I buy a lot of antique jewelry online which can be tricky. I always ask for additional pics , and ask if the seller has used a gem tester on the piece. It’s amazing how often I’m sent glass by a seller who has told me that they used a gem tester on it. I don’t even know how many times I’ve referred a bad seller to this video. I always hope that it helps somehow. Your vids are really great, Peter !
Very helpful video, Peter ❤. In "The Crown" there's a scene where Prince Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Denmark and Greece, now a Nun in Greece, attempts to raise funds by selling her huge Ceylon sapphire surrounded by diamonds. The pawn shop "jeweler", tells the elderly nun no real sapphire is that large. She doesn't argue, but confidently replies, "Test it." Pawn dealer then gets what appears to be a regular pair of glasses and carefully examines the jewel. As he begins to see it may be authentic he takes the sapphire, holds it near his mouth and exhales on it. I am just wondering what information the "technique of exhaling on the stone was supposed to reveal? (The Crown, Season 3, Episode 3 or 4, called "Bubbikins" approx.10 minutes into episode.)
Thanks very much~ it is indeed tough to keep the camera steady, and also take meaningful shots with such focal lengths. I appreciate that you recognize it XD I'm still striving to do better each time I shoot.
Generally gems tend to feel a little cooler/colder, when you try them on your upper lip (heat sensitive area). Not a valid way to determine if it's really glass or not, but a simple little trick that doesn't require any tools :)
Thanks again for an interesting and educational (and fun!) video. I would like to have seen in your video a few good pictures using the dichroscope on glass and then showing the differences to tourmaline or sapphire or garnet (and yes I remember it does not split light) but examples would be really helpful.
I appreciate your feedback Don. I agree that some glass or other SR gem photos would be an improvement. I think i was more laser focused on showing some examples of how the colours could look different when sampled from the same spot on the stone. If you'd like to reach out to me on Instagram @obscurventure, i'll get you some pictures of dichroscope with some SR stones and glass.
Just found this video last night. Watched it twice. :-) Boring? Hardly! Your fun approach makes these kinds of things easier to memorize. Now I'm on my way to chase down the rest of your videos. Thanks so much for being willing to help us hobbyists learn this stuff! I want to create inlaid Art using gold and real gemstones so this will help my craft a lot. I'll save money by Placer mining the gold. lol Cheers and thank you again!
Very interesting. So much info and clearly presented, but - I still need time to digest this. Your knowledge overwhelms. Thanks for graciously sharing it.
You simply concepts and things to insane levels! That's a skill as rare as a beautiful tanzanite, ruby or alexandrite! GIA, or any top lab (AGS?), might be interested to hire you!! More power to you :)
The manufacturing process is a key part in that. As a rule, I try to avoid the word "usually" with gem identification, because it may work often, but when it doesn't... it bites hard. My recommendation is that we stick to what we can prove definitively.
Love your show!! :-D lm learning SO MANY new things - 🙂👌👍💯 not that l understand it all but l am learning thank you!! P. S. Love the humor!! We can all use more of that :-D
I've a blue cute gem 💎 and when I shine my black light on it, it turns the gem 💎 into bright red weather in darkness or daylight... Can tell me why this happens please?
Hi Neeland, Without knowing more about the stone, I can just guess, but i'll say that UV fluorescence reactions are typically caused by either Chromium or cobalt. Natural and synthetic stones both can have these elements in them, and the intensity of the stone's reaction is usually related to how much of those elements are in the stone. Cheers and thanks for the question
Thanks teach ! Appreciate the very clear explanation given . Here's an interesting but irrelevant comment. On a rainy evening when raindrops are tiny, like fog, the lamp light appears pink. It's quite romantic when it falls on the loved one's skin. Do you know why this pink effect happens ?
The best thing would be to get a refractive index reading, and then depending on what colour the stone is, the next thing (or even the first) i'd go for would be the spectroscope. Pyrope-almandine and spessartite all have diagnostic absorption spectra
Excellent and informative as always..does this mean at certain angles light could reflect through the gem from the back or sides and be partly polarised creating false pleochroism in the dichroscope
Thanks Robert~ To your question: I don't think so, but i'm not a physics instructor. My understanding would be that the stone has pleochroism due to its doubly refractive nature, and if you look from the optic axis, it will seem singly refractive. A singly refractive stone shouldn't somehow become doubly refractive unless it has some ridiculously large doubly refractive included mineral (bizarre but technically possible) or dark wizards are messing with us XD. Again ~ we'd have to check with some of those Ph.D's to really have certainty on this one, but my gut says "no".
