Gems

The quarterly journal of the Gemological Institute of America
SUMMER '1988
Volume 24 Number 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FEATURE
ARTICLES
67
The Diamond Deposits of Kalimantan, Borneo

L. K. Spencer, S. David Dikinis, Peter C. Keller,
and Robert E. Kune
81
An Update on Color in Gems.

Part 3: Colors Caused by Band Gaps,
and Physical Phenomena
Emmanuel Fritsch and George R. Rossman
NOTES
AND NEW
TECHNIQUES
104
Pastel Pyropes
Carol M.Stockton
107
Examination of Three-Phase Inclusions in

Colorless, Yellow, and Blue Sapphires
from Sri Lanka
Kcirl Scl~metzerand Olaf Medenbach
REGULAR
FEATURES
112
120
124
131
Gem Trade Lab Notes

Gem News
Gemological Abstracts
Book Reviews
ABOUT THE COVER: The extraordinary play-of-color seen here in the 26-ct "Jason" boulder
opal arises from diffraction of light on symmetrically stacked layers of silica spheres.
Diffraction, one of the less common causes of color in gem materials, is described in this issue
in the third part of the series by Drs. Fritsch and Rossman on the origins o f color in gems. This
final installment also discusses other optical phenomena and band theory, and includes an
extensive listing of the known origins o f color in gem materials. The opal, from the Ditto
3 Harold &>
Collection, is courtesy of "Jayson" Traurig Bros. Pty Ltd. (Dallas, TX office). Photo C
Erica Van Pelt -Photographers, Los Angeles, CA.
Typesetting for Gems & Gemology is by Scientific Composition, Los Angeles, CA. Color
separations are b y Effective Graphics, Con~pton,CA. Printing is by Waverly Press, Easton, MD.
0 1988 Gemological Institute of America
All rights reserved
ISSN 001 6-626X
EDITORIAL
STAFF
Editor-in-Chief
R i c h a r d T Liddicoat
Associate Editors
Peter C. Keller
D. Vincent M a n s o n
John S i n k a n k a s
T e c h n i c a l Editor
Carol M. S t o c k t o n
Editor
Alice S. Keller
1660 Stewart St.
S a n t a M o n i c a , CA 9 0 4 0 4
Telephone: (8001 4 2 1-7250 x25 1
Subscriptions
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Telephone: I8001 4 2 1-7250 x201
Editorial Assistant
N a n c y K. H a y s
Editor, G e m T r a d e Lab N o t e s
C . W Fryer
Editor, Gemological A b s t r a c t s
D o n a M. D i r l a m
Editor, B o o k Reviews
Elise B. M i s i o r o w s k i
C o n t r i b u t i n g Editor, J o h n I. Koivula
Editors, G e m N e w s
J o h n 1. ' ~ o i v u l a
Robert C. K a m m e r l i n g
PRODUCTION
STAFF
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Linda Manion
S u s a n Kingsbury
Julie M a t z
Patricia M a y e r
J a n Newel1
R u t h Patchick
Peter J o h n s t o n
EDITORIAL
REVIEW B O A R D
W i l l i a m E. Boyajian
C . S. H u r l b u t , jr.
Cambridge, M A
H e n r y 0. A. M e y e r
West Lafayette, I N
Santa Monica, C A
Robert Crowningshield
Robert C . K a m n ~ e r l i n g
Sallie M o r t o n
N e w York, NY
A l a n T. C o l l i n s
London, United Kingdom
Santa Monica, C A
A n t h o n y R. Kampf
Los Angeles, C A
San lose, C A
D e n n i s Foltz
R o b e r t E. K a n e
Ray Page
Santa Monica, C A
Los Angeles, C A
Santc; Monicc;, C A
E m m a n u e l Fritsch
J o h n I. Koivula
George Rossman
Santa Monica, C A
C. W Fryer
Santn Monica, C A
Santa Monica, C A
Kurt Nassau
PO. Lebanon, N[
Pasadena, C A
J a m e s E. Shigley
Santa Monica, C A
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MANUSCRIPT
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THE DIAMOND DEPOSITS OF

KALIMANTAN, BORNEO
By L. I<. Spencer, S. David Dikinis, Peter C. Keller, and Robert E. IZane
The island of Borneo is one o f the oldest

known -and least reported on -sources of
diamonds. Although diamond mining historically was concentrated in the western
area o f what is now Kalimantan, recent
activity has focused on the alluvial deposits in the southeast. A progress report
on t11e first bulk sample pit in this area
found th4t significant amounts of diamonds appear to be concentrated beneath
the center of the Dana~lSeran swamp.
The traditional hand-mining methods
contrast greatly with the sophisticated
techniques used to mine the first bulk
sample pit. Virtually all o f the diamonds
recovered are gem quality, although most
are relatively small, averaging about 0.30
ct. Future potential for southeastern Kalimantan appears excellent.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Mr. Spencer is a consulting geologist based in Inverell, New South Wales, Australia; Mr. Dikinis is a
gemologist and independent importer of diamonds and colored stones based in Sonoma, CA;
Dr. Keller, a geologist and gemologist, is associate director of the Los Angeles County Museum
of Natural History, Los Angeles, CA; and Mr. Kane
is senior staff gemologist at the GIA Gem Trade
Laboratory, Inc., Santa Monica, CA.
Acknowledgments: L. Spencer would like to thank
W. W. Shaw. Charles Watson. Acorn Securities,
P. T Aneka Tambang, and Keymead Ply., Ltd.,
lor their cooperation. S. D. Dikinis wishes to
thank Tom Altgelt, and Chris Johnston for
sponsoring his trip; Daum and Vyga Dikinis, Janet
Montgomery, Albert Johnston, Cheryl Kremkow,
Rosaline Chow, Colin Curtis, Michael Horovitz,
and Fillip Freeman for their support; and Mrs.
Helly and Mr. and Mrs. Kuntadi for their guidance.
(0 1988 Gemological Institute of America
Diamond Deposits of Borneo
orneo is an island of the Indonesian Archipelago

located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is divided into
the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah and the Britishprotected, oil-rich sultanate of Brunei to the north, and the
Indonesian state of Kalimantan to the south. The coastal
areas of Kalimantan a,re relatively accessible and well
known. However, the interior, which comprises approximately two-thirds of the island, is still very remote, and
little has been published on its potentially vast mineral
resources. Yet, along with India, Kalimantan has historically been one of the world's oldest sources of fine
diamonds (figure 1). Renewed interest in the diamonds of
the area has prompted a great deal of geologic investigation. The purpose of this article is to review what little is
known of these remote deposits and to report on recent
geologic exploration of, and development activity in, the
Banjarmasin-Martapura area of southeastern Kalimantan
(the province of Kalimantan Selatan). The gemological
characteristics of diamonds recovered from this area will
also be discussed.
In December 1985, Acorn Securities (an Australian
public company) together with Keymead Pty. Ltd. (a British
private concern) executed a joint exploration and production agreement with the firm P. T Anelza Tambang (representing the Indonesian government) to explore for diamonds in the Banjarmasin-Martapura area of southeastern
Kalimantan (figure 2). The areas subject to the agreement
have had a long history of gem-quality diamond production.
During the 1970s) I? T. Anelza Tambang conducted
extensive exploration on the fanglomerate gravels (i.e.,
those materials that were originally deposited as a n
alluvial fan) of the Riam Kanan River, with generally
negative results. Little exploration was conducted beneath
the extensive swamps in the area, however, even though
local residents have recovered diamonds for several bun-
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
67
Figure 1 . Two recently found crystals (0.76 and 0.68 ct, respectively) flank three older faceted examples of fancy-color diamonds found i n Borneo. The three faceted diamonds, 0.20-0.34 ct, were recovered from the Cempaka diamond fields early in this century and subsequently faceted i n Martaptira.
Photo 0 Harold o)Erica Van Pelt.
dred years on the flanks and margins of the

swamps by sinking shafts to the gravel horizon.
Deep water and extensive overburden precluded
extending the worlzings to the center of these
swamps. Exploration and development work by
Acorn in this area has shown that these swamps do
indeed contain significant diamond deposits. The
information presented here is based largely on a
geologic exploration progress report on the Banjarmasin area that was prepared by the senior author
(L. K. Spencer)in October 1987, on the visit of S. D.
Dikinis to Banjarmasin and other areas of Kalimantan in the summer of 1987, and on geologic
research and gemological testing performed by
l? C. Keller and R. E. Kane.
HISTORY
The diamond deposits of Borneo are believed to
share with India the distinction of being the
earliest worked diamond mines in the world (see
box), although researchers have not been able to
pinpoint the exact date that mining began. For
example, Webster (1983)believes that mining may
have started on the island as early as 600 A.D., and
that mining was certainly carried out since the
14th century. Bruton (1978)does not believe that
mining in Borneo started until the 16th century.
Schubnel (1980), however, provides strong evidence that the area on the Sungai Landalz (Landalz
River) in western Kalimantan was worked by the
Malays and Chinese as early as the Sung period
68
(960-1279 A.D.). Numerous fragments of Chinese

pottery traced to this period have been found in the
diamond workings. In the 16th century, the Portuguese reached Borneo and noted the workings on
the Landalz River. Cutting, probably learned from
India, was done in shops in Ngabang and Pontianalz. In the early 17th century, the Dutch
colonized Borneo and began exploiting the diamonds through the Dutch East India Company.
Tavernier (1676)reported that in the 17th century,
Borneo paid annual tributes to the Chinese emperor and that part of each tribute was in diamonds.
For the most part, early production records
appear to be unreliable. Although several thousand
workers were reported in Tanah Laut, near Martapura, in 1836, the Dutch government listed a
total diamond production of only 29,857 ct between 1836 and 1843 (Bauer, 1904). These figures
do not differ significantly, however, from the
25,378 ct estimated by merchants at Ngabang for
production between 1876 and 1880. Bauer reported
that "in 1880 the mines on the Sekayam River were
worked by about 40 Chinese only, those in Landalz
gave employment to about 350 workers." With the
discovery of diamonds in South Africa in the late
19th century, Borneo's diamond production became insignificant. Whereas an estimated 6,673 ct
of diamonds were produced in western Kalimantan in 1879, that number dropped steadily to only
600 ct in 1907 and minor amounts subsequently.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
During the period 1913-1 936, diamond production

in southeastern Kalimantan fluctuated between
236 and 2,152 ct, but started a significant upward
rise from 907 ct in 1937 to 3,292 ct in 1939 (Van
Beminelen, 1939). Today, production in western

Kalimantan is minimal, and mining activity and
exploration are concentrated in the southeast, near
Banjarmasin and Martapura.
1 Figure
2. This map shows the two major areas
(left
the Landak district of western Kali=
man tan, below = the Bmjarn~asin-Maitapura

area of southeastern Kalimantan) where dinmonds have been found in the Indonesian
state of Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo.
Artwork b y fan Newell.
GEMS &. GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
69
A Brief History of Diamond Mining in Ka1imantan.a
Late
Hindus are probably the first to discover

diamonds (Webster, 1983).
The Malays vanquish the Hindus and initiate the first diamond mining.
Chinese miners work the Landalz area for
gold and diamonds (Schubnel, 1980).
Duarte Barbosa, of Portugal, provides the
first written reference to diamond mining in
Borneo.
Feran Mindez Pinto, of Portugal, provides
the first description of diamond mining.
Garcias ab Horto, of Portugal (Goal, provides
the first description of the quality, shape,
and other characteristics of Borneo diamonds.
De Moraga, of Spain (Philippines),mentions
the first Portuguese trading in diamonds. .
Captains Middleton and Sare are the first
Englishmen to describe the diamond mines.
The first Dutch trading posts are set up at
Pontianak.
Jean Baptiste Tavernier provides the first
detailed description of diamonds and of
flourishing trade at Batavia (now Jakarta).
The Dutch East India Company exercises a
full monopoly on diamond trading from
Borneo.
The Martapura diamond field is discovered.
1600s
1698 The first British trading post in Borneo is set
up at Banjarmasin.
The Dutch East India Company exports
300,000 guilders worth of diamonds from
the Landak district in what is now western
Kalimantan.
The 367-ct Matan diamond (which may have
been quartz) is reportedly found in the area

of the Landak River.
1780- The Dutch East India Company experiences
1800 a decline in its trade monopoly and diamond
mining.
1810- Stamford Raffles, governor of Java, writes an
1830 extensive history of the diamond fields.
1823 Englishman George Windsor Earl reports
the Dutch purchase of the Sukadana diamond fields for the equivalent of US$50,000.
1828 Earl reports the blockading of Pontianak by
Dutch gunboats to stop diamond smuggling
by the Chinese.
1842 Chinese miners are massacred at Landak.
1880s- The discovery of major diamond deposits in
South Africa leads to the decline of the
Borneo diamond fields.
The Dutch undertake mining at Cempaka,
and attempt to trace the source of the
alluvial diamonds.
Production (unrecorded)continues after the
Japanese invasion. Many Japanese vessels
carry gems during the occupation, The cargo
carried by the cruiser Ashigara when it was
sunk off the coast of Sumatra is valued at
4,000,000
The Netherlands transfers sovereignty to an
independent Indonesia.
166.85-ct Th Sakti diamond is found in
Kalimantan and subsequently faceted to
produce a 50.53-ct emerald cut ("Petrified
Teairs,"l977).
P. T Aneka Tambang initiates exploration at
Cempaka.
The Aneka Tambang-Acorn SecuritiesKeymead joint venture is signed.
"Unless otherwise indicated, the information in this table was derived primarily from Ball (1931) and
discussions with local residents and officials at the Banjar Baw Museum.
LOCATION AND ACCESS

The diamond deposits of Kalimantan are exclusively alluvial and are clustered into two welldefined areas on the western and southeastern
portions of the island. In extreme western Kalimantan [Kalimantan Barat), deposits are known
along the Landali River near Serimbu [north of the
city of Ngabang), on the upper reaches of the
70
Seliayam River, and on the Kapuas River near

Sanggau just below its confluence with the
Sekayam River (see figure 2). On the southeastern
portion of the island (Kalimantan Selatan), the
deposits are concentrated in rivers draining the
Meratus Mountains, principally around Martapura, 39 lim (24 mi.) southeast of Banjarmasin,
the capital city of Kalimantan Selatan province. In
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
this area, workings are found near Cempalza (the c

is pronounced as ch\, on the Apulzan River, and also
along the Riam Kanan and Riam Kiwa Rivers.
The Acorn Securities exploration project, the
most extensive currently being undertaken, has
concentrated activities in the districts of Cempalza, Banyu Irang, and Ujung Ulin (again, see
figure 2). The project area is centered around
longitude 114'45' east and latitude 3O30' south.
The project can be reached from Jakarta by jet to
Syamsuddin Noor airport, which is located adjacent to, and immediately north of, the concession
boundary. A paved road is also available from
Banjarmasin to Banjar Baru, where the company's
camp is located, a distance of about 45 lzm (28mi.).
As in all parts of Kalimantan, access to areas away
from the main road is difficult, especially during
the rainy season, which lasts from October
through March in southeastern Kalimantan.
The Meratus Mountains, which form the dominant geographic feature adjacent to the project
area, are characterized by rugged topography and
narrow, sharp ridges with well-developed V-shaped
valleys.'Two major rivers-the Riam Kanan and
the ~ i a m - ~ i -drain
wa
the Meratus Mountains.
Flanking the Meratus Range is a series of low,
undulating hills. These grade into grass-covered
swamps, at or slightly below sea level, which
dominate the Banjar Baru area. The water level in
the swamps ranges from 1 to 3 m during the rainy
season, but during the peak of the dry season
(August to September) it is possible to walk over
some of the upstream areas. Elevated laterized
sediments (i.e.,red, iron- and aluminum-rich products of rock decay) flank the northern and southern boundaries of the swamp area, with a tongue of
slightly elevated ground dividing the swamp in the
center of the study area. This tongue defines the
Danau Seran swamp to the northeast and the
Cempalza swamp to the south. The major drainage
within the project area is the Apulzan River, which
defines the course of the Cempaka swamp along its
southern margin. No active watercourse exists in
Danau Seran, but several small drainages disgorge
their flow directly into the swamp. Parts of both
swamps -although more commonly the Cempalza -are irregularly cultivated for rice.
Inasmuch as the region is close to the equator,
the climate is characterized by high temperatures
(up to 3S0C-95OF-from July to October) and
humidity. The driest months are May to October;
December and January have the greatest rainfall.
The island of Borneo has an average rainfall of

approximately 500 cm (200 in.) per year.
GEOLOGY OF THE KALIMANTAN
DIAMOND DEPOSITS
Previous Work. The Indonesian Geological Survey
published the most comprehensive compilation of
available geologic mapping for Kalimantan [Hamilton, 1970).This report presents the general geology and tectonic history of this area, although it
does not discuss the diamond occurrences. The
earliest geologic report on diamonds in Borneo was
written by R. D. M. Verbeck, an early director of
the Geological Survey of the Dutch East Indies. His
report, which appeared in Boutan (18861, remains
one of the few published descriptions of the geologic occurrence of Borneo's diamond deposits.
Diamond Occurrences. From the 1930s into the
1980s, the "Pamali Breccia" was believed to be a
possible primary source of at least some of the
diamonds in Ka,limantan. However, recent work
has shown that this breccia may be a sedimentary
rock with no primary lzimberlitic affinities. To
date, no lzimberlites or related lan~proiteshave
been located in Kalimantan. Nixon and Bergman
(1987) suggest that the primary source of the
Kalimantan diamonds are ophiolites-a suite of
mafic and ultramafic rocks which are believed to
represent mantle material that has been thrust up
onto the earth's surface when continental plates
collide. Kalimantan underwent significant plate
collision during Cretaceous time, and ophiolites
have been found in Kalimantan. It is important to
note that this theory is untested, and while the
mantle peridotites may contain diamonds, it is
questionable that diamonds could survive the
relatively slow 150-lzm trip to the earth's surface
without converting to graphite. Diamond-bearing
alluvial deposits at Cempalza, downstream from
the Meratus Mountains (which include ophiolites],
do not contain any classic diamond indicators or
large amounts of bort; only one piece of bort was
found among the 6,766 diamonds recovered at
Acorn Securities' first bulk sample pit. Percussion
fractures, the lack of cleavages, and the relatively
clean nature of the material indicate that the
diamond source is probably far removed, lesserquality material having been eliminated over the
distance traveled.
Within the Meratus Mountains, diamonds
have been found i n the Upper Cretaceous con-
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
71
glomerates of the basal layers of the Manunggul

Formation (one of the main stratigraphic formations in the area) and have been mined from these
rocks at the Pinang River, a tributary of the Riam
Kiwa. This same formation is believed to be the
source of the Cempalza deposits. The continual
emergence of the Meratus Mountains has ensured
a constant supply of diamondiferous material to
the major drainages of the Riam Kanan and Riam
Kiwa. Several periods of uplift, erosion, and resedimentation are evident in the late Tertiary and
Quaternary sediments flanking the Meratus. Such
multiple erosion and sedimentation cycles are
considered important in the formation of economic placer deposits.
The exploration concept applied by Acorn
geologists at the Banjar Baru project is that weathering of the late Tertiary laterized gravels by
tectonic uplift would result in their erosion and
deposition into surrounding swamps. Deposition
of reworked gravels would occur as paleochannels
[ancient riverbeds) and lag deposits on previously
scoured basement irregularities. It was suspected
that reworking would result in higher in-situ
diamond grades within the paleochannels beneath

the swamps than in the laterized sediments. It was
Acorn's task to identify the location of these
ancient riverbeds and to bulk sample them with a
view to probable exploitation.
Acorn's work at the Danau Seran test pit
readily proved this hypothesis of an ancient riverbed beneath the swamp. Geologists have identified three main sediment facies (stratigraphic
bodies): paludal (swamp),sheet wash, and alluvial
(figure 3). Diamonds are found principally in the
alluvial facies. The (upper and lower) paludal
sediments generally constitute the bulk of overburden that covers the diamond-bearing channel
gravels. The thickness of this overburden varies
from less than 2 m near the headwaters of Danau
Seran to 10 m downstream. The sheet-wash facies
consist of sediments that have been derived from
erosion and subsequent resedimentation of laterite
gravels and sediments. They usually occur around
the margins of the swamps, but have also been
found beneath paludal sediments and on the flanks
of eroded valleys away from the swamp altogether.
These sediments are usually red to brownish red
Figure 3. This diagram shows the schematic relationship of the main sediment types (the trigons indicate the diamondiferous layers) at the Danau Seran sample pit in southeastern Kalimantan. Note that
the relative thicknesses of the various types and the swamp level are not exact. Artwork by fan Newell.
Jwamp Level
Paludal Fades
72
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
Figure 4, In this view of

the wall of one of the
sample pits dug by
Acorn Securities fit the
Danau Seran swamp, the
upper alluvial gravels
(the yellowish brown
sediments that are the
principal source of diamonds) can be seen lying
above the basal alluvial
layer. Gravel thicknesses
were measured at 1-m
intervals till around the
inside walls of the pit.
Photo courtesy of Acorn
Securities.
but may be mottled white; characteristically, they

contain abundant iron oxide nodules. Sheet-wash
sediments are invariably clay rich and may contain
diamonds in addition to other heavy minerals. A
large percentage of native workings on the periphery of the swamp involve these sediments. The
third main facies, the alluvial diamond-bearing
gravels, are derived from river action and sedimentation. The alluvial gravels have three main subdivisions: the upper alluvial (peripheral and channel), the levee, and the basal alluvial sediments.
The bulk of the diamondiferous sediments occur

in the upper alluvials, which are characterized by
coarse gravels, sandy gravels, gravelly sands, and
coarse gritty sands; these upper gravels are often
yellowish brown to white or grayish white (figure
4). The diamonds are usually associated with
gravel lithologies of quartz, schist, intrusives, and
fragments of volcanics of broad composition. Corundum, rutile, and gold are considered good indicators for diamonds.
In summary, the Acorn Securities project has
GEMS &. GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
73
Figure 5. The Cempaka mining area is a jumble of shafts and tailings. W h e n a pit is exhausted, the
miners move a small distance to continue extracting the gem-bearing gravels. Because the upper gem
gravels have been largely worked out, mining is more difficult and the miners are more likely to work
as a team. Photo b y David Dikinis.
suggested that the principal source of the diamonds found in southeastern Kalimantan is associated with erosion of the late Cretaceous Manunggul Formation. These diamonds were subsequently deposited and re-eroded several times
before being finally deposited in later Tertiary and
Quaternary sediments. Two of the three main
sedimentary facies identified at Banjar Baru are
known to contain diamonds: the sheet wash and
the upper sections of the alluvial gravels. The
majority of diamonds occur in the upper alluvial
materials, the distribution of which corresponds to
the outline of paleochannels emanating from the
Danau Seran and Cempalza swamps, and represents the reworking of previously eroded diamondiferous sediments.
In the western area of Kalimantan, around
Ngabang, diamonds also occur in ancient stream
channels of probable Eocene age, and in recent
stream beds that drain exposed areas of these
ancient stream channels, usually near the flanks of
mountains (see Bauer, 1904). The Eocene gravels
exhibit no bedding, and diamonds appear to be
evenly distributed. The gravels consist of moder-
74
ately to well-rounded metamorphic and igneous

rock fragments and quartz pebbles. As in southeastern Kalimantan, fragments of corundum are
found in the gravels and are used by the miners as a
good indicator of diamonds. The corundum, which
is not gem quality, is commonly accompanied by
magnetite, muscovite, and economically important amounts of gold and platinum. The gravels of
the Eocene-age stream channels typically occur
only sporadically throughout the region and are
always well above sea level (Bauer, 1904).
MINING METHODS
Traditional Mining. Near the town of Cempaka are
found traditional mining sites. The mines have
been slowly moved as old workings have been
depleted. In recent years, however, many of the
local miners have left the area for the alluvial gold
fields west of Samarinda in the eastern and central
parts of Kalimantan. In July 1987, fewer than 500
miners were actively using traditional methods in
Cempalza. Because the upper gem-bearing gravels
have largely been worked out, mining is more
difficult now than in the past. The gem-bearing
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
gravels are as much as 10 m below the surface of

the swamp, with the water table lying just underground. The miners now usually work together in
a communal mining association (figure 5). It is
interesting to note that women are involved in
every element of the work except the strenuous
lifting of equipment.
Toiling under the hot equatorial sun, the
miners first start digging a shaft at the chosen site.
They soon bring in lumber for supports and also
construct a lean-to to shield the workers from the
sun. A four-cylinder car engine is connected to a
10-cm-diameter pump to remove the constant
inflow of water (figure 6).The sides of the shaft are
well supported, and swamp grass is woven together
and shoved between the timbers to staunch the
constant oozing of the swamp. The miners work
Figure 6. A car engine i s c o m m o n l y used t o
p u m p water from t h e m i n e shafts a t C e m p a k a .
Photo by David Dikinis.
Figure 7. T h e black ironwood dulang (pan) a n d

clove cigarette are trademarks of t h e d i a m o n d
panner at C e m p a l u ~Photo
.
b y David Dikinis.
from near sunup to sunset every day except Friday,

which is the Moslem holy day. They break for
coffee and lunch at one of the many "snack bars"
that are set up in the gem fields by enterprising
'members of the family."
The camp is in continual activity, with pumps
running, miners (including the women) digging,
and young boys hauling baskets of gem-bearing
gravel to the stream bank, where yet another team
of workers washes it. The washers clean and
concentrate the gravel in long hollowed-out logs
set into the stream. The gravel is poured into one
end of the log and then worked by the washers first
with their feet to clean off silt and later by hand to
remove the lighter gravel and larger rocks. The
concentrate is then divided among the panners,
who squat waist deep in the stream with a dulang
(pan) made of black ironwood which they swish
relentlessly in search of that large white diamond
that will make them all rich (figure 7). When a
stone is found, it is presented to the group's leader,
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
75
who will be in charge of selling it in Martapura on

the traditional Tuesday or Saturday market day.
The Sampling Project at Banjar Baru. In contrast to

the manual digging, washing, and sorting of the
gem gravels at Cempalza, the most sophisticated
equipment available was used to mine the gravels
for bulk sampling at Banjar Baru. The aim of the
bulk sampling was to determine the diamondbearing potential of the gravels beneath the swamp
and to recover at least 1,000 ct of diamonds for
quality and manufacturing evaluation.
The first pit was sited at Danau Sera11 because
of the occurrence of significant indicator mineral
grain counts as well as the recovery of a number of
small diamonds from the preliminary drill holes.
The pit was laid out with an initial length of 40 m
and a width of 8 m, the overburden was stripped,
and then the gravels were excavated by 35T Linlzbelt clamshells (figure 8).To stop slumping and the
Figure 8. Clamsl~ellsare used to remove gravels
from the first sample pit at D a n a Seran. Photo
by David Dikinis.
inflow of surface water, a retainer wall was constructed from loose material excavated around the
perimeter of the pit; in addition, a slurry pump was
installed to remove water. To determine accurate
in-situ volumes of diamond-bearing gravels, the
internal dimensions of the excavated pit were
accurately surveyed, and gravel thicknesses were
measured at 1-m intervals around the interior
(again, see figure 4).
The excavated gravels were loaded onto 6-ton
haul trucks and delivered to the sampling plant
some 5 lzm away (figure 9).The sampling plant is a
standard alluvial plant of 10 m3 per hour capacity
that uses a trommel-scrubber unit and primary
and secondary jigs (figure 10).A spiral concentrator
was added to improve the recovery of black sand (a
mixture of ilmenite, chromite, rutile, gold, and
platinum). The plant was constructed in Inverell,
Australia, and is basically the same as that used to
separate sapphire at Inverell (see Coldham, 1985).
The recovery procedure was found to be highly
effective, with virtually all diamonds recovered
from the first two (of three) screens in both the
primary and secondary jigs.
The jig screens were removed after three or
four days' production and the concentrate processed in the laboratory. The 5-7 m m and the 3-5
m m concentrates were fed into a Plietz jig, which
delivers a high-grade diamond concentrate in the
center of a flat screen. This screen is then placed
upside down on a white cloth on a rubber sorting
deck, and the diamonds are hand picked under
strong white light in a shallow water bath. The
Plietz jig tailings were panned by hand again to
check for diamonds that may have escaped initial
inspection. The <1.5-mm black sand concentrate
was first dehumidified, put through a magnetic
separator, and then tabled with the super-concentrate amalgamated to recover gold and hand
washed t o recover platinum. Considerable
amounts of gold and platinum were recovered in
this way (figure 11).A total of 5345.9 m3 of gravels
were taken from the bulk sample pit. From these
gravels, 1050.96 ct of diamonds, 470 grams of gold,
and 178 grams of platinum were recovered.
The authors are not aware of any major sophisticated diamond mining operations being undertaken in western Kalimantan at this time. Local
inhabitants continue to mine by traditional
methods in the area of Ngabang, following procedures similar to those described above for southeastern Kalimantan.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
I-'
Figure 9. This sampling plant, locates ., .cm from the Danau Seran sample pit, i s basically the same
as that used to separate sapphire at Inverell, Australia. Photo courtesy of Acorn Securities.
Figure 10. Material emitted from the jigs at the

