This is such helpful information, thank you! Last week I examined a ruby set in a pendant with my loupe. The surface looked really odd and now I know why - it looked very similar to the surface of the glass-filled ruby in this video, with the variation in lustre. I didn't buy the pendant because of this appearance, and now I know what caused it. Knowledge is power!
As long as there are natural Ruby in it, doesn't matter how low quality or the color looks, it will benefit people, if you can spend less money have natural Ruby or sapphire treated for a better looks with much much less money, the buyer is happy, only those sellers who can not make any money by selling high price will worried and come out saying glass filled stones not benefit you, it does, it does! I will buy more and more those beautiful glass filled natural stones, it make me so happy. I absolutely love them because I get good vibrations from them. Don't forget glass made of sand also a kind of natural stone, it complement each other, that's why you feel so good when you receive you expensive looking jewelry with so little money, I am grateful for who ever invented this method.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, Cindy. There is a lot of information about the metaphysical side of gemstones that gemologists don't typically know, because we don't have a scientific way to measure it, so it is helpful to hear from other sources. Thanks for the comment.
I am grateful too. I use finer stones for fine jewelry, but I also make fashion jewelry, but I like to use natural stones. After seeing this, I ordered a 1ct oval glass filled ruby, and it made a very pretty pendant after I finished looking at it. These stones are great for a lower price point.😊
The way the glass makes the crystals less opaque is similar to the way that oil can make paper less transparent. Also, that "filler" stuff us '80s and '90s kids sometimes applied to scratched CDs to make them work again.
Hope you make a video bout natural emerald, topaz and sapphire inclusions and how it’s looks like at 10 x loupe magnifier ... great videos ,so much useful.
Dude this is another great video, I'm watching over to catch what I missed. And your demonstration with the ruby took me to school, never knew to focus on the different color of flash. Thanks a lot for sharpening my skills, really need the education about gems
I welcome bubbles. Better to know thine enemy clearly XD. Its sad when people have generally clean crystal, and they think its just normal heat treatment. They miss that rogue blue flash off on the side somewhere.
Nice! I've been looking for someone to explain why it's bad or why it doesn't work as well as the original 100% corundrum, why it's so expensive, and this is very satisfying to watch. Some things clicked in my mind. Thanks for the great videos ♥️
Thanks, Peter. I love Rubies (but my purse doesn’t care for them 😁). I’ve not been tempted to buy any Ruby jewelry because of the treatments and feeling woefully ignorant of what I may be buying. This was so interesting to me. Also, I like that I could quite possibly use the leadglass-filled ones in my own jewelry making effort. I agree with the person below that mentioned beginner gems. I look forward to your next installment....Knowledge is Power!
Hi Leah, Rubies are definitely a bay of sharks to swim in. There is so much to know, both in terms of potential treatments and simulants and also the relative qualities available and the prices that can be attached to them. What I can say at this point in my career is: they scare and intrigue me. The more I learn about them and see higher quality pieces... the more i become interested and foolhardy. Even exceptional sapphires in the same size don't have the same impact for such small stones in my opinion. Some of those colours even verge on "scary" if you ask me. Its like seeing a black widow spider. You know it's tiny, but you have a reverent fear that shoots through you.
1st comment!!! Ha zaaa! Love your stuff bud you answer the questions i scream at other content providers, gem nerds for not covering... u will be a huge success buddy. I know these kinda things... i can see it in your specific easy to remember tips , practical info and comic relief-style video production. Great job. Ok its getting awkward now cuz im still writing.! I own a jewelry Buisness in sc ill be in contact.
indeed so~ its cool to see some of the "traditional" cutters using other varieties of abrasives to cut and polish their stones. I saw some Burmese using a chunk of (free and readily available) marble to polish spinel. They were apprentices, so who knows if they'd bust out the good stuff for high grade material, but it was a fantastically anchoring moment to see the evolution of the craft. Sometimes we get so advanced that we forget how we got here in the first place. Cheers, Fajile~
Peter ,. Thanks for sharing this lovely video to everyone,. That's makes me able to learn and improve my knowledge about ( the most valuable colour gemstone in the world " Ruby " ) ,. Looking forward to seeing more videos from you , how to verify untreated natural Ruby stone. Happy lifestyle for everyone. ! Thanks again.
Thank you for this. I have some highly questionable rough I ordered and I think it may be glass filled. Except it's supposed to be aquamarine. I have more investigating to do.
I have been unhappy to find that some very popular name brand jewels use glass filled stones. This information should come attached to the oroduct with the purchase of their product, along with a care card.
I agree- many major brands and other popular sales platforms are hiding the treatments of their stones under layers and layers of marketing. One jeweler that I quite like advertises "alexandrite" and I had to go through 3-5 layers of marketing and photography before I could see in small print that it was a lab-created gem. Ah well~
@@GemologyforSchmucks It should not be buyer beware...you and I know most clients are not aware. I also am shocked how many jewelers only know diamonds, and even those not so well. The public cannot be happy when they find out a 14k ring from (online shopping) is not really 14k but 14k GP or GF. Maybe you can give a class of the metal hallmarks and their meanings, and also one that explains how to ask and look for treatments when buying online and at the store. I enjoy your show! Thanks for the time!
