#gemystique Exploring yet another emerald from the Swat area in Pakistan for today’s microscopemonday. It displays distinct and perfect hexagonal zoning. Same crystal, same viewing angle but under different lighting environments and the change is drastic. This is one of the best weapons for a gemologist to have in their arsenal. A very useful habit […]
Monthly Archives: July 2020
#gemystique From the archives: Swat Emeralds. “One more from the archives about emeralds from the Swat area in Pakistan. This particular batch was very interesting. Usually the rough emeralds I get to examine, for the most part, all have very smooth and clear crystal faces and it’s the inclusions that are intriguing. This batch however […]
#gemystique Examining another peridot today. It contains a beautiful high relief chromite crystal which has caused intense internal stress fractures, some of which are surface reaching. In the same vicinity we can examine a fingerprint with a very fine and intricate pattern. The next 3 pictures are very interesting. These are wispy veil or smoke […]
#gemystique Peridots are famous for their “lily pad” inclusions that are no doubt very beautiful to observe. What makes them more beautiful is observing them in varying lighting conditions. These two lily pads bumping into each other display interesting changes as the light shifts. The third picture looks like 90’s computer wallpaper with a heart […]