running Windows 98), easy to learn and extremely fast in obtain- ing and saving spectras. They can be imported into other software such as the highly recom- mended Spekwin32 spectroscopy software which allows for quick viewing, comparison and documentation of a project; we also provide LabView users with VIs for further develop-

Portuguese Church in Old Goa ment on their platforms. Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Mar- The 'Valley of Diamonds' tin Haske at for his extensive research and contribution in No doubt, many a young lad was drawn to India and the Far East, by tales Adamas Gemological Laboratory of adventure and riches beyond one's wildest dreams. The tales of Sinbad making spectrophotometers accessible to gem- and the 'Arabian Nights', were derived from an 8th century Sassanid Per- mologists. I hope that the GL Gem Spectro- sian book called Hazar Afsanah or "Thousand Myths." scope with its low acquisition cost will make this technology available to many more.

Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 4 25

Blue 460-480nm, Orange 600-610nm, Green 520-525nm, Red 624-630nm, also In the 'Second Voyage of Sinbad,' he was transported by a giant bird (roc), Infra Red LED’s 850nm and 940nm to a land where the floor of the valley is "carpeted with diamonds." Mer- chants harvest the diamonds by throwing chunks of meat into the valley, I have been trying to source LED’s in the SWUV area but to date those that are where the birds carry them back to their nest, ladened with diamonds. Sin- available are very expensive, (US$250 each) so at this time it is still best to work bad straps one of the pieces of meat to his back, and returns to Baghdad with the original Fluorescent Lamp with a fortune in diamonds. I will be doing further testing on these once I have them up and running I will report on the effects they have on various gems in later issues of our newsletter

Goa's Diamond Trade Route GL Gem Spectrometer System Most of the diamonds entering Europe originated in India. In the later half of the 14th century, the diamond trade route extended from India to Bruges, Paris and eventually to the Diamond Bourses of Antwerp, Belgium. After Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias' 1488 discovery of the 'Cape of Wolf Kuehn of the Canadian Institute of Gemmology (CIG) has produced Good Hope' on Africa's southern most tip, fellow Portuguese navigator a new Instrument which should be a must on all Gemmologists lists of Vasco da Gama discovered a sea route to the India and Orient by sailing instruments to have around the Cape in 1498. This provided Europeans with an easier route to The CIG offer this economically prized the Indian diamond trade, avoiding the costly and dangerous 'Silk Road' and very efficient spectrometer package caravan routes. for the experienced gemmologist. Along India's Malabar Coast, the state of 'Goa' grew into a Portuguese trad- Over the last 3 years they have tested ing center, and a diamond-trading route was established from Goa to Lis- several spectrometers and numerous bon, Portugal and on to Antwerp. In 1510, the Portuguese established a soft-ware packages. The high price of permanent settlement in Velha Goa (Old Goa), after Portuguese admiral, commercial systems excluded many gem- Afonso de Albuquerque defeated the ruling Bijapur kings. The city of mologists from owning and operating 'Vasco,' named after Vasco-da-Gama, is the state of Goa's largest city. such a valuable tool. Jean Baptiste Tavernier's "The Six Voyages" (Les Six Voyages) written in With the help of a local engineer they 1679 documented his extensive travels throughout India and the Far-East, have custom designed a broad band gem in order to expand the trade in gems, jewellery, and other valuable com- spectrometer which is affordable and modities. In 'The Six Voyages', Tavernier meticulously illustrated many no- Portable GL Gem Spectrometer with highly sensitive. It uses a back illuminated table Indian diamond cuts. Diamond #1 (above, right) is the "Great Mogul attached miniature GLHalogen 10W CCD sensor; the software compensates Diamond" and Diamond #3 is the "Great Table Diamond". light holder with battery pack con- for etalation in the near IR. Our diffrac- nected to Dell Mini 9" laptop India was the only major producer of diamonds until the discovery of dia- tion grating efficiency is optimized for 500 monds in South Africa in 1866. Shortly thereafter the De Beers Diamond nm (see specifications below); at 300nm

Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 24 5 Company was founded by Cecil Rhodes With mercury UV tubes we could see things that were not visible with incan- desce light bulbs. Now with LED light we can generate exclusive wave lengths that the older tubes cannot. While it is not the purpose of the au- thor to dispute the validity of current or past UV light sources, there is a defi- nite and pressing need for the industry to set new and accurate gemmological Mining in India Today Synthetic Ruby Ring using 400nm Torch standards based on better technology, India is no longer a source for rough diamonds. Although most all of In- with which we can begin to compile a dia's diamond mines were depleted centuries ago, there is one active dia- mond mine at Panna in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh new body of reference data. (above, right). The mine is owned by the National Mineral Development Further information added by Corporation. the Editor Graeme E. Petersen De Beers India is currently prospecting in the Madhya Pradesh region as F.G.A. well as in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Kar- nataka, and Tamil Nadu. The De Beers mining operation will be a joint I have a torch that I have had the venture with Hindustan Diamond, be based in Mumbai. white LED’s replaced with Yellow (see photo above) and as suggested by Bear, this makes an excellent monochromatic The Descriptive Term 'Golconda' Synthetic Blue Spinel in natural light source of light for taking very accu- The term 'Golconda' is still used (or misused) today as an indicator of very high quality diamonds. To justify the 'Golconda' name, diamonds rate refractive index readings. must have a level of transparency and quality found only in rare, chemi- The conversion was done for me by cally pure type-IIa natural diamonds. The term 'Golconda' is also used as LED Stuff in Dunedin I suggest you a generic term to describe higher quality diamonds with an antique cut. check out their web site for details of LED lighting here is the link http://ledstuff.co.nz/ I also have an LED torch with 400nm LED’s, this is an excellent and quick test for The same Synthetic Blue Spinel under the many gems. 400nm UV torch (I am selling these at $15 each contact me if you would like one) See photos of the use of this torch, very quick and effective test LED Stuff in Dunedin are very helpful when it comes to the supply of special need torches or LED lighting, they are converting more torches for me with the following LED’s;

Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 6 23 as we re-equip ourselves during the 21st century. Active Diamond Mines Currently there are eleven major 'diamond producing' nations, and a host We need a pure SW UV energy source, and Sensor Electronics in Columbia, SC, of other counties with operational and/or historic alluvial, open pit, and utilizes nitride technology to produce SW UV LEDS that are available from 247 to hard rock diamond mines. There are also several African nations with on- 365nm in 5mm increments These emit in the same clean emission as the above going off-shore dredging/vacuming operations. pictured hand lights. Keep in mind that all LED light sources have well defined Africa wavelengths. Since we have established the SW designation at 254nm, then we could obtain similar results with a single source LED at 255nm. NTT Basic Research Angola Labs, in Asugi, Japan, has created aluminium nitride LEDS that produce a far UV 1. Catoca Diamond Mine: Fourth largest diamond mine in world. Kim- (2l0nm) radiation. This can well open great potential in gemmological research. In berlite pipe. her paper "LED Light Sources for Gemmologists," Sylvia Gumpsberger notes that 2. Fucauma Diamond Mine: Newly constructed. Owned by Endiama due to the nature of the tighter wavelengths the white LED sources are not suit- (40%) & Trans Hex (35%). able if you are using it for the spectroscope or other full spectrum needs. Cur- 3. Luarica Diamond Mine: Owned by Endiama (38%) & Trans Hex rently, the manufacturers are looking for methods of broadening the spectrum on (32%). the whites. Also of note is the use of the yellow LED, which gives a good mono- chromatic source that is excellent for refractive index readings. If you are thinking 4. Luzamba Diamond Mine: Angola's largest alluvial mine, Endiama of updating your laboratory with the latest technology, you can expect different (50%), Odebrecht (50%). results than the textbooks and you will not be wrong. It is not just UV LEDS that we can benefit from. As previously mentioned, blue lights can give us fluorescence 1. Damtshaa Diamond Mine: (water for a tortoise) New open pit mine. through crossed filters, but many of these light ranges that are in the violet to ultra De Beers / Botswana. violet, specifically in the 390-415nm range, can give surprising results. 2. Jwaneng Diamond Mine: (place of small stones) richest mine in These penlight style LW UV LED lights are readily available in today's market and world. De Beers/Botswana. have no problem fitting in a pocket. They are being discovered in a variety of retail 3. Diamond Mine: ("little reeds") second oldest of four - locations. The sub-UV ranges in wavelength induce strong fluorescence even in De Beers / Botswana. stones previously thought inert to fluorescence, like gar- 4. : (resting place for lions) Largest/oldest of four nets. A large variety of differ- - DeBeers/Botswana. ent garnet species like Spes- Congo (DROC or RDC) sartite, Malaya, and Tsavorite 1. Bakwanga Mine: (aka Bushimaïe, Lubilash) Alluvial river mines in have proven to fluoresce very Kasaï. MIBA. nicely when using a 402nm 2. Forminière Diamond Mine: Alluvial mine located on the River Tshi- LED. Oddly enough, fluores- kapa, in Kasaï - closed. cence in some garnet is over- looked because they fluoresce Namibia in their own body colour. 1. Elizabeth Bay Mine: Open-cast mine in Namib desert, south of Yellow LED torch with LED used to convert Lüderitz. Namdeb. 2. Orange River (Daberas) Mines: Orange River alluvium. Namdeb

Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 22 7 Namib Gov. that different illuminants can greatly 3. Marine Mining: Namco Mining operates a dredging fleet off the west increase the value of fluorescence in coast of Namibia. diagnostic testing. When considering Sierra Leone this and the Hoover-Theisen ex/em models, all authors note that the 1. Magna Egoli Mine: Largest mechanized mine in Sierra Leone. longer the wavelength of excitation Waldman Resources, Israel. light used, the stronger the emission 2. Koidu-Sefadu Mines: Subsistence digging in alluvium pits west of Gemmologist Sylvia Gumpsberger of Koidu. the Canadian Gemmological Associa- 3. Koidu Open Pit Mines: Kimberlite open-pit mines just south of Ko- tion even uses various red light idu. sources for her fluorescence observa- South Africa tions 1. Baken Diamond Mine: Located along Orange River in North Cape, Show Your True Colours So Africa. Trans Hex. As gemmologists 2. Cullinan Diamond Mine: Open Pit/Hard Rock diamond mine owned we rely on our by De Beers. eyes for observ- 3. Finsch Diamond Mine: Finsch is an open-pit mine near Lime Acres, ing visible fluo- De Beers operated. rescence. What then is the best 4. Kimberley Diamond Mine: Started in 1871, the Kimberley Open Pits energy source to closed in 2005. use? No need to 5. Koffiefontein Diamond Mine: The Koffiefontein mine opened in deal with a SW 1870. Closed in 2006. UV if its only go- 6. The Oaks Diamond Mine: In Limpopo province. Open-pit mine De ing to have a sec- Beers operated. ondary energy 7. Venetia Diamond Mine: Limpopo, produces over 40% of world's bleed and confuse our readings. gem-quality diamonds. Why not a purer energy source that is quick and easy to use, as can be provided by Tanzania light-emitting diode (LED) technology? Pictured are a variety of commonly available LED light sources (Figure 6) that range from 392 to 645nm. From left to right in the 1. Williamson Diamond Mine: (aka Mwadui mine) Open Pit mine. 75% accompanying graph (Figure 7) you can see their emissions superimposed as over- De Beers ownership lays according to their light colour. Is there bleed or extraneous illumination caused Zimbabwe by LEDS? No, each produces a singular, pure light range. lt will inevitably be what 1. Murowa Diamond Mine: Open Pit & Underground mine. 75% De we want to use in all our future gemmological testing. As an example, we may note Beers ownership. something like; "The stone did not fluoresce @ 255nm, but showed a whitish yel- River Ranch Diamond Mine: Open Pit & Underground mine. 75% De low at 365nm and a bright orange at 404nm." This may be the first step for our Beers ownership. gemmological community to discuss in their varied standardization group meetings

Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 8 21 emission, please draw your attention to the 365nm line simultaneously emitting. Australia This line is a LW componecnt . Though it is only half the amplitude of the 254nm East Kimberley line, its existence there could lead to what is often interpreted as the stone being “weakly fluorescing in SW” when in fact it is probably induced by the leaking LW 1. Argyle Diamond Mine: Largest producer in world, mostly industrial component grade. Rio Tinto. Borneo There is no need to be vague with this. We can see the need to precisely identify the source of energy that is causing the excitation. lt may be called SW or LW but Cempaka/Riam Kanan, South Kalimantan when they have several energy levels that bleed or overlap each other as we have 1. Cempaka Diamond Mines: Alluvials mined by indigenous artisanal plainly seen, it is not an exact science. ln multiple tests made in various jewellers Kalimantan miners. gem labs, all the U V lights tested as having the LW UV bleeding through their SW Canada tube style testing lights. Solutions are on the horizon, but first let us discuss some North West Territories (NWT) basics 1. Diavik Diamond Mine: The Diavik diamond mine is located in the Stokes Law NWT. Fluorescence begins when the absorption of visible or UV radiation raises the at- 2. Ekati Diamond Mine: Canada's first diamond mining operation, oms to an excited state. The electrons absorb this quantum energy and jump to a located in NWT. higher energy orbit. The subsequent return of these electrons to their ground orbit India is when the energy is released as radiation, mostly as visible light or near infrared. According to Stokes law, this emission occurs at a longer wavelength (lower en- Madhya Pradesh ergy level) than the energy source used to excite the stone. 1. Panna Diamond Mine: Alluvial mine in state of Madhya Pradesh. A very interesting study using excitation and their respective emissions was per- Russia formed (Hoover & Theisen, 1993) that gave a gradation of energy sources ranging Siberia from 250-600nm in 5nm increments and their emission responses. This was laid 1. Aikhal GOK Mine: Three open-pit kimberlite pipe mines: Aikhal, out in a 3D graph and the interesting fact that many gems have little if any re- Jubilee, and Sytykan. sponse whatsoever to UV radiation of wavelengths shorter than 300nm, most be- ing inert to shorter wavelengths. Again we see the need for proper definition of 2. Anabar GOK Mine: The northern most location of Russia's diamond energy source to fluorescent reaction, especially since most of the excitation oc- mines. curred from visible light ranges The graph shows the excitation wave length and 3. Jubilee (Yubileinaya) Mine: Newer open-pit kimberlite mine near the resulting emissions of a natural Alexandrite. Udachny. Alrosa. Some Alternatives and Solutions 4. Mirna Mine: Largest diamond deposit in Russia and one of the larg- est in the world. Crossed filters, a technique for observing fluorescence introduced by Basal Ander- son, uses a visible blue light source without the need for UV. 5. Udachnaya (Udachny) Pipe Mine: One of the deepest diamond mines in the world. In various testing it is noted that even slight variations in energy levels (392nm vs. 404nm) significantly affect the luminescent response. This is where and how we can make our fluorescence readings a more exact science. Harding (1994) and Inactive (Historical) Diamond Mines Hoover-Williams (2005) in "Crossed Filters Revisited caution in their observations There are hundreds of inactive historical diamond mines scattered Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 20 9 throughout the world. This list contains the most historically significant see some problems mines. that arise. Using a Australia UV-Vis spectropho- 1. Merlin Diamond Mine: Kimberlite pit located in Northern Territory. tometer, you can Inactive. see the mercury Borneo spectrum (Fig 2) of a LW-UV light 1. Landak Diamond Mines: Alluvial deposits along Landak and Kapuas source. ln this river. extinguished. graph we can read- Tanjungpura (?) Diamond Mines: Alluvial deposits in the Banjarmasin ily see the 365nm basin. extinguished line, which is the Brazil designated emis- Bahia sion for the LW-UV band. 1. Serra de Chapada: Alluvial deposits that are mined out. Now a na- tional park. However, upon closer examination it is apparent that other, longer wavelengths are 2. Salobro: Alluvial deposits along the Pardo river. also emitted by most of these types of bulbs. Since other energy is present which energy is truly activating the fluorescence for a particular stone? Not necessarily the 3. Serra de Cincora: Alluvial deposits & carbonado at Paraguassu river, sole designated richest in Bahia. 365nm line and 4. Sincorá Range: Alluvial deposits in 'Tombador Formation' sandstones quite probably the and conglomerates. other mercury Mato Grosso lines at 404 and 435nm wave- 1. Cachoueira Du Pau: Alluvial river-bank deposits. New explorations lengths. These taking place. other wavelength 2. Melgueira: Alluvial river-bank deposits. New explorations taking bleeds are not a place. bad thing in them- 3. Rio Pires: Alluvial river-bank deposits. selves. In fact, the 400-425nm exci- 4. Rio Sonho Azul: Alluvial river-bank deposits. tations are fantas- 5. Tres Barras: Alluvial river-bank deposits. New explorations taking tic energy sources place. to induce fluorescence, but not if you are under the impression that it is the 365nm Mato Grosso Do Sul energy that is doing it, and not if you are comparing results with someone who has 1. Riberao Varadouro: Alluvial river-bank deposits. a pure 365nm source. Looking at the second graph (Figure 3) we see a very trou- bling anomaly with these bulbs. The visible results are readily apparent and in the 2. Rio Coxim: Alluvial river-bank deposits. SW mode we see its 254nme emmission peak. While the 254nm is the designated

Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 10 19

3. Rio Piquiri: Alluvial river-bank deposits. LED’s the way of the Future 4. Rio Taquari Mirim: Alluvial river-bank deposits. By Bear Williams Minas Gerais 1. Rio Abaete: Alluvial river-bank deposits, mined from 1785 to 1807, This article and photos and has reproduced from a paper originally now mined out. Published in “The Gem Guide Jan/Feb 2007” with permission of 2. Rio Bagagem: Alluvial river-bank deposits. Bear Williams and added to by Graeme Petersen 3. Campo Do Sampaio: Alluvial river-bank deposits. Bear Williams is a GIA graduate and the owner and lab director of Stone Group Labs. He and his partner Cara Williams enjoy researching the many unexplored aspects of gemmology 4. Colinas: Alluvial river-bank deposits. and bringing the science of gemmology up to date. Bear is a member of ICA, serving as co‐ 5. Fazenda Velha: Alluvial river-bank deposits. chairman of the GILC, and as a director of the AGTA he chairs the Gemmological & Industry Rules Committee. 6. Rio Dourados: Alluvial river-bank deposits. Ultraviolet light sources for testing gem fluores- 7. Rio Preto: Alluvial river-bank deposits. cence have been a staple piece of gem equip- 8. Santa Maria: Alluvial river-bank deposits. ment for decades Emerging technologies will 9. Serrinha: Alluvial river-bank deposits. not only change the way you look at ultraviolet but could well eventually redefine our industry Rondônia standards Unknown: Alluvial river-bank deposits. When a gemmologist is ready to test for UV fluorescence, India they usually reach for their ultraviolet (UV) light. Most of Golconda Diamond Mines: Alluvial deposits, Godavari, Krishna rivers in these lamps (Figure I) will have two buttons for switching Andhra Pradesh. between long-wave (LW) and short-wave (SW). The bulb Venezuela inside this device is a low pressure mercury tube, developed in 1919. You are possi- Bolivar bly reading 1. Capaura: Placer Deposits this article by an over head fluorescent light right now. These standard, 2. Chiricayen Mine: Placer Deposits overhead low-pressure tubes are coated on the inside with powdered phosphors that react to the electrical discharge and emit the white light that we ob- 3. El Resbalon Del Diablo Mine: serve. On the other hand, the UV bulb, also a low pressure mercury tube, is coated 4. La Hoya Mine: with nickel oxides to block out the visible wavelengths. Filtering out longer wave United States lengths in the 400-700 nanometer (nm) visible ranges allows only the higher energy Arkansas LW and SW UV luminescence This "black light" technology saw its main production Crater of Diamonds Mine: An Arkansas State Park located in Murfrees- begin in the late 1920's. But what could be wrong with this technology as it applies boro, Arkansas. to gemmology? If we take a look at the emissions in these type of bulbs one can

Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 18 11 “Auction” Rip Offs and Scams 43.72ct; 23 x 19mm What the General Public Don’t know Syn Quartz; Ametrine Purple & Yellow By Graeme E Petersen F.G.A.