Acorn Securities sampling plant will be further
examined b y hand for diamond rough. Photo
b y David Dikinis.
DESCRIPTION OF THE
KALIMANTAN DIAMONDS
Quality Analysis of Diamonds from Banjarmasin.
Acorn Securities reports that the great bulk of the
diamonds they recovered are of gem quality, with
only one piece of bort recovered from 6,766 individual stones found in the bulk sample pit. The
Figure 11. In addition t o over 1,000 ct of

diamonds (some of which are shown here i n
the center), 470 grams of gold and 178 grams
of platinum were recovered from the first
bulk-sample pit at Danau Seran. Photo b y
David D i k i n ~ s .
diamonds occur as stones and shapes with uncommon cleavages, as well as some macles and, rarely,
ballas (figure 12). The dominant crystal forms of
the stones and shapes are the dodecahedron and
tetrahexahedron (58%; C. E. Watson, pers. comm.,
GEMS &. GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
77
Figure 13. This 8.53-ct diamond from the first

bulk sampling pit at Danau Seran cut a 3.5-ct
stone of 1 color. Photo courtesy of Acorn Securities.
Figure 12. A variety of colors and shapes of diamonds (here, 1-3 ct) were found in the first
bulk sample recovered from Danau Seran.
Photo courtesy of Acorn Securities.
1988)followed by the octahedron (22%).The goods

generally show low amounts of inclusions. White
(46%)and yellow (33%)stones are the dominant
color groupings, although brown (15%, including
cognac and champagne colors), green (5%))and
other colors (1%)were also recovered. Of the larger
stones cut, that is, stones greater than 2 ct, the
highest color rating was a J. Because of the shapes
in which the diamonds occur and their overall
quality, independent valuers in both London and
Antwerp have deemed the material eminently
"sawable."
The largest stone recovered from this area in
recent months is a 33-ct octahedron found by a
local miner. The largest stone recovered during the
Acorn sampling was an 8.53-ct octahedron (figure
13) that cut a 3.50-ct stone of J color. Twenty
percent of the stones by weight are larger than 0.8
ct, with 48% of the stones larger than 0.30 ct.
Approximately 15% of the stones are larger than
1 ct.
78
Gemological Properties. Comprehensive gemological testing of the three fancy-color faceted

stones shown in figure 1 and the near-colorless
crystal shown in figure 14 confirmed that the
properties of these Kalimantan diamonds are the
same as diamonds of similar hues from other
localities (see table 1). With regard to internal
characteristics, no mineral inclusions were observed in the grayish blue diamond when it was
examined with the microscope. However, a cloud
of pinpoint inclusions was evident throughout the
light pinkish brown stone, and numerous black
crystal inclusions (which could not be identified
without damaging the stone) were noted under the
crown and table of the greenish yellow diamond.
Both of these characteristics, however, have been
observed in diamonds from other localities. Also
observed in the greenish yellow diamond was the
strong green graining that is typical of this color
type from various sources.
Famous Diamonds. Although diamonds over 5 ct
from Kalimantan are rare, this does not preclude
the occasional discovery of a significant stone. The
Jakarta Museum has many diamonds that weigh
10 ct or more. Bauer (1904) reported that several
stones over 100 ct once belonged to the Malay
Prince of Landalz. Since the Landalz district was the
major producer of diamonds in Kalimantan into
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
the early 20th century, it would have been appropriate for the ruling prince to retain the largest
stones. Bauer also reported that the Rajah of Matan
had several significant diamonds, including a 70 ct
named the Segima and an unnamed 54-ct stone.
The Rajah of Matan was reported also to have a
367-ct diamond, but it is generally thought that the
stone was actually quartz.
In 1965, a diamond weighing 166.85 ct was
found in southeastern Kalimantan and named the
Tri Sakti, or "Three Principles," after the three
watchwords of the new Indonesian republicnationalism, religion, and unity ("Petrified Tears,"
1977; Schubnel, 1980). The rough was sent to
Asscher's Diamond Company, Ltd., an Amsterdam
firm that is renowned for having cut the Cullinan,
and a 50.53-ct emerald-cut was produced in 1966.
The stone was subsequently sold to an undisclosed
buyer in Europe and, unfortunately, its current
whereabouts are not known.
THE MARTAPURA DIAMOND
INDUSTRY TODAY
~ a r t a ~ is&the largest diamond-cutting center in
~ndonesia.In the town square of Martapura, one is
immediately aware that this is a gem-trading
town. Small jewelry shops are found around the
square, and open-front cutting shops predominate
in the alleyways. Purchasing diamonds as a tourist
Figure 14. This near-colorless 0.96-ct octahedral

diamond crystal from Cempaka is set in a n
18K gold pendant designed b y Diane Allen.
Photo 0 Tino H a m m i d .
TABLE 1. Gemological properties of four diamonds from Borneo,
Property
0.34-ct fancy light

pinkish brown
0.20-ct fancy
grayish blue
0.28-ct fancy
greenish yellow
0.96-ct nearcolorless
octahedral crystal
Absorption
spectruma
(400-700 nm)
Strong 415.5-nm
line
No lines or
bands
Moderate lines at
498 and 504 nm
Transmission
luminescence
Fluorescence to
U.V. radiation
None
None
Strong green
Very strong
chalky blue
Moderate chalky
blue
Very weak dull
chalky yellow,
long-wave U.V.
None
Very weak
yellowish orange
None
None
Very strong
chalky yellow
Moderate chalky
yellow
None
Nonconductive
Conductive
Nonconductive
Nonconductive
Short-wave
Phosphorescence
Electrical
conductivity
None
None at room
temperature; very
weak 415.5-nm
line when stone
cooled to - 54OC
None
None
'As observed through a GIA GEM Instruments spectroscope unit with a Beck prism spectroscope, with the diamonds
cooled with an aerosol refrigerant,
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
79
for personal use is perfectly legal in Indonesia, but

there are special requirements for obtaining a
business visa. The jewelry is both made locally and
also imported as halfmounts from Hong Kong and
Bangkok. The round brilliant is virtually the
exclusive cut in Martapura. A marquise-cut diamond shown to one of the coauthors was described
as a "very unusual fancy cut." The faceting machines used are typical of those found in India,
with heavy bronze wheels attached by a spindle
with bearings on the top and bottom. One electric
motor will run from one to six cutting wheels by
means of a belt.
The grading of diamonds in Kalimantan is
reminiscent of the grading in existence around the
turn of the century. Color is graded as blue-white
(biru],white (putih1, yellowish [huning), brownish
(coklat),and, of course, the fancy colors. Clarity is
divided into "loupe clean," "slightly imperfect,"
etc. No microscopes or modern diamond-grading
equipment [or terminology) were in evidence during Dikinis's 1987 visit. Some fine cut stones in 3to 5-ct sizes, as well as one 10-ct, were available at
that time. The prices for rough were based on what
kind of a finished round stone the rough should
produce. The largest consumers of the finished cut
stones are the jewelry stores in Jakarta, so the
prices are fairly consistent with the international
market.
RECENT PRODUCTION AND
FUTURE POTENTIAL
Schubnel (1980) estimated that annual diamond
production from southeastern Kalimantan ranged
between 20,000 and 30,000 ct. In 1984, however,
Diamond World Review gave production estimates for Borneo of 15,000 ct per year. During
Dikinis's visit in the summer of 1987, only about
five rough stones (over 0.50 ct) a day came on the
open market in Martapura (although a somewhat
greater number were undoubtedly sent directly to
the local cutting facilities). During a subsequent
visit to the mining town of Cempalza, Dikinis also
observed that a full day of prospecting produced
only three gem-quality stones. These figures are
low enough that the government and the international community pay little attention to the native
workings of southeastern Kalimantan.
The best hope for increasing diamond production in Kalimantan is through large-scale, mechanized mining. Several corporations are actively
exploring for both alluvial diamonds and possible
80
kimberlite pipes in the Meratus Mountains and

elsewhere. The most advanced of these diamond
projects in Kalimantan is that of the Aneka Tambang-Acorn Securities-Keymead joint venture in
the Cempalza district.
At the time of printing, Acorn has completed
an additional large bulk sample as well as several
smaller bulk samples using sheet pile caisson
techniques driven by crane-mounted vibro-hammers. The Cempaka swamp, as well as Danau
Seran, has now been sampled. A detailed feasibility
study prepared in conjunction with Alluvial
Dredges Ltd. of Scotland proposes a 16-ft3 buclzetladder dredge for the Danau Seran paleochannel
that would remove the overburden and some
800,000 m3 of diamondiferous gravel per annum
for five years to produce approximately 100,000 ct
per annum of gem-quality diamonds. The proposal
also calls for an additional two 36-ft3 buclzet-line
dredges to mine the deeper Cempalza paleochannel
at an annual production of 200,000 ct.
The high unit value of the diamonds enables
the relatively low in-situ grades to be profitably
mined using these sophisticated high-volume extraction techniques. With the success of this
project, it is hoped that Indonesia will become a
small but consistent producer of high-quality gem
diamonds.
REFERENCES
Ball S.H. 11931) Diamond mining in Borneo. Engineering and
Mining Journal, Vol. 132, No, 5, pp. 200-204.
Bauer M. (1904)Precious Stones. Trans. b y L. J. Spencer, Charles
Griffin & Co., London.
Boutan E. (1886) Diamant. C. Dunod, Paris.
Bruton E. (1978)Dian~onds,2nd ed. Chilton Book Co., Radnor,
PA.
Diamond World Review 11984) Vol. 8, No. 33, p. 2116.
Hamilton W (1970)Tectonics of the Indonesian Region. Report
published by the Indonesian Geological Survey.
The petrified tears of Queen Ratu Inan (19771 Indiaqiiu, Vol. 1,
NO. 15, pp. 15-19.
Nixon pH., Bergman S.C. (1987) Anomalous occurrences of
diamonds. Indiaquo, No. 47, pp. 21-27,
Schubnel H-J. (1980) Other producers. In J. Legrand, Ed.,
Diamonds: Myth, Magic, and Reality, Crown Publishers,
New York, pp. 180-187.
Tavernier J-B. (1676)Travels in India. Trans. by V Ball, Oriental
Reprint Corp., New Delhi, India.
VanBen~n~elen,
R. W 11939)De geologie van het westelijke deel
van de Westerafdeeling van Borneo (geology of the western
part of southwest Borneo). N.E. I , Dienst v. d Mijnboiiw,
laarb.. Vol. 68, pp. 187-328.
Webster R. (1983) Gems: Their Sources, Descriptions, and
Identification, 4th ed. Butterworths, London, England.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
AN UPDATE ON COLOR IN GEMS.

PART 3: COLORS CAUSED BY
BAND GAPS AND
PHYSICAL PHENOMENA
By Emmanuel Fritsch and George R. Rossman
The previous two articles in this series described the origins of color in gems that
derive from isolated structures of atomic
dimensions-an atom (chromium in emerald), a small molecule (the carbonate
group in Maxixe beryl), or particular
units
groupings of atoms (Fez+-0-Fe:f
in cordieiite). The final part of this series
is concerned with colors explained by
band theoiy, such as canary yellow &amonds, o r b y physical optics, such as
play-of-color in opal. In the case of band
theory, the color-causing entity is the very
structure of the entire crystal; in the case
of physical phenomena, it is of inicroscopic dimension, but considerably larger
than the clusters of a few atoms previously discussed.
+
ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dr. Fritsch is research scientist at the Gemological Institute 01 America, Santa Monica, Calilornia.
Dr. Rossman is prolessor of mineralogy at the
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calilornia.
Acknowledgments: E . F. wishes to thank Professor
Georges Calas, Mr. Pierre Bariand, and Ms. Anne
Voileau for their help and encouragement in writing the original French version of this article. Special appreciation goes to Ms. Pat Gray lor typing
the original English manuscript and improving the
translation, and to Ms. Ruth Patchick for word processing the many revisions, especially the tables.
The authors are also grateful to Ms, Laurel Bartlet!, Dr. James Shigley, Mr. John Koivula, and
Dr. John Hummel tor their constructive comments.
Color in Gems, Part 3
11of the colors discussed in parts 1 and 2 of this series

(Fritsch and Rossman, 1987 and 1988) arise from
processes in which electrons are localized on a single atom
or are delocalized over no more than a few atoms. The
colors that arise from these processes depend on the
presence of specific minor components or defects in the
host crystal. However, colors can arise, though less commonly, from processes that involve the entire crystal,
through either its electronic structure (band theory) or its
internal texture (physical phenomena such as interference
effects, diffraction effects, scattering, and inclusions; see
figure 1).These, the most unusual causes of color in gems,
are covered in this last article of our series.
BAND THEORY
In contrast to the processes described in the first two parts
of this series, the electrons in some gem minerals can be
delocalized over the entire crystal, and produce color
through their interaction with visible light. Such delocalization is a characteristic property of most metals and
semiconductors. The physical theory that describes the
cause of color in such materials is called band theory.
Examples of the various gem colors explained by this
theory are presented in table 1.
In numerous solid materials, billions of atoms contribute to the possible energy levels, which are so numerous
and so close together that they are considered collectively
as an energy band. This is of particular interest in the case
of some semiconducting and metallic minerals (Marfunin,
1979a).There arc two bands in these solids: a low-energy
valence band that is fully populated with electrons, and a
high-energy conduction band that is generally empty
(figure 2). The energy that separates these bands is well
defined and is called a "band gap." This energy separation is
of dramatic importance to the optical properties of certain
types of gemstones.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
81
Figure 1. Colors i n gem

materials can be caused
by a wide variety of processes. This article explains color-producing
mechanisms related to
band theory and physical
phenomena. Examples of
the latter include diffraction in opal (in the center top and bottom
right), scattering of light
in "moonstone" feldspar
(the necklace), and coloration by inclusions in
fire opal (center bottom)
and "siinstone" feldspar
(bottom left). The necklace is courtesy of Elise
Misiorowski; photo by
Robert Weldon.
For these gemstones, transitions between

bands rather than between energy levels of single
atoms are responsible for the color. These "interband transitions" occur when electrons from the
valence band receive sufficient energy by absorbing light to "jump" over the band gap and reach the
conduction band. As illustrated in figure 2, three
different scenarios are possible for interband transitions.
When the energy of the band gap is greater than

the maximum energy of the visible range (i.e., the
violet light), visible light does not supply enough
energy to cause an electron to jump from the lower
band to the upper one (figure2A). Consequently, all
of the visible spectrum is transmitted (none is
absorbed) and, in the absence of impurities or
defects, the mineral is colorless. Such materials e.g., corundum, beryl, quartz, diamond, and topaz,
TABLE 1. Types of gem materialsfor which color can be explained by the band theory and examples of the colors produced,
Origin of color
Band gap less than the

energy of visible light
Type of material
Conductors and some
semiconductors = colored opaque
materials with metallic luster
Color
Examples
Red
White
Covellite (Berry and Vaughan, 1985)

Gold, pyrite (Nassau, 1975;
Fritsch, 1985)
Copper (Nassau, 1975)
Silver, platinum (Nassau, 1975)
Violet to blue
Yellow
Band gap in the

visible range
Some semiconductors
Red
Cuprite, cinnabar (Fritsch, 1985)
Band gap greater than the

energy of visible light
Some semiconductors and all

insulators
Intrinsically
colorless
Diamond, corundum, beryl, quartz,

topaz, fluorite (Fritsch, 1985)
Color modified by minor

components
Some semiconductors
Blue
Type llb diamond, containing

dispersed boron atoms (Collins,
1982)
Type Ib diamond, containing
dispersed nitrogen atoms (Collins,
1982)
Yellow
82
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
as well as many other oxides and silicates-are

inherently electrical insulators.
When the energy of the gap is less than the
energy of violet light (i.e., is in the visible range),
the most energetic radiations in the visible range
(violet to blue to green] are absorbed, leaving the
low-energy range unaffected, that is, transmitted
(figure 2B). The exact energy of the band gap varies
among different materials, so the transmitted
color will also vary. Usually band-gap colors range
from deep yellow to deep red. Cuprite and cinnabar
(figure 3) are colored red by such a process.
The energy in the band gap may be even less
than the lowest energy of the visible spectrum
(red).In such a situation, all wavelengths of visible
light will cause a transition from the valence band
to the conduction band, so the whole visible
spectrum is absorbed (figure 2C). As a conse-
quence, the mineral usually appears black and

opaque. All metals have just such a small band gap
or no band gap at all. They appear, however, to be
shiny (metallic luster) because their electrons
quickly return to their original energy level, emitting the exact same energy (light) that they formerly absorbed (Nassau, 1975b).In some metals,
the number of available excited states may vary
throughout the conduction band, so that some
wavelengths are absorbed and re-emitted more
efficiently than others, thus producing color. Although silver and platinum absorb and emit all
wavelengths with about the same efficiency and
appear white, gold (or pyrite) absorbs and emits
more yellow than the other wavelengths and so
gets its distinct golden coloration (again, see figure 3).
The band gaps discussed thus far are an intrin-
..
Figure. 2..The three possible types of
intrinsic coloration of gem materials
are.explained by examining the
width of the band gap in relation to
the visible range. (A) Band gap
greater than the energy of the visible range: All visible radiation i s
transmitted and the gem is intrinsically colorless. ( B ) Band gap in the
visible range: Only the high-energy
part of the spectrum (violet to blue
to green) is absorbed, and the gem
is yellow to red. (C) Band gap less
than the energy o f visible light: All
visible radiation is absorbed and the
material is black, or displays metallic colors due to re-emission.
Artwork by Ian Newell.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
83
Figure 3. The red color of cuprite

(the cushion cut) and cinnabar (the
pentagon cut) has little t o d o with
the fact that these gems contain
copper and mercury, respectively.
The color occurs because the band
gap of these minerals is within the
visible range: All wavelengths from
violet t o orange are absorbed, so
that only red light is transmitted.
The band gap in gold is m u c h
smaller than the energy of the visible range: All visible light is absorbed but some wavelengths are reemitted preferentially, giving gold its
yellow color and metallic luster. (Rem e m b e r that the energy scale i s inverse to the wavelength scale.) Photo
b y Robert Weldon.
sic property of the material; they are ultimately

directly related to its chemical composition and
atomic structure. I11 some semiconductors, however, color is caused by small amounts of impurity
atoms that normally do not produce color in
intrinsically colorless minerals. Specifically, these
atoms can introduce electronic energy levels at an
energy between the valence band and the conduction band of the host mineral (seefigure 4).Some of
the most striking examples are canary yellow and
fancy blue diamonds, which contain isolated nitrogen and boron atoms, respectively. Although pure
(colorless)diamonds are insulators, they may also
be considered semiconductors with a band gap so
large that they have neither color nor appreciable
electrical conductivity (figure 4A). Nitrogen can
easily substitute for carbon, which it follows in the
periodic table of elements. Because nitrogen possesses one more electron than carbon, however, it
becomes an electron "donor" when it substitutes
for carbon in diamond. This additional electron
contributes an additional energy level situated
above the diamond valence band, but below the
diamond conduction band (figure 4B). However,
because this donor level has a finite width, light of
a variety of wavelengths extending from the ultraviolet into the visible range up to 560 nm (green)
will be absorbed, creating a strong yellow color.
This type of coloration occurs only in type Ib
diamonds, in which isolated nitrogen atoms substitute for carbon atoms in the proportion of about
1 to 100,000 (Collins, 1982).This color is distinct
from the yellow color commonly caused by the
84
nitrogen-related N3 color center, which produces

the familiar Cape series of absorption lines.
Boron has one less electron than carbon, which
follows it in the periodic table of elements. Therefore, boron is an electron "acceptor" when substituting for carbon in diamond. It contributes its
own electron energy band, which is situated
within the diamond band gap (figure 4C). The
excitation of an electron from the diamond valence
band to the acceptor level requires only a very low
energy, in the infrared range (Collins, 1982). Because the boron energy band is broad, it can cause
absorption extending from the infrared up to 500
Figure 4. The band gap i n pure diamond i s m u c h

greater than the visible range (A), so this gem is intrinsically colorless. However, a substitution a1 nitrogen atom introduces a level that donates electrons t o the diamond conduction band (B), creating
an absorption in the ultraviolet that extends into
the blue end of the visible range (see spectrum);
such stones are of an intense yellow color, and are
therefore called "canary" (type Ib) diamonds. By
contrast, a boron atom substituting for carbon can
introduce a broad energy level available for electrons from the diamond valence band (C), which
will induce an absorption of the near-infrared and
the red end o f the visible range (see spectrum), giving a blue h u e to such a stone (type l l b diamond).
These three mechanisms are illustrated b y the colorless, De Beers synthetic type Ib yellow (photo
0Tino Hammid), and natural dark blue diamonds
shown here. Artwork b y Jan Newell.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
COLORLESS
DIAMOND
TYPE 1-B
DIAMOND
(Yellow)
--
TYPE 11-0
DIAMOND
(Blue)
'I-
- VISIBLE RANGE
WAVELENGTH (nm)
I
DIAMOND CONDUCTION BAND
DIAMOND VALENCE BAND
GEMS &. GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
85
Figure 5 . Minute
amounts of boron contribute the intense
blue color to blue diamonds. Yellow in diamonds can arise from
a variety of processes,
011 of which are related to the presence
of nitrogen impurities.
The possible origins of
color for orange,
brown, and pink diamonds are listed in
table 4. The blue marquise shown here is
3.88 ct; the intense
yellow oval w e i g h
29.16 cts; the two intense yellow diamonds mounted in
earrings weigh a total
of 12.26 ct. Jewelry
courtesy of Harry
Winston, Inc.; photo
0 Harold d Erica
Van Pelt.
n m (theedge of the green).The resulting blue color,

which can be produced with boron concentrations
as low as one part per million (Nassau, 1975b),may
be quite intense (figure 5). The Hope diamond is
the most famous example of a blue diamond. There
is no known commercial treatment that would
affect band-gap coloration.
COLORS THAT ARISE FROM
PHYSICAL PHENOMENA
All of the colors discussed thus far in this series
have been due to the absorption of light. But as the
introduction to part 1 pointed out, other causes of
color are possible. In some gem materials, physical
properties such as inclusions or lamellar texture
can influence the hue. In this next section, we will
explore how light interference, diffraction, and
scattering can interact with these physical features to create colors in gem materials. These
processes are rarely related directly to the chemistry of the stone, but rather are connected to the
texture or internal arrangement of the mineral.
The various colors obtained in gems as a conse-
86
quence of physical phenomena are summarized in

table 2.
Interference Effects from Thin Films. Interference
phenomena occur when two rays of light travel
along the same path or in closely spaced parallel
paths. If these rays, or light waves, vibrate in phase,
the wave crests reinforce each other to produce
bright light (constructive interference).If the light
waves vibrate exactly out of phase, they cancel
each other to produce darkness (destructive interference).
Iridescence, the most common interference
phenomenon, occurs when light passes through a
thin transparent film that has a different index of
refraction from the surrounding medium (e.g., a
thin film of air in "iris quartz"). Rays reflected from
the bottom of the film will travel beside waves
reflected from the top of the film. At certain
wavelengths, dictated by the thickness and the
index of refraction of the film, the rays vibrate out
of phase and the corresponding colors are removed
from the reflected light through destructive inter-
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
ference. The remaining wavelengths produce the

familiar colored effects that appear when a drop of
oil expands as a thin film on water. The possible
colors in iridescence are illustrated in figure 6.
None of these colors is a pure spectral color.
In gemoloey, examples can be found as interference color in cracks (again, "iris quartz"), or in
tarnish films on oxidized cut stones and sulfide
crystals, such as pyrite and bornite (Nassau,
1975b).Iridescent cracks are sometimes created by
heating and rapidly cooling a stone ("quench craclzling"), especially quartz. The color observed in
many pearls is also due in part to interference
effects (again, see figure 6). Pearls are constructed
from concentric alternating layers of aragonite and
conchiolin, two substances of different refractive
indices. Incoming overhead light is reflected from
the surfaces between those successive layers. The
reflected light interferes with the incoming light to
create delicate iridescent colors, called orient.
Mother-of-pearl and some abalone pearls exhibit
similar interference effects, but the colors generally are stronger and less subtle (figure 7). In
addition*to "quench crackling," interference effects can also be generated by coating thin films of
various substances on the surface of a gem.
Diffraction Effects. Diffraction effects are special
types of interference phenomena. The most important of these for gem materials is that caused by a
regular stacking of alternating layers that have
different indices of refraction. This diffraction
effect produces pure spectral colors, in contrast to
iridescence, which gives rise to colors that are a
combination of several spectral colors (again, see
figure 6).
Opal is one of the very few gems that can
exhibit all colors of the spectrum in a single stone.
It is interesting to note in play-of-color opal that
although the pattern may be quite irregular,
within each color region the color is homogeneous
(see, for example, figure 1 of this article and the
cover of this issue). The color of any one patch
depends on the orientation of the overhead light
source; when the stone moves, the color changes,
giving "life" to the opal. If the light emerging from
one of the color patches is analyzed, it appears to be
a pure spectral color, that is, essentially of only one
wavelength. These properties are characteristic of
the diffraction effect created by the interaction of
white light with a regularly layered structure
(figure 8).
TABLE 2. Physical phenomena and examples of the colors
they cause in various gem materials.