Thanks for the fast reply, I was just thinking of the reflections from water example and wondering if the reflections inside the gem could act the same, partly polarising the light reflected back through the scope jusy making a slight lighter/ darker difference. But I think maybe you are correct and it wouldn"t make such a difference. Thanks
i am starting a business and i want to design gold pieces with real gemstones but i am finding it difficult to learn gemmology just to be able to buy real stones 😅. what’s your advice? do i have to hire a gemologist? or try doing it myself? 😟🤔
Hi Sue ~ certainly, learning about gemology will be the long road to success, and it's not a requirement as long as you have a trusted source. A big part of what I do is source gemstones from the market for my clients. We also have access to gem labs here to get 3rd party reports for significant stones. If you'd like, send me an email at thegemshepherd@gmail.com and we can discuss the details of what you are looking for and the best way you can go about getting what you need.
Hi Johnny, pardon the confusion. The beginning starts with light. A natural source of light such as noonday sun, or certain other substances burning hotly enough will produce full spectrum light. That means that there are all the wavelengths necessary to create all the colours we are capable of seeing. What the gemstone does is filter that light, absorbing whatever wavelengths of light it is able to, and reflecting back to us what the crystal rejects. Some gemstones have different optical axes (doubly refractive stones), so one direction in the stone may absorb some wavelengths differently from another direction of the crystal, giving us a characteristic called pleochroism. So the shortest answer is: no, light does not cause the multiple colours (2 or 3), the way the crystal absorbs the light is what gives us the multiple colours. Thanks for the question and I hope this clears up the issue.
Id suggest going to a database either online or in a book and checking out the characteristics of Taaffeite. We identify gemstones by using these characteristics such as the refractive index and birefringence and testing them with instruments such as the refractometer. Best of luck to you.
Hi I love to watch your video can u came east africa I have lot of gemeston know I live Toronto Canada iam going December to east africa is any way I contact u sir I need connections and I knew u r the right one
I would love to go to East Africa some day. Right now Covid-19 makes that quite difficult though. You're welcome to email me at nazoannagems@gmail.com and I can get back to you when i'm in the office ^_^ Thanks for the comment Asha.
@@GemologyforSchmucks How right you are. Correlation does not mean the same as causation. My favourite example is that among all children, the size of the big toe correlates with their intelligence; the bigger the toe the higher the intelligence as measured by intelligence tests. Does that mean big toes cause high intelligence ? If you say yes I will know you have a small big toe.
![How do you KNOW what a gem is? [Refractometer Tutorial]](/img/1.gif)
Buying a piece of glass is "humiliating and impoverishing." Well said!
XD Glad you enjoyed it Cheryl~
Very true initial statement! I’m praying my chrysoprase ring is NOT glass …. Oh please oh please ….
I’m having the time of my life learning from your videos!
High praise indeed~ thanks
What an awesome teacher you are - really educational and a little bit funny to keep it interesting .
Thanks Mandy~ what a fantastic boost this morning :D
I buy a lot of antique jewelry online which can be tricky. I always ask for additional pics , and ask if the seller has used a gem tester on the piece. It’s amazing how often I’m sent glass by a seller who has told me that they used a gem tester on it. I don’t even know how many times I’ve referred a bad seller to this video. I always hope that it helps somehow. Your vids are really great, Peter !
Thanks ~ i'm glad that my work is of service.
Very helpful video, Peter ❤. In "The Crown" there's a scene where Prince Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Denmark and Greece, now a Nun in Greece, attempts to raise funds by selling her huge Ceylon sapphire surrounded by diamonds. The pawn shop "jeweler", tells the elderly nun no real sapphire is that large. She doesn't argue, but confidently replies, "Test it."
Pawn dealer then gets what appears to be a regular pair of glasses and carefully examines the jewel. As he begins to see it may be authentic he takes the sapphire, holds it near his mouth and exhales on it. I am just wondering what information the "technique of exhaling on the stone was supposed to reveal?
(The Crown, Season 3, Episode 3 or 4, called "Bubbikins" approx.10 minutes into episode.)
You have amazing camera skills! I make films as a hobby and focusing through small spaces not to mention light bending pieces of glass is super hard!
Thanks very much~ it is indeed tough to keep the camera steady, and also take meaningful shots with such focal lengths. I appreciate that you recognize it XD I'm still striving to do better each time I shoot.
