A look at the important sapphire producing localities in Madagascar, along with the key gemological features that can help separate them from other sapphire sources.
Madagascar: Sapphire Isle with Lotus Gemology's Richard Hughes
Over the past 25 years, no country in the world has produced as much fine sapphire as Madagascar. And yet this island's gems are still relatively unknown. In this presentation, Richard Hughes discusses the most important deposits from the deep south in Andranondambo, through the huge Ilakaka mining district and the wild jungle mines at Andrebabe and Moramanga (a.k.a. Sierra Leone). The lecture also covers the gemology of Madagascar sapphire and ruby, including the most important identifying features, and some preliminary results from a series of ongoing experiments on the heat treatment of Madagascar sapphire.
When
1 May 2019
Where
Gübelin Gem Lab
Maihofstrasse 102, 6006 Luzern, Switzerland
Note: This lecture is restricted to Gübelin employees