Four Treasures Reference Database
Record No. 16985
Comparison of emeralds from the Chitral District, Pakistan, with other Pakistani and Afghan emeralds
Journal Article
Hanser, C.S., Stephan, T., Gul, B., Häger, T. and Botcharnikov, R.E. (2023) Comparison of emeralds from the Chitral District, Pakistan, with other Pakistani and Afghan emeralds. Journal of Gemmology, Vol. 38, No. 6, pp. 582–599.
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gems, beryl, emerald, Afghanistan, Pakistan, emerald origin, Chitral, Swat, Khaltaro, inclusions
Emeralds from various deposits in Pakistan (Chitral, Swat, and Khaltaro) and Afghanistan (Panjshir and Laghman) were examined and compared. In addition, we compared the lighter-coloured Chitral emeralds from our previous study to newly acquired, more deeply coloured samples from Chitral. The specimens were characterised by Raman, FTIR, and UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy. Chemical analyses by EPMA and LA-ICP-MS also were performed on the samples from Chitral and Khaltaro. Distinguishing features of our Chitral emeralds include a lack of three-phase inclusions, a strong Fe²⁺-related absorption at about 830 nm in the UV–Vis–NIR spectra, and elevated Cs and Li contents. These characteristics may provide clues for geographic origin determination.