Generally gems tend to feel a little cooler/colder, when you try them on your upper lip (heat sensitive area). Not a valid way to determine if it's really glass or not, but a simple little trick that doesn't require any tools :)
Thanks again for an interesting and educational (and fun!) video. I would like to have seen in your video a few good pictures using the dichroscope on glass and then showing the differences to tourmaline or sapphire or garnet (and yes I remember it does not split light) but examples would be really helpful.
I appreciate your feedback Don. I agree that some glass or other SR gem photos would be an improvement. I think i was more laser focused on showing some examples of how the colours could look different when sampled from the same spot on the stone. If you'd like to reach out to me on Instagram @obscurventure, i'll get you some pictures of dichroscope with some SR stones and glass.
Again thanks for the knowledge and yes those things we learned in grade school will be useful in our adult lives. 😄❤😊
Just found this video last night. Watched it twice. :-) Boring? Hardly! Your fun approach makes these kinds of things easier to memorize. Now I'm on my way to chase down the rest of your videos. Thanks so much for being willing to help us hobbyists learn this stuff! I want to create inlaid Art using gold and real gemstones so this will help my craft a lot. I'll save money by Placer mining the gold. lol
Cheers and thank you again!
Glad my work is of service to you~ Cheers.
Thank you Peter .. VERY informative.. ;-) can't wait to hang out with you in Bangkok sometime in the future.. Holland says HELLO !
Looking forward to it Joris~ Hello back at you from the City of Angels
My first video dude and I love you already. I’ll be checking our more. Thanks.
Welcome to the channel ~ thanks for your kind words.
Very interesting. So much info and clearly presented, but - I still need time to digest this. Your knowledge overwhelms. Thanks for graciously sharing it.
You simply concepts and things to insane levels! That's a skill as rare as a beautiful tanzanite, ruby or alexandrite! GIA, or any top lab (AGS?), might be interested to hire you!! More power to you :)
Paused the video to comment "As the Jellyfish of light..." - Really appreciating your content. I'm on day 3 of taking your mini classes!
Glad you're enjoying it Christopher~ you'll hear plenty of verbiage that you won't find elsewhere XD
Thank you for this very interesting article!
I'm glad to be of service.
Your videos are awesome, thx mate!
Thanks Marley~ glad to be of service
Cubic Zirconia Glass usually has bubbles
The manufacturing process is a key part in that. As a rule, I try to avoid the word "usually" with gem identification, because it may work often, but when it doesn't... it bites hard. My recommendation is that we stick to what we can prove definitively.
Just update my knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
I live to serve ~ more to come :D
Just love you!! 😊You have helped me so much... So clear so easily understood... Your the best in your field... 👌
Thank you for your kind words!~ i'm glad to serve.
Excellent Thank you
My pleasure to serve~
love it great job buddy boy!
Thanks Patrick~!
Love your show!! :-D lm learning SO MANY new things - 🙂👌👍💯 not that l understand it all but l am learning thank you!! P. S. Love the humor!! We can all use more of that :-D
Thanks Sherry ~ I'm glad you enjoy my work. Keep going and it will stick eventually ;)
Great explanation
Thanks Greg
I've a blue cute gem 💎 and when I shine my black light on it, it turns the gem 💎 into bright red weather in darkness or daylight...
Can tell me why this happens please?
Hi Neeland,
Without knowing more about the stone, I can just guess, but i'll say that UV fluorescence reactions are typically caused by either Chromium or cobalt. Natural and synthetic stones both can have these elements in them, and the intensity of the stone's reaction is usually related to how much of those elements are in the stone.
Cheers and thanks for the question
LOL Thank you! (now I need one of those dichromescopes I guess...)
My pleasure ~ Dichroscopes are great to have, and inexpensive to acquire :D (got mine on Amazon and it's lovely.)
Thanks teach ! Appreciate the very clear explanation given .
Here's an interesting but irrelevant comment. On a rainy evening when
raindrops are tiny, like fog, the lamp light appears pink. It's quite
romantic when it falls on the loved one's skin.
Do you know why this pink effect happens ?
I'm not sure that i've seen pinkish fog. My first inclination is to wonder about the lamp itself.
@@GemologyforSchmucks The blue end of the spectrum is absorbed
before the red end.
I need to know if my garnet is real or glass! What should I do?
The best thing would be to get a refractive index reading, and then depending on what colour the stone is, the next thing (or even the first) i'd go for would be the spectroscope. Pyrope-almandine and spessartite all have diagnostic absorption spectra
Great, now we need to know how to avoid cubic zirconia and get actual gems 💎
@@leenahammad1491 there’s another video about the pen type testers that can help with CZ. “The magic wand of truth” I think i called it.