@@SwordofLight You're totally right. If only righteousness would win out all of the time, or even much of the time. ~ as to metals, hallmarking and all of that, I value your suggestion and am looking to do that hopefully in the next year. There are some exceptional jewelers that I am looking to coordinate with to make that a straightforward and transparent conversation for everyone. Cheers~
Superb video, such a clear explanation and I’m fascinated by those uncut lead-filled rubies. Are they readily available eg. at rock and gem shows or are they generally for trade only?
This depends entirely on which show you go to etc etc. I have a dealer who has quantities of large sized ruby glass-filled rough, and then you can find faceted sneaky pieces hidden in places you wouldn't expect.
There are many different types of inclusions. Black spots could be a variety of things, and natural inclusions are also possible. Gemologists would look at the shape of the inclusion under magnification and in different lighting.
Thank you, you're very kind. As to tissues and dialects, Texas is a special place where two countries can exist inside another country. I've had the good fortune to spend some time in West Texas.
XD} That's amusing. I imagine the train of thought was something like this: "Let's watch this video and get some education about gemstones... WHOAH IT'S A WILD BEAST! HALP!! 😂 Love it. Thanks for sharing
You now have to be weary of LGF Star sapphire & ruby. It was once the norm that; heating a Ruby or sapphire w asterism, would fuse the rutile ( IE titanium) needles destroying the asterism(star effect). In 2002 a Thai mftr alerted the GIA about his process not only to heat Star sapphire, but LGF clarity enhance them as well. The market (esp Etsy Ebay) are saturated full of this mtrl. A good way to tell? When polished the glass mtrl polishes away faster than the corrundum. This leaves tiny fissure type defilades, across the surface. If its cheap? Theres very good reason.
An excellent point Robert ~ I was fortunate to have our senior gemologist point out one of these stones during an internship I was doing. Gorgeous stone, and VERY subtle glass filling/ clarity enhancement. Absolutely right that we need to be wary. Thanks for the comment.
Wow! So good explained!! 😮Thank you so much for your work!! ❤ If you change to a white (or other neutral) background with front view it will looks better (personal opinion 😊)
Pause the video at 0:04 seconds on the red ruby - on the table facet, upper right corner there is a bright circular object. That is a bubble. At 2:54 the 12 noon star facet, there is a grey area that looks like the Korean peninsula... or a sock... And 3:50 onward - in the bottom left corner of the stone. The blue flash is difficult to see on the video, but its a taste of what you might see.
I collect artificial gemstones and I'd be interested in your thoughts on the best and most unique treatments of glass-filled rubies. Are there any manufactures which induce ocular phenomena into their rubies and sapphires intentionally? Perhaps deliberately using blue glass in a red stone to create vibrant violet cracks throughout, or some other wizardry I hadn't thought of? I'm already aware of and have a small collection of synthetic star rubies and sapphires, but I always have my eyes out for affordable stones with unusual and interesting optical effects.
That is a fascinating study. I myself try and collect interesting pieces as they come across my path at an appealing price. As to companies that manufacture them, I haven't done too much research into that, so I don't have any to recommend. Cheers and good luck with your collection~
Thanks Ozzie. Also, on the Kleenex front... whoever managed to turn the US vernacular into a brand loving self-promotion machine... must be swimming in ill-gotten gains.
Indeed everything has its place. As they say: if you sell it, someone will buy it. I think it's fascinating for a certain purpose and budget. It's just not something i'd like to wear myself and thats a personal choice not an ultimate value judgement . Thanks for the comment~
kVery great and informative video. If you wouldn't mind sharing the information I could use these for educational purposes and a project. Keep up the great work.
By all means - my goal with the channel is to spread and make available the knowledge of gemstones (at least a starting point from which others can build). It would be an honour to have you use my material for educational purposes.
I bought some rough ruby on ebay from india , they leak dye , what do you think i bought glass, dyed quartz , etc. dont worry bout telling truth i use them for practice .
Hi Pepsi ~ almost anything can be dyed if it has fissures. Some quartz is quench cracked exactly for that reason (so that they can slip dye into it and have it impersonate emerald etc.) So really.... it could be most anything. Practice is valuable though~
hi, i am on a couple gemstone groups on fb, someone claimed they got glass filled tourmalines from india, concerning because that is where i like to get my tourmalines from.
Hi Shauna, I'd like to see samples of these stones. Tourmaline is notoriously sensitive to heat, so im suspicious. Tourmaline can be heated yes, (recently many available Paraiba tourmalines are heated in order to become these neon colours) but... Anyhow - its something i'd like to see in person before I say any more. I have not heard of anyone talking about glass filled tourmaline, and I work around some very high end tourmaline people. The same blue-flash and gas bubble inclusions could be expected if they were treated with glass filling.
