VOLUME XVII WINTER 1981 A quarterly journal of the Gemological Institute of America WINTER 1981 Volume 17 Number 4 EDITORIAL 183 The New Gems & Gemology Is One Year Old Richard T. Liddicoat, Jr. FEATURE 184 Lapis-lazuli from Sar-e-Sang, Badakhshan, Afghanistan ARTICLES Jean Wyarl, Pierre Bariand, and Jean Filippi (translated by Carol Stockton) 191 Gem Garnets in the Red-to-Violet Color Range D. Vincent Manson and Carol M. Stockton 205 San Carlos Peridot John I. Koivula NOTES 215 Irradiated Topaz and Radioactivity AND NEW Robert Crowningshield TECHNIQUES 217 Nonfading Maxixe-Type Beryl? K. Nassau and B. E. Prescott 220 The Cutting Properties of Kunzite John L. Ramsey REGULAR 226 Gem Trade Lab Notes FEATURES 231 Editorial Forum 232 Gemological Abstracts 242 Book Reviews 244 Gem News 245 Index to Volume 17, Numbers 1-4 ABOUT THE COVER: The lapis-lazuli from which this oriental vase was fashioned is representative of the fine material that has been produced in Afghanistan for centuries, as described by Messrs. Wyart, Bariand, and Filippi in this issue. The piece, which measures 10 cm wide x 5.5 cm thick x 13.5 cm high (plus stand), is from the collection of Larry Taylor, Los Angeles, CA. Photograph 'f> 1981 Harold and Erica Van Pelt-Photographers, Los Angeles, CA. 01982 Gemological Institute of America. All rights reserved. ISSN 00 16-62X EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Editor, Gem Trade Lab Notes STAFF Richard T. Liddicoat, Jr. Alice S. Keller Chuck Fryer Associate Editor 1660 Stcwart St. Editor, Gemological Abstracts Peter C. Keller Santa Monica, CA 90404 Dona M. Dirlam Telephone: (213) 829-2991 Associate Editor Editor, Book Reviews D. Vincent Manson Subscriptions Manager Robert Effler Janet M. Fryer Contributing Editor Editor, Gem News John 1. Koivula Stephanie Dillon PRODUCTION Art Director Cover Design GIA Photographers STAFF Susan Kingsbury Peter Johnston Mike Havstad Tino Hammid EDITORIAL Robert Crowningshield Anthony R. Kampf Glenn Nord REVIEW BOARD New York, NY Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, CA Pete Dunn Robert E. Kane Rick Shaw Washington, DC Los Angeles, CA Santa Monica, CA Dennis Foltz John Koivula John Sinl~ankas Sun ta Monica, CA Santa Monica, CA Son Diego, CA Chuck Fryer Srillie Morton George Rossman Santa Monica, CA Son lose, CA Pasadena, CA C. S. Hiirlbiit, Jr. Kurt Nassau Cambridge, MA Bemardsville, Nf SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions in the USA are priced as follows: $19.50 for one year 14 issues), $52.50 for three years (12 issues). Subscriptions sent elsewhere are: $28.00 for one year, $75.00 for three years. Special annual subscription rates are available for all students actively involved in a GIA program: $15.00 U.S.A., $23.50 elsewhere. Your student number must be listed at the time your subscription is entered. Single issues may be purchased for $5.50 in the U.S.A., $7.50 elsewhere. A limited number of back issues of G&G are also available for purchase. Please address all inquiries regarding subscriptions and the purchase of single copies or back issues to the Subscriptions Manager. MANUSCRIPT Gems el Gemology welcomes the submission of articles on all aspects of the field. Please see the Suggestions for SUBMISSIONS Authors for preparing manuscripts in the Summer 1981 issue of the journal or contact the Managing Editor for a copy. Letters on articles published in Gems a) Gemology and other relevant matters are also welcome. COPYRIGHT Abstracting is permitted with credit to the source. Libraries are permitted to photocopy beyond the limits of U.S. copyright law for private use of patrons. Instructors are permitted to photocopy isolated articles for noncommercial AND REPRINT classroom use without fee. For other copying, reprint, or republication permission, please contact the Managing PERMISSIONS Editor. Gems a) Gemology is published quarterly by the Gemological Institute of America, a nonprofit educational organization for the jewelry industry, 1660 Stewart St., Santa Monica, CA 90404. Any opinions expressed in signed articles arc understood to be the views of the authors and not of the publishers. THE NEW GEMS & GEMOLOGY IS ONE YEAR OLD RICHARD T. LIDDICOAT, Jr. Editor-in-Chief ith this issue Gems o) Gemology, now in its 48th year as the quarterly journal of the w Gemological Institute of America, completes its first year in the new size and format. The response to the new look has been very exciting. Not only has the journal enjoyed an almost 500% increase in subscribers, but the quality and quantity of the papers and other items submitted have grown significantly as well. Much of the credit for the transformation in appearance and quality of production goes to our managing editor, Alice Keller. The mem- bers of our Editorial Review Board also have proved invaluable in ensuring the accuracy and usefulness of the articles published. In addition to those individuals listed on the masthead, Brian Mason (of the National Museum