Color and
gem material
Process
Interference
on a thin film
Diffraction
Scattering
Rayleigh
scattering
Mie scattering
Scattering
from structures
larger than
visible
wavelengths
Presence of
colored
inclusions
Various (nonspectral) colors: iris quartz,

iridescent coatings and tarnish, "orient" in
pearls, mother-of-pearl (Nassau, 1975)
All (spectral) colors: play-of-color opal
(Darragh and Sanders, 1965),
labradorite/spectrolite (Ribbe, 1972),
some rare andradites (Hirai and Nakazawa,
1982)
Blue: feldspar/moonstone (Lehmann,
1978), some blue quartz (Zolensky et al,,
1988), some opal (Lehmann, 1978)
Violet: fluorite, scattering by calcium
microcrystals (Braithwaite et al., 1973)
Red: ruby glass, scattering by copper
or gold microcrystals (Nassau, 1983)
White: milky quartz (Fritsch, 1985)
Blue: dumorlierite inclusions in quartz

(J. Koivula, pers. comm., 1988)
Green: nickel-bearing clays in
chrysoprase and prase opal (A. Manceau,
pers. comm., 1987; Koivula and Fryer,
1984), chromian mica (fuchsite) in
aventurine quartz (Lehmann, 1978)
Orange: hydrous iron oxides in carnelian
agate and fire opal (J. Koivula, pers.
comm., 1988)
Red: hematite platelets in orthoclase
(Andersen, 1915), hematite or copper
platelets in sunstone feldspar (Lehmann,
1978), cordierite/"bloodshot iolite" (Gubelin
and Koivula, 1987)
The structure of opal was first revealed with

scanning electron microscopy more than 20 years
ago (Darragh and Sanders, 1965).It is an extraordinarily regular stacking of parallel layers of small
spheres composed of hydrous silica. Color phenomena occur when the diameter of these spheres
is less than the wavelengths of visible light. The
conditions for diffraction of a given color are met
when the distance between two successive layers
is approximately equal to the wavelength of that
color divided by the index of refraction of the
spheres. The exact conditions are described in
Nassau (1983). Consequently, the diffracted wavelength is proportional to the size of the particle. For
example, the intense red is selected by spheres of
about 250 nm in diameter (Darragh and Sanders,
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
87
Figure 6. The colors produced by interference on a

thin film are the same as those observed on this
quartz wedge (top left) in polarized light. None of
them is a pure spectral color. Notice that the
"higher orders" on the right produce mostly pink
and green. Interference colors are caused in pearls
by light passing through and reflected back by alternating concentric layers of aragonite and
conchiolin, which are readily visible on the electron photomicrograph of a pearl section (left). The
resulting "high order" interference colors (mostly
green and pink) are called orient and overtone (the
latter, when they are stronger and homogeneous
all over the pearl). They are readily apparent in
these black pearl cufflinks (top right). Photomicrograph courtesy of B. Lasnier, Gemology Laboratory,
Nantes University, France. Jewelry courtesy of
Harry Winston, Inc. Color photos by Robert Weldon.
1965). The other colors are diffracted by smaller

spheres, down to 140 nin in diameter.
As stated earlier, the color of the diffracted
light varies with the angle between the direction of
illumination and the direction of observation. The
observed wavelength is at a maximum (e.g., red)
when those two directions are perpendicular.
When the stone is rocked away from this position,
the observed wavelength decreases (e.g., goes to
orange; Lehmann, 1978).
For the more commonplace play-of-color opals,
those with mostly blue and green patches, the
remainder of the incoming light (i.e.,yellow to red)
is transmitted so that an orange coloration is seen
in transmitted light. Fire opal, however, probably
owes its yellow-to-red body color (figure 9) to both
diffraction and body absorption by Fe3+-rich submicroscopic to microscopic inclusions between
the silica spheres (J. Koivula, pers. comm., 1988).
88
Similar effects are encountered in some feldspars belonging to the plagioclase series. These
feldspars display regions of color, often violet to
green, against a generally black background. Finnish "Spectrolite," a variety of labradorite, appears
to show every color of the spectrum. This phenomenon is called "labradorescence," after the classic
occurrence of these stones on the Isle of Paul,
Labrador, although varieties of plagioclase feldspars other than labradorite may display this
effect. The diffracting objects in labradorescence
are alternating layers, known as exsolution
lamellae, of two feldspars with different chemical
compositions. One layer is calcium rich and the
other is calcium poor. The color created by the
lamellar structures depends on their respective
thicknesses and indices of refraction (figure 10).
Another gemstone that occasionally shows diffraction colors is andradite from Hermosillo, Mexico
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
Scattering. When the internal structure of the

stone is irregular and/or the size of the components
is outside the very narrow range needed for diffraction (approximately 100-400 nm), visible light
cannot be diffracted. It can, however, still be
scattered, the process by which light entering a
stone in a given direction is deflected in different
directions through interaction with the scattering
centers. This creates both striking color effects and
optical phenomena. The exact phenomenon depends on the size and shape of the scattering
centers. When the scattering centers are smaller
than the wavelength of visible light [including
down to molecular dimensions) and not regularly
distributed, the process is called Rayleigh scattering; when the scattering centers are comparable in
size to visible wavelengths, the process is called
Mie scattering. (The names are derived from the
mathematical theories used to describe scattcring.) A third type of scattering occurs when the
centers are larger than visible wavelengths.
Rayleigh scattering. When the incoming light ray

encounters randomly distributed objects smaller
Figure 8. The homogeneous color in a patch of
opal arises because light rays entering the stone
are diffracted b y an orderly array of silica
spheres and the holes in between them. The diffracted color depends on the size of the spheres
(of ter Lehmann, 1978).
ire ', . .'ink and green interference colors
'<ea spectacular display in this abalone
rl. Courtesy of Lowell Jones, St. Louis,
M U ; photo @ Tino Hammid.
Incident light
/\
(Koivula, 1987). Similar material from Japan has

lamellar structures about 100 n m thick (Hirai and
Nakazawa, 1982),which give rise to some very rare
crystals with patches of color. Diffraction effects
probably account for the color phenomena observed in some varieties of agate (e.g., iris agate,
fire agate).
Diffraction cannot be induced by any known
commercial treatment. However, an already existing diffraction color can be enhanced by inducing a
dark background (sugar and smoke treatment of
opals, for example, as well as doublets], or by
reducing the scattering of light in the matrix
through impregnation with various kinds of polymers.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
89
than the wavelengths of visible light, the most

energetic radiations -violet and blue- are scattered much more strongly than the others. In fact,
violet light is scattered 16 times more efficiently
thanred. As a result, the majority of the orange-red
light passes through the stone and appears as
transmitted light, whereas violet and blue light is
scattered and can be observed at right angles to the
incident beam.
This phenomenon is familiar to all of us as the
scattering of sunlight by molecules and molecular
aggregates in the upper atmosphere, which causes
the sky to appear blue in the daytime (scattered
light) and orange-red at dawn and twilight (transmitted light). Examples in gemology are few but
well known. Common opal (potch) contains
spheres that are too small and too irregularly
stacked to diffract. Instead, it has a bluish white
appearance called "opalescence," which is due to
scattering by the silica spheres. Such an opal
indeed also transmits orange light. "Moonstonef1is
F I ~ U I9.~ This extraordinary opal specimen
from Mesdco shows a difiactim-caused play-ofcolor zoae close to a region of fire opal, which
is colored.by a combination of diffractionsad.
body a bsqption by F E ~-containing inclusions. Specimen courtesy of the Paris School of
Minei; photo 0 Nelly Hariand
+
so called because light scattered from exsolution
lamellae creates a bluish white "moon-like" hue

[in the best specimens; see figure 1). Moonstone
is actually an alkali feldspar, with alternating
parallel planes of potassium- and sodium-rich
feldspars forming an assemblage called a microperthite. These component layers in moonstone
range from 50 to 1000 run (1pm)thick (Lehmann,
1978). The thinner layers produce the Rayleigh
scattering. The same colors from scattering can
also occur in plagioclase, and are sometimes called
"adularescenc6.~Some blue quartz receives its
color from the scattering effect created by dispersed ilmenite inclusions that are approximately
60 nm in diameter (Zolenskyet al., 1988).
Alia Scattering. When the scattering elements are
roughly the size of the visible wavelengths, the
scattering is best described by the "Mie theory."
This theory has applications in gem materials only
in those very special cases in which the color is
created by metallic inclusions.
A common example is provided by some varieties of violet fluorite. This color is generated by
irradiation, which expels a fluorine atom from the
crystal, leaving partially bonded calcium atoms
behind. Over time, the calcium atoms coagulate
and form small hexagonal platelets about the size
of visible wavelengths (Lehmann,1978).Part of the
light is absorbed by the calcium crystals and part is
reflected. The combined effect of this absorption
and reflection is a strong absorption from the green
to the red, which leaves a violet transmission
window. The position of the bands, and therefore
the hue, varies slightly with the size of the
metallic particles. Such an effect has been known
for a long time in man-made glasses (which are
often used as gemstone simulants)."Ruby" glasses
are colored by microscopic particles of copper (or
gold),and the brown glass used for beer bottles (and
to imitate topaz] is usually tinted by metallic
oxysulphide precipitates (J. F. Cottrant, pers.
comrn., 1987).
Scattering from Structural Components Larger

than Visible Wavelengths.When the inclusions are
larger than the wavelengths of visible light, they
scatter light in all directions, including toward the
observer's eye. Unlike the case of Rayleigh scattering, all wavelengths are scattered equally and
recombine to produce a white light with a translucent milky appearance. This is typical of crystals
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
Figure 10. The schematic drawings illu9trats

why vdtious difflaation colors occur ia plagioclase feldspars. The two sets of lameLlar
feldspars have different thicfenes$m (dy and

dJ and indices of reftacficos (n,and nd;
therefore, the light beam will go through interfaces 1 mid 2 at differant angles (O and
9J, As a consequence, the beam at interface
2 is retarded d a t i v e to the one at iatetface
1, although the wavelengths p the same,
and gsneiaQy attenuate each other, For mfc
givexi combinaticte of thicknesses, refractive
index, and indent warnlength, the beam
from interface 2 is exactly one wuveleogth
behind the beam of interface 1, so they ewibine in a cobereat moaochiosaiatie bearn.
The cote of this beam of light is blue for rda t i d y thin lamellw,red for lwei ones. The
Co.)is a lars exampls
cameo (by Tiffany
- of carved zed and blue labiadon'te. The h e
chdwing is courtesy of the Mineralogical
Record; the photo is by Chip Clffrk,ieprinted by permission of H q N.A brams,
Inc., courtesy of the Sm'tbsaaicso. Ins1tution
containing pervasive fluid inclusions (such as

milky quartz), colorless microcrystals, microfracm e s , bubbles, and the like.
In some cases, a particular orientation of the
scattering elements may produce special optical
effects. If they are fibrous, the result is a "white
adulirescencet'or silky sheen, as in gypsum ("satin
spar" variety), some malachite, or pectolite.
Chatoyancyor asterism arises when the scattering
elements are sets of parallel fibers, tubes, or plate-
lets. These effects, beyond the scope of this article,

do not affect color. However, for the sake of clarity
and completeness, the various kinds of phenomena
(in the gemological sense)have been grouped in
table 3. With the exception of the alexandrite
effect, which was discussed in part 1 of this series
(Fritsch and Rossman, 1987), all gemstone phenomena can be understood as the interaction of
visible light with particles in a particular size
range. The size of the particle can be used as a basis
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
91
TABLE 3. Descriptions, causes, and examples of phenomena in gem materials and considerations they require in
fa~hioning.~
Examples
Considerations
in fashioning
Phenomenon
Description
Cause
Iridescence
Orient
Interference colors on, or in, a

stone, like those produced by a
drop of oil on water
Interference of visible light rays, due to

the presence of a thin film or thin
structure in, or on, a material of
different refractive index
Iris quartz,
'ammolite,"
pearls
Thin film or
structure
oriented to the
girdle plane
Play-of-color
Labradorescence
On a given spot, for a given

illumination angle, only one
pure spectral color is seen;
rotating the stone changes the
color
Diffraction of visible light by regularly

layered structures smaller than the
visible wavelengths
Opal, feldspar
("spectrolite")
Diffraction
layers oriented
parallel to the
girdle plane
Adularescence
Floating bluish sheen in a stone
Scattering of visible light by randomly

distributed structures smaller than
visible wavelengths
Feldspar
(moonstone)
No relation
Chatoyancy
("cat's-eye")
Asterism
One or more lines of white light

appearing on a curved surface
(chatoyancy = one ray, like a
cat's eye; asterism = several
rays-up to 6- building a star)
Scattering of light by oriented parallel

needle-like or plate-like inclusions or
structures larger than visible
wavelengths (chatoyancy = one set of
inclusions or structures; asterism =
multiple sets)
Chrysoberyl,
corundum,
quartz,
diopside
Curved surface
(not well
focused on flat
surface)
Aventurescence
Colored metallic-like spangles

in the stone, especially obvious
when the stone is rotated in
reflected light
Reflection of light by large eye-visible

plate-like inclusions
Aventurine
quartz, feldspar
(sunstone),
goldstone glass
No relation
Change-ofcolor
("Alexandrite
effect")
The stone changes color when

the illumination is switched from
sunlight or fluorescent light to
incandescent light
A major absorption band around 550600 nm cuts the visible range in two
transmission windows: one at the blue
end (dominating in daylight), the other
at the red end (dominating in
incandescent light)
Chrysoberyl
(alexandrite),
corundum,
garnet, spinel,
fluorite
Observed in
all directions,
better colors
in some
'Thitable includes all terms used lor phenomena in gem materials It describes each of the phenomena andshows how similar some 01 them are and how others
relate to one another almost in a continuum
for classification. There is a continuum in the size

of the particles between color-creating phenomena
(such as adularescence) and phenomena that do not
affect color (such as chatoyancy). This continuum
is emphasized in table 3 .
Some of these phenomena can be induced or
enhanced by treatment-especially heat treatment. Basically, the heat precipitates a second
phase in the matrix, which creates oriented inclusions, which in turn induce chatoyancy or asterism
(Nassau, 1984).
Presence of Colored Inclusions. The last type of
coloration encountered in gemstones is coloration
caused by the body color of inclusions in a nearcolorless host crystal. These inclusions can be
extremely small, like the niclzelifero~~s
clays that
color chrysoprase or the small hydrous iron oxide
crystals that make carnelian orange (figure 11).
Somewhat larger but still microscopic inclusions
of hematite cause the color of red orthoclase from
92
Madagascar (Malagasy Republic) and some cordierites ("bloodshot iolite"). Fire opal is colored by
submicroscopic inclusions of iron hydrous oxides
(J. Koivula, pers. comm., 1988).
When the platelets are large enough to be
distinguished with the naked eye (say, when they
reach 1 mm), they can produce "aventurescence."
This term is used to describe the reflective powderlike appearance of crystalline flakes disposed a
l'oventurra (the term refers to a Murano glassfirst made in Venice, Italy- in which copper platelets have been dispersed at random).In aventurine
quartz, mica crystals colored green by chromium
sparkle when the stone is tilted back and forth.
"Sunstonefl can be either native-copper-included
labradorite (most commonly), or oligoclase containing red hematite spangles (again, see figure 1).
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
In most gem materials, color is caused by selective
absorption of light by different processes. In a few
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
instances, phenomenal colors are caused by the

interaction of light with certain physical characteristics, such as inclusions, texture, or the structure of component materials.
Absorption processes in gemstones can be
divided into four broad categories. First, absorption
caused by dispersed metal ions explains how an
isolated Fez+ metal ion makes peridot green.
Second, when certain ions come close enough
together, oxygen-to-metal or metal-to-metal
charge-transfer transitions are possible, like the
02-+Fe3+ charge transfer that causes the yellow
of citrine, or the Fez+-0-Fe^ intervalence charge
transfer responsible for the blue in cordierite.
Third, color centers represent an extremely varied
class of often complex structures or defects that
absorb light; for example, carbon vacancies associated with nitrogen aggregates cause an orangy
yellow color in diamond. These first three categories give colors that are sometimes easily modified,
removed, or enhanced by treatment, usually heat
and/or irradiation. In our fourth category, band
gaps provide colors that cannot be induced or
modified b y commercial treatment because they
are directly related to the crystal structure of the
gem and not to minor amounts of defects or small
concentriions of impurities. They could, however, be modified by overriding color-generating
processes, but there are no known examples of
such a treatment used for gem materials.
It is important to keep in mind, however, that a
single color in a given gem can have more than one
cause. In emerald, for example, color can be due to
Cr3+, V3+, or both. Table 4 lists the origins of color
in most currently available gem materials and
illustrates the variety of potential origins for each.
This listing refers only to known studies. Consequently, a common color for a given gem might be
absent, because no one has yet investigated its
cause, whereas the cause of a very unusual color
might be known because it attracted the curiosity
of researchers.
Ongoing research in a number of laboratories
may lead to results that contradict former originof-color assignments. Usually this is because
many of our earlier ideas were "educated guesses"
that were never proven, but nevertheless were
often repeated. This probably is also a consequence
of the fact that the exploration of the origin of color
in a gem material can be a long, difficult, and
expensive process, especially when a color center
is involved.
Figure 1 1 . This m'agnificent Turkoman bracelet was

made in Central Asia in the 18th century. The carnelian is colored by inclusions of hydrous iron oxides. The precious metals owe their white or yellow
coloration to preferential re-emission o f some visible
wavelengtl1s. Photo 0 Nelly Bariand.
The origin of color in gem materials is an

increasingly important topic as more color-altering treatments are used. A detailed understanding
of the origin of color in natural-color gems and the
color-inducing processes involved in the various
enhancement techniques is necessary to provide a
better means of separating natural- from treatedcolor gem materials. Likewise, the origin of color
in some synthetic materials may differ significantly from that in their natural counterparts, and
therefore can also be used as a way of distinguishing these two groups.
As can be seen from our final table, conflicting
hypotheses on some color varieties and the absence of documentation on others attest to the
continued existence of substantial gaps in our
understanding of color. In-depth research is still
needed on some of the most critical gemological
issues, such as treated colored diamonds and color
stability. As new treatments are developed and
new color varieties are discovered, the need for
ongoing research in this area will continue for
many years to come.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
93
TABLE 4. Causes of color in most gem
Actinollte
Almandlne
Yellowish green to
green (nephrite)
Green
Red
Amber
Blue to green
Yellow to orange to
red to brown
materia1s.a
Fez+ in octahedral
coordination
Traces of Cr3
Fez* in distorted
cubic coordination
Fluorescence under
visible light in
Dominican amber;
blue is due to light
(Rayleigh) scattering in Baltic amber
Charge-transfer
processes in large
organic molecules
+
Burns, 1970
Anderson, 1954-55
Manning, 1967a
Schlee, 1984
Nassau, 1975a
Anthophylllte and
gedrite (orthoamphiboles)
Apatite series
Andradite
Green and brown,

pleochroism
Dark green
(viridine)
Multicolors
Yellow-green
Fez* -0- Ti4+

Smith, 1977
charge transfer
Mn3+ in octahedral Smith et al., 1982
coordination
Diffraction
Hirai and
Nakazawa, 1982;
Koivula, 1987
Fez+ in octahedral Manning, 1967b.
coordination
1972
Cr3* in octahedral
coordination
Yellow (topazolite)
to black (melanite)
Various chargetransfer processes

and dispersed ion
absorption involving Fe and Ti
"Iridescence," likely Appel and Jensen,
diffraction
1987
Multicolor
("nuurnmite")
Pink
Dark blue
Amphibole group (see actinolile. anthophyllite and gedrite. glaucophane, hornblende

and pargasite, or tremolite)
Andalusite
Green (demantoid)
Apophyllite
Green
Blue
Azurite
Brown
Blue
Benitoite
Blue
Beryl
Dark blue (Maxixe

and Maxixe-type)
This 1759-ct emerald from the collection of the Bunco de la

Republics in Bogota, Colombia, owes its magnificent color
to a small amount of Cr3+ in octahedral coordination.
Photo ec) Harold &> Erica Van Pelt.
Light blue (aquamarine)

Darker blue (aquamarine)
Green: yellow
blue
Green (emerald)
and light green
("mint beryl")
Yellow to orange
(heliodor)
Red
Pink (morganite)
Calcite
Pink
Chalcedony
Purple
F vacancy with a
trapped electron
0 2 - -)MnS+ charge
transfer
V 4 + in distorted octahedral coordination
V3+ in octahedral
coordination
Fez +
Cuz+ in elongated
octahedral coordination
Fez +
charge transfer
CO; (Maxixe-type)
and NO3 (Maxixe)
color centers due
to irradiation
Fe2+ in the channels 01 the structure
FeZ+-O-Fe=* intervalence charge
transfer
--)Fe3+ charge
transfer and Fez*
in the channels
Cr3+ andlor V 3 * in
O%-+Fe3* charge
transfer
Purple
("damsonite")
Blue to greenish
blue (chrysocolla
quartz)
Green
(chrysoprase)
Anderson. 195455; Stockton and

Manson, 1983.
1984
Dowly. 1971; Moore
and White. 1971
Marfunin. 1979b
Marfunin, 1979b
Rossman, l974a
Schmelzer. 1982
Faye, 1972
Marfunin. 1979a
Not fully proven:

Burns. 1970
Andersson, 1979
Goldrnan et al.,
1978
Goldman el al.,
1978
G. Rossman, unpub data
Wood and Nassau,
1968
Loeffler and Burns,

1976. Goldman el
al., 1978
Mna+ in octahedral Shigley and Foord,
coordination
1984
Mnz+ in octahedral Wood and Nassau.
coordination
1968
co2
Webster. 1983;
Rossman. 1988
Microscopic sugilite Shigley el al., 1987
inclusions
Color center similar Shigley and
to that found in am- Koivula, 1985
ethyst
Microscopic to sub- J. Koivula, pers.
microscopic inclu- comrn., 1988
sions of chrysocolla
Microscopic inclu- A. Manceau, pers.
sions of nickelcomrn., 1985
ilerous clay-like malerial
+
'This list of the origin of color in gem materials is based on spectra or explicit
discussions as they appear in the literature or have been communicated to
the authors One color can be due to a combination of processes, while
visually similar colors can have a variety of different causes Within each gem
group or subgroup, colors are listed in the order of the spectrum. from violet
through purple, blue, green, yellow, arid orange to red, and then pink, brown,
black, and white when relevant Dyes and colored coatings can be used on
many of these materials, but they are mentioned here only if they are the most
common cause o l color in a particular material
94
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
Gem mat#rial
Qpfw(variety or
IM6 W e . if'$0~)
Orange to red (carnelian, jasper)
Chrysoberyl
Yellow
Chryaocolla
Color-change
(alexandrite)
Blue
Green (tawmawite)
Conch "pearl" and Pink

shell
Submicroscopic to
microscopic inclusions of hydrous Fe
oxides
Fe3* in octahedral
coordination
Cr3* in octahedral
coordination
Cu'+ in octahedral
coordination
Cr3- in octahedral
coordination
An organic pigment
of the bilins family.
helioporobilin
Organic pigments
from the carotenoid
family, at least lor
Corallurn rubrurn
Various organic maBlack
terials ol unknown
nature
Violet to blue (iolite) Fe7* -0-Fex*
charge transfer
Red ("bloodshot
iolite")
Corundum
Purple
I
Hematite andlor
lepidocrocite inclusions
Fe?+ -&Ti4 +
charge transfer coexisting with Cr3*
in octahedral coordination
Fe2 -0-Ti
charge transfer with
influence of Fez * -
Fe3* charge transfer
Fe3+ in octahedral
coordination coexisting with
FeZ*-Ti * charge
transfer, Ti3* and
Cr3* in octahedral
coordination
O^+Fe3+ charge
transfer
4
Green
Yellow
Fe3* and Ti2 *

A variety of unstable color centers of
unknown structure
Fe3* pairs
Orange to orangebrown
Orangy pink
("padparadscha")
Red (ruby)
Loeftler and Burns.