Do you have some synthetic stones or lead glass filled rubies, or diffuse treated sapphires to sell? If so list them on one of our New Zealand auction sites, on our leading auction site you don’t have to give an honest description, just list them with any kind of description at all, you can of course put in a disclaimer that these stones are not tested or that you rely on the person you bought them from as to what they are, and to stop negative feedback you can say So if you have any odd stones that you want to quit, put them on one of our auc- if they do not turn out to be what you said you will give a full refund tion sites, you can describe them how you like, put any kind of disclaimer you The auction sites don’t check what you say, so go ahead list what you want, and if they turn out to be not what they are described as; you can always have and plead ignorance as to what it really is offer a refund to the purchaser. I have a nice collection of lead glass filled rubies, synthetic quartz, diffuse I personally don’t have a problem with Synthetic, glass filled, or any treated stones treated sapphires all bought from Trade Me, in every case the description being sold on auction sites as long as they are described correctly. These sites was not correct. should be held to task about items listed on their sites, unfortunately they accept no responsibility for the accuracy of the descriptions given Following are some of what I have purchased and the descriptions given by the seller. Judge for yourself Stone No 1 Full of Lead Glass but described by the seller as Heat Treated, no mention of any filling, my question re filling went unan- swered by the seller $1 RE 11.05CT GIANT REAL RICH RED PINK RUBY $5517

ITEM DESCRIPTION

PRODUCT NAME RUBY (NATURAL) UNIT OF ITEM (S) 1 PIECE. WEIGHT (CT.) 11.05 CT. DIMENSION 16.8 X 12.0 X 7.0 MM. SHAPE/CUT PEAR FACET COLOR AAA RICH RED PINK CLARITY/GRADE TRANSPARENT & TRANSLUCENT LUSTER GORGEOUS

Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 12 17 tor! This would make a unique present for someone born in July. TREATMENT HEATED Or, perhaps you deserve a prezzie for yourself to celebrate something? ORIGIN MOZAMBIQUE As the photo shows, it is in a very attractive oval cut and is a beautiful and prized pigeon blood HARDNESS 9 red in colour. It is 33.5 x 24 x 8mm in size - an extremely large and rare 66.5cwt size for a pre- cious ruby gemstone. PLEASE NOTE: WE BUY OUR STONES FROM REPUTED SUPPLIERS AND WE Priced at just $1 per carat. This is a ridiculous price for a genuine ruby don't you think? DON'T TEST STONES FROM OUR END AS IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE AND WE CAN- NOT AFFORD TO TEST ALL THE STONES AND SELL IT AT THE PRICE WE DO , WE TOTALLY RELY ON OUR SUPPLIER'S DESCRIPTION GIVEN TO US. IF U PUR- My Guarantee of Quality CHASE STONES FROM US YOU CAN GET IT TESTED AND IF THE STONE IS NOT I only buy from suppliers with an established (5+ years) and good reputation so I stand behind AS DESCRIBED AS ON OUR AUCTIONS THEN WE OFFER A 100% REFUND ON what I sell and will refund in full (or replace at our discretion) if items are defective or not as ALL OUR STONES. described.

Questions and answers As none of my stones have been tested in New Zealand, any treatment, or grading given to the stone cannot be confirmed unless sent to a Lab for inspection by a trained gemmologist This stone looks to be lead glass filled, if you say not, have you had it tested? 6:27 pm, in NEW ZEALAND. Tue 23 Feb Questions and answers Hi there, given the low pricing, it would be far too expensive to have all these stones Many rubies are lead glass filled, that make them very fragile and susceptible to heat, ultra- tested. 9:28 pm, Tue 23 Feb sonic cleaning, has this stone been lead glass filled?? 8:01 pm, Sat 20 Feb

