Articles

Distracting features in this ruby could easily cause gemologists to misidentify the stone. Learn more about how we unmasked this tricky synthetic.

Although many emerald deposits also produce alexandrite, particularly those formed in association with mica-rich schist, it is rare that both gems are found in such a close association that they can be fashioned into a single stone. This article details the examination of one such piece, reportedly originating from a deposit in Malysheva, Russia.

The following is a genuine conversation the author had with ChatGPT in May 2025. It provides a cautionary tale regarding the application of artifical intelligence without proper fact checking.

A curated list of the most important reference books on gems, gemology, jewelry, mineralogy and allied fields aimed at gemologists, book collectors and researchers.

Welcome to the world of green fire — a curated list of the most important reference books and papers on emeralds from around the world, including Colombia, Russia, Zambia, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and more.

There are many benefits to using a long-wave UV torch when testing ruby and sapphire. Here are a few examples.

Discussion of gem treatment disclosure and its somewhat difficult history.

Jade has a long and varied nomenclatural history, with its definition altered in the current age for practical and cultural reasons. This paper examines the hardness of "fei cui" (pyroxene jade) and presents the findings in a simplified format based on empirical evidence and theoretical principles, while also considering the jade hardness data available in literature.

Recent studies show that the gem known throughout the non-Chinese world as "jadeite" jade is actually a rock composed of three major mineral components – jadeite, omphacite and kosmochlor. These components grow in a submicroscopic aggregate with grains so small that normal lab instruments cannot easily determine the true composition. As a result, China's gem trade has adopted the traditional term "fei cui" (pronounced 'fay cho-y') to cover all the pyroxene jades. Lotus Gemology has done the same starting on 1 July 2023, dropping the names jadeite/omphacite/kosmochlor in favor of the scientifically more correct "fei cui."

Color types such as "pigeon's blood," "Paraíba" and "cobalt blue" have become wildly popular in the gem trade. But there is a vast difference between coining such terms and applying them in a way that is both consistent and logical. Richard Hughes casts a critical eye on the subject.