1976
Farrell and Newnham. 1965
Lehmann. 1978
Schmetzer. 1982
Organic pigment
Dele-Dubois and
from the carolenoid Merlin. 1981
lamily
Copal (same as amber)

Coral
Blue
(Heliopora caerulea)
Red to pink
Cordlerlte
J Koivula, pers.
comm., 1988
Cr3* in octahedral
coordination and
color centers;
with a contribution
of Fe3
Cr3* in octahedral
coordination and
color centers
Cr4* in octahedral
coordination due to
Cr-' ' and Mg2+
substituting for two
Al3* in the crystal
structure
Cr3* in octahedral
coordination, with
Fox et al., 1983
Delb-Dubois ana
Merlin, 1981
Rolandi. 1981
Faye el al 1968,
Smith, 1977.
Goldman et al ,
1977
Gubelin and
Koivula, 1987
This 32.50-ct "pi~dparadschi~"

sapphire owes its beautiful
color to a combination of Fe3 - and Cr3+-related absorptions. Jewelry courtesy of Harry Winston, Inc.; photo 0
~ a r o l da ) ~ r i c aVan Pelt.
+
Schmetzer and
Bank. 1981
Pink
Color-change
Smith and Sirens,

1976; Schmetzer,
1987
Schmelzer and
Bank. 1981
Schmetzer el al.,
1982; Nassau and
Valente, 1987
Schmetzer and
Bank, 1981
Schittmann, 1981:
Schmetzer et al.,
1982, 1983; Nassau
and Valenle. 1987
Ferguson and Fielding, 1971
Schmetzer and
Bank, 1981
Covelllte
Crocoite
Blue and orange,

pleochroism
Yellow to red
Cuprite
Red
Diamond
Purple, pink to red
Blue
Schmetzer et al.,
1982, 1983
Schmetzer and
Bank, 1981
Nassau, 1983
Green
Harder. 1969; Gubelin, 1975
minor contributions
of V3+ and Fe3* in
Cr3* in octahedral
coordination
Cr3* andlor V3* in
octahedral coordination in a particular range of concentration
Band theory
G. Rossman, unpub data

Schnietzer et at.,
1980
Berry and Vaughan,

1985
02-+Cr6+ charge Loeffler and Burns,
transfer
1976: Abou-Eid,
1976
Band theory
G. Calas, pers.
comm., 1984
In natural-color dia- Collins, 1982
monds. attributed
to a structural defect of unknown nature
In treated pink dia- Collins, 1982
monds, attributed
to the N-V defect (a
carbon vacancy
trapped at an isolated nitrogen impurity)
Band transitions
Collins, 1982
caused by the
presence of dispersed boron
atoms
GRt center (neutral Collins. 1982
carbon vacancy) in
a colorless diamond irradiated in
nature or in the laboratory
Generally GR1 cen- Collins, 1982
ter (neutral carbon
vacancy), plus d e
fects that absorb in
Ihe blue (e.g., N3)
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
95
Gem material
Yellow
Orange
Brown
Green (chrome
diopside)
Dlopslde
Yellowish green
Dloptase
Green
Dravite
Green
("chrome
tourmaline")
Yellow to brown
Red
Elbaite
and
llddlcoatite
Blue
(indicolite)
Green
96
More rarely, due to

very strong green
fluorescence under
visible light ("green
transmitter" effect)
of the H3 andlor H4
defect (a carbon
vacancy trapped at
an aggregate of
two or four nitrogen
atoms)
Most commonly
due to Ihe N3 defect, an aggregate
of three nitrogen
atoms (color center) at a carbon vacancy
More rarely, due to
band transitions
caused by the
presence of isolated nitrogen
atoms
Most commonly H3
center (a carbon
vacancy trapped at
an aggregate of
two nitrogen
atoms), in natural
and treated orange
diamonds
More rarely, originating from a color
center of unknown
nature
Color center of unknown nature, with
various other color
centers adding orange, yellow, pink,
or green
Collins, 1982
Cr3- in octahedral
coordination.
V3* in octahedral
coordination
Fez-*-in octahedral
coordination
Cu7+ in octahedral
coordination
V3+ generally with
minor amounts of
Cr3+, both in octa
hedral coordination
Related to titanium
due to Fez * -0Tid* charge transfer, with those low
in iron yellow and
those rich in iron
brown
Fe3* pairs
Rossman, 1980
Fe7* in octahedral
coordination with
possible influence
of some iron-related
charge-transfer processes
Fez+ and Ti4 in
octahedral coordination. The influence of various
charge transfer processes involving
iron is a distinct
possibility
Mnz*-0-Ti4 *
charge transfer
Collins, 1982,
Lowlher, 1984
Collins, 1982
Cottrant and Calas,

1981
Color (variety or
trade name, if any)
Cause
Reference
Greenish yellow
Mn7* in octahedral
coordination (rare)
Rossrnan and
Malison, 1986
Orange
Pink to red
(rubellite)
Yellow t pink
Related lo manganese, generally
believed to be due
to Mn3* in octahedral coordination.
sometimes created
by irradiation
Fez* -)TI"- charge
transfer
Fez *
Fe7 * with rninor
Cr3 *
See Dietrich, 1985

Manning, 1973, De
Camargo and Isotam. 1988
Brown
Enstatlte
Greenish brown
Green
Epidote group (see clinozoisite, epidote, piemontile, or zoisite)

Epidote
Green and brown,
Fe3+ in distorted
pleochroism
Euclase
Blue
Fez * -0-Fe3 *
charge transfer
Green
Cr3* in octahedral
coordination
Violet
Blue
Collins, 1982
'Emerald" green
("chrome fluorite")
Yellowish green
Collins. 1982
Yellow
Pink
Schmetzer. 1982
Color change
Burns. 1970
Lehmann, 1978
Smith, 1977: Rossman, as cited in

Dietrich. 1985
Mattson and Rossman. 1984

See Dietrich, 1985
Gahnite and
"gahnospinel"
Blue
Mattson and Rossman, 1987

Anderson, 1954-55
Mie scattering on
calcium microcrystalliles
Y3+ t F vacancy
+ 2 electrons
Sm2 *
Color center contaming Y and Ce

associated with an
F vacancy
0; color center =
0, substituting for
fluorite
YO, color center
(Y3+ t O;-)
Y3+-associated
color center and
Smz*. with minor
influence of a
Ce3 *-associated
color center
Fez* in tetrahedral
coordination
Braithwaite el al.,
1973, Lehmann,
1978
Bill and Calas,
1978
Bill and Calas.
1978: Rossman.
1981
Bill and Calas.
1978
Bill and Calas.

1978
Bill and Calas,
1978
Bill and Calas,
1978: Schmetzer et
at., 1980
Dickson and Smith.

1976
Garnet group (see almandine, andradite, grossular, hydrogrossular group, pyrope,

spessartine, or uvarovite: also rliodolite)
Glass
(natural)
Yellowish green
(moldavite, tektite)
Brown
Glaucophane
Blue
Grossular
Green (tsavorite)
Orange
(hessonite)
Gypsum
All (alabaster)
Hematite
Gray in reflection,
red in transmission
Green to brown
Malison, as ciled in
Dietrich, 1985
Rossman and
Malison, 1986
Burns, 1970
Feldspar group (see labradorite. microcline, oligoclase, orthoclase, or plagioclase

series)
Fluorite
Schmetzer and
Bank, 1979
Rossman and
Malison, 1986
Rossman, 1980
Anderson, 1954-55
Hornblende
and pargaslte
Howlite
Blue
Fep* in octahedral
coordination
Fe3+ in octahedral
coordination
FeS t 4 - ~ +~ 3
charge transfer
V3.- in octahedral
coordination
Mn3+ in distorted
cubic coordination:
Fea
Pye el al , 1984
Pye et al., 1984
Smith and Strens,
1976
Gubelin and
Weibei, 1975
Manning. 1970
Manson and Stockton, 1986

Color usually due to J. Koivula, pers.
dyes exclusively,
comm., 1988
except for some
brown staining due
to hydrous iron
oxides
Fe3*
Bell el al.. 1975
Fez+ in various
sites
Dyes exclusively
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Rossman. 1988
Summer 1988
'1
Cr3* in octahedral
coordination
Mnz* in octahedral
coordination
'Emerald green
Cr3- in octahedral
Jadeite
(chrome ladeite)
coordination
Yellowish green
Fe3* in octahedral
cwrdination
Few -O-Fe3 *
Violet ("lavender
charge transfer:
jadeite")
synthetic is colored
by Mns*
Cr3- in octahedral
Blue
Kornerupine
coordination
V3* in octahedral
Green
coordination
Fez t -0-Ti4 *
Kyanite
Blue
charge transfer.
Fez + -0-Fe3 '
charge transfer.
Fez* and Fe3* in
octahedral coordination can all be
involved:
with contribution
from Cr3- in octahedral coordination
Green
V3- in octahedral
coordination;
Fe3* in octahedral
coordination
Cr3 ' in octaColor change
hedral coordination
Diffraction of light
Mullicolors
Labradorlte
by the internal
lamellar structure
Red (in the material Subrnicroscopic
Irorn Oregon)
metallic copper
particles
Green and orange- Could be Cu *
IVCT or CuO pairs
pink, pleochroisrn
Fez * -0-Fe3 *
Blue
charge transfer
Lazurite
Blue (lapis lazuli)
83 (charge
transfer)
Pink
Mn2+ in octahedral
cwrdination,
Mna* in octahedral
coordination
Liddlcoatite (see elbaite)
Malachite
Green
Cuz* in octahedral
coordination
Green
Maw-sit-sit
Cr31 in octahedral
coordination in the
(rock)
kosrnochlor
Blue (arnazonite)
Color center involving Pb3 and
slructural water
Nephrite (see actinol~le)
Oligoclase
Blue (moonstone)
Rayleigh scattering
of light by lamellar
structure
Red (sunstone)
Red lepidocrocite
or hematite
platelets give the
aventurescence
Hydrogrossular
group
Green ("Transvaal
lade")
Pink
"
Ollvine group:
Forsterite-fayalite
series
Opal
Manning and
Owens, 1977
Manning and
Owens, 1977
Rossrnan, 1981
Rossrnan, 1981
Rossman, 1974b
Nassau and
Shigley. 1987
Schrnetzer, 1982
Schrnetzer 1982
Parkin el al., 1977
Bosshart et al.. 1982
Schrnetzer. 1982
G. Rossrnan. unpub. data

Bosshart et al.,
1982
Ribbe, 1972:
Lehrnann. 1978
Holrneister and
Rossrnan, 1985b
Holrneister and
Rossrnan, 1985b
Arnthauer and
Rossrnan. 1984
Loefller and Burn1978
Faye, 1968
These freshwater baroque and round saltwater cultured

pearls exhibit the delicate iridescent color (here mostly
pink) that gemologists call orient. Photo 0 Harold ei) Erica
Van Pelt.
Orange to red (lire
opal)
Marfunin, 1979a
Green
(prase opal)
Marlunin, 1979a
Khornenko and
Platonov, 1985
Yellow
Orthoclase
Pink lo red
Hofrneister and
Rossman. 1985a
Lehrnann, 1978
Pearls (oyster)
Body color
All colors
J. Koivula, pers,
cornrn., 1988;
Lehrnann, 1978
Green
Pink
Yellowish green
(peridot)
Green (peridot, the
material from
Hawaii)
Fe7- in octahedral
coordination
Fez+ with minor
amounts of C r < - 'in
octahedral coor'
dination
Multicolors (play-01- Diffraction by the

color opal)
regular stacking of
silica spheres
Loeffler and Burns,

1976
Anderson, 1954-55
Darragh and
Sanders, 1965
Orient and
overtone
Pectolite
Pink and green

usually
Blue
Phosphophylllte
Bluish green
Piemontite
Purplish red
Microscopic to submicroscopic inchsions of iron hydrous oxides

Microscopic to submicroscopic nickeliferous clay-like inclusions
Fe3- in tetrahedral
coordination
Microscop~chematite and/or lepidocrocite inclusions
Charge-transfer
processes in traces
of porphyrins and
metalloporphyrins
High proportions of
metalloporphyrins.
apparently involving
lead and zinc
Less total porphyrin
than green
Interference colors
J Koivula, pers
comm 1980
Koivula and Frypr

1984
Hofmeister and
Rossman, 1983
Andersen, 1915,
J Koivula, pers
cornm , 1908
Fox el al.. 1903
Fox et al., 1983
Fox el al , 1903
E. Fntsch. unpub
data
Cu2+ in octahedral Koivula. 1986a
coordination
Fe2 *
G. Rossman. unpub. data
Mn3* in octahedral Burns. 1970
coordination
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Plagloclase series
Blue
Color center involv- Hofmeister and

ing Pb and water
Rossman. 1986
W + in tetrahedral Hofmeister and
Yellow
coordination and
Rossman, 1983
Fez* in octahedral
coordination
Green
Fe^ -0-Fe3
G. Rossman, unPumpellyite
(chlorastrolite)
charge transfer
pub. data
plus FW*
Brownish red
Fez* in distorted
Manning, 1967a
PyroPe
cubic coordination
Red
Fez+ in distorted
Anderson, 1954cubic site plus
55; Manning, 1967a
Cr3* in octahedral
coordination
Color change (in
V3+ and/or Cr3+ in Schmetzer et al.,
pyrope and pyrope- octahedral coor1980
spessartine)
dination
Pyrope-Almandlne Reddish purple
Fez+ in distorted
Manning, 1967a
(rhodolite)
cubic coordination
Pyroxene group (see enstatite, diopside, jadeite, kosmochlor in maw-sit-sit,or
spodumene)
Violet to purple
Quartz
0 2 -->Fed+ charge
(amethyst)
transfer, due to irradiation
Blue
Inclusions of blue
C. Fryer, pers.
dumortierite
comm., 1988
Inclusions ol
Gubelin and
Koivula, 1987
tourmaline
+
Green ("greened
amethyst" or
prasiolite)
Green (aventurine
quartz)
Greenish yellow
Yellow to orange
(citrine)
Zolensky el al.,
Inclusions of
ilmenite of a diame- 1988
ter smaller than visible wavelengths
Fe2+
Nassau. 1980
Chromian mica
Lehmann. 1978
(fuchsite) inclusions
Color center
Nassau and
Prescolt, 1977
0 2 - +Fe3* charge
Balitsky and
transfer
Balitskaya, 1986
Various AP+-reSamoilwich el al.,
lated color centers 1969
Smoky (smoky
quartz)
Pink (rose quartz)
Color center related

to the Al3+ impurity
Charge transfer between a substitutional Tid* and an
interstitial Ti3+;
unstable color
center 0ion bridging
between substitutional aluminum
and substitutional
phosphorus atom;
dumortierite inclusions
White (milky quartz) Scattering of light
by inclusions larger
than the visible
wavelengths
Rhodochroslte
Mn2+ in octahedral
Pink to red
coordination
Rhodollte (see pyrope-almandine)
Mnz* in octahedral
Rhodonlte
Pink
coordination, with
minor Fez ;
Mn3+ in octahedral
coordination
Band transition due
Rutile
Blue (synthetic
to the presence of
rutile)
Ti3
Scapolite series
Various colors
Due to color centers related to irradiation of Cl.
Cog- or SCIgroups present in
the large voids of
the crystal structure
Scheellte
Yellow
Fe
Serpentine
Green (williamsite)
Shattuckite
Shell
Blue
Pink (see
conch shell)
Cr3+ around chromite inclusions

Cu2
+
Sinhalite
Brown
Smithsonlte
Blue-green
A violet organic
pigment, haliotiviolin, has been
recovered from the
shell of the black
abalone, Haliotis
cracherodii
Fez + -O-T~charge transfer,
probably similar to
blue kyanite
Fe3+ or Cr3* in
tetrahedral coordination
Fe features of yellow sillimanite plus
inclusions of ironrich phase
0Z-+Fe3* charge
transfer and Fez+
in octahedral coordination
Cup+
Pink
CoZ *
Blue
Interstitial oxygen
ion 0 - near Al or
Si
Unstable electron
substituting for Clin a tetrahedron of
Na* ions
Pink rhodochrosite and yellow willemite contrast in hue,

although they are both colored b y Mn2+. Different coordination of the Mn2+ ion is the clue here: octahedral in rhodocrosite, tetrahedral in willemite. Photo b y Robert Weldon.
Blue
Yellow
Brown
Sodalite
Pink (hackmanite)
Maschrneyer and
Lehmann, 1983
Applin and Hicks,

1987
Fritsch, 1985
Rossman, 1988
Marshall and
Runcinam, 1975
Gibbons et al.,
1974
G. Rossman, unpub. data
Black
98
Partlow and Cohen,

1986
Cohen and Makar,
I985
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Marlunin, 1979b
Not proven:
Gunawardene,
1986
J. Koivula, pers.
comm,, 1988
Fleischer, 1987
Fox el al., 1983
Rossman et al.,
1982
Rossman et al.,
1982
Rossman el al.,
1982
Farrell and
Newnharn, 1965
G. Rossman. unpub. data

Pizani et al., 1985
Pizani et al., 1985
Summer 1988
Spessartine
Orange
Mn2 in distorted
cubic coordination
Manning, 1967a
Sphalerite
Yellow to black
Iron + sulfur
charge transfer
Co2+ in tetrahedral
coordination
Madunin, t979a
Green
Marfunin, 1979a
Spinel group (see gahnite and gahnospinel, or spinel)

Spinel
Violet to purple
Cobalt blue
Bluish green
Green (synthetic
spinel)
Pink to red
Spodumene
Purple to pink
(kunzite)
Emerald green
(hiddenile)
Staurolite
'
Paler green
Greenish yellow to
brownish orange
Brown
Blue
Sugilite
Purple
Red to violet
Titanite
(sphene)
Green
Green (chrome
sphene)
Pink
Topaz
Blue
Green
Yellow
Orange ("imperial
topaz")
Pink
Tortoise shell
Reddish brown
("sherry topaz")
Yellow to brown
Cra+ in octahedral
coordination and
Fez+ in tetrahedral
coordination
Co2+ and Fez* in
Fe3+ and Fe7* in
Cr3* in octahedral
coordination
Cra- in octahedral
coordination
G, Rossrnan, unpub, dala
Shigley and
Stockton. 1984
Vogel, 1934
Vogel. 1934;
Anderson. 195455; Surnin, 1950
Mn3* in tetrahedral Hassan and Labib,
1978;
coordination.
Mn3+ in octahedral Cohen and
Janezic. 1983
coordination
Cr3* in octahedral Cohen and Janezic,
1983
coordination with
also unstable Mn4
color center.
V3- in octahedral
Schmetzer, 1982
coordination
Cohen and Janezic,
Unstable Mn4* in
1983
octahedral coordination plus Fez*
) Fe3* charge
transfer
Fe3 + in octahedral E. Frilsch, unpub.
coordination
data
Color center of un- Rossman and Oiu,
known structure
1982
Fez+ in tetrahedral Burns. 1970
coordination
Co-"+ in tetrahedral Cech el al., 1981
coordination
Mn3* and FeJ*.
Shigley et al., 1987
presumably in octahedral coordination
Cr3+ in octahedral Schrnetzer, 1983
coordination
High Fe content
Mottana and
Griffin. 1979
Cr3* in octahedral Schmetzer, 1982
coordination
Mn2+ in octahedral Moltana and Gnlfin,
coordination, for
1979
certain MnIFe ratios, as well as pink
carbonate inclusions
Color centers of un- Schmelzer. 1986
known structure
Yellow and blue
Petrw, 1977
color centers
Color center of un- Petrov. 1977
known nature
Yellow color center Petrw. 1977
and Cr3* in octahedral coordination
Cr3* in octahedral Petrov, 1977
coordination
Petrov, 1977
Yellow and red
color centers
Charge transfer in
Nassau. 1975a
organic products
Wulfenite is an intrinsically colorless mineral (left),but it

commonly acquires an orange coloration when impurity
chromium atoms produce 02-+Cr6+ charge transfer (center
bottom), which is the intrinsic cause of color in cmcoite
(right). In contrast, blue wulfenite (top) is said to get its
color from Mo4+. Photo by Robert Weldon.
Tourmaline group (see'drauite, elbaite and liddicoalile, or uvile)

Mn3 *
Pink (hexagonite)
Tremolite
Pink
Color center(s) inTugtupite
volving sulphur
Turquoise
Blue
Cuz* in octahedral
coordination
CrJ* in octahedral
Uvarovlte
Green
coordination
Uvite
Va* generally with
Green ("chrome
minor amounts of
tourmaline")
Cr3* both in octa
hedral coordination
Cra* presumably in
Variscite (and
Green
octahedral coorMetavariscite)
dination
Fe3* in octahedral
Vesuvianite
Green
coordination with
(idocrase)
possible influence
of Fez * +Fe3 *
charge transfer
0 2 - +Fez* charge
Yellow
transfer
Fe7' -)Ti4 charge
Brown
transfer
Mn7* in tetrahedral
Willemite
Yellow
coordination
Mod*
Blue
Wulfenite
Yellow to red
07 ->Crb+ charge
transfer
Zircon
Blue
u4*
Nbd* color centers
Red
V-1- in octahedral
Zolsite
Blue
coordination
(tanzanitewith V3+ in ocla
heat treated)
hedral coordination
V3* in octahedral
coordination (treatment lurns blue.
tanzanite)
Green
Cr3- in octahedral
coordination
Mn3- in presumPink (thulite)
ably octahedral coordination
+
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Hawthorne. 1981
Povarennykh el al.,
1971
Diaz et al., 1971
Manning, 1969,
Calas, 1978
Schmetzer and
Bank, 1979.
Schmetzer, 1982
Anderson, 195455:
Koivula. 1986b
Manning, 1976,
1977
Manning. 1977
Manning, 1977
G Rossman, unpub. data
Embrey el al., 1977
EdSOn, 1980
Mackey el al,, 1975
Fielding, 1970
Hurlbut, 1969
G . Rossrnan, un
pub. data
Hurlbut, 1965
Schrnetzer, 1982
Marfunin, 1979a
Summer 1988
99
REFERENCES
Abou-Eid R.M. (1976) Absorption spectra of transition metal
bearing minerals at high pressure. In R. J. G. Strens, Ed.,
The Physics and Chemistry of Minerals and Rocks, John
Wiley & Sons, New York, pp. 641-675.
Amthaucr G., Rossman G.R. (1984) Mixed valence of iron in
minerals with cation clusters. Physics and Chemistry of
Minerals, Vol. 11, pp. 37-51.
Andersen 0 . (1915)On adventurine feldspar. American lournal
of Science, Vol. 40, pp. 351-399.
Anderson B.W. (1954-55) The spectroscope and its applications
to gemmology, parts 10 to 17. The Gemmologist, Vol. 23,
Nos. 275-282.
Andersson L.O. (1979) The difference between Maxixe beryl
and Maxixe-type beryl: An electron paramagnetic resonance investigation.
Journal of Cemmolosv,
-. Vol. 16, No. 5,
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GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
Back Issues of
:all 1983
Fall 1984
Spring 1981
Zabargad: The Ancient Peridot Island in the Red Sea
Cubic Zirconia: An Update
A Simple Approach to Detecting Diamond Simulants
The Hidden Beauty of Amber
Artificially Induced Color in Amethyst-Citrine Quartz
Winter 1981
Lapis-Lazuli from Sar-e-Sang, Badakhshan,
Afghanistan
Gem Garnets in the Red-to-Violet Color Range
San Carlos Peridot
Irradiated Topaz and Radioactivity
Nonfading Maxixe-Type Beryl?
The Cutting Properties of Kunzite
Spring 1983
Art Deco: The Period, the Jewelry
The Capao Topaz Deposit. Ouro Preto, Brazil
Harry Winston: A Story Told in Diamonds
Padparadscha: What's in a Name?
A New Classification for Red-to-Violet Garnets
A Response to "A New Classification"
Fall 1983
The Ramaura Synthetic Ruby
The Oil Treatment of Emeralds in Bogota, "Colombia
A Computer Program for Gem Identification
The Identification of Turquoise by Infrared
Spectroscopy and X-ray Powder Diffraction
Winter 1983
Engraved Gems: A Historical Perspective
Gem Andradite Garnets
The Rubies of Burma: The Mogok Stone Tract
Induced Fingerprints
Cobalt Glass as a Lapis-Lazuli Imitation
Summer 1984
Gem-Bearing Pegmatites: A Review
Gem Pegmatites of Minas Gerais, Brazil: Exploration,
Occurrence, and Aquamarine Deposits
The First-Order Red Compensator
Fall 1984
Freshwater Pearls of North America
The Chemical Distinction of Natural from Synthetic
Emeralds
Identifying Gem-Quality Synthetic Diamonds:
An Update
Inclusions in Taaffeites from Sri Lanka
Magnetic Properties of Gem-Quality Synthetic
Diamonds
Winter 1984
Natural Rubies with Glass-Filled Cavities
Pyrope-Spessartine Garnets with Unusual Color
Behavior
Gem-Quality Red Beryl from Utah
An Extraordinary Calcite Gemstone
Green Opal from East Africa
Spring 1985
Gem Pegmatites ol Minas Gerais, Brazil: The
Tourmalines of the Araquai Districts
Sapphire from Cauca, Colombia
Altering the Color of Topaz
A Preliminary Report on the New Lechleitner
Synthetic Ruby and Synthetic Blue Sapphire
Interesting Red Tourmaline from Zambia
Summer 1985
Pearl Fashion Through the Ages
Russian Flux-Grown Synthetic Emeralds
Gem Pegmatites of Minas Gerais, Brazil: The
Tourmalines of the Governador Valadares District
The Eyepiece Pointer
Winter 198-1
Winter 1986
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Spring 1986
A Survey of the Gemstone Resources of China
The Changma Diamond District, Mengyin, Shandong
Province, China
Gemstone Carving in China: Winds of Change
A Gemological Study of Turquoise in China
The Gemological Characteristics of Chinese Peridot
The Sapphires of Mingxi, Fujian Province, China
Summer 1986
The Coscuez Mine: A Major Source of Colombian
Emeralds
The Elahera Gem Field in Central Sri Lanka
Some Unusual Sillimanite Cat's-Eyes
An Examination of Four Important Gems
Green Glass Made of Mount Saint Helens Ash?
Fall 1986
A Simple Procedure to Separate Natural from
Synthetic Amethyst on the Basis of Twinning
Pink Topaz from Pakistan
Carbon Dioxide Fluid Inclusions as Proof of NaturalColored Corundum
Contributions to a History of Gemology: Specific
Gravity-Origins and Development of the
Hydrostatic Method
Colombage-Ara Scheelite
Winter 1986
The Gemological Properties of the Sumitomo GemQuality Synthetic Yellow Diamonds
Art Nouveau: Jewels and Jewelers
Contemporary Intarsia: The Medvedev Approach
A l s o available
Spring 1987
"Modern" Jewelry: Retro to Abstract
Infrared Spectroscopy in Gem Identification
A Study of the General Electric Synthetic Jadeite
A New Gem Material from Greenland: Iridescent
Orthoamphibole
Summer 1987
Gemstone Durability: Design to Display
The Occurrence and Gemological Properties of
Wessels Mine Sugilite
Three Notable Fancy-Color Diamonds' Purplish
Red, Purple-Pink, and Reddish Purple
The Separation of Natural from Synthetic Emeralds
by Infrared Spectroscopy
The Rutilated Topaz Misnomer
Fall 1987
An Update on Color in Gems. Part I
The Lennix Synthetic Emerald
An investigation of the Products of Kyocera Corp.
that Show Play-of-Color
Man-Made Jewelry Malachite
Inamori Synthetic Cat's-Eye Alexandrite
Winter 1987
The Gemological Properties of the De Beers GemQuality Synthetic Diamonds
The History and Gemology of Queen Conch
"Pearls"
The Seven Types of Yellow Sapphire and Their
Stability to Light
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NOTES
A N D
NEW TECHNIQUES
PASTEL PYROPES
By Carol M.Stoclzton
Pyrope garnets occur i n near-colorless t o light orange
and pink, as well as the familiar red. Because the
pale-hued pyropes are unfamiliar to gemologists,
their l o w refractive index usually results in their m i s identification as grosszilar. This note clarifies the
means b y which these unusual garnets, predomin a n t l y from East Africa, can b e properly and easily
identified w i t h a refractometer and a spectroscope.
T h e term pyrope comes from the Greek word

pyropos, meaning "fiery-eyed," undoubtedly because of the intense red color for which these
garnets are known. Therefore, most gemologists
are surprised to learn that pure pyrope is completely c o l o r l e s s j i t s c h e m i c a l f o r m u l a ,
MgaA12SiaOu, contains no color-causing agents.
The familiar red hue results from impurity ions of
Fez+ and/or Cr3+. Pure pyrope is unknown in
nature, but almost-pure, colorless material with
up to 98 mol.% pyrope was recently found in the
western Alps (Chopin, 1984). This material, however, is either too small or too fractured to be used
as a gemstone. The same situation exists for high-
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ms. Stockton is senior research gemologist in the Research