The blue glass-filled piece most likely was filled with cobalt doped glass, yes. The fact that it flows in the direction of the cracks is one of the identifying features of the treatment. In corundum, colour zoning should follow zones of crystal growth, not flowing shapes.
99% sure I got my hands on some Garfield blue sapphire. 3 between .80 and 1.2 ct. Little grey rivers on the facets, bubbles under 10x, cracks that intersect at 90°, with darker blue in the cracks. Bad clarity and no pleochroism with or without polarized glasses. Chelsea filter will be here next week...
My pleasure to serve, Andrew. Also, there's plenty of wealthy ruby people that would say the same about ruby. Everyone's hands start shaking when they think about the potential losses XD.
Flux healed is much more stable (doesn't get eaten by basic hand soaps and average acids etc) than glass filled, so flux healed will definitely have a higher value point than glass filled, all other characteristics being equal. Heated and flux healed are on a continuum, and some major labs will categorize heated with about 3 levels and another 2-3 for major flux healing. These are not sale-able in the same markets. Many can accept heat treatment, but as soon as foreign components are being incorporated into the stone, or significant "re-melting" of the stone occurs, many people in the market start to view the stone as synthetic. Those "re-melted" areas are officially viewed as synthetic. Meddling eh? It's a fascinating conversation.
There are many kinds of gemstones that are blue~ finding out measurable information about the stone will be important for you to know which stone it is. Many of the tutorials I've posted on this channel may help you on the way, or you can find a gemologist near you ^_^ Cheers and thanks for the comment.
Hi I was wondering if you could tell me when your looking at a natural Amethyst or Citrine they are very clean looking gemstones, how do you tell the difference if it's a lab grown or natural gemstones as you carnt see any inclusions under a 10x loupe, and can you tell using a very good microscope and can you yourself tell only using a 10x loupe if you didn't have the option of using a refractametor. I'm wanting to purchase a good microscope can you suggest any? 😊😊
Hi Oakley ~ The only way a standard gemologist can be sure that amethyst or citrine are natural stones is through their inclusion scenes. You'll need to get comfortable looking at known natural stones, and have an idea of what sorts of inclusions are typical for natural, vs typical for synthetic. For hydrothermal quartz, there are some typical inclusions that we look for, but we can never be sure that it's not synthetic and in fact natural unless we see for sure those natural inclusions. There is a series of books that may interest you if you like this sort of thing called "The Photo Atlas of Inclusions" (not cheap, but excellent resource for anyone wanting to dive into gemstones). As to Microscopes, many gemologists use Motic , Olympus, Leica etc. I definitely suggest giving it a test-drive first and making sure that you get one with a quality base with "dark field" illumination.
I would just say if you're using lotions or cleaners that are strong enough to eat away at glass, you might want to just simply buy different lotions or cleaners because DANG that CAN'T be good for YOU either.
Hi Simmer - this is something you'll need to take your stone to a reputable gemologist for. Alexandrite can be both natural and synthetic, and there are also simulants, so you'll need to put it in the hands of someone who know how to look at the stone and get their expert opinion. This isn't something anyone can advise you about accurately over text messages.
Oh yeah what do you think of fire moutain gems? I found a site that sells mostly lower grade stones very few AA ones but the site is very honest about the stuff seemingly. So i wonder if it would be good to buy from. I was gifted a honey tigers eye. And after wards found black star diopside and i kind of want one for a ring but id like a real one lol.
can i clean my ,, possibly glass filled gems with whiskey ? ... had 4 peridots mounted on a home made gneiss pot with superglue the other day, , had to clean the fingerprints and exess glue away...
I don't believe so. I'd suggest drinking the whiskey and using isopropyl if you're going to use an alcohol to clean. The major stability issue is more with heat - if you were getting a ring resized for example, they put a torch to the piece, and the glass part of the reconstructed stone can't handle the heat in the same way that corundum crystal can. Otherwise, aggressive acids can be pretty brutal. If you just want to get off grime etc, then i'd suggest acetone first (that will take off most common glues without hurting most stones. We use it with pearls too.) then some isopropyl alcohol to get rid of any residual residue.
When I first heard a goldsmith friend tell me about their interaction with a Thai dealer, they used this one XD I had to think about it but i LOVED it after I figured it out. I'll have to look into the Macy's Ruby thing; I haven't heard that story yet. Thanks for the comment Alex~
@@GemologyforSchmucks About ten years ago Macy sell lead glass fill ruby with none disclosure. They call genuine ruby or real ruby with no disclosure. Same as Thai jewellery shop for foreign tourists in Bangkok. It was long time ago.
@@akarint1 Scandalous. There will always be people who want to make fast money off of deceit. That is part of why I think this channel is so important to build. If average people know more, the enthusiasm of people to buy higher quality goods goes up, and the value of low quality scams goes down. That is my hope at least~! Thx Alex! :D
I wouldn't expect so unless you managed to get the probe directly on a fissure or cavity that was glass filled. There are several testers, but most go off of thermal conductivity or electrical conductivity and the fact that glass filled stones are not homogenous means that you won't get a clear reading indicating that the stone has been treated.