I have since purchased from legitimate dealers several stones for com- I did ask a question about lead glass filling but as you can see it re- parison, they are 3 very nice Synthetic Quartz stones; here are some mained unanswered, The stone is full of Lead Glass, and how they could photos of them come up with a value of $5,517 is beyond me, but of course it can be 1: an identical stone to the Blue and Yellow one listed in this article sent back for a refund, how many retail shops or genuine Gem Mer- 2; a nice green and lemon synthetic chants would sell a gemstone with this sort of disclaimer 3; an ametrine showing purple and yellow All of these are Synthetic Hydrothermal Quartz Stone No 2 A synthetic bi Colour Quart being sold as a Natural 29.90 Ct. PHENOMENAL BI COLOR GOLDEN

BLUE CITRINE

Product Description

Quantity : 1 Piece (s) Gem type : Citrine Weight : 29.90 Ct. Size : 20.8 x 15.5 x 12.4 mm. Colour : Bi Colour Golden Blue 9.98ct; 16 x 12mm Shape : Emerald Cut Syn Quartz; Blue & Yell 20.82ct; 20 x 15mm Clarity : VVS Syn Quartz; Green & Yellow Volume 11 Issue 1 Page No 16 13 Lustre : Very Good Origin : Brazil This looks like a synthetic Quartz are you sure it is natural???? 7:56 pm, Sat 20 Feb Treatment : HEATED Hardness : 7 Hello There, This is a Natural Stone. Thanks 8:00 pm, Sat 20 Feb Once again I asked a question, as to if the was synthetic and NO it was PLEASE READ THE AUCTION AND ITS DESCRIPTION IN FULL AND THEN BID, IF not, I was assured it was a NATURAL STONE. U DO NOT UNDERSTAND ANYTHING PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS. Indications of synthetic are small breadcrumb inclusions, also one sure in- dication of natural is Brazil Twinning, well surprise, surprise microscopic PLEASE NOTE: WE BUY OUR STONES AND JEWELLERY FROM REPUTED SUPPLI- inspection revealed some bread crumb inclusions and no Brazil Twinning ERS AND WE DON'T TEST STONES OR JEWELLERY FROM OUR END AS IT IS VERY some very nice interference colours but NO Brazil Twinning EXPENSIVE AND WE CANNOT AFFORD TO TEST EVERY THE STONE AND JEWEL- LERY AND SELL IT AT THE PRICE WE DO , WE TOTALLY RELY ON OUR SUP- Stone No 3 PLIER'S DESCRIPTION GIVEN TO US. IF U PURCHASE STONES OR JEWELLERY FROM US, YOU CAN GET IT TESTED AND IF THE STONE OR JEWELLERY IS NOT This one is a beauty, a supposed Genuine Ruby AS DESCRIBED AS ON OUR AUCTIONS THEN WE OFFER A 100% REFUND ON This material usually starts off as African Purplish colour Corundum with ALL OUR STONES. heavy lamellar twinning, inclusions and intergrowth and basal parting planes. It is processed and then acid bathed to remove a lot of the other As none of our stones and jewellery have been tested in New Zealand, any treatment, or grad- minerals. Then the heat delivery of either flux type healing or lead glass ing given to the stone or jewellery cannot be confirmed unless sent to a Lab for inspection by a filling takes place to clarify and often colour enhance the product. In other trained gemmologist in NEW ZEALAND. words JUNK.

Please remember to contact us if there are any grievances with the product before placing your It should in reality be described as Hybrid-Ruby, Glass Filled Compos- feedback and we will definitely try to resolve the issue. ite, requires Special Care

Lovely HUGE *66+cwt* Faceted Genuine Ruby Gemstone Start price: $66.50 Listing #: 272448494 All purchases totalling over $100.00 will receive a beautiful genuine Egyptian perfume bottle abso- lutely free!!! These fabulous bottles are hand blown and highly decorated with 24ct yellow gold. The photo in my profile shows a selection of the types of bottles that will be given away in this promotion. Bi Colour Quartz through Crossed Bi Colour Quartz, showing distinct Polars, no sign of any twinning Bread crumb like inclusions This stunning genuine ruby gemstone is a very big stone perfect for setting as a big impact pendant, probably too big for a ring - there is nothing like the buzz of having a particularly nice/unusual gemstone Questions and answers set into your own design. It's also a beautiful exam- ple of a blood red ruby gemstone colour for a collec-

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