Department at the Gemological Institute of America, Santa
Monica, California,as well as technical editor of Gems & Gernology.
Acknowledgments: The author wishes to thank Shabia Alimohammed of Tsavo Madini for bringing some of these unusual
stones to her attention.
104
Notes and New Techniques
pyrope (70-77 mol.%) garnets from a number of

localities worldwide (Deer et al., 19821, although
none approaches the high content of the Alpine
samples. Pale-colored, high-pyrope garnets from
Arizona have been faceted as gems, but few cut
stones exceed half a carat, so their gemological
significance has been minor.
Once again, however, East Africa has introduced new gem-quality material: Low-iron, lowchromium pyrope (around 70 mol.% ] occasionally
turns up in parcels of grossular and malaia (pyropespessartine) garnet. Clean, faceted, pastel orange
or pink stones can be obtained in 2- to 5-ct sizes.*
Because of their low refractive indices, such stones
are often erroneously identified as grossular. However, pyrope (figure l )and grossular garnets can be
readily separated by a combination of R.I. and
spectroscopy.
Pure grossular, which is also colorless, has a
refractive index of 1.734, while the R.I. of pure
pyrope is 1.714. Since the presence of coloring
agents in either of these garnet types raises the
refractive index, any pale-colored garnet with an
R.I. below that of pure grossular is pyrope rather
than grossular. Theoretically, of course, all sorts of
chemical combinations could occur to contradict
this conclusion, but no such material has yet been
encountered among transparent gem-quality garnets.
*The largest pink pyrope that the author has seen to date
was recently sent for identification to the CIA Gem Trade
Laboratory in Los Angeles. The stone is a 63.06-ct pear
shape (R.I. = 1.733); the large size resulted in a darker tone
reminiscent of rhodolite garnet.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
Figure 1. All four o f the garnets pictured here are pyropes. The typical chrome
pyrope at bottom l e f t ( G I A
#13113, 1.08 ct) has a refractive index o f 1.740. The
orange pyrope ( G I A # 14400,
1.61 c t ) has a n R.I. of 1.732
and i s colored b y iron, and
the pink pear shape ( G I A
#14002, 3.43 ct) i s colored
b y a trace of chromium and
has a n R.I. of 1.740. T h e
pale orange stone at the top
(3.56 ct; courtesy of Tsavo
Madini) has a 1.732 refractive index and contains
manganese as its coloring
agent. Photo 0 Tino
Hammid.
In addition, the coloring agent in gem-quality

orange grossular, or hessonite, garnet is Fe3+
(Manning, 1969, 1972; Moore and White, 1972;
Manson and Stockton, 1982),whereas pale orange
pyrope is colored by Fez+ and/or MnZ+ (Stockton,
1987). This difference can be observed spectroscopically (Stockton and Manson, 1985). Fe3+
in grossular is associated with absorption bands at
about 408 and 430 nm, but these are visible with a
hand spectroscope only when the orange color is
relatively intense or dark. Lighter orange or yellow
grossulars show no visible spectrum under normal
gemological testing conditions, although the 408
and 430 bands can often be detected with a
laboratory spectrophotometer. Fez+ in orange pyrope is related to absorption features at 504, 520,
and 573 nm that can usually be observed with a
hand spectroscope, unless the color is extremely
pale. Mnz+ in orange (or any other color, for that
matter) pyrope produces strong absorption in the
blue, with three bands at 410,421, and 430 nm. In

all cases, the lighter the stone is the weaker (and
therefore more difficult to see) the absorption
bands will be, and the closer the refractive index
will be to that of the pure end member. Thus, on
the basis of refractive index and spectrum, any low
R.I., light-colored garnet can be identified as either
pyrope or grossular. With an R.I. over 1.742, the
presence of Mn2+ absorption lines denotes pyropespessartine (malaia)or pyrope-almandine, depending on the strength of these lines relative to that of
other absorption bands present.
Pink pyrope owes its color essentially to the
presence of trace amounts of chromium, associated with broad regions of absorption that generally cannot be resolved with a hand spectroscope.
Small amounts of MnZ+ and/or Fez+ are also
present in these garnets, and the related spectral
features are usually visible as weak bands. Pink
grossular has been found in Mexico for about a
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
TABLE 1. Characteristic and distinguishing properties of
colorless to light orange and pink garnets.

Species/
variety
Figure 2. These two pink grossular crystals
(12.07 and 18.35 ct) are from Xalostoc, Mexico.

Their lack of spectral features distinguishes
them from pink pyropes. Photo by Shane McClure.
century (DeLandero, 1891))but recent reports on

the material are scarce (Prandl, 1966; Sinlzanlzas,
1976).Although most of the rough is translucent to
opaque, transparent material has occasionally
been found and faceted. Refractive indices of 1.736
and 1.742 have been reported (Ford, 1915; Stockwell, 1927).Two crystals of this material (figure 2)
were examined, and both had a 1.744 refractive
index. Reported chemical analyses reveal only
Fe3+, Mn^, and, in one case, Ti^, as potential
coloring agents (DeLandero, 1891; Menzer, 1929;
Prandl, 1966). Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence on the two stones in figure 2 confirmed these
three impurities. However, Fe3+ imparts a yellow
to orange hue to grossulars, while the effects of
Mn2+ and Ti2+ have not been thoroughly investigated. Cr3+ and V3+ both produce green in grossu-
REFERENCES
Chopin C. (1984) Coesite and pure pyrope in high-grade
blueschists o f the western Alps: A first record and some
consequences. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. Vol. 86, pp. 107-118.
Deer WA., Howie R.A., Zussman J.(1982)Rock-forming Minerals, Vol. IA, Orthosilicates, 2nd ed. Longman Group
Ltd., London.
DeLandero C.E. (1891) O n pink grossularite from Mexico.
American Journal of Science, Vol. 41, pp. 321-322.
Ford WE. (1915)A study of the relations existing between the
chemical, optical and other physical properties of the
members of the garnet group. American Journal of Science, Ser. 4, Vol. 40, No. 235, pp. 33-49.
Manning EG. (1969) Optical absorption studies of grossular,
andradite (var.colophonite) and uvarovite. Canadian Mineralogist, Vol. 9, pp. 723-729.
Manning EG. (1972) Optical absorption spectra of Fe3+ in
octahedral and tetrahedral sites in natural garnets. Canadian Mineralogist, Vol. l l , pp. 826-839.
106
Colora
R.I. range
Pyrope
Colorless to
light orange
and pink
1.714-1.742
Grossular
Colorless to
light orange
and oink
1.734-1.760
Pyropespessartine
(incl. rnalaia)
Light orange
and pink
1.742-1.780
Pyropealmandine
(incl.
rhodolite)
Pink
1.742-1.785
Characteristic
absorption
bands (in nm)
None to one
or more of
410, 421, 430,
504, 520, 573
Usually none;
orange may
show weak
430 and even
weaker 408
Strong 410,
421, 430;
weak 504,
520, 573
Strong 504,
520, 573;
weak 410,
421, 430
aAII these types of garnet occur in other hues, darker tones,

andlor more saturated colors.
lars, so neither can be a significant trace constituent in the pink stones.

Further study is necessary to determine the
cause of color in pink grossulars. In any event, the
spectrum of pink grossular would not resemble the
Mn^ /Fe^~-related spectrum of pink pyrope.
Once a pink garnet has been identified as nongrossular on the basis of spectrum, a refractive
index below 1.742 will identify it as pyrope rather
than either pyrope-spessartine or pyrope-almandine. Table 1 summarizes the characteristic properties of the various types of light-colored garnets
discussed above.
Manson D.V, Stockton C.M. (1982) Gem-quality grossular

garnets. Gems a ) Gemology, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 204-213.
Menzer G. (1929)Die Kristallstruktur der Granate. Zeitschrift
fm Kristallographie, Vol. 69, pp. 300-395.
Moore R.A., White WB. (1972)Electronic spectra of transition
metal ions in silicate garnets. Canadian Mineralogist, Vol.
11, pp. 791-811.
Prandl W (1966)Verfeinerung der Kristallstruktur des Grossulars m i t Neutronen- und Rontgenstrahlbeugung.
Zeitschrift fur Kristallographie, Vol. 123, pp. 8 1-1 16.
Sinkankas J. (1976) Gemstones of North America, Vol. 2. Van
Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York.
Stockton C.M. (1987) Color and chemistry o f gem garnets. In
Roy H. Geiss, Ed., Microbeam Analysis- 1987, San Francisco Press, San Francisco, CA.
Stockton C.M., Manson D.V (1985)A proposed new classification for gem-quality garnets. Gems o)Gemology, Vol. 21,
No, 4, pp. 205-218.
Stockwell C.H. (1927) An X-ray study of the garnet group.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
EXAMINATION OF THREE-PHASE
INCLUSIONS IN COLORLESS, YELLOW, AND
BLUE SAPPHIRES FROM SRI LANKA
By Karl Schmetzer and Olaf Medenbach
Three-phrase inclusions i n untreated natural colorless, yellow, and blue sapphires from Sri Lanka were
found to consist of liquid and gaseous carbon dioxide cis well as needle-like to tabular crystals of diaspore. The identification of diaspore was accomplished through the use of a microscope-mounted
drill system and an improved version o f the Gandolfi
X-ray camera. Technical details for both methods are
given. The conditions under which diaspore forms as
a daughter mineral in corundum are briefly discussed.
Three-phase (solid, liquid, and gas) inclusions are

commonly found in emeralds from certain localities, such as Muzo and Chivor in Colombia.
Occasiofially, similar three-phase inclusions are
seen in other gem materials such as rubies and
sapphires. For example, the Photoatlas of Inchisions i n Gemstones (Gubelin and Koivula, 1986)
provides two photographs of three-phase inclusions in blue sapphires from Sri Lanka. In both
cases, the liquid and gaseous phases are described
as COi; but while the black solid phase in one
example is identified as graphite (Gubelin and
Koivula, 1986, p. 352), the transparent, needle-like
mineral inclusions in the second (pp. 78-79) are
not specified. Three-phase inclusions in natural
pink and violet sapphires from Nepal were recently
described by Kiefert and Schmetzer (1986, 1987).In
samples from this new occurrence of gem-quality
corundum, tabular flakes of doubly refracting
mineral inclusions were determined to be the Cabearing mica, margarite, by X-ray powder diffraction and electron microprobe analysis. In one
sample of yellow sapphire from Sri Lanka, small
three-phase inclusions consisting of a transparent,
doubly refractive tabular crystal, a liquid, and a
gaseous substance were observed as well, but no
exact determination of these phases could be
performed at that time (Schmetzer, 1987).
To establish the identity of the transparent
solid phase in some of the three-phase inclusions in

sapphire from Sri Lanka, the authors examined
more than 300 samples of colorless, yellow, and
blue sapphires from this area. In the past, a number
of different techniques have been applied to the
identification of individual daughter minerals in
multiphase inclusions, for example, laser-excited
Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron microprobe investigations, as
well as Gandolfi X-ray techniques (e.g., Rosasco et
al., 1975; Metzger et al., 1977; Rosasco and Roedder, 1979; Zolensky and Bodnar, 1982). If the
inclusions are not exposed at the surface of the
host crystal, laser-excited Raman spectroscopy is
the only one of these techniques that is nondestructive, but the equipment required is not
widely available.
The most comprehensive chemical and crystallographic information on daughter minerals in
multiphase inclusions is obtained by a combination of SEM-EDS (Stockton and Manson, 198l), or
an electron microprobe, with X-ray diffraction
microtechniques. A key problem with any of these
methods is the time-consuming procedure for
selecting and preparing the small particles to be
identified, and the possible loss of the minute
daughter minerals when the sample is crushed.
This problem can be avoided, however, by the use
of a special microscope-mounted drill technique
to open the cavities. In combination with X-ray
diffraction using a modified Gandolfi camera, we
successfully applied this technique to identify the
transparent solid component of three-phase inclusions in colorless, blue, and yellow sapphires from
Sri Lanka.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dr. Schmetzer is research associate at the Mineralogisch-Petrographisches Institut der Universitat Heidelberg, D-6900
Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany; Dr. Medenbach is
research associate at the Institut fur Mineralogie der Ruhr-Universitat, D-4630 Bochurn, Federal Republic of Germany,
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
107
Figure 1. Three-phase- solid, liquid, and gas inclusions are readily visible in this yellow sapphire
from Sri Lanka. Note i n the top two photos how the
gaseous bubble is able to move about the crystal
without restriction. With gentle heating i n an
immersion liquid, the gas bubbles gradually
decreased in volume until they were totally
homogenized (bottom right), at which point the
temperature of the immersion liquid was measured
in an attempt to verify the identity of the gas. The
transparent, needle-like to tabular mineral inclusions
are attached to the walls of the negative crystals.
Magnified 65 x .
DESCRIPTION OF THE
THREE-PHASE INCLUSIONS
We observed two- and three-phase inclusions in
approximately 20% of the more than 300 untreated colorless, light yellow, bluish, or blue sapphires from Sri Lanka that we examined. All of
these inclusions were in the form of thin tabular
negative crystals with the tabular face of the
negative crystal parallel to the basal pinacoid
(0001)of the corundum host. The tabular negative
crystals were filled with liquid and generally
contained one gaseous bubble, which was able to
move around without any restriction within the
negative crystals. In about 30% of the negative
crystals, needle-like to tabular transparent mineral inclusions were observed (figure 1); examination with crossed polarizers showed that they were
doubly refractive (figure 2). These mineral inclusions were attached to the walls of the negative
crystals. In some cases, they lay diagonally across
the entire cavity; in others, they projected into the
108
cavity and terminated inside the negative crystals

(again, see figures 1 and 2).
Identification of the Liquid and Gas Phases. Twophase inclusions in natural corundum from Sri
Lanka have been described as consisting of liquid
and gaseous COa (Gubelin and Koivula, 1986;
Koivula, 1986). We confirmed that the liquid and
gaseous phases of the inclusions we examined were
also COi by measuring the homogenization and
freezing temperatures of several inclusions.
First, the temperature of several crystals was
slowly increased by gentle heating of the immersion liquid. During this process, a continuous
decrease in the volume of the gas bubble was
observed (again, see figure 1 ) and the temperature
of the immersion liquid was measured exactly at
the point of homogenization (figure 1, bottom).
Within the limits of experimental error, the homogenization temperatures measured for the liquid and gaseous components of three-phase inclu-
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
sions in several crystals were found to be in the

range of 28-310C that is, below the critical
temperature of CO, (31.2OC).
However, contrary to the assertion by Koivula
(1986),we feel that homogenization temperatures
of the liquid and gaseous components of two-phase
inclusions are not sufficient to make a precise
determination of the chemical nature of the material trapped in the corundum host crystals, since
homogenization temperatures generally vary with
the density andlor con~positionof the inclusions
(cf. Roedder, 1972). Thus, determination of the
temperatures at which the inclusions freeze is also
necessary to characterize them accurately.* For the
material trapped in corundum from Sri Lanka, we
recorded a freezing temperature of - 56OC, which
is close to the freezing temperature of carbon
dioxide (-56.7OC). This confirms that the liquid
and gaseous components of three-phase inclusions
in corundum from Sri Lanka are almost pure
carbon dioxide.
Identification of the Solid Phase. We identified the

transparent needle-like to tabular solid components of the three-phase inclusions by X-ray diffraction using an improved Gandolfi camera. For
this part'of the study, we selected three samples
that contained numerous typical needle-like
daughter crystal inclusions. Each sapphire was
then sawed to position a cavity with three-phase
inclusions just below the surface. After polishing
the face, we carefully opened one cavity in each
sapphire using a special microscope-mounted drill
system.
The drill system used here is based on a
suggestion by Verschure (1978)and was originally
developed to isolate small single crystals from thin
sections. A similar procedure using a dental microdrill to open cavities with daughter minerals has
also been described by Graziani (1983).The instrument we used adapts a diamond microdrill to the
objective of a polarizing microscope (figure 3 ) .
Progressive manual adjustment of the stage height
produces a cylindrical sample no more than 50 pm
in diameter, with a height corresponding to the
thickness of the section drilled through, that can
be picked out with a needle. The drilling process
can be supervised optically through a planar glass
*Editor's note: This procedure is potentially destructive and

should not be attempted as a routine gemological test.
Figure 2. W h e n these three-phase inclusions in

yellow sapphire from Sri Lanka were viewed
with crossed polarizers, the needle-like mineral
phase was found t o be doubly refractive.
Magnified 30 x .
cover, and the H 2 0 coolant for the drill also

provides a satisfactory immersion medium. Samples obtained in this manner (either attached to the
core or picked out of the cavity) are ideally suited
for optical study (e.g., on a spindle stage) or singlecrystal X-ray investigations. This system may also
be used to isolate homogeneous parts of larger,
chemically zoned crystals for further study after
electron microprobe analysis of the same section
(see Medenbach, 1986; Graziani, 1983).
In the present study, after the microdrill was
used to open inclusion cavities near the surface of
each sapphire, several of the small daughter crystals were carefully selected and mounted onto a
glass fiber for X-ray powder diffraction analysis by
means of a Gandolfi camera. The Gandolfi camera
is generally applied to X-ray microparticle phase
analysis if the materials to be identified are not to
be powdered (Gandolfi, 1964, 1967).In the present
case, as in most of these cases, only very small
amounts of the single crystals or polycrystalline
aggregates were available.
To obtain good powder-type diffraction patterns, the operator must place the sample to be
X-rayed at the precise intersection of two independent rotation axes, that is, the conventional DebyeScherrer axis and the Gandolfi axis, which is
inclined 45' to the former. While sample adjustment was difficult and time-consuming with the
original Gandolfi camera, modified Gandolfi cameras as well as additional centering devices have
been developed (Nuffield, 1975; Gruttner et al.,
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
109
Figure 3. The solid phase of the

three-phase inclusions was isolated
b y means of this microdrill adapted
to a polarizing microscope.
1978; De Bruiyn et al., 1984).Another solution to

the adjustment problem is presented by SussieclzFornefeld and Schmetzer (1987).The basic principle is the introduction into a modified camera of a
complete goniometer head as sample holder instead of a simple glass fiber. The adjustment is
accomplished by use of an inner thread for crystal
translation parallel to the Gandolfi axis in addition
to the two perpendicular sets of arcs and slides of
the conventional goniometer head. The camera
adjustment system enables three perpendicular
translations and two perpendicular rotations, and
thus the precise adjustment of the crystal at the
intersection point of the two rotation axes.
As a result, good-quality powder diffraction
patterns of the daughter crystals in the three-phase
inclusions were obtained and subsequently
matched to JCPDS file number 5-355 - diaspore,
a-AlOOH. Because the pattern was definitive, a
planned follow-up chemical analysis by electron
microprobe was deemed unnecessary.
DISCUSSION: THE FORMATION
OF DIASPORE IN CORUNDUM
FROM SRI LANKA
Although most gem-quality corundum and other
gem minerals from Sri Lanka originate from secondary deposits, research has been undertaken to
characterize the primary sources of these gem
110
minerals (e.g., Katz, 1971, 1972; Dahanayake,

1980; Dahanayalze et al., 1980; Munasinghe and
Dissanayalze, 1981; Dahanayalze and Ranasinghe,
1981, 1985; Katz, 1986). Corundum is found in
sillimanite-bearing high-grade metamorphic
rocks, which were formed under pressure/temperature (PT)conditions characteristic of pyroxene
granulite facies. During the formation of corundum under these PT conditions - that is, at high
pressure with decreasing temperatures in the system A120i-H20 (see Deer et al., 1962)-diaspore
becomes the stable mineral phase instead of corundum. At lower pressures, bohmite, a-AlOOH,
becomes stable instead of corundum. The formation of bohmite within cavities or negative crystals in one sample of corundum from Sri Lanlza is
described by Sahama et al. (1973).In the experience
of the present authors, however, the AlOOH polymorph diaspore is more abundant in three-phase
inclusions in corundum from this locality. Similar-appearing daughter minerals have been described in three-phase inclusions in corundum
from Malawi (Grubessi and Marcon, 1986), but
were reported as probably being rutile. Further
examination should be done to confirm their
identity before diaspore can be considered an
identifying characteristic of the Sri Lankan origin
of sapphire.
The presence of this particular type of three-
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
phase inclusion in corundum from Sri Lanka also

proves that the stone has not been heat treated; as
described by Koivula (19861, the COi would respond dramatically to such high temperatures.
Moreover, since diaspore becomes unstable at

temperatures over 600C it is possible (although
not yet proved) that this daughter mineral would
also be affected.
REFERENCES
De Bruiyn H., van der Westhuizen WA., Beukes G.J. (1984) A
device for the easy centeringof a Gandolfi X-ray diffraction
camera. 10~1rnalof Applied Crystallography, Vol. 17, pp.
120-121.
Dahanayake K. (1980)Modes of occurrence and provenance of
gemstones of Sri Lanka. Minerali~lmDeposita, Vol. 15, pp.
81-86.
Dahanayake K., Liyanage A.N., Ranasinghe A.P. (1980)Genesis
of sedimentary gem deposits in Sri Lanka. Sedimentary
Geology, Vol. 25, pp. 105-1 15.
Dahanayake K., Ranasinghe A.P. (1981) Source rocks of gem
minerals. Mineraliun~Deposita, Vol. 16, pp. 103-1 1 1.
Dahanayake K., Ranasinghe A.P (1985) Geology and mineralogy of gemming terrains of Sri Lanka. Bulletin of the
Geological Society of Finland, Vol. 57, pp. 139-149.
Deer WA., Howie R.A., Zussrnan J. (1962) Rock-Forming
Minerals, Vol, 5, Non-Silicates. Longman, London.
Gandolfi G. (1964) Methodo per ottenere uno "spettro di
polveri" da un cristallo singolo di piccole dimensioni (fino
a 30 ~).'Mineralogica et Petrographic[: Actci, Vol. 10, pp.
149-166.
Gandolfi G. (1967) Discussion upon methods to obtain X-ray
"powder patterns" from a single crystal. Minemlogica el
Petrogfaphica Acta, Vol. 13, pp. 67-74.
Graziani G. (1983)Advances in the study of mineral inclusions.
N e w s Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie Monatshefte, Vol. 11, pp.
48 1 4 8 8 .
Grubessi O., Marcon R. (1986)A peculiar inclusion in a yellow
corundum from Malawi. Journal of Gemmology Vol. 20,
pp. 163-165.
Griittner A., Yvon K., Delaloye N. (1978)Easy crystal centering
in a modified Gandolfi camera. Journal ofApplied Crystallography, Vol. 11, p. 716.
Gubelin E.J., Koivula J.I. (1986) Photoatlas of Inclusions in
Gemstones. ABC Verlag, Zurich.
Katz M.B. (1971) The Precambrian metamorphic rocks of
Ceylon. Geologische Rundschau, Vol. 60, pp. 1523-1549.
Katz M.B. (1972) On the origin of the Ratnapura-type gem
deposits of Ceylon. Economic Geology and the Bulletin of
the Society of Econon~icGeologists, Vol. 67, pp. 113-1 15.
Katz M.B. (1986)Review of the geology of the gemstones of Sri
Lanka. Australian Gemmologist, Vol. 16, pp. 52-56, 63.
Koivula, J.I. (1986) Carbon dioxide fluid inclusions as proof of
natural-colored corundum. Gems es) Gen~oloey,Vol. 22,
No. 3, pp. 152-155.
Kiefert L., Schmetzer K. 11986) Rosafarbene und violette Sapphire aus Nepal. Zcitschrift der Deutschen Gemmologischen Gesellscl~(ift,Vol. 35, pp. 113-125.
Kiefert L., Schrnetzer K. (1987) Pink and violet sapphires from