For enhancements and those processes, you'll need to speak with a specialist that does it. I prefer natural and untreated or heated stones, so the specific details of how to colour enhance sapphires are not in my mind. How to recognize and avoid those treatments are my focus at this stage.
I do indeed speak quite quickly, and I apologize for the inconvenience. Fortunately youtube now has a feature that allows you to reduce the "playback speed" to 0.75 , 0.50 or 0.25 of normal speed and also to speed up to 1.25 or 1.5+ if you feel the speaker is too slow. We try to accommodate everyone, but we can never please everyone.
How do you not have half a mill in subscribers? Either i am awesome at sourcing any and all jewelry information on the internet (what i suspect is correct). Or these other people enjoy being ignorant and/or poor?? I digress
I've had a few other people say something similar and my lame comeback is: I'm not advertising effectively?..? Anyhow, my focus was to put my energy and time into making something WORTH advertising and then working on spreading the word afterwards XD. Feel free to tell your friends about me... Cheers and thanks for the comments.
This is the most entertaining gemology channel I have seen on RUclips. The great thing about imparting knowledge in a humorous way is that the information becomes more memorable. What could be better than having a good time and learning stuff?
Hello Sir i am your New follower here thank you for this beautiful video and i need a bit of help here to identify some rubies can you help me please i will really appreciate it :)
Hi Mohd, welcome to the channel. Identifying gemstones needs to be done by someone who can test the gemstones in person. There are many labs who provide this service, and there are a number of good options available in Bangkok. There may be a gemologist nearby where you live who can help you.
@@GemologyforSchmucks thank you brother and i didnt find any trusted labs near my city so i said lets ask a expert i find you on the list and if i could send you a pictures or video can you identification it like anything i just dont want it to be class filled thank you and i love your channel :)
The green stuff on top of it~ indeed is synthetic overgrowth. Synthetic "from zero" quartz crystals however aren't a thing yet. The hydrothermal transport method is used to make synthetic quartz (amethyst/ citrine etc) and that ends up looking like long rippled plates, rather than spiky crystal forms like you see in the case. Fascinating to see what science can do, and also what it is still unable to do. Thanks for the comment Illyrian~
@@GemologyforSchmucks Well thanks you about this video. Very informative. More people need to know about fake and modified, crystals, gems and stones that are flooding the e-markets
This is such helpful information, thank you! Last week I examined a ruby set in a pendant with my loupe. The surface looked really odd and now I know why - it looked very similar to the surface of the glass-filled ruby in this video, with the variation in lustre. I didn't buy the pendant because of this appearance, and now I know what caused it. Knowledge is power!
Congrats on that dodged bullet~!
As long as there are natural Ruby in it, doesn't matter how low quality or the color looks, it will benefit people, if you can spend less money have natural Ruby or sapphire treated for a better looks with much much less money, the buyer is happy, only those sellers who can not make any money by selling high price will worried and come out saying glass filled stones not benefit you, it does, it does! I will buy more and more those beautiful glass filled natural stones, it make me so happy. I absolutely love them because I get good vibrations from them. Don't forget glass made of sand also a kind of natural stone, it complement each other, that's why you feel so good when you receive you expensive looking jewelry with so little money, I am grateful for who ever invented this method.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, Cindy. There is a lot of information about the metaphysical side of gemstones that gemologists don't typically know, because we don't have a scientific way to measure it, so it is helpful to hear from other sources.
Thanks for the comment.
Best understanding I see like myself ❤
I am grateful too. I use finer stones for fine jewelry, but I also make fashion jewelry, but I like to use natural stones. After seeing this, I ordered a 1ct oval glass filled ruby, and it made a very pretty pendant after I finished looking at it. These stones are great for a lower price point.😊
The way the glass makes the crystals less opaque is similar to the way that oil can make paper less transparent. Also, that "filler" stuff us '80s and '90s kids sometimes applied to scratched CDs to make them work again.
Cool correlation, Tom.
Hope you make a video bout natural emerald, topaz and sapphire inclusions and how it’s looks like at 10 x loupe magnifier ... great videos ,so much useful.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll keep these in mind as I plan out videos for the future.
This was INCREDIBLY helpful! Thank you!
Glad to help~
As a broke goldsmithing student this treated rubys sound quite appealing, great video!
Glad you enjoyed - definitely a product worth looking at, particularly for the price.
Dude this is another great video, I'm watching over to catch what I missed. And your demonstration with the ruby took me to school, never knew to focus on the different color of flash. Thanks a lot for sharpening my skills, really need the education about gems
Glad that this is helping you firm up your foundation~
Great production Peter. It helped my understanding a lot more. Ahh, the dreaded bubbles and fissures! I see them a lot.
I welcome bubbles. Better to know thine enemy clearly XD. Its sad when people have generally clean crystal, and they think its just normal heat treatment. They miss that rogue blue flash off on the side somewhere.