I’m so addicted to this channel
WOO! Let me enable that addiction XD
Excellent and informative as always..does this mean at certain angles light could reflect through the gem from the back or sides and be partly polarised creating false pleochroism in the dichroscope
Thanks Robert~ To your question: I don't think so, but i'm not a physics instructor. My understanding would be that the stone has pleochroism due to its doubly refractive nature, and if you look from the optic axis, it will seem singly refractive. A singly refractive stone shouldn't somehow become doubly refractive unless it has some ridiculously large doubly refractive included mineral (bizarre but technically possible) or dark wizards are messing with us XD. Again ~ we'd have to check with some of those Ph.D's to really have certainty on this one, but my gut says "no".
Thanks for the fast reply, I was just thinking of the reflections from water example and wondering if the reflections inside the gem could act the same, partly polarising the light reflected back through the scope jusy making a slight lighter/ darker difference. But I think maybe you are correct and it wouldn"t make such a difference. Thanks
@@roberthamblett9619 Let's find the gemological equivalent of the Breaking Bad science teacher and maybe then we will know the truth :D
i am starting a business and i want to design gold pieces with real gemstones but i am finding it difficult to learn gemmology just to be able to buy real stones 😅. what’s your advice? do i have to hire a gemologist? or try doing it myself? 😟🤔
Hi Sue ~ certainly, learning about gemology will be the long road to success, and it's not a requirement as long as you have a trusted source. A big part of what I do is source gemstones from the market for my clients. We also have access to gem labs here to get 3rd party reports for significant stones.
If you'd like, send me an email at thegemshepherd@gmail.com and we can discuss the details of what you are looking for and the best way you can go about getting what you need.
Good job Peter brother, love and respect form Pakistan
Thank you Nakaam, glad you enjoyed.
Very educational even for someone like me who was never very skillful academically speaking!😁👍
Thanks, Jamie. I take it as my challenge to make communication as clear as possible.
@@GemologyforSchmucks clear as a precious stone!😂👍
so?? does light cause 2 colors or not.. you danced around that one
Hi Johnny, pardon the confusion. The beginning starts with light. A natural source of light such as noonday sun, or certain other substances burning hotly enough will produce full spectrum light. That means that there are all the wavelengths necessary to create all the colours we are capable of seeing. What the gemstone does is filter that light, absorbing whatever wavelengths of light it is able to, and reflecting back to us what the crystal rejects. Some gemstones have different optical axes (doubly refractive stones), so one direction in the stone may absorb some wavelengths differently from another direction of the crystal, giving us a characteristic called pleochroism. So the shortest answer is: no, light does not cause the multiple colours (2 or 3), the way the crystal absorbs the light is what gives us the multiple colours. Thanks for the question and I hope this clears up the issue.
I want to this one
Need one how can I buying this?
Sachi tools sells them on their website, as well as amazon.
Sir please explain how to identify taffitte...
Id suggest going to a database either online or in a book and checking out the characteristics of Taaffeite. We identify gemstones by using these characteristics such as the refractive index and birefringence and testing them with instruments such as the refractometer. Best of luck to you.
I like the way you say it..schmucks!!!😅😅😅
Thanks XD Gotta have that extra umphh!~
Subscribed
Hi I love to watch your video can u came east africa I have lot of gemeston know I live Toronto Canada iam going December to east africa is any way I contact u sir I need connections and I knew u r the right one
I would love to go to East Africa some day. Right now Covid-19 makes that quite difficult though. You're welcome to email me at nazoannagems@gmail.com and I can get back to you when i'm in the office ^_^ Thanks for the comment Asha.
more physics!! -after i grab a coffee...
Yes indeed, it's correlated: scientific progress and understanding only happens in the presence of coffee.
@@GemologyforSchmucks How right you are. Correlation does
not mean the same as causation.
My favourite example is that among all children, the size of the
big toe correlates with their intelligence; the bigger the toe the
higher the intelligence as measured by intelligence tests.
Does that mean big toes cause high intelligence ? If you say
yes I will know you have a small big toe.
@@brianterence3211 I will have you know that my big toe(s) are monstrous! XD JK, i'm not a hobbit.
I gotta get me some tools...😳😄😂
Tool addiction is real ~! beware XD ... but also have fun
you lite my life
Aw thanks~ glad to be of service.
Santo André, 8 de fevereiro de 2022.
🌌🌎💎