Nepal. Australian Gemmologist, Vol. 16, pp. 225-230.
Medenbach 0. (1986)Ein modifiziertes Kr~stallbohrgeratnach
Verschure (1978) zur Isolierung kleiner Einkristalle aus
Dunnschliffen. Fortschritte der Minerdogie, Vol. 64, Beiheft 1, p. 113.
Metzger F.W, Kelly WC., Nesbitt B.E., Essene E.J. (1977)
Scanning electron microscopy of daughter minerals in
fluid inclusions. Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the
Society of Economic Geologists, Vol. 72, pp. 141-152.
Munasinghe T, Dissanayake C.B. (19811 The origin of gemstones of ~ ' rLanka.
i
~ c o n o m i c~ e o l o g yand t h e h l l e t i n of
the Society of Economic Geologists, Vol. 76, pp.
1216-1225.
Nuffield E.W (1975)A device to aid in centering a crystal on the
Gandolfi camera. Canadian Mineralogist, Vol. 13, p. 197.
Roedder E. (1972) Composition of fluid inclusions. In M.
Fleischer, Ed., Data of Geochemistry, 6th ed., U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 440 JJ.
Rosasco G.J., Roedder E. (1979)Application of a new Raman
microprobe spectrometer to nondestructive analysis of
sulfate and other ions in individual phases in fluid inclusions in minerals. Geochimica et Cosmochin~icaActa,
VOI. 43, pp. 1907-1915.
Rosasco G.J., Roedder E., Simmons J.H. (1975) Laser-excited
Raman spectroscopy for nondestructive partial analysis of
individual phases in fluid inclusions in minerals. Science,
VOI. 190, pp. 557-560.
Sahama Th.G., Lehtinen M., Rehtijarvi I? (1973) Natural
boehmite single crystals from Ceylon. Contributions to
Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 39, pp. 171-1 74.
Schmetzer K. (1987) Dreiphaseneinschli'isse in einem gelben
Sapphir aus Sri Lanka. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gemmologischen Gesellschaft, Vol. 36, pp. 79-8 1.
Stockton C.M., Manson D.V (1981)Scanning electron microscopy in gemology. Gems &) Gemology, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp.
72-79.
~ussieck-~ornefeld
C., Schmetzer K. (1987) A modified Gandolfi camera with improved adjustment facilities. Powder
Diffraction, Vol. 2, pp. 82-83.
Verschure R.H. (1978) A nlicroscope-mounted drill to isolate
microgram quantities of mineral material from thin and
polished sections. Mineralogical Magazine, Vol. 42, pp.
499-503.
Zolensky M.E., Bodnar R.J. (1982)Identification of fluid inclusion daughter minerals using Gandolfi X-ray techniques.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
111
EDITOR
C. W. Fryer
Gem Trade Laboratory, Santa Monica
LAB NOTES
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Robert Crowningshield
Gem Trade Laboratory, New York
Karin N. Hurwit
Robert E. Kane
Star (or Cat's-Eye?)

ALMANDITE GARNET
Although star garnet is not especially rare, the East Coast laboratory
recently encountered one that was
different from most others we have
seen. Figure 1 shows the 2.52-ct
stone that was identified as almandite from the typical properties obtained by standard gemological testing procedures. The difference is that
one arm of the star is so weak that the
stone almost has the appearance of a
cat's-eye. A garnet such as this would
be a welcome addition to any collection of phenomenal stones.
clayton
welch
Figure 2. The
grayish
purple color of this 0.21-ct diamond appears to be caused by
graining.
I
+
Figure 1. One leg of this 2.52ct star almandite garnet is s o
weak that the stone appears to
be a cat's-eye. Magnified 1 0 X .
DIAMOND
Grayish Purple
In our experience, truly purple diamonds are very rare. A short time ago
the East Coast laboratory tested the
0.21-ct grayish purple stone shown in
figure 2. The natural color appears to
be the result of grayish purple grain-
112
Gem Trade Lab Notes
natural-color pink and purple diamonds. The diamond displayed a

strong yellow fluorescence to longwave ultraviolet radiation.
David Hargett
Saint Valentine's
Inclusion
One of our New York clients was
handling a 13.08-ct marquise-shaped
diamond just in time for a sale as a St.
Valentine's day present. On closer
examination, he was delighted to
find that the diamond contained a
heart-shaped inclusion (figure 3).
One of the advantages of inclusions is that they can provide proof of
a stone's identity and ownership.
How much better it is when the
inclusion is as unusual, attractive,
and appropriate as this one.
Clciyton Welch
Treated Pink
According to some of the people who
color enhance diamonds commercially, pink in a treated stone is
usually a n accident of the treatment
process. In most of these rare cases,
the treater is trying for a fancy yellow
color when, for some unknown reason, the stone turns pink instead.
Fourteen pink diamonds, ranging from 1.5 m m to 4.0 m m in
diameter, were recently seen in our
East Coast laboratory. They had been
represented to our client as naturalcolor pink diamonds from Australia.
However, the 575-nm fluorescent
line and 594-nm and 637-nm absorption lines proved that the color was
the result of treatment. Further proof
was provided by additional lines in
the red area of the spectrum, at
approxin~ately620 and 630 nm, that
are typical of treatment.
These treated stones are color
zoned yellow and pink. The zoning
appears to be related to a zoned
fluorescence that is also evident
when the stones are exposed to long-
Figure 3. At 45 x magnification, this heart-shaped inclusion is readily visible in the

13.08-ct host diamond.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
Figure 4. Pink a n d yellow zonjng is evident in this 0.12-ct

treated pink diamond. Magnified 20 x .
wave ultraviolet radiation. The zoning in the 0.12-ct stone shown in
figure 4 displays a dramatic yellow
and pink cruciform pattern. It has
been our experience that treated
pink diappnds invariably fluoresce
orange to; long-wave U.V radiation.
David Hargett
Biron Synthetic
EMERALD
The West Coast laboratory received a
Biron synthetic emerald for identification that displayed higher refractive indices (1.570-1.578) and birefringence (0.008) than we had previously observed. The Fall 1985 issue
of Gems d Gemology (pp. 156-170)
reported on the extensive examination of 202 samples of Biron synthetic emerald. Those stones all
showed R.1.k of 1.569 to 1.573 or
1.574, with a corresponding birefringence of 0.004 or 0.005. Although
higher refractive indices ranging up
to 1.570-1.577, with a birefringence
of 0.007, had been reported in the
literature by others, this is the first
such stone we have examined. The
inclusions and other gemological
Editor's Note: The initials at the end of each
item identity the contributing editor who
provided that item.
@ 7988 Gemological Institute of America
Gem Trade Lab Notes
properties of this stone are the same

as those described for Biron synthetic emeralds in the 1985 article
These refractive indices and birefringence may be the result of
minor differences in chemical composition caused by slight changes
that are occasionally made in the
manufacturing process. Studies of
natural beryls have shown that both
the filling of structural voids and the
substitution of Cr, Fe3+, Fez+, Mg,
Li, other ions, and water molecules
appear to be the major cause of variations in the refractive indices and
specific gravity. These same properties in hydrothermal synthetic emeralds are also dependent on the nature, and amount, of impurity ions
and molecules the synthetic products contain.
RK
Figure 5. i nzs 12.38-ct opaque

black round brilliant cut
proved to be glass, although
there appeared to be a
red/green blink when the
R.I. was measured.
and strange optical characteristics

are probably due to a high opacifier
Unusual GLASS
' content and the tarnishing of this
substance. The cause of the apparent
The 12.38-ct opaque black modified
blink remains a mystery.
round brilliant shown in figure 5
recently provided the staff of the East
Clayton Welch
Coast laboratory with an interesting
identification problem. This stone
had a n almost metallic luster and an
JADEITE JADE
indistinct redlgreen blink to the rePendant
fractive indices of 1.59 and a very
A fine jadeite piece was recently
low 1.35. Further testing revealed a
examined at the West Coast laboraspecific gravity of 3.21, a Mohs hardtory (figure 61. This pendant, of yelness of approximately 4 to 5, vitreous
low and white metal, is set with 18
conchoidal fractures, and no reaction
to either the hot point or dilute HC1
small brilliant-cut diamonds around
acid. The stone was warm to the
a green hololith (27.1 m m in outside
diameter]. The hololith has been cetouch when compared to a known
mented into the brightly polished
crystalline sample of similar size at
yellow m e t a l closed-back bezel
the same temperature.
mounting.
The test results suggested glass,
except for the redlgreen blink, even
The hololith, which was estithough the latter looked unusual
mated to be approximately 1 m m
when compared to the typical carbothick, was proved to be jadeite by the
refractive index of 1.66 and the charnate blink. We discovered that we
could not go from the high R.I. readacteristic 437-nm absorption line.
ing to the low one by simply rotating
Although the jadeite was inert when
the stone as is usually done.
exposed to ultraviolet radiation, the
Conclusive proof was provided
glue around the edges of the hololith
by high magnification (approx- fluoresced a strong chalky yellow to
long-wave, and a weaker chalky yelimately 100 x ), which revealed a
low to short-wave, U.V
shallow ring of bubbles at the girdle,
The most interesting feature of
This stone seems to have been cut
this jadeite is the strong contrast
from a glass preform or cylinder. We
between the green and white porsuspect that the unusual appearance
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
at 3.34, and a fairly strong 437-nm

line in the absorption spectrum. A
patchy, very dull yellowish green
fluorescence of weak intensity was
observed in the white areas when the
piece was exposed to long-wave ultraviolet radiation. T h e colorless
areas were inert.
This exquisitely carved teapot is
strongly mottled with translucent to
opaque white areas and transparent
to semitransparent colorless portions; there are also a few small areas
of pale green. The presence of relatively large areas that are both transparent and colorless is another
highly unusual feature of this piece
(figure 8).
RK
PEARLS
Figure 6. This natural-color judeite jade hololith (27.1 rnm in outside diameter) displays an unusually strong contrast between the
green and white areas.
tions of this variegated piece. Microscopic examination revealed a fine
crystalline structure, with an almost
fibrous appearance to the green portion. To a gemologist not familiar
with this type of jadeite, this appearance could be mistaken for dye concentrations; however, the prominent
chromium lines in the red area of the
absorption spectrum easily prove
that the color is of natural origin.
RK
Teapot
The West Coast laboratory also recently examined the magnificent
"white" jadeite jade teapot shown in
figure 7. The entire piece measures
114
Gem Trade Lab Notes
19 c m long x 10 c m wide x 12 c m
high (with the lid). The thickness of
the domed portion of the delicate and
beautifully carved lid ranges from
0.3 m m to 2.7 m m . We could not
measure the thickness of the center
portion of the teapot, but we estimated that it ranges from approximately 2 m m to 4 mm. Some areas,
such as the carved ridges and portions of the spout, are, of course,
much thicker.
The identity of the carving as
jadeite was based on the standard
gemological properties for this gem
material: R.I. of 1.66, an aggregate
reaction in the polariscope, specific
gravity estimated with heavy liquids
Imitation
The East Coast laboratory recently
had the opportunity to examine the
earrings shown in figure 9. The dropshape "pearls" (approximately 10 x
14 m m )proved to be a glass imitation
with essence d'orient coating. However, the smaller pearls were of natural origin. The style and quality of
manufacture of the earrings strongly
suggest that the imitations were
probably replacements.
Just when this type of imitation
pearl (solid glass with essence d'orient) supplanted the older wax-filled
type is not known. If the earrings
were made in Edwardian times (late
1800s to early 1900s) as the style
suggests, would these imitations
have been the wax-filled type? Max
Bauer, writing in 1896, did not mention essence-coated solid glass beads
in the imitation-pearl section of his
great book Precious Stones. He does
mention, however, that the hollow
glass types were made in many
shapes, including spherical, oval,
pear shape, and even baroque. R C
A Rare Cultured Pearl
Another mystery encountered in the
East Coast laboratory is shown in
figure 10, a routine X-radiograph of
an unusually fine necklace of uni-
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
Figure 7. This teapot is beautifulh

rved out of highly translucent
white jadeite jade. The piece measures 19 x 10 x 12 cm high, including the lid.
Figure 8. The lid of the jadeite jade teapot is almost transparent
form-size 9-mm cultured pearls. The

mystery is the single light-toned
sphere that appears in the upper left
of the X-radiograph. Unlike the other
.
cultured pearls, this one did not fluoresce to X-rays in a dark room. A pin
inserted through the drill hole established that the core was soft; in
addition, a small bit of the core
melted under low heat. The surface
of this bead was clearly nacreous,
with the same structure as the other
cultured pearls in the necklace.
~ l t h o u ~weh have encountered
spherical cultured pearls with plastic
nuclei in the lab, we had n o t p e v i ously seen any with wax cores. One
possible deterrent to using either
plastic or wax as a nucleus is the low
specific gravity of these materials,
which contributes to necklaces with
the "wrong heft." They just feel too
light for their size.
RC
-
- -
,ly journal of the Cemoloeical Institute c

Gem Trade Lab Notes
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
115
Figure 9. The two small pearls

at the top of these earrings are
natural, but the larger drops
(approximately 10 x 14 m m )
proved to be imitations made
of solid glass coated with essence d'orient.
was that this plastic material shows

no evidence of containing any diamond.
KH
tinsel-like flakes embedded in a

t r a n s p a r e n t colorless m a t e r i a l ,
which was purported to contain diamond. As shown in figure 1l , part of
the center section had broken o f f ,
which exposed the metal backing.
We were asked to determine if there
was indeed any evidence of diamond
in the colorless material. Permission
was granted to perform any destructive tests that might be necessary.
Examination under the microscope revealed that the tinsel-like
particles are rectangular in shape,
very thin, and quite transparent in
transmitted light. X-ray diffraction
of one of these platelets resulted in an
amorphous pattern, which proved
that they are not diamond.
Numerous gas bubbles were visible in the surrounding material [figure 12), which was very soft and
could be indented easily by the pinpoint end of a brushprobe. Application of the thermal reaction tester
probe (a hot point) produced the acrid
odor that is characteristic of some
plastic.
To determine if any diamond
powder was present in this plastic
material, we dissolved a portion in
sulfuric acid. No residue resulted
from this solution process. As an
additional test, another portion of
the material was melted and vaporized. Again, there was no evidence of
any residue. The conclusion reached
One of our friends of the West Coast

laboratory submitted several small
faceted and cabochon stones that he
had cut from rough material represented to him as black pyrope. Figure
13 shows a small cabochon as i t
appears in reflected light. The stones
were submitted to us for testing to
see if they really were black pyrope.
The single refractive index was
1.740 and the specific gravity was
determined to be 3.72 by the heavy
liquid method; both of these properties are consistent with pyrope. The
absorption spectrum showed a general absorption up to about 480 n m
and again above 620 nm.
Examination by transmitted
light revealed that the color is actually a dark brown. With magnification (figure 14)' we observed numerous black ilmenite inclusions,
which contributed to the black color
apparent when the stones were
viewed by reflected light. X-ray diffraction confirmed that the material
is indeed pyrope, with perhaps just a
little admixture of andradite indicated by the line spacing in the difCF
fraction pattern.
Figure 11. A search for evidence of diamond in the decorative material on this earring
revealed only plastic on the
metal backing.
Figure 12. Gas bubbles in the

decorative material on the earring shown in figure 11 proved
that it was man-made. Magnified 30 x .
Black PYROPE GARNET
Figure 10. The unusual wax

nucleus of the 9-mm cultured
pearl in the upper left of this
X-radiograph is responsible for
the light center.
PLASTIC Costume Jewelry

The West Coast laboratory received a
round yellow metal earring with a
center segment of highly reflective
116
Gem Trade Lab Notes
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
Figlire 13. In reflected light,

this pyrope cabochon appears
to be almost black.
Synthetic SAPPHIRES
In the Lab Notes section of the Summer 1987 issue of Gems &> Gemolog,y, we reported on unusually strong
curved color banding in a synthetic
yellow sapphire. More recently, the
East Coast laboratory had the opportunity to examine two synthetic yellow sapphires that were unusual in
other ways.
When no color zoning or inclusions are present in a yellow sapphire, it is standard procedure to use
i m m e r s i o n , magnification, a n d
crossed polarizers to look for Plato
lines as proof of synthesis. One of the
two stones we examined displayed
such strong Plato lines that they
were actually visible without magnification or immersion (figure 15). In
contrast, the second stone showed no
discernable Plato lines at all, which
is unusual for a flame-fusion synthetic yellow sapphire. This stone
was proved to be synthetic when
high magnification revealed the presence of several small gas bubbles.
An interesting blue synthetic
sapphire, also examined in New
York, showed two sets of curved color
banding that intersected each other
at a very shallow angle. This is
clearly indicated in figure 16 by the
wedge of blue with its point almost
dead center in the photo. The wedge
marks the boundary between the
two sets of banding, which are probably a result of changes in the growth
conditions while the boule was being
formed.
Clayton Welch
Gem Trade Lab Notes
Figure 14. When the stone

shown in figure 13 is viewed
with transmitted light and at
l o x magnification, both the
actual brown color and
the ilmenite incl~isionsthat
make the stone look black in
reflected light are evident.
Figure 15. Plato lines characteristic of synthetic yellow

sapphire were visible i n this
6.93-ct stone even without
magnification (shown here at
10 X for clarity).
Brecciated
TIGER'S-EYE QUARTZ
The West Coast laboratory recently
received for identification two interesting pieces of brecciated (i.e., containing angular fragments naturally
cemented together into one mass)
tiger's-eye quartz. Our client had obtained the samples from a deposit in
South Africa. The polished slab
shown in figure 17 (8.2 cm long x 3.4
m m thick] illustrates quite well the
Figure 16. Two sets o f curved

color bands intersect i n the
wedge-shaped area at the center of this synthetic blue sapphire (7.5 x 5.0 x 3.1 m m ) .
Magnified 10 x .
Figure 17. This 8.2 c m x 3.4 m m polished slab is a good example

of brecciated tiger's-eye quartz.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
117
of the original mineral. Figure 18

shows an excellent example of this
interesting mineralogic relationship.
The left side of this specimen (5.4 cm
at its largest dimension) has 1-cmdeep cavity lined with drusy quartz,
the center is the brecciated tiger'seye, and on the right is some of the
unaltered blue crocidolite.
The material displayed the gemological properties expected of tiger's-eye. X-ray diffraction showed a
quartz pattern, with one extraneous
line. This material appears to be very
similar to a sample illustrated on
page 90 of an article by Robert Webster titled ~iPseudocrocidolite,~l
published in the Journal o f Gemmology,
Vol. 11, No. 3, July 1968. Webster
reported at that time that the material had been marketed under the
RK
name "Pietersite."
Figure 18. In this rough piece (5.4 c m a t i t s largest dimension), t h e

components of this material are evident i n a 1-cnl-deep c a v i t y
lined w i t h d r u s y quartz o n the l e f t , brecciated tiger's-eye quartz i n
t h e center, and unaltered blue crocidolite o n t h e right.
brecciated nature of this material,
Most areas are the typical brownish
yellow to brown color of tiger's-eye,
while some are reddish brown and a
few portions are distinctly gray-blue,
In several places on the top and
bottom of the slab, a few small cavi-
ties lined with tiny, well-formed,

colorless quartz crystals are evident.
Tiger's-eye is the variety of
quartz in which quartz has replaced
crocidolite (a11asbestos variety of the
amphibole mineral riebeckite) without disturbing the fibrous structure
FIGURE CREDITS
Figures 1 , 3, 5 , 9, 15, and 16 were supplied
by Clayton Welch. Dave Hargell look photos 2 and 4. Shane McClure is responsible
lor ligures 7, 8 , 17, and 18. Figure 6 is 0
Harold and Erica Van Pelt. The X-radiograph in figure 10 was taken by Tom Moses.
Karin Hurwit took the photos in ligures 1 1
and 12. Figures 13 and 14 came Iron?John
Koivula. Sotheby-Parke-Bernel supplied
the photo 01 the original pink diamond used
in the "Historical Note"; Andrew Quinlan
took the photo 01 the "painted" stone.
A HISTORICAL NOTE
Highlights from the Gem Trade Lab 25, 15, and five years ago
SUMMER 1963
One of the most unusual items encountered 25 years ago in the New
York lab was petrified dinosaur bone.
The material is believed to occur in
several localities in the western
United States. The stones examined
had a mosaic structure of reddish to
yellowish chalcedony replacing part
of the bone, with the balance of the
material intact as calcium carbo-
118
Gem Trade Lab Notes
nate. Other examples previously

seen had the bone con~pletelyreplaced with chalcedony.
The Los Angeles lab encountered a number of unusual collector
stones in this same time period. Notable among those mentioned were a
4.5-ct emerald-cut benitoite and an
unusual colorless benitoite. Others
of interest were faceted lazulite, blue
apatite, chrome green sphene, and
transparent faceted rhodochrosite,

tremolite, and yellow zoisite.
SUMMER 1973
The highlight of the Summer 1973
GTLN column from Los Angeles was
the identification of the very rare
material jeremejevite. A 1.52-ct long
slender emerald cut was submitted
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
diation of gem materials with

gainma rays. The lznown effects of
such irradiation on topaz) quartz,
spodumene, c ~ i l t ~ ~pearls,
r e d and beryl were given. The lack of any test to
detect this type of treatment) except
for the fading of some materials) is
mentioned.
SUMMER 1983
This 10.88-ct light yellow diamond was coated with pinlc

nail polish and substituted for
the stone shown at left.
This 9.58-ct fancy pink diamond WAS stolen from
Sothebyk in New York.
for identification, Prior to this, jeremejevite was lznown only as particles the size of s u-~ a uanules
r
from
the USSR. This material has the
6'
unusual property that some parts of a

single crystal are uniaxial while
others are biaxial. Other properties
i n c l u d e r e f r a c t i v e i n d i c e s of
1.639-1.648 and a specific gravity of
3.30.
The New Yorl< lab provided a
rather lengthy discussion bn the irra-
The big story of the Summer 1983

GTLN section was the switching of a
painted stone for a fancy pinlz diamond during a presale viewing at one
of the large a~ictiongalleries. A
10.88-ct light yellow emerald cut
was painted with pinlz fingernail polish and switched for an attractive
9.58-ct fancy pink stone. The prea~ictionestimated val~ieof the fancy
pink was in excess of $500,000, compared to an estin~atecl$12,000 to
-$15,000
for the substituted itone.
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Gem Trade Lab Notes
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Sun~mer1988
DIAMONDS
Diamond dredging in a big way. During Gem News
editor 1ohn Koivula's visit to Brazil in the fall of 1987, he
observed the operation of the "Tejucana diamond
dredgell' an unusually large and efficient floating earth
mover-processor that is currently operating near the
city of Diamantina' in Minas Gerais (figure 1). Modeled
after the gold dredges used in the western United States
in the early 1 9 0 0 ~this
~ dredge has been considerably
enlarged
., and modernized to handle diamonds as we11 as
gold. It is reported to be approximately 90% effective in
its recovery of both diamonds (the primary target) and
gold,
The Teiucana d r e d ~ floats
e
on a lake that it manufactures by'diverting nearby streams, in an area where
diamondiferous gravels have been identified in ancient
riverbeds. As i t moves slowly alongl the dredge excavates
[down to the bedrock) all of the soils and gravels in its
path. A conveyor system of buckets 3-4 ft. in diameter
(figure 2) carries these materials into the processing
plant atop the dredge. Here the gravels are mechanically
sorted by size and density, and the gold and diamonds are
eventually separated out. Once processing has been
completedl the residual gravels and other materials are
ejected from the dredge into piles on either side of, and
behind' it. Although very efficient, this process leaves

massive scars on the land' which is the main reason such
dredges are illegal in the U.S.
This dredge is one of two that the owners (MineraGao Tejucana S.A.) operate on two different water
systems approximately 40 k m apart. In September 1987,
it was producing an average of about 2,500 ct of gem
diamondsl and as much as 25 kg of gold' per month.
Diamond brings largest per-carat price at auction. A
52.59-ct emerald-cut diamond (see figure 3) sold at the
April 1988 Christie's auction for US$7.48 million. The
US$1421232 per carat commanded by this D-internally
flawless diamond is the highest per-carat price ever paid
at auction for a colorless diamond,
COLORED STONES
More on Mexican andradites. More iridescent andradite
garnet from Sonora (see Gem News, Fall 1987) has been
brought to our attention by Mr. Ralph Coello of Oasis
Investments USA, Sherman Oaks, California. Mr. Coello's samples (which he had obtained from Bernhard and
Muriel De Koning of R&B Gems, Temple City, California) included rough similar to the iridescent material
\
\:
120
Gem News
Figure 1, The Tej~zcana

diamond dredge (here,
operating near Diaman-4 tina, in Minas Cerais,
Brazil) removes river
gravels and mechanically
sorts them for diamonds
a n d gold. photo by
Kristi A. Koivula.
\
\
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
that we previously noted and a few small! transparent!