@@GemologyforSchmucks ha, yea, too true!
Terrific amount of information. Thank you! 👍
My pleasure, James.
Nice! I've been looking for someone to explain why it's bad or why it doesn't work as well as the original 100% corundrum, why it's so expensive, and this is very satisfying to watch. Some things clicked in my mind. Thanks for the great videos ♥️
I'm glad it's been helpful for you. They can indeed be attractive, but they're just SOOOOO plentiful, and no where near as durable.
I didn't know about this, I only knew about heat treatments. This helps me to be more discerning when I'm buying gems, especially online. Thanks!
I'm glad that my work may be of service.
Very informative. I'm learning a lot 😊
Thanks ~ i'm glad my work is of service to you.
Thanks, Peter. I love Rubies (but my purse doesn’t care for them 😁). I’ve not been tempted to buy any Ruby jewelry because of the treatments and feeling woefully ignorant of what I may be buying. This was so interesting to me. Also, I like that I could quite possibly use the leadglass-filled ones in my own jewelry making effort. I agree with the person below that mentioned beginner gems. I look forward to your next installment....Knowledge is Power!
Hi Leah,
Rubies are definitely a bay of sharks to swim in. There is so much to know, both in terms of potential treatments and simulants and also the relative qualities available and the prices that can be attached to them. What I can say at this point in my career is: they scare and intrigue me. The more I learn about them and see higher quality pieces... the more i become interested and foolhardy. Even exceptional sapphires in the same size don't have the same impact for such small stones in my opinion. Some of those colours even verge on "scary" if you ask me. Its like seeing a black widow spider. You know it's tiny, but you have a reverent fear that shoots through you.
1st comment!!! Ha zaaa! Love your stuff bud you answer the questions i scream at other content providers, gem nerds for not covering... u will be a huge success buddy. I know these kinda things... i can see it in your specific easy to remember tips , practical info and comic relief-style video production. Great job. Ok its getting awkward now cuz im still writing.! I own a jewelry Buisness in sc ill be in contact.
I'm tickled pink that you enjoy my work Patrick :D Looking forward to hearing from you.
You could use the gems as grinding dust too. Sparkly aquarium gravel i usually use whats called “river gems” opaque to translucent stones.
indeed so~ its cool to see some of the "traditional" cutters using other varieties of abrasives to cut and polish their stones. I saw some Burmese using a chunk of (free and readily available) marble to polish spinel. They were apprentices, so who knows if they'd bust out the good stuff for high grade material, but it was a fantastically anchoring moment to see the evolution of the craft. Sometimes we get so advanced that we forget how we got here in the first place. Cheers, Fajile~
Peter ,. Thanks for sharing this lovely video to everyone,. That's makes me able to learn and improve my knowledge about ( the most valuable colour gemstone in the world " Ruby " ) ,. Looking forward to seeing more videos from you , how to verify untreated natural Ruby stone. Happy lifestyle for everyone. ! Thanks again.
Cheers~ glad to be of service.
Thank you for this. I have some highly questionable rough I ordered and I think it may be glass filled. Except it's supposed to be aquamarine. I have more investigating to do.
Best of luck with your investigation. Hopefully this video helps fill in those blanks.
I have been unhappy to find that some very popular name brand jewels use glass filled stones. This information should come attached to the oroduct with the purchase of their product, along with a care card.
I agree- many major brands and other popular sales platforms are hiding the treatments of their stones under layers and layers of marketing. One jeweler that I quite like advertises "alexandrite" and I had to go through 3-5 layers of marketing and photography before I could see in small print that it was a lab-created gem. Ah well~
@@GemologyforSchmucks It should not be buyer beware...you and I know most clients are not aware. I also am shocked how many jewelers only know diamonds, and even those not so well.
The public cannot be happy when they find out a 14k ring from (online shopping) is not really 14k but 14k GP or GF.
Maybe you can give a class of the metal hallmarks and their meanings, and also one that explains how to ask and look for treatments when buying online and at the store.
I enjoy your show! Thanks for the time!
@@SwordofLight You're totally right. If only righteousness would win out all of the time, or even much of the time. ~ as to metals, hallmarking and all of that, I value your suggestion and am looking to do that hopefully in the next year. There are some exceptional jewelers that I am looking to coordinate with to make that a straightforward and transparent conversation for everyone. Cheers~
The effort behind your video is commendable 👏 Keep going
Thank you indeed~ I intend to keep going. Run the race as if to win, as they say ;)
Superb video, such a clear explanation and I’m fascinated by those uncut lead-filled rubies. Are they readily available eg. at rock and gem shows or are they generally for trade only?
This depends entirely on which show you go to etc etc. I have a dealer who has quantities of large sized ruby glass-filled rough, and then you can find faceted sneaky pieces hidden in places you wouldn't expect.
I really enjoyed your informative topic about gems
Thanks Evelyn, ~ I'm glad to be of service.