of Natural History), Marty Prinz (of the American Museum of Natural History), Ed Wilson (of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural His- tory), and Wendell Wilson (of the Mineralogical Record) were kind enough to provide outside reviews on specific papers. The Gemological Abstracts, Gem Trade Lab Notes, and other reg- ular features of the journal have benefited both from the strong editorial leadership of the section editors and from the contributions of their editorial staffs, most of whom also carry full-time responsibilities at GIA or in the GIA Gem Trade Laboratory, Inc. Of singular importance to the success of any journal, however, are the authors of the articles that form the core of the publication. We have been fortunate to receive the contributions of established and new authors alike. We thank these authors for their support and continue to welcome contributions from the international gemological community. As the journal of the Gemological Institute of America, Gems &> Gemology invites articles in jewelry manufac- turing, retailing, and other aspects of the field in addition to the science of gems. Plans are already well underway for the next four issues, with items of special value to those readers interested in jade, the latest developments in synthetic corundum, and the cultivation of the new 314 cultured blister pearls, among many other topics. We feel confident in prom- ising a second year that will be even more exciting, more informative, and more beautiful than the first. Editorial GEMS & GEMOLOGY Winter 198 1 183 LAPIS-LAZULI FROM SAR-E-SANG, BADAKHSHAN, AFGHANISTAN By Jean Wyart, Pierre Bariand, and Jean Filippi Translated by Carol Stockton The lapis-lazuli deposits at Sar-e-Sang in apis-lazuli is an ornamental stone (figure 1) that has Badakhshan, Afghanistan, have provided L been found in the artifacts of some of the oldest the raw material for objects fashioned of known civilizations. Necklaces of this material have been this stone since the earliest civilizations, discovered in the neolithic tombs of Mauretania and the The mine, which lies in the Hindu-Rush Caucasus. The appearance of lapis during archeological mountains, is difficult to reach and, excavations in Mesopotamia marks the evolution, eco- because of climatic conditions, is opened nomically and artistically, of societies that flourished only a few months during the summer. The lapis is found in veins in which thousands of years ago in the region of Sumer. calcite and dolomite are intimately In a well-documented work, Georgina Herrmann (1968) associated with silicates such as diopside, speculated on the possible origins of the mineral and con- scapolite, and forstsrite. Pyrite is always cluded that it came from the mines of Badalzhshan, in present; the pure blue mineral is lazurite. what is now Afghanistan. Mesopotomia was the com- The color of the lapis-lazuli varies mercial center for this treasured material, transformed by according to the amount of the various its artists into objects of luxury. Thus, more than 4,000 impurities contained therein. Well-formed years ago, commercial relations were established between crystals of lazurite with the dominant ancient Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 2500 lzm to the {110] shape are rarely found. This article east. Importation of the blue stone was particularly im- examines the crystallographic properties portant at the beginning of the 3rd Dynasty, which marked of lapis-lazuli, the site of Sar-e-Sang and the lapis-lazuli deposits there, and offers the apogee of the civilization of Ur, because of the various an explanation for the genesis of the uses to which the material was put. In the royal cemetery material. of Ur, excavations revealed fantastic objects fashioned from lapis-lazuli-cylinder seals, necklaces, and statu- ettes of animals and persons-which testify to the high ABOUT THE AUTHORS degree of sophistication attained in sculpture and gem Mr. Wyart and Mr. Bariand are associated with engraving. The abundance of objects of lapis-lazuli in the the Laboratoire de Minyralogie-Cristallographie, tombs suggests that this blue stone already possessed a University de Paris VI, France; Mr. Filippi is ritualistic value, much as is seen today throughout Iran associated with the Laboratoire de Chimie, Creole Centrale, Paris, France. and the Orient. From Iraq, lapis-lazuli was exported to The authors are very grateful to M. Said Hachem Egypt during the predynastic period as well as all early Mirzad and his collaborators for their help in dynasties. In Egypt, however, objects formed from lapis- enabling the visits to Sar-e-Sang that formed the lazuli have been found only in the tombs of the wealthi- basis of this article. est persons. Oriental people, the Hebrews, the Babyloni- An earlier version of this article was published in ans, and the Assyrians also used this azure stone for French in the Revue de G6ographie Physique el de G6ologie Dynarnique, 2.