slightly brownish yellow faceted stones. Each of the
latter stones showed a very distinctl colorful, internal
diffractive quality when viewed through the table using
darkfield illumination (figure 4); we were told that these
stones had been cut from small euhedral crystals.
The larger, iridescent pieces of rough showed two
distinct layers of color (figure 5). The underlying layer
consisted of a translucent dark red-brown material; the
outer layer! which provided the iridescence, was bright
yellow with a very slight brownish cast. X-ray diffraction analyses of both layers by Chuck Fryer showed the
material to be andradite garnet.
Ruby from North Carolina. While digging through "gray
muck1' at a corundum-producing area near Franklin!
Macon County, North Carolinal gemologist John
Fuhrbach recovered a fine 2.53-ct tabular ruby crystal
(figure 6). For size, colorl and overall quality, it is an
unusual crystal from this North American locality.
Figure 2. Dredge 17uckets on the Tejzzcana diamond dredge systematically scrape the river
bottom and bring all of the materjal into the
bv Krjsti A. Koivula.
d r e d ~ ef6r i o r t i n ~ Photo
.
Figure 3, This 52.69-ct D-internally flawless

diamond brought the largest per-carat price at
auction ever received for a colorless diamond.
Courtesy of Christiehi photo 63 Tino Hammid.
Sri Lanka update. Mr. Gordon Bleck, a geologist who

currently resides in Viyalagoda Eheliyagoda! Sri Lankal
recently wrote to Dr. Emmanuel Fritsch! of the GIA
Research Departmentl with news of his latest discoveries from this prolific gem-producing island. Bleck
reports that because most of the gem workings involve
various small, quickly executedl dispersed mines! each
visit to the gem-mining areas of Sri Lanka inevitably
reveals many surprises. Following are some of the more
interesting discoveries reported by Bleck:
He observed a beautiful 10-ct color-change sapphire
with a largel well-defined, doubly terminated zircon
crystal as an inclusion near the surface of the pavilion.
A dark green 190-ct piece of rough ekanite) with a
natural shape that mimics the outline of the island of Sri
Lanka! was found near the village of Maligavila! in the
Monarayala district of the well-known gem-producing
area of Okkampitiya. This piece was mined on jungle
flat land from a depth of approximately 3 4 ft.! under a
layer of small alluvial boulders. This area started producing significant quantities of ekanite about two years
ago. At least 50 to 60 kg of ekanite have been recovered
since then, with some pieces as large as 1.5 kg. Because of
the limited demand for this material! mining for ekanite
has now come to a halt.
A well-formed! relatively freshl twinned crystal of
opaque metallic-black! highly radioactive uraninite
Gem News
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Sunlmer 1988
121
Figure 4. Bright, diffraction-caused colors are

visible in this faceted andradite from Hermosillo,
Mexico. Darkfield illumination; magnified 25 x ,
Photomicrograph by 10hn I. Koivula.
Figure 5. This layered structure is typical of the

iridescent andradite garnets from Mexico; both
layers are andradite, Magnified 10 X ; photomicrograph by lohn I. Koivula.
(uranium oxide) was discovered in Rajaweka, a small

village approximately 10 k m (6 mi.) from the town of
Balangoda. Bleck made the identification based on the
fact that a similar crystal that he had sent to GIA
Research earlier was determined to be uraninite. This
earlier crystal was so radioactive that a special "stone
paper1' was constructed for i t out of 2-mm thick lead
sheet. Even when the stone was encased in the lead
sheet, radiation was easily detected.
An apparently flawless rough orange scapolite [ I 18 ct)
was found at the village of Ellawel near the town of
Eheliyagodal approximately 5 mi. (8 k m ) from where
most of the colorless Sri Lankan scapolite is found. Thus
farl this is the only known orange scapolite from this
area. It was recovered from a long-standing mine (approximately 10 m deep) in a rice paddy. A 100-ct piece of
green beryl was also recovered from the same mine in
recent months.
Clarification. With regard to the report on inclusions in

the new Hematita alexandrites that appeared in the
Spring 1988 Gem News section, it was Dr. Edward
Gubelin who actually identified the apatite inclusions
in this new material and initially suspected that fluorite
Figure 7. These watches are decorated w'th
plastic imitation malachite. Photo by Robert
Weldon.
Figure 6. This 2.53-ct ruby crystal (10.51 x

7.47 x 2.63 m m ) was found recently in Macon
count^ North Carolina. Courtesy of /ohn
Fuhrbach; photomicrograph by lohn I. Koivula.
122
Gem News
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
inclusions might also be present (on the basis of the

isometric morphology of the inclusions in question and
their similarity in appearance to inclusions of fluorite
identified in topaz from Nigeria). Followiilg preliminary
testing of these inclusions by Dr. Karl Schmetzer and
Mr. Charles Schiffman, at Dr. Gubelin's request, Dr.
Henry Hsnni perfornled the chemical analysis that
proved that they were indeed fluorite.
SYNTHETICS AND IMITATIONS

Plastic imitations of lapis lazuli and malachite. Watches
decorated with inlaid gem materials are currently a
popular iten1 in the jewelry trade. Ellie Page! a resident
instructor at GIA-Santa Monica, informed us that some
of these watches may actually be decorated by plastic
substitutes for n~alacllite(figure 7) and lapis lazuli.
To the unaided eye, the authentic gem-decorated
watches and the plastic imitations appear virtually
identical. In addition to standard gemological testing
techniques) however! there are three simple methods
that can be used to spot a falze. First! heft the watch. A
watch decorated with one of these gem materials will
feel much heavier than its ulastic imitator, because the
specific gravities of lapi; and malachiti are much
greater than that of plastic. Second! examine the unpolishededges between each link of the band. Since lapis
and maldchite are aggregates! the unpolished surfaces
will be grainy to uneven, in contrast to the smoothtextured $urface of plastic. Last, the aslzing price for the
watches made of the actual gem material [which ranges
from about $35.00 to $100.00 or more] is significantly
greater than that of the plastic imitation (approximately
$15.00-$25.00).
The American M ~ t s e u mof Natural

History has opened an exhibit of
153 colored diamonds compiled
from the Aurora Gem Collection
and the Goldberg Collection. This
display, in the Morgan Memorial
Hall of Gems, is the largest and
most comprehensive suite of colored diamonds ever shown at a
public institution. A superb range
of colors, as well as numerous 10calities, are represented. For more
information on the muscum and
this unique exhibit (which is
scheduled to remain on display until at least March of 1989), telephone 1212) 769-5800.
Gem News
Figure 8. These blister pocks contain synthetic

spinels, designed for mass marketing just ljke
pjlls. Photo by Robert Weldon.
Clever marketing. A new! somewhat humorous method
of "packaging1' synthetic gems was recently brought to
our attention. Darlz blue "cobalt1'-colored synthetic
spinels, faceted into uniform 6-mm round brilliants!
were placed in blister packs in much the same way as
cold pills or similar medicines. They were positioned
individually in plastic depressions, uniformly spaced on
a large sheet that was baclzed and sealed by metal foil.
And, just like pills, if you need one! a little finger
pressure on the plastic bubble will pop a spinel out
through the foil backing [figure 81.
Matrix: A Journal of the History of

Minerals was introduced at the
February 1988 Tucson Gem &
Mineral Show. This informative
and well-illustrated 16-page newsletter (scheduled to be published
six times a year) is dedicated to the
history of minerals and significant
people in mineralogy. For subscription information! contact Matrix
Publishing, PO, Box 129, Dillsburg,
PA 17019.
The Sixth Jewel and Diamond Fair
will be held in Antwerp September
4-6! 1988. Over 100 exhibitors will
participate in the Bouwcentrum.
For more information and reservations, contact: Promaz BVBA! Lamounierestraat 69-71, B2018
Antwerp! Belgium; telephone
(031 239-5 1-22.
The Hong Kong Jewelry & Watch
Fair is scheduled for September
18-21, 1988, at five area hotels in
Hong Kong. Over 500 exhibitors
from 25 countries will be represented. For information! contact:
Headway Trade Fairs, Ltd.! 91F
Sing-Ho Finance Building! 168
Gloucester Roadl Hong Kong; telephone 5-8335121.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
123
GEMOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS
Dona M. Dirlam, Editor
REVIEW BOARD
Juli L. Cook
GIA, Santa Monica
Barton C . Curren
Topanga Canyon, California
Stephanie L. Dillon
San Clemente, California
Bob E Effler
GIA, Santa Monica
Emmanuel Fritsch
GIA, Santa Monica
Joseph 0. Gill
Gill & Shorten Ltd., San Francisco
Patricia A. S. Gray
Bangkok, Thailand
Mahinda Gunawardene
Idar-Oberstein, Germany
Gary S. Hill
GIA, Santa Monica
Steve C . Hofer
Canton, Connecticut
Karin N. Hurwit
Gem Trade Lab, Inc., Santa Monica
Robert C. Kammerling
GIA, Santa Monica
Neil Letson
Palm Beach, Florida
Shane E McClure
Gem Trade Lab, Inc., Los Angeles
COLORED STONES A N D
ORGANIC MATERIALS
Beryl: A summary. J. Sinkankas, Rocks and Minerals,
Vol. 63, No. 1, 1988, pp. 10-22.
Sinkankas presents a wonderful article based on his now
out-of-print Emerald and Other Beryls. The most common variety of beryl is the so-called common berylpoorly formed, non-gem quality beryl with value only
as the primary ore of beryllium. In order of abundance
(from most to least), the varieties of gem beryl include
blue to bluish green aquamarine, golden beryl (sometimes called heliodor), and morganite (pale peach or pink
This section is designed to provide as complete a record as

practical of the recent literature on gems and gemology. Articles
are selected lor abstracting solely at the discretion 01 the section
editor and her reviewers, andspace limitations may require that we
include only those articles that we lee1 will be of greatest interest to
our readership.
Inquiries for reprints 01 articles abstracted must be addressed to
the author or publisher of the original material.
The reviewer of each article is identified by his or her initials at the
end of each abstract. Guest reviewers are identified by their full
names. Opinions expressedin an abstract belong to the abstracter
and in no way reflect the position of Gems & Gemology
or GIA.
a7988 Gemoloqical Institute of America
124
Elise B. Misiorowski
GIA, Santa Monica
Gary A. Roskin
GIA, Santa Monica
James E. Shigley
GIA, Santa Monica
Franceye Smith
GIA, Santa Monica
Carol M. Stockton
GIA, Santa Monica
Robert Weldon
GIA, Santa Monica
to a fairly intense apricot or purplish pink). The next

most abundant would be emerald, followed by the
completely colorless variety known as goshenite. Now
considered to be the rarest of all beryls is the stunning
red variety that was originally discovered in the Thomas
Range, Utah, in the early 1900s; more recently, red beryl
has been found in the Wah Wah Mountains of that same
state.
Using charts and illustrations, Sinkankas describes
the crystal structure and composition, physical properties, and causes of color. The basic geology of beryl
deposits and some classic worldwide occurrences [together with maps) are also included.
BCC
Blue spinel from the Hunza Valley, Pakistan. R. R.
Harding and F. Wall, Journal of Gemmology, Vol.
20, No. 718, 1987, pp. 403405.
Small, gem-quality spinel crystals have been found in
the Hunza valley of Pakistan. They are described as
black or dark blue in reflected light and as "a range of
blue, lilac and pink" in transmitted light. All of the
material studied exhibited absorption bands at 650-630,
600-590,580-565,555-540, and 470-455 n m in a hand
spectroscope; in addition, pink crystals showed a band at
680 nm which was attributed to chromium. A PyeUnicam spectrophotometer was used to confirm these
locations, with the spectrum of a synthetic blue spinel
provided for comparison. Comparison was likewise
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
made to the spectrum of a cobalt-containing blue spinel

as published in a 1984 article by Shigley and Stockton
(Gems a ) Gemology, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 3 4 4 1 ) . Unfortunately, this spectrum does not have a linear wavelength scale, which the authors (including this abstracter) did not explicitly state in their article. As a
result, Harding and Wall's observation that "the centres
of the absorptions between 500 and 700 n m are not
identical" is based on spectra that cannot be compared
visually. A correction, including linearly scaled versions
of the 1984 spectra, has been sent to Journal of Gemmology for publication in a future issue.
Harding and Wall also provide, however, microprobe
chemical data for a Hunza valley blue spinel, showing
similarity to the Sri Lanka material except that the
Pakistan material contains more chromium and titanium. They note that cobalt, if present, is below
CMS
microprobe detection limits.
Colour-changing chromiferous tourmalines from East
Africa. H. Bank and U. Henn, Journal of Gemmology, Vol. 21, No. 2, 1988, pp. 102-103.
Drs. Bank and Henn provide the first gemological
description of green-to-red color-change tourmalines
from East Africa. These gems have refractive indices of
1.644-1.645 and 1.622-1.623, a birefringence of 0.022,
and a specific gravity of 3.04-3.06. Electron microprobe
analyses are provided, as are spectroscopic results that
support the significance of Cr3 as the principal colorCMS
causing element.
+
Zur Deutung der Farbursache blauer Saphire - eine Diskussion (The cause of colour in blue sapphire - a
discussion). K. Schmetzer, Neues Jahrbuch fur
Mineralogie Monatshefte, Vol. 8, 1987, pp.
337-343.
This article provides an overview of the causes of color
in blue sapphires from various localities. The origin of
color in blue sapphire historically has been related to the
presence of Fe2++Ti4+ intervalence absorption, sometimes induced by heat treatment. Other components
may also be present in the spectrum, such as Fe3'absorptions, and sometimes Fe2 4Fe3 charge transfer.
Blue sapphires of desirable color from Kashmir, Mogok,
Umba Valley, and Montana, as well as Verneuil synthetic
sapphires, show Fe2++Ti4+ charge transfer with weak
Fe3+ bands but no Fe2++Fe3+ charge transfer. The less
desirable greenish blue stones from Australia, Nigeria,
Thailand, and Kenya display intense Fe3+ bands and
variable amounts of Fe2+->Ti4+ and Fe2+->Fe3+ charge
transfer. Chatham flux-grown synthetic blue sapphire
shows small Fe3+ bands, Fez +Ti4 charge transfer,
and variable intensities of Fe2++Fe3 charge transfer, a
spectrum that is also found in some blue sapphires from
Pailin, Kampuchea. Sapphires of similar chemical composition with no Fe2++Ti4+ charge transfer have been
found in Thailand and have a green color.
+
Emerald: The stunning adornment. D. A. Hiss and H.

Walowitz, Jewelers' Circular-Keystone, Vol. 154,
No. 4, April 1988, pp. 203-210.
This lengthy article gives an excellent overview of
various aspects of emeralds. It includes 18 color photographs illustrating the color range of emeralds, distinctive features and characteristic inclusions, as well as a
number of exceptional estate pieces and various aspects
of the mining operations at Muzo.
The authors describe the color of emeralds in detail,
using G1A ColorMaster nomenclature as written by
Drucker of "The Guide." They also discuss oiling and
practical care tips, as well as interesting lore (including a
brief history of the fascinating Colombian emerald
deposits]. Emerald's use as a birthstone, its identifying
characteristics, short source descriptions, the synthetic
counterparts available, and a column of technical data
round out this comprehensive article on emerald.
Jay G. Lell
Fibers of dumortierite in quartz. K. R. Applin and B. D.
Hicks, American Mineralogist, Vol. 72, No. 112,
1987, pp. 170-172.
Etching experiments on quartz from various localities
reveal the presence of dumortierite fibers 1 0 0 4 0 0 n m
wide, 100-200 n m thick, and at least hundreds of
microns long. These fibers are most abundant in rose
quartz from the Ruby Range, Montana; fine optical
quartz from Arkansas does not contain any fibers.
Although the article does not establish a clear connection between the presence of pink dumortierite inclusions and the color of the host mineral, one can deduce
that pink dumortierite is a possible cause of color in rose
quartz.
EF
Heat treatment not only can dissolve rutile needles,

thus enhancing the Fe2++Ti4+ charge transfer, but i t
also can produce a variety of dissolution reactions
involving many types of inclusions. The results depend
on the heating parameters, the relative concentrations of
the various impurities, and the atmosphere in the
furnace.
EF
The not-so-rare earths. G. K. Muecke and P. Moller,

Scientific American, Vol. 258, No. 1, January 1988,
pp. 72-77.
A recent survey finds that the rare-earth elements are
not that rare. Indeed, most of them are more abundant
than gold in the earth's crust. They are usually present in
the trivalent state, and they commonly substitute for
calcium, regardless of the size of their ions. This means
that calcium minerals (such as calcite, fluorite, scheelite, some plagioclase feldspars, and many other gem
materials) are likely to contain large concentrations of
rare earths. The chemical characteristics and geochemical cycle of these elements are explained, and two
opposite tendencies are shown: Light rare earths are
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
125
incorporated more easily into crystals that grow in

hydrothermal solutions, whereas heavy rare earths are
incorporated first in minerals formed in magmatic
systems. This suggests a guideline as to what kind of rare
earths one should expect to find in gem minerals
deposited in hydrothermal veins or magmatic-especially pegmatitic-occurrences.
\LC/EF
Pyrite in Canadian ammonite. J. I. Koivula, Australian
Gemmologist, Vol. 16, No. 8, 1987, pp. 304-307.
Beginning with a brief review of the history, geologic
setting, and recovery of Canadian ammonites, the author proceeds to describe his examination of a section of
Placenticeras meeki shell. The soecimen consisted of an
iridescent layer on a natural brownish gray shale base.
Whitish, rounded blebs were visible on the specimen
with the unaided eye; under magnification they appeared pale whitish yellow with a metallic luster,
resembling pyrite.
Rather than apply sophisticated testing techniques
e.g., X-ray powder diffraction and electron probe microanalysis) to identify these inclusions, the author chose
to use what he describes as "a more traditional" approach, that is, microchemical analysis, a form of testing
that is still used by exploration geologists. What follows
is a fascinating description of the testing techniques,
which led to the identification of the inclusions in
question as pyrite. The author suggests that a small kit
for microchemical testing might be assembled and used
effectively by gemologists, mineralogists, and geologists
who do not have access to sophisticated instrumentation.
RCK
DIAMONDS
Colored diamonds. S. C. Hofer, New York Diamonds, Vol.
1, No. 1, 1988, pp. 28, 30.
Mr. Hofer introduces his column "Colored Diamonds" in
the premier issue of this new trade journal. He begins by
providing several historical references to colored diamonds, touching briefly on the formation, history, and
marketing of these rare gems. He states that his intention in this column is "to educate and inform members
of the industry . . . on the mysterious and often misquoted colored diamonds."
Included in this first column is an announcement
and description of the fancy-color diamonds in the
Aurora Gem Collection and the Goldberg Collection,
which are currently on display at the American Museum
of Natural History in New York City. Two color photographs of diamonds from the two collections illustrate
the column.
Bill Videto
A diamond as big as the Ritz-well, just about that big.

I? F, Kluger, Smithsonian, Vol. 19, No. 2, May 1988,
pp. 72-83.
In August 1984, diamond cutter Marvin Samuels, in
126
partnership with the Zale Corporation, purchased an

890-ct fancy yellow rough diamond - the fourth largest
diamond ever found. The partners believed that they
could cut a stone to surpass the weight of the famed
Cullinan 1, at 530.2 ct the world's largest faceted gem
diamond.
This article allows the reader to live the drama of
the cutting of this unique diamond and the decision to go
for quality rather than size. The finished stone, cut in an
unusual "triolette" shape, is, at 407.43 ct, the world's
largest fancy-color diamond and the second largest
diamond overall.
Patrick B. Ball
Famous diamonds of the world XXVI: La Belle Helene.
1. Balfour, Indidqua, Vol. 44, No. 2, 1986, pp.
124-127.
La Belle Helene was discovered in the region along the
southwest corner of Africa known as the "Skeleton
Coast." Although forbidding, it is one of the world's
richest sources of gem-quality diamonds under one
carat. Large diamonds of fine quality are a rarity here;
therefore, the 160-ct rough found in 1951 was very
unusual.
The diamond rough was sold to Mr. Romi Goldmuntz, a recognized personality in the Belgium diamond industry since World War 11. The diamond was
named after his wife Helene. Later, the stone was sent to
New York where it was cut into two matching pear
shapes, weighing 30.38 and 29.71 ct, and a 10.50-ct
marquise. All three stones were eventually sold to
/LC
private buyers through Cartier.
Famous diamonds of the world XXVII: The Vainer
Briolette. I. Balfour, Indiaqua, Vol. 44, No. 2, 1986,
pp. 129-130.
In his continuing series on famous diamonds, Balfour
here discusses how the London firm of M, Vainer Ltd. cut
a 202.85-ct yellowish rough diamond into the largest
briolette-cut diamond in the world.
The firm was first told of this diamond, believed to
be from South Africa, in the autumn of 1984. The stone,
an almost perfect octahedron, would have been fashioned into two matching round brilliants by most
cutters. Mr. Vainer, however, opted for the briolette cut,
which ultimately produced a 116.60-ct fancy light
yellow diamond with 192 facets in this unusual shape.
The Sultan of Brunei subsequently purchased the stone.
!LC
First joint venture to mine in China. I? Brindisi, fewellery News Asia, Vol. 41, No, 1, January 1988, pp.
5 1-54.
In October 1987, a joint venture between partly Australian-owned City Resources (Asia)Ltd. of Hong Kong and
the People's Republic of China was issued a license to
explore for and mine diamonds and precious metals in
China. They will begin exploration in the Hunan Provi-
GEMS &. GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
nce in May of 1988. Diamonds have been mined on a

limited basis in this area for over 30 years. A 60-km
mining area has been allocated in the lower Yuan Jiang
River, thus giving the name Yuan Jiang River Project to
the venture. The group also plans to mine the terraces
along the river. Several large diamonds have already been
found, but the dredging method used does not recover
small stones. Systematic sampling of alluvial deposits
and deep drilling will allow a detailed assessment of the
potential of the deposit. To date, the extent of diamond
reserves in China is not known.
Gold is also found in the river. The flaky structure
suggests a nearby origin. All gold recovered is to be sold
to the Bank of China. While City Resources is the first
outside group to be licensed for such a joint venture with
the PRC, other companies are currently negotiating for
similar licensing to explore for diamonds.
ILC
Industry listens carefully to anti-apartheid debate. N e w
York Diamonds, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1988, pp. 54, 56.
In the premier issue of this quarterly trade magazine
(which is sponsored by the Diamond Dealers Club, Inc.,
of New York) a staff writer reviews the present status of
the anti-apartheid debate in the U.S. An amendment to
the 1986 Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act has been
proposed'that would prohibit the importation of diamonds "(1')produced in South Africa, (2) exported,
directly or indirectly, from South Africa, or (3)offered for
sale by, or on behalf of, the Government of South Africa
or a South African entity" (as quoted directly from the
proposed amendment).
The article mentions the impact such legislation
would have on the international diamond market as well
as specifically here in the U.S. In particular, emphasis is
placed on the role that the Jewelers of America organization has taken to inform jewelers and legislators of the
ramifications of such an amendment. The article ends
with a quote from Sheldon London, legislative counsel
to Jewelers of America: "It's not something that needs to
alarm the industry, but it is something we have to watch
constantly."
DMD
Production record de diamantes (Record production of

diamonds). Joyas o) foyeros, Vol. 25, September
1987, pp. 4 3 4 5 .
The 1980s have provided a major challenge for the
Central Selling Organization (CSO) in terms of the
production and marketing of diamonds; this article
(written in Spanish) analyzes and chronicles diamond
production in this decade. Because of the world recession that dominated the beginning of the decade, diamond production was low, reaching its lowest level in
1982. Recovery came after 1985, as demand surged and
the costs of production were reduced.
For the Spanish-speaking gemologist, this article
also provides an unbiased glimpse into the world of De
Beers, with a particular emphasis on the CSO. However,

it does highlight such emotive topics as political sanctions against South Africa and, conversely, portrays De
Beers as a beneficial "cooperative," whose presence and
industry benefits producers, hosting countries involved,
and consumers alike.
Considerable attention is also given to other producers such as the Argyle mines in Australia and the
now recuperating mines of Zaire.
RW
GEM LOCALITIES
Lightning Ridge - die Wiege der Australischen Schwarzopale (Lightning Ridge, the cradle of Australian
black opals). E. Gubelin, Lapis, Vol. 13, No, 2,
February 1987, pp. 15-30.
The first part of this article about Lightning Ridge
covers the history and geology of the area, the origin of
the opals, and the methods of mining and processing the
rough material. Although opal was first discovered here
in 1887, production on a (comparatively] large scale
began only about 3 0 years ago. More sophisticated
mining techniques-such as the use of explosives and
pneumatic drills, bulldozers, surface mining, and processing with "agifators," in addition to "dry" and "wet
puddling1'-are quite new and have become profitable
because of an increasing demand for black opal. Dr.
Gubelin discusses the geologic and chemical conditions
of opal formation in the Lightning Ridge area and
concludes that the opals were formed during the kaolinization of feldspars in the early Tertiary period. The
mining activities are illustrated by 17 informative color
photographs and two geologic sketches.
The second part of the article gives general information on opal, including sources, varieties, and some
mineralogic and gemological data. Two electron photomicrographs show the different structures of common
and gem-quality opal. Examples of fine black opals as
well as other varieties (rough and cut) are shown in 16
color photographs.
While the second part of the article may be too
general for the reader already familiar with the material,
it is of value for newcomers. The description of opal
mining at Lightning Ridge, however, is of interest to all
for its fresh view of the activities in this mining area.
The article is written in German, but the beauty of the
photographs is international.
Rolf Tatje
Duisburg, West Germany
A review of jade in South Australia. J. G. Olliver,