Thank you so much for this educational information
My pleasure to serve~
@@GemologyforSchmucks its time to subscribe your channel ! ❤️
@@lucci496 Welcome to the channel~
Great stuff as usual! Thanks Peter :)
My pleasure :D
What if we found black spots inside the sapphire?
There are many different types of inclusions. Black spots could be a variety of things, and natural inclusions are also possible. Gemologists would look at the shape of the inclusion under magnification and in different lighting.
Why is this man so handsome? God is real!
BTW we call tissues, tissues here in Texas
Thank you, you're very kind.
As to tissues and dialects, Texas is a special place where two countries can exist inside another country. I've had the good fortune to spend some time in West Texas.
Oh! Your beard startled me! 😅
XD} That's amusing. I imagine the train of thought was something like this: "Let's watch this video and get some education about gemstones... WHOAH IT'S A WILD BEAST! HALP!! 😂
Love it. Thanks for sharing
You now have to be weary of LGF Star sapphire & ruby. It was once the norm that; heating a Ruby or sapphire w asterism, would fuse the rutile ( IE titanium) needles destroying the asterism(star effect). In 2002 a Thai mftr alerted the GIA about his process not only to heat Star sapphire, but LGF clarity enhance them as well. The market (esp Etsy Ebay) are saturated full of this mtrl.
A good way to tell? When polished the glass mtrl polishes away faster than the corrundum. This leaves tiny fissure type defilades, across the surface.
If its cheap? Theres very good reason.
An excellent point Robert ~ I was fortunate to have our senior gemologist point out one of these stones during an internship I was doing. Gorgeous stone, and VERY subtle glass filling/ clarity enhancement. Absolutely right that we need to be wary.
Thanks for the comment.
Informative and scary at the same time...
The truth can indeed be scary at times eh? Hopefully knowledge of pitfalls makes the path clearer to tread.
Wow! So good explained!! 😮Thank you so much for your work!! ❤
If you change to a white (or other neutral) background with front view it will looks better (personal opinion 😊)
Thanks very much for your kind words and suggestion.
I am looking. the surface seems to have the grey luster in the light. No blue flash or bubbles though.
Pause the video at 0:04 seconds on the red ruby - on the table facet, upper right corner there is a bright circular object. That is a bubble. At 2:54 the 12 noon star facet, there is a grey area that looks like the Korean peninsula... or a sock... And 3:50 onward - in the bottom left corner of the stone. The blue flash is difficult to see on the video, but its a taste of what you might see.
Very informative! 🤔☺️
Thanks very much Tammie~
I collect artificial gemstones and I'd be interested in your thoughts on the best and most unique treatments of glass-filled rubies. Are there any manufactures which induce ocular phenomena into their rubies and sapphires intentionally? Perhaps deliberately using blue glass in a red stone to create vibrant violet cracks throughout, or some other wizardry I hadn't thought of?
I'm already aware of and have a small collection of synthetic star rubies and sapphires, but I always have my eyes out for affordable stones with unusual and interesting optical effects.
That is a fascinating study. I myself try and collect interesting pieces as they come across my path at an appealing price. As to companies that manufacture them, I haven't done too much research into that, so I don't have any to recommend. Cheers and good luck with your collection~
You make your videos so much more enjoyable with your humour.
Americans for you info, there are other brands than Kleenex :)
Thanks Ozzie. Also, on the Kleenex front... whoever managed to turn the US vernacular into a brand loving self-promotion machine... must be swimming in ill-gotten gains.
Glass filled does have a nich in everyday jewelry and is a step up from the cheap costume jewelry.
Indeed everything has its place. As they say: if you sell it, someone will buy it. I think it's fascinating for a certain purpose and budget. It's just not something i'd like to wear myself and thats a personal choice not an ultimate value judgement . Thanks for the comment~
kVery great and informative video. If you wouldn't mind sharing the information I could use these for educational purposes and a project. Keep up the great work.
By all means - my goal with the channel is to spread and make available the knowledge of gemstones (at least a starting point from which others can build). It would be an honour to have you use my material for educational purposes.
I bought some rough ruby on ebay from india , they leak dye , what do you think i bought glass, dyed quartz , etc. dont worry bout telling truth i use them for practice .
Hi Pepsi ~ almost anything can be dyed if it has fissures. Some quartz is quench cracked exactly for that reason (so that they can slip dye into it and have it impersonate emerald etc.) So really.... it could be most anything. Practice is valuable though~
@@GemologyforSchmucks thanks for the info. :)
hi, i am on a couple gemstone groups on fb, someone claimed they got glass filled tourmalines from india, concerning because that is where i like to get my tourmalines from.
Hi Shauna,
I'd like to see samples of these stones. Tourmaline is notoriously sensitive to heat, so im suspicious. Tourmaline can be heated yes, (recently many available Paraiba tourmalines are heated in order to become these neon colours) but...
Anyhow - its something i'd like to see in person before I say any more. I have not heard of anyone talking about glass filled tourmaline, and I work around some very high end tourmaline people. The same blue-flash and gas bubble inclusions could be expected if they were treated with glass filling.
