Sapphires won’t have bubbles, but the following are common inclusions in corundum varieties: It’s far better to rely on yes/no tests or those that will give you hard numbers as a result. This is the only qualitative test that I recommend if you’re trying to identify a rough sapphire. Inclusions can also let the experienced gemologist know if the stone was heat-treated to improve color since it alters some of the internal structures of the stone. Any sapphire with a milky or worse transparency isn’t worth much. Most rough sapphire will have enough transparency to let you look through it, but cabbing-grade stones may be almost 100% opaque. So, instead of looking at the external crystal structure, we’re left peering into it. Get a Look With a LoupeĬompare to the well-known octahedral shape of rough diamonds, which are a big tell that the stone is more than it appears. That said, no one is going to take your word for it so you’ll still need a lab certificate to be 100% certain if you’re planning on selling an exceptional rough sapphire. If you get all four of the above properties on point, you’re probably looking at a sapphire. Every other color we simply call sapphire. Ruby will also fit into the above since it’s simply a red variety of corundum. So, before we move on a bit, let’s take a look at the quantifiable properties that will let you know a stone is a sapphire: While “fancy” sapphires aren’t the first thing most people think of, they’re a lot more common than the deep blue we normally associate with the gem. Corundum, the mineral which makes up sapphire, comes in a wide variety of colors.
These properties will allow you to be relatively certain the stone is what you think it is, especially if you know where it came from.Ĭolor isn’t a useful identifier in this case. Few of us have the resources sitting in the garage to be 100% certain but you can get pretty close by checking a few properties of the stone. What we’re checking here are the properties of the individual stone.
7 Gemstones That Change Color In Different Light.So, let’s take a look at some ways you can learn how to identify rough sapphire! That said, there are a few different ways that you can get a good picture of what a stone is without having to take out a second mortgage for gemological equipment and classes. Not all crystals are easy to identify, and when we’re dealing with gemstones it can become a real mess.
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