Australian Gemmologist, Vol. 16, No. 8, 1987, pp.
283-286.
This article reviews the geology and mining of the
Cowell nephrite deposit on the Eyre Peninsula, South
Australia. This deposit was discovered relatively recently, in 1966. Since that time, 115 outcrops have been
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
127
identified in a 6 x 3 k m area designated the Cowell Jade

Province. An evaluation of the deposit conducted in
1986 conservatively placed the recoverable reserves at
60,000 tons, with an average price of $A4,000 per ton.
Nephrite at this site is associated with quartzofeldspathic gneiss and dolomitic marble. It is formed in
three ways: (1) intrusion of granite, causing extensive
replacement of marble and contamination of the intrusive; (2) mylonitization during and after granite intrusion, producing further alteration; and (31cross-fracturing and warping in the orogeny, imparting a schistosity
on early phases, including nephrite. Nephrite formed by
the third method is reportedly of the highest quality
because of its minute grain size, the random orientation
and interlocking nature of its fibers, and the relative
absence of inclusions.
Cowell nephrite is mostly dark green to black, with
the color related to iron content (the blackest material
contains up to 7.9% iron); chromium content is only
30-40 ppm. Many boulders and outcrops exhibit a white
rind and a red weathering skin; some have multiple
weathering patterns in the rind. Mining is accomplished
through removal of overburden, followed by drilling and
blasting.
RCK
Some notable Maine gemstones. J. C. Perham, Rocks and
Minerals, Vol. 62, No. 6, 1987, pp. 420-427.
Maine has long been known for its production of
spectacular multicolored tourmaline. In particular, during 1972-1973, the Dunton quarry in Oxford County
produced beautiful pink tourmalines, many of which
are a n intense raspberry color. Cut stones over 50 ct were
not uncommon from this locality; the largest is a 60.05ct intensely colored stone that is all but flawless. Mt.
Apatite and Mt. Mica are also well known for beautiful
t;urmaline. The rich green color of the Mt. Apatite
tourmalines has been compared to that of fine emeralds.
The largest cut stone from Mt. Mica is a flawless 246-ct
green tourmaline mined in 1978.
Maine has also produced beautiful examples of
other gemstones. Fine aquamarine has come from the
Sugar Hill area in Stoneham. Richly colored amethyst,
said to rival the finest of the Siberian material, has been
found at Pleasant Mountain in Denmark (Maine)and at
Deer Hill in Stow. Rose quartz and purple apatite from
Maine are described as well.
BCC
problem. The value of various filters for other colors of

corundum is reviewed as well.
Also discussed is the use of low-temperature heating of yellow corundum to determine color treatment.
The test described is certainly useful, but reference to
the article by Nassau and Valente in the Winter 1987
issue of Gems 0 } Gemology reveals just how complex
this problem is. Together, however, the two articles
provide valuable insight into the problem of stability in
yellow sapphires, heat treated and otherwise. Mr.
Hughes wisely cautions about the necessity both of
obtaining permission to perform such color-altering
tests and of avoiding damage that could be caused by
overheating important CO, inclusions.
CMS
LWUV fluorescence of gemstones: A photographic review. J. Snow and G. Brown, Australian Gemmologist, Vol. 16, No. 8, 1987, pp. 296-300.
This article, as the title implies, was prepared to provide
a visual record of the reactions of a number of gem
materials to long-wave ultraviolet radiation. The author
photographed the subject materials in groups, using 400
ASA color slide film in a 35-mm camera fitted with a 50m m macro lens and a n extension tube. The gems are
illustrated as they appear both under white fluorescent
light and when exposed to long-wave U.V radiation, to
provide a quick comparison between daylight-equivalent and fluorescent colors.
The gemstone groups illustrated include: diamond
and its imitations; corundum (both natural and synthetic, as well as yellow sapphire and its imitations);
emerald and its imitations; spinel (natural and synthetic); opal (natural and synthetic); zircon; scapolite;
chrysoberyl; fluorite; turquoise; various organics; and a
number of miscellaneous gem materials.
The article is all the more useful because it includes
source information on most of the natural materials as
well as the manufacturers of the synthetics.
RCK
Some DIY gemmological instruments. J. Eadie, Journal

of Gemmology, Vol. 20, No. 718, 1987, pp. 482-485.
For the more enterprising-as well as thrifty -gemologist, this brief article provides instructions on how to
make your own polariscope, dichroscope, and light
intensity unit. These projects are particularly informative, too, for the student learning about gemological
instruments. Diagrams and photos illustrate the proCMS
cedures.
INSTRUMENTS AND TECHNIQUES

Identifying yellow sapphires-two important techniques. R. W. Hughes, Journal of Gemmology, Vol.
21, NO. 1, pp. 23-25.
Yellow corundum can often be difficult to distinguish
from its synthetic analog, because the colored banding is
not easily resolved. Mr. Hughes discusses (and illustrates) the usefulness of a blue color filter as an aid in this
128
JEWELRY ARTS
The gemstones i n a Maharajah's sword. R. R. Harding
and S. H. Stronge, Journal of Gemmology, Vol. 21,
NO. 1, 1988, pp. 3-7.
The known history of the Indian jeweled sword described in this article dates only to 1817, when it was
taken from the defeated cavalry of the Maharajah Holkar
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
and subsequently presented as a gift to a British officer. It

was purchased in 1888 by the Victoria and Albert
Museunl, where it still resides.
The sword's hilt (described simply as "gold"] contains 694 gemstones, including 378 rubies, 276 diamonds, 38 emeralds, and two pieces of onyx. The rubies
and emeralds were all identified as such on the basis of
inclusions and absorption spectra. Some of the rubies
and all of the emeralds are backed by colored foil or
enamel to compensate for paler colors. The emeralds
range up to 15 m m across and include four carved stones.
While the majority of the emeralds are of poor color, a
few are typical of fine Colombian material. Most of the
rubies are comparable to good Burmese stones. The
diamonds range up to 9 m m in diameter, with most
being just polished cleavage pieces. Two larger stones,
however, are cut in a fashion typical of old Indian stones
such as the Koh-i-noor in Tavernier's day; line drawings
are provided for comparison. The two seemingly illsorted black-and-white onyx cabochons are inlaid as the
eyes of a tiger.
A gold-inlaid symbol on the sword blade indicates
royal ownership, but the poor quality of even some of the
prominent stones attests to the limited resources of the
house of Holkar. Nevertheless, the total effect is impressive, as can be seen from the color photographs that
accompany the article.
CMS
. .
The Picasso of gems. J. Everhart, National Jeweler, Vol.
31, No. 21, November 16, 1987, pp. 45-46.
Bernd Munsteiner: The name alone conjures up images
of intricately carved gems. Modern, angular, and graceful, they bring life to any jewelry setting. This article
focuses on the creator of these carvings, from his early
struggles as a pioneer in fantasy cuts, to the present-day
recognition of his uniqueness as an artist in gem cutting.
The article stresses Munsteiner's frustrations on
having his ideas copied by stone cutters around the
world, and the steps h e has taken to ensure that his work
remains "original." He now incorporates his trademark
into each piece and includes a Munsteiner certificate to
verify its authenticity.
Although Everhart's comparison of Munsteiner to
Picasso is oblique at best, the reader nevertheless understands the message: Munsteiner has popularized a
whole new concept in gem cutting, a concept that is here
to stay. Just as Picasso's work inspired other artists to
new expression in abstract art, so Munsteiner's work has
given rise to a whole new generation of gemstone artists.
Eight color photographs accompany the article.
RW
not only to scientists, but also to manufacturers. Diamond is the hardest substance known, chemically inert,
and transparent up to the infrared range. It conducts heat
very well and resists radiation. These properties make
for numerous applications for synthetic diamond thin
films. Cutting tools, ball bearings, and sound reproduction (acoustics] equipment have already been manufactured with this technology. Crystallume, a Palo Alto
firm, is producing windows for soft X-rays, and is hoping
to develop other ideas such as scratch-proof lenses. It has
been suggested that coatings of synthetic diamond thin
film could considerably improve the properties of plastic; reportedly, Russian scientists have already achieved
success in this area.
Because of its resistance to radiation, synthetic
diamond thin film has attracted $2.7 million in research
grants from the U.S. Defense Department. Such films
could also help cool the electronics in missiles and
aircraft more quickly. Primary research, however, is on
their use in semiconductors, that is, the development of
synthetic diamond computer chips that can run four
times faster than current chips.
The key to obtaining true synthetic diamond films
was revealed by ~ u s s i a nscientists in 1977. Hydrogen
needs to be mixed.with the methane gas which, excited
by microwave frequencies, breaks down and deposits
synthetic diamond on a substrate under a very low
pressure. Crystallume's Schultz points out that this
technology "could have the same impact as the invention and cheap manufacture of aluminum did 100 years
ago."
EF
SYNTHETICS AND SIMULANTS
Growth of crystalline diamond from low-pressure gases.

K. E. Spear, Earth and Mineral Sciences, Vol. 56,
NO. 4, 1987, pp. 53-59.
This article outlines, in fairly simple terms, the most
important facts about the synthesis of diamond films
and coatings from low-pressure gases. The basic principles are explained, and a history of diamond film
research is provided. Emphasis is given to Pennsylvania
State University's role in developing this technique.
After presenting a short description of the many potential applications of this technology, the author explains
that little is known about the actual mechanisms for the
growth of crystalline diamond at low pressure, and
emphasizes the difficulties of characterizing such a
product. The author then develops his hypotheses on the
growth mechanisms involved. He concludes with a
discussion of the need for more research on the fundamental aspects of this technology to make better diamond films, which have considerable economic potential.
EF
Diamond film about to turn itself into manufacturing's

best friend. J. E. Ferrell, San Francisco Examiner,
January 7, 1988, pp. El-2.
Synthetic diamond thin films are of increasing interest
Synthetic gem diamonds top congress subject. N e w York

Diamonds, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1988, p. 76.
In the "World Wide Diamonds" section of this new trade
journal, a staff writer details the agenda for the 24th
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
129
World Diamond Congress to be held the end of July 1988

in Singapore. Emphasis will be placed on synthetic
dian~onds,including the reports of three bourse menlbers who conducted independent investigations with
Sumitomo synthetic diamonds. In London, a bourse
member submitted a piece of Sumitorno rough to a
diamond cutter who reported that its properties were
indistinguishable from those of natural diamond. In
Vienna, two other bourse members had a Sumitomo
synthetic diamond cut into a baguette shape that was
"subn~itted to several laboratories and each time received reports that the stone was a natural diamond."
The article concludes with a list of other issues, mostly
procedural, that are on the congress agenda.
Bill Videto
TREATMENTS
Gemmology study club lab reports. G. Brown and J.
Snow, Australian Gemmologist, Vol. 16, No. 8,
1987, pp. 287-292.
This well-illustrated series of reports covers a number of
interesting items examined by the authors. One of these
is a rather unusual opal triplet: The high dome (cap)
consists of whitish translucent potch with a distinct
orbicular patterning, while the bottom dome (base) is
manufactured from colorless glass; the opal slice at the
center had not been blackened. The triplet reportedly is
a convincing imitation of white opal,
Also described is a cameo carved out of "bog oak,"
an organic gem material that consists of sen~ifossilizcd
wood recovered from peat bogs in Ireland. Key identifying features include a distinctive dark brown color, an
obvious woody texture, a generally poor surface polish,
and a splintery fracture. This cameo also exhibited
yellowish brown plant resin in association with the
woody fibers and a junction where the two independently carved sections of the piece had been glued
together with a resinous cement.
Other items in this report include: a highly translucent turquoise of alleged Egyptian origin- the authors
question whether the high diaphaneity might be due to
silica impregnation of porous turquoise; a plastic imitation of ivory that had been deliberately patterned with
"engine turning" (the intersecting brownish arcs characteristic of ivory); a strand of plastic imitation "fleshnucleated" (i.e., mantle-tissue nucleated) cultured
pearls; and a strand of "flesh-nucleated" cultured pearls
purported to have been natural.
RCK
Internal diffusion. J. 1. Koivula, Journal of Gemmology,
Vol. 20, NO. 7/8, 1987, pp. 474-477.
This article by inclusion expert John Koivula discusses
the means by which coloring agents are cannibalized by
corundum from certain types of inclusions. Koivula
130
supports his thesis with five photon~icrographsof synthetic and heat-treated natural sapphire that show
concentrations of intense color around inclusions, the
result of incomplete diffusion of the chron~ophoric
elements being cannibalized.
CMS
A new treatment for turquoise. G. Brown, J. Snow, and
J. Lamb, Australian Gemmologist, Vol. 16, No. 8,
1987, pp. 307-309.
This brief report covers the examination of two turquoise cabochons purchased at a gem fair in Australia.
The cabochons were opaque, of a medium blue color
with slight greenish overtones and a waxy luster. Both
exhibited black matrix on their convex surfaces, but,
surprisingly, the base of one had a network of fine
whitish to brownish veins.
A scratch test followed by hot point testing proved
that the two specimens were paraffin impregnated.
Magnification revealed two interesting features: (1)the
black matrix appeared to be painted over whitish veins
on the convex surfaces; and (2) the turquoise had a
cellular texture consisting of lighter colored rounded
"cells" surrounded by darker bluish borders. A detailed
examination of a segment of the black matrix removed
from one cabochon showed that it was formed from very
fine black particulate matter suspended in a paraffin
wax. The article includes six good color photomicrographs and a listing of the specimens' gemological
properties.
RCK
MISCELLANEOUS
Lifetime Achievement Award: James B. White. D. Federman, Modern Jeweler, Vol. 86, No. 12, December
1987, pp. 43-54.
presents their Lifetime
Each December, Modern Je~veler
Achievement Award to a n individual who has been
instrumental in the jewelry industry. The 1987 award
has been given to JamesB. White of the Jewelers' Security
Alliance.
This article follows the career of Mr. White first
with the FBI, then with the New York City district
attorney's office and various other law enforcement
concerns, to his present position with the Security
Alliance. His success is in part due to his emphasis on
preventing crimes and to the mail alert and telephone
networks he has set up as a warning system. Moreover,
when he assumed full leadership of the Alliance in 1965,
little more than a year after joining it, he began changing
the attitudes of jewelers by espousing "rational behavior
in the face of the crimes that jewelry. . . so frequently
invites." Mr. White's efforts over the past 22 years have
earned him a reputation as the best crime fighter for the
jewelry industry.
1Lc
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
AMERICAN JEWELRY
By Penny Proddow a n d Debra Healy,
208 pp., illus., publ. by Rizzoli, N e w
York, 1987. USS75.00"
Authors Penny Proddow and Debra
Healy have created an elegant book
on American jewels and jewelers.
Specifically focused on the production of fine jewelry (primarily signed
jewels), it is richly illustrated with
David Behl's photographs of jewelry
and the jewelry renderings of notable
designers, interspersed with pictures
of famous personalities s u c h as
Greta Garbo and Shirley Temple displaying the pieces. Drawing from
personal comn~unications,magazine
articles, and company archives, the
authors have c o m ~ i l e da virtual encyclopedia of information.
In the first chapter, Proddow and
Healy introduce American jewelers
of the late 18th century, describing
their rise in a historical context.
Then, beginning with the founding
of Shreve, Crump & Low Co. of Boston in 1869, they proceed to recount
the early, years of companies such as
Frost of New Yorlz, Bailey, Banks &
Biddle of Philadelphia, Greenleaf &
Crosby of Jacksonville (Florida),
C. D. Peicoclz of Chicago, and
Gump's of San Francisco. In this
concise overview, one also glimpses
the interrelationships of various jewelers as they combine to form companies, separate, and then recombine
to create new partnerships-many of
which are still in existence today.
This first chapter ends with a paragraph announcing the introduction
of Jewelers' Circular and Horologicaf
Review, one of the first jewelry magazines, in 1874.
The following chapters focus on
a variety of topics, including specific
jewelry companies in the context of
historical events and groups of jewelers within a particular period of
time, such as the 1960s. The authors
begin with the establishment of
Tiffany & Co. and emphasize how its
success was aided by the many international world expositions that were
held during the 19th century. One
chapter, devoted to Art Nouveau
jewelry, mentions many of the new
gem materials (such as Montana sap-
Book Reviews
BOOK
REVIEWS
1
Elise B. Misiorowslzi, Editor
All in all, though, the authors

have done an amazing job of balancing readability and visual beauty
with content. Coupled with Rizzoli's
care in choosing a heavy paper stock
and proper binding, this major reference work will withstand the test of
time.
phires or Arizona turquoise) popularized during this period. In another

chapter, the emphasis is on changing
technology and specifically the importance of the metalsmith's ability
to unleash the beauty of platinum as
a metal. It should be noted that these
and subsequent chapters, which take
place primarily in the 20th century,
focus on New York. There is, however, one chapter devoted to Texas
and the West.
The important role that jewelry
and fashion magazines have played in
the development of the U.S. jewelry
industry becomes apparent when the
sources of information cited by the
authors in the notes and general
bibliography are examined. Quotes
from jewelers and fashion experts, as
well as from jewelry ads, are pepperecl throughout the text, adding a
historical dimension that is not often
found in jewelry books.
As a gemologist, however, this
reviewer would like to have seen
more from the authors - more detail,
more footnotes, more figure explanations. For example, only one paragraph is devoted to William Ruser, a
major West Coast jeweler. Sizes and
weights of the gemstones illustrated
would have been helpful, as well as
more information on the individual
designers and metalsmiths, particularly the women involved in the
earlier years (pre-World War 1). For
example, any discussion of Louis
Comfort Tiffany should include the
role of Julia Munson Sherman (a
designer of studio jewelry for the
company). Not mentioned among
Chicago jewelers is Clara Barclz
Welles, who contributed greatly to
the Arts and Crafts movement in
that city.
DONA M. DIRLAM
Senior Librarian
GIA, Santa Monica
INTRODUCTION TO
LAPIDARY
By Pansy Kraus, 196 pp., illus., publ.
by Chilton Book Co., Radnor, PA,
1987. USS19.95'
Readers with any gemological experience might, at first, think that this
book is too elementary, given the
very simple language and style of the
first chapter. This does not mean that
it is poorly written. Rather, the author may want to familiarize her
audience with the various gemological terms used throughout the book,
as well as make the hobby accessible
to young people, whose involven~ent
is needed to keep it alive and active.
This book imparts its information in
such a way that anyone from beginner to graduate gemologist can learn
about the various aspects of the lapidary hobby.
The first chapter starts with the
most basic of the techniques- tumbling stones. In this chapter in particular, Ms. Kraus explains the various
processes and precautions using the
simplest of language. In the following chapters, which describe such
topics as making spheres and cabochons, drilling beads, and carving,
the terminology gradually becomes
more advanced, as the skills required
become more technical. The final
chapter, on faceting, is the most
thoroughly covered subject in the
book, as well as the most readable.
The author includes many sidebars about the people important to
the lapidary arts, giving a personal
'This book is available for purchase at

the GIA Bookstore. 1660 Slewart Street,
Santa Monica, C A 90404. Telephone.
(800) 421-7250, exl. 282.
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988
131
touch from her lone- involvement in

the hobby and her many years as the
editor of the Lapidary Journal. There
is also a section of color photographs
to show the beautiful results of the
techniques.
This book is not a specialized
manual but, as the title indicates, an
introduction to the hobby of lapidary.
However, if the more sophisticated
reader can endure the first few chapters and the obsessive dragging out of
the metric conversions (to four decimal places!], he can find a wealth of
information in this book. as well as
possibly expand his visions about the
various forms of lapidary.
MICHAEL GRAY
Kaiser Gems Thailand Lid.
Bangkok, Thailand
JET
By Helen Muller, 149pp., illus., pub].
b y Butterworths, Great Britain,
1987. USS29.95'
Although I started this review with a
strong bias toward transparent or
translucent gems, I came out of it
surprised . . . and educated. Helen
Muller begins her introduction with
the following words: "Few people
know much about jet." My own
knowledge of the material was limited to the basic properties needed for
identification, and the fact that jet
came from Whitby in North Yorkshire. I thus began researching jet,
since to do a review, a reviewer must
know the subject. I soon discovered
that, with the exception of a few
scattered paragraphs in some gem
texts and journals, very little had
ever been written about it. Yet Ms.
Muller has provided a comprehensive examination of this elusive
topic.
This volume is well organized
with a detailed table of contents.
Culminating each chapter is a selection of useful references. The book
concludes with a series of appendices, including what seems to be an
exhaustive historical listing of jet
manufacturers and merchants and
an index to the volume itself. Four
132
Book Reviews
pages of appealing color plates show a

variety of jewelry and decorative jet
items, such as pendants, lockets, and
necklaces, that are hand painted,
carved, or inlaid with other gem
materials such as turquoise. Such
decorations add color and variety to
this black material.
This sturdy monograph is both
accurate and educational. Ms. Muller
deserves credit for what must have
been an exhausting research exercise. She has provided gemology with
a first-a volume on jet. If you are
fond of ornamental materials, if you
enjoy history, or if you just want to
expand your gemological knowledge,
Jet is the book for you.
One concluding comment
aimed at the publishers: this reviewer assumes that Helen Muller is
the same H. Muller, M.Sc., F.G.A.
who won the Tully Memorial Medal
in 1974 and then became an instructor with the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. yet. an author's
profile seems to be missing from all
of the Butterworths Gem Books. Including a profile is not just a courtesy
to the author; it also helps the wouldbe buyer judge the credentials of the
author as they relate to the subject(s)
discussed in the book.
JOHN I. KOIVULA
Chief Gemologist, GIA
AMBER
By Helen Fraquet, 176 pp., illus.,
pub]. b y Butterworths, Great Britain, 1987. USS29.95'
Like all the books published thus far
in the Butterworths Gem Books series, this volume about amber begins
with a chapter listing the basic properties a gemologist needs to make
routine identifications. The author
then discusses amber and its various
uses. All of the major localities are
profiled in separate chapters, including a welcome chapter on Asia.
Basic gemological testing procedures -including the use of a saturated saline solution, reaction to
heat, and surface resistance to or-
ganic solvents-are covered. More

sophisticated means of testing amber are also introduced. Two of the
most useful chapters for the gemologist are the one on plastics and their
properties and the one covering resins, both of which are sometimes
confused with amber. Culminating
each chapter is a selection of useful
references; the book concludes with
a helpful information index. Eight
pages of appealing color plates, showing amber jewelry, in carvings, as art
objects, and even photos of amber
mining as well as a few inclusion
photos, are provided.
It is not clear, however, why
appendix 2, "Amber in the USA," is
sandwiched between appendix 1
"Geologic Ages," and appendix 3 "Infrared Spectra of Amber Samples."
'Amber in the USA" seems to be an
afterthought and totally out of place.
It would have been better placed as a
separate chapter in the main body of
the book along with the other locali ties.
One other drawback is the limited coverage given to the various
types of inclusions found in amber.
Inclusions in amber not only make
the material more valuable commercially, but they also provide unparalleled information to scientists on
past life forms, their environment,
and evolution. As an example of this
oversight, no bibliographic reference
could be found in this book to the
classic German work by Dr. Adolf
Bachofen-Echt on inclusions in Baltic amber.
Although there is really no information here that cannot be found in a
number of other sources, Amber is
nonetheless enjoyable and easy to
read. In her own words, the author
considers i t "an amber primer."
Aside from the one out-of-place appendix, the book is well organized. It
is accurate in content, and makes an
excellent source book that should
satisfy the curiosity of most gemologists about amber.
JOHN I. KOIVULA
Chief Gemologist, C I A
GEMS & GEMOLOGY
Summer 1988

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What are some of the main topics covered in the journal?

What are some of the main topics covered in the journal?

What causes the extraordinary play-of-color seen in the opal photo?

What causes the extraordinary play-of-color seen in the opal photo?

The quarterly journal of the Gemological Institute of America

The Diamond Deposits of Kalimantan, Borneo

An Update on Color in Gems.

Examination of Three-Phase Inclusions in

Gem Trade Lab Notes

All rights reserved

ISSN 001 6-626X

THE DIAMOND DEPOSITS OF

The island of Borneo is one o f the oldest

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Diamond Deposits of Borneo

orneo is an island of the Indonesian Archipelago

GEMS & GEMOLOGY

dred years on the flanks and margins of the

Diamond Deposits of Borneo

(960-1279 A.D.). Numerous fragments of Chinese

GEMS & GEMOLOGY

During the period 1913-1 936, diamond production

Beminelen, 1939). Today, production in western

man tan, below = the Bmjarn~asin-Maitapura

Diamond Deposits of Borneo

GEMS &. GEMOLOGY

A Brief History of Diamond Mining in Ka1imantan.a

Hindus are probably the first to discover

been quartz) is reportedly found in the area

LOCATION AND ACCESS

Diamond Deposits of Borneo

Seliayam River, and on the Kapuas River near

GEMS & GEMOLOGY

this area, workings are found near Cempalza (the c

Diamond Deposits of Borneo

The island of Borneo has an average rainfall of

GEMS & GEMOLOGY

glomerates of the basal layers of the Manunggul

diamond grades within the paleochannels beneath

Diamond Deposits of Borneo

GEMS & GEMOLOGY

Figure 4, In this view of

but may be mottled white; characteristically, they

Diamond Deposits of Borneo

The bulk of the diamondiferous sediments occur

GEMS &. GEMOLOGY

Diamond Deposits of Borneo

ately to well-rounded metamorphic and igneous

GEMS & GEMOLOGY

gravels are as much as 10 m below the surface of

Figure 7. T h e black ironwood dulang (pan) a n d

from near sunup to sunset every day except Friday,

Diamond Deposits of Borneo

GEMS & GEMOLOGY

who will be in charge of selling it in Martapura on

The Sampling Project at Banjar Baru. In contrast to

GEMS & GEMOLOGY

Figure 10. Material emitted from the jigs at the

Diamond Deposits of Borneo