Was that blue stone you showed filed with cobalt that’s why it looked like blue color zoning ?
The blue glass-filled piece most likely was filled with cobalt doped glass, yes. The fact that it flows in the direction of the cracks is one of the identifying features of the treatment. In corundum, colour zoning should follow zones of crystal growth, not flowing shapes.
I thought the same thing, glad you asked! Also @gemologyforschmucks that was a helpful response thank you!
Thank you so much
My pleasure~
99% sure I got my hands on some Garfield blue sapphire. 3 between .80 and 1.2 ct. Little grey rivers on the facets, bubbles under 10x, cracks that intersect at 90°, with darker blue in the cracks. Bad clarity and no pleochroism with or without polarized glasses. Chelsea filter will be here next week...
Red orange flash along a fissure, also.
Yah, if you've got bubbles inside of cracks with colour concentrations, i'd bump that 99% up to 100% and go enjoy some lasagna.
@@GemologyforSchmucks 10$/ct I pretty well expected it, so it's not a total loss. Now I know what they look like in person.
@@GemologyforSchmucks following up with the Chelsea filter, 100% cobalt colored.
@@KC9RXP Science!
Can't we infuse chromium powder into filling
Absolutely ~ to my understanding thats how they enhance the red colour in some lead filled rubies.
Thanks for important info and yess you poor people dont play with ruby
My pleasure to serve, Andrew. Also, there's plenty of wealthy ruby people that would say the same about ruby. Everyone's hands start shaking when they think about the potential losses XD.
How would you compare the value of glass filled vs flux healed vs heated only?
Flux healed is much more stable (doesn't get eaten by basic hand soaps and average acids etc) than glass filled, so flux healed will definitely have a higher value point than glass filled, all other characteristics being equal. Heated and flux healed are on a continuum, and some major labs will categorize heated with about 3 levels and another 2-3 for major flux healing. These are not sale-able in the same markets. Many can accept heat treatment, but as soon as foreign components are being incorporated into the stone, or significant "re-melting" of the stone occurs, many people in the market start to view the stone as synthetic. Those "re-melted" areas are officially viewed as synthetic. Meddling eh? It's a fascinating conversation.
@@GemologyforSchmucksa huge thank you for such a detailed reply!
Sir how to know if the gemstone is real or fake
i have a blue stone and i want to know if it's true
There are many kinds of gemstones that are blue~ finding out measurable information about the stone will be important for you to know which stone it is. Many of the tutorials I've posted on this channel may help you on the way, or you can find a gemologist near you ^_^
Cheers and thanks for the comment.
@@GemologyforSchmucks thank’s !
Hi I was wondering if you could tell me when your looking at a natural Amethyst or Citrine they are very clean looking gemstones, how do you tell the difference if it's a lab grown or natural gemstones as you carnt see any inclusions under a 10x loupe, and can you tell using a very good microscope and can you yourself tell only using a 10x loupe if you didn't have the option of using a refractametor. I'm wanting to purchase a good microscope can you suggest any? 😊😊
Hi Oakley ~
The only way a standard gemologist can be sure that amethyst or citrine are natural stones is through their inclusion scenes. You'll need to get comfortable looking at known natural stones, and have an idea of what sorts of inclusions are typical for natural, vs typical for synthetic. For hydrothermal quartz, there are some typical inclusions that we look for, but we can never be sure that it's not synthetic and in fact natural unless we see for sure those natural inclusions. There is a series of books that may interest you if you like this sort of thing called "The Photo Atlas of Inclusions" (not cheap, but excellent resource for anyone wanting to dive into gemstones).
As to Microscopes, many gemologists use Motic , Olympus, Leica etc. I definitely suggest giving it a test-drive first and making sure that you get one with a quality base with "dark field" illumination.
@@GemologyforSchmucks hey thanku so much for the reply you are always very helpful and I love watching your videos 😊😊
I would just say if you're using lotions or cleaners that are strong enough to eat away at glass, you might want to just simply buy different lotions or cleaners because DANG that CAN'T be good for YOU either.
I generally prefer to keep it quite natural aswell, both with gems and with products that my flesh comes in contact with.
Hi! I see lots of video of Alexandrite stone. I find a stone it's Alexandrite cat eye but it's look fake. I thought my stone chrysoberyl . Pls help me
Hi Simmer - this is something you'll need to take your stone to a reputable gemologist for. Alexandrite can be both natural and synthetic, and there are also simulants, so you'll need to put it in the hands of someone who know how to look at the stone and get their expert opinion. This isn't something anyone can advise you about accurately over text messages.
Oh yeah what do you think of fire moutain gems? I found a site that sells mostly lower grade stones very few AA ones but the site is very honest about the stuff seemingly. So i wonder if it would be good to buy from. I was gifted a honey tigers eye. And after wards found black star diopside and i kind of want one for a ring but id like a real one lol.
can i clean my ,, possibly glass filled gems with whiskey ? ...
had 4 peridots mounted on a home made gneiss pot with superglue the other day, ,
had to clean the fingerprints and exess glue away...
