Winter 2023 - Volume 59, Issue 4
Issue Overview
Show Filters
Figure 1. Lidded goblet from the collection of the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, embellished with red Bohemian garnets. Inventory no. 60/74, height 17.7 cm. Photo by Bastian Krack; courtesy of Bavarian National Museum in Munich.
Bohemian Garnets as Decorative Materials for Glass Vessels from the Late Sixteenth to Early Eighteenth Centuries

Examines a technique for setting cut garnets on glass objects, invented by Claudius vom Creutz of Nuremberg in the late sixteenth century.

Read More

Figure 1. A silver brooch containing a large Slovak opal (77 ct, 34.5 × 25 × 13 mm) and 48 diamonds. The opal was initially purchased for Louis XVIII’s personal collection. In 1824, it adorned the clasp of Charles X’s coronation mantle, and around 1853 it was remounted onto this brooch for Empress Eugénie, which has been preserved. Photo by Peter Semrád; courtesy of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris (inventory no. MNHN 87.44).
Slovak Opal: A New Life for a Historical Gem

Reports on the recent production of precious and common opal from a centuries-old locality.

Read More

Figure 1. Chalcedony petrified tree fern is carved as an ornamental gem material. This 60 × 40 mm dragon carving has a uniform texture and bright color. Photo by Hai-Long Wang.
A Unique Petrified Tree Fern from Northeast China

Documents the gemological properties, chemical composition, and appearance of petrified tree fern discovered in northeast China.

Read More

Figure 1. Sedimentary rocks are among the most common rocks exposed on the earth’s surface. This image shows multicolored sandstone layers known as “The Wave” that have been eroded and sculpted by winds to form a swirling pattern of rock strata in the Coyotes Buttes North wilderness area along a portion of the Arizona/Utah border. Photo by Greg Bulla.
Gems Recovered from Sedimentary Rocks

Explores the formation of sedimentary rocks, gems found and formed in sedimentary environments, and the alluvial mining of these gems.

Read More

This 9.885 kg specimen of aquamarine on albite with a quartz cathedral center, measuring 31 × 23 × 28 cm, is from Pakistan’s Shigar Valley. Courtesy of GIA Museum, collection no. 43068. Photo by Robert Weldon.
Micro-Features of Beryl

Provides a visual guide to the internal features of different varieties of beryl.

Read More

Figure 1. A fine 925 ct crystal that was formerly displayed in the Texas State Capitol and sat on the governor’s desk in 1969 when the legislature adopted blue Texas topaz as the state gem. This specimen was found in 1904 and now resides in the Hamman Gem and Mineral Gallery in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin (catalog no. B0344). Photo by Blanca Espinoza.
Topaz from Mason County, Texas

A comprehensive look at Texas topaz, detailing its gemological and compositional characteristics and providing a basis for using trace element concentrations to identify its origin.

Read More

The newly discovered variety of amblygonite-montebrasite is unique for its blue color. It often has a mottled appearance with alternating blue and creamy white patches. The faceted stone weighs 0.83 ct. Photo by Lhapsin Nillapat.
Blue Amblygonite-Montebrasite from Rwanda

A report on a new blue variety of amblygonite-montebrasite from Rwanda.

Read More

Figure 1. This 0.63 ct tapered baguette-cut diamond showed two major color zones. Photo by Adriana Robinson.
Rare Natural Bicolor Diamond

A tapered baguette-cut diamond exhibits two major color zones.

Read More

This 0.69 ct alexandrite showed a stellate structure due to cyclic crystal twinning and pleochroism, producing a kaleidoscope effect when rotated. These photomicrographs were taken with a single polarizer placed above the stone and a white diffuser below the stone to highlight the color. Photomicrographs by Makoto Miura; field of view 9.80 mm.
“Kaleidoscope” in Alexandrite

Pleochroic colors caused by cyclic twinning produce a kaleidoscope effect in alexandrite.

Read More

Figure 1. Various negative crystals in pink sapphire from Sri Lanka (A, enlarged in B) and fingerprints in blue sapphire from Burma (C, enlarged in D). Image B shows bubbles in flat negative crystals, and the center negative crystal in D has a bubble. Photomicrographs by Momo Matsumura (A and B) and Shunsuke Nagai (C and D); fields of view 4.05 mm (A), 8.15 mm (B), 8.47 mm (C), and 1.71 mm (D).
FTIR Identification of Carbon Dioxide Fluids in Sapphire

FTIR spectroscopy shows that the existence of carbon dioxide gas bubbles in a negative crystal in sapphire is no longer proof of the absence of heat treatment.

Read More