I don't believe so. I'd suggest drinking the whiskey and using isopropyl if you're going to use an alcohol to clean. The major stability issue is more with heat - if you were getting a ring resized for example, they put a torch to the piece, and the glass part of the reconstructed stone can't handle the heat in the same way that corundum crystal can. Otherwise, aggressive acids can be pretty brutal. If you just want to get off grime etc, then i'd suggest acetone first (that will take off most common glues without hurting most stones. We use it with pearls too.) then some isopropyl alcohol to get rid of any residual residue.
@@GemologyforSchmucks Acetone or isopropyl , alright. Thanks =)
I am interested in cutting some of those beauties!
If you're looking for large glass-filled ruby, such as the ones featured in this video, I can put you in touch with a friend.
@@GemologyforSchmucks yes please!
@@zakna0693 send me an email at thegemshepherd@gmail.com and i'll put you two in touch.
I laugh so hard when you mention Garfield. So I will give you another name “Macy’s ruby”. I think ruby in that incident were from here in Thailand.
When I first heard a goldsmith friend tell me about their interaction with a Thai dealer, they used this one XD I had to think about it but i LOVED it after I figured it out. I'll have to look into the Macy's Ruby thing; I haven't heard that story yet. Thanks for the comment Alex~
@@GemologyforSchmucks About ten years ago Macy sell lead glass fill ruby with none disclosure. They call genuine ruby or real ruby with no disclosure. Same as Thai jewellery shop for foreign tourists in Bangkok. It was long time ago.
@@akarint1 Scandalous. There will always be people who want to make fast money off of deceit. That is part of why I think this channel is so important to build. If average people know more, the enthusiasm of people to buy higher quality goods goes up, and the value of low quality scams goes down. That is my hope at least~! Thx Alex! :D
hi
can The Presidium Gem Indicator pick up glass filled stone?
I wouldn't expect so unless you managed to get the probe directly on a fissure or cavity that was glass filled. There are several testers, but most go off of thermal conductivity or electrical conductivity and the fact that glass filled stones are not homogenous means that you won't get a clear reading indicating that the stone has been treated.
Nice
thx~
Sir how to colour inhance blue sapphire
For enhancements and those processes, you'll need to speak with a specialist that does it. I prefer natural and untreated or heated stones, so the specific details of how to colour enhance sapphires are not in my mind. How to recognize and avoid those treatments are my focus at this stage.
You are Explaining in Quickly So don't Fast please slowly Explain
I do indeed speak quite quickly, and I apologize for the inconvenience. Fortunately youtube now has a feature that allows you to reduce the "playback speed" to 0.75 , 0.50 or 0.25 of normal speed and also to speed up to 1.25 or 1.5+ if you feel the speaker is too slow. We try to accommodate everyone, but we can never please everyone.
How do you not have half a mill in subscribers? Either i am awesome at sourcing any and all jewelry information on the internet (what i suspect is correct). Or these other people enjoy being ignorant and/or poor?? I digress
I've had a few other people say something similar and my lame comeback is: I'm not advertising effectively?..? Anyhow, my focus was to put my energy and time into making something WORTH advertising and then working on spreading the word afterwards XD. Feel free to tell your friends about me...
Cheers and thanks for the comments.
This is the most entertaining gemology channel I have seen on RUclips. The great thing about imparting knowledge in a humorous way is that the information becomes more memorable. What could be better than having a good time and learning stuff?
🎉🎉🎉🎉
Cheers~
Garfield 😂😂😂
Hello Sir i am your New follower here thank you for this beautiful video and i need a bit of help here to identify some rubies can you help me please i will really appreciate it :)
Hi Mohd, welcome to the channel. Identifying gemstones needs to be done by someone who can test the gemstones in person. There are many labs who provide this service, and there are a number of good options available in Bangkok. There may be a gemologist nearby where you live who can help you.
@@GemologyforSchmucks thank you brother and i didnt find any trusted labs near my city so i said lets ask a expert i find you on the list and if i could send you a pictures or video can you identification it like anything i just dont want it to be class filled thank you and i love your channel :)
@@mohdnazir5621 Sorry, but we do not do identification or treatment designations from photo and video. It is too unreliable.
YO!
Wuddup~!
Breh... the crystal you have in the left it's a fake chinese crystal
The green stuff on top of it~ indeed is synthetic overgrowth. Synthetic "from zero" quartz crystals however aren't a thing yet. The hydrothermal transport method is used to make synthetic quartz (amethyst/ citrine etc) and that ends up looking like long rippled plates, rather than spiky crystal forms like you see in the case. Fascinating to see what science can do, and also what it is still unable to do. Thanks for the comment Illyrian~
@@GemologyforSchmucks Well thanks you about this video. Very informative. More people need to know about fake and modified, crystals, gems and stones that are flooding the e-markets