The effect of heat treatment on zircon inclusion in Madagascar Sapphire

Zircon is a common inclusion in Madagascar sapphire, which is important because they span the color spectrum. During heat treatment, included mineral crystals are subjected to the same condition as the corundum host, but since they have different thermodynamic and chemical properties, they may expand, recrystallize, melt observation of destroyed or modified mineral inclusion using an optical microscope has long been used to identify heat-treated sapphire

Origin of blue sapphire

“Where is blue Sapphire come from?” You should ever ask this question. There is the answer in this article.

In the world, There are many mines of blue sapphire. In each mine produce a different blue sapphire such as color, clarity, and inclusion. These factors make the price of each mine different.

Pink Sapphires

Sapphire is a variety of Corundum almost color of corundum is the best gemstone. It’s popular to make jewelry because it’s stable for scratch (it’s very hard) then it’s good quality and various beautiful color make it’s tend will go on for a long time.

Right now, Pink Sapphires are very popular. The biggest mine of Sapphire in Madagascar that now includes approximately thirty Thai – owned companies to help address the issues of the burgeoning gem industry. The World Bank to help Madagascar manage it’s mineral resources more effectively. In the beginning a large amount of pink Sapphires haven’t interested in dealers because they could not be sure demand and designers had very little assurance that pink Sapphire would ever have a place in the trend market.

Pink Sapphires are of corundum like all other Sapphire difference only trace element of Cr make it’s become pink. The Pink Sapphire is soft sweet in color the transparency very good almost crystal clear especially the Sapphire found in Madagascar.

Pink Sapphire medium light color it’s often to be single tone on a jewelry with fancy color and another gemstone the color of pink is natural color it is virtually impossible to enhance the pink color, unlike other sapphires.

The method to take care of pink without flow is don’t keep gemstone which different hardness together because it may be scratch.

Blue Sapphire: The Gem of the Heavens

The ancient Persians held the belief that the earth was embedded in a giant sapphire, explaining the hue of the skies above. This conviction rests in that sapphire can be found in all of the colors of the sky: midnight blue to bright blue, golden like sunrise and orange-red like the sunset. Typically known for its vibrant blue shade, sapphire symbolizes truth, sincerity and loyalty. The color blue is also associated with reliable (rather than fiery or passionate) emotions of sympathy and harmony.

Sapphires in History

Because the blue of sapphires represents faithfulness and love, this gemstone is given in many countries as an engagement ring.
According to Christian beliefs, Moses was given the Ten Commandments on a tablet of sapphire, rendering it a sacred gemstone. Because of this, sapphires came to be associated with divine favor and became the choice gemstone for kings and rulers.

Origins and Presentation

Sapphires are second in hardness only to diamonds, allowing stones to last generations. An already valuable gemstone, the sapphire that holds its color in different types of lighting is the most prized.
Sapphires are found in Sri Lanka (the oldest mines are here), Thailand, Australia and Cambodia. Other countries produce sapphire but the most famed sources are Kashmir and Burma – now known as Myanmar.

Beyond Blues

Blue is the most celebrated color of the sapphire, yet the gemstone is available in an array of vibrant hues. In gem terms, a non-blue sapphire is known as a fancy sapphire. These unique gems are found in yellow, pink, purple, green and even white. For hundreds of years the existence of these distinct sapphires was virtually unknown outside of professional, gem-expert and collector circles.

MOISSANITE

Moissanite is a mineral that was first discovered in fragments of the meteorite at Diablo Canyon or Meteor Crater in Arizona. It was named in honor of its discoverer, Nobel Prize winner Dr. Ferdinand Henri Moissan. Synthetic moissanite is also known as silicon carbide after its chemistry and by the trade name, carborundum. In the meteoritic material, moissanite is associated with tiny diamonds. Moissanite is also the trade name being used for new synthetic SiC gemstones.

Moissanite grown in laboratories is now being cut as gemstones and they are used as diamond simulants. Moissanite brings to the jeweler's table a similar index of refraction and better than twice the fire of diamond, but is only slightly less expensive due to the difficulty in growing the crystals. Moissanite is causing quite a stir in the jewelry markets.

As a diamond simulant, artificial moissanite is very hard to differentiate from diamond and can fool many gemologists. It does have many similarities. It is very hard at 9.25 (diamond is 10) and it is highly refractive with an index of refraction of 2.6 - 2.7 (diamond's IR is slightly lower at 2.42). Most important, moissanite and diamond are thermally conductive unlike other diamond simulants and unfortunately it is this property that is primarily used as the test for the authenticity of real diamonds. Differences however are clear and other tests can be used to differentiate the two. First of all, moissanite is hexagonal, not isometric and therefore it is doubly refractive unlike diamond. A through-the-face examination of a moissanite gemstone should show double facet edges whereas a diamond's edges are single in appearance. Moissanite is also slightly less dense than diamond and is rarely perfectly clear of color, having pale shades of green. Natural flaws are absent in moissanite, replaced instead by tiny, unnatural, white, ribbon-like structures that are a result of the growing process. The synthetic SiC known as carborundum has seen many uses in high tech ceramics, electrical components, abrasives, ball bearings, semi-conductors, extremely hard saws and armor.

Natural moissanite is very rare and is limited to iron-nickel meteorites and a few other rare ultramafic igneous occurrences. Initially there were skeptics to the original meteorite findings and were attributed to the silicon carbide blades that may have been used to saw the type specimens. But this has been disputed because Dr Henri Moissan did not use silicon carbide blades to prepare the samples.

Moissanite can be a bi-product of the blast-furnace process used to make iron. In a blast furnace, the raw ingredients such as iron ore, carbon (usually in the form of coke, but other forms such as methane may be used), limestone and other chemicals and air (used to react with impurities) are continuously introduced. The reaction results in the production of pig iron which is removed as a liquid while the impurities form a slag which floats to the top and is removed. The sides of the huge furnace are relatively cool, while the interior is very hot, and this creates conditions for minerals to crystallize. Every few months, the furnace is emptied so that these minerals can be cleaned from the walls of the furnace. One such mineral is moissanite, which readily crystallizes from the silicon and carbon dissolved in the molten iron. The resulting moissanite crystals are nearly black and opaque due to their iron content, but they can be quite colorful and beautiful, although most are ground up and used as abrasives.

There are several phases of SiC. The original mineral discovered is officially known as moissanite-6H. The (6H) refers to the hexagonal symmetry of this phase of moissanite. There are two other phases recognized as minerals: moissanite-5H and the isometric phase beta-moissanite.

Moissanite is classified as an element despite the fact that in chemical reality it is a compound! The reason for this is that the elemental bonds that exist between carbon and silicon are very similar to the carbon-carbon bonds of other elemental minerals such as diamond. There also is just no other mineral class that moissanite could fit in better than the Native Elements Class! Moissanite in fact is sometimes placed into the Carbon Group which includes diamond and graphite. Additional justification lies in the structure of moissanite which is similar to the structure of diamond. Other chemically unusual Elements Class minerals that are found in meteorites include osbornite {TiN}, cohenite {Fe3C} and schreibersite {(Fe, Ni)3P}.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

* Color is green (although it may be nearly colorless to essentially black).
* Luster is adamantine.
* Transparency: Crystals are transparent to translucent.
* Crystal System is hexagonal, trigonal and isometric.
* Crystal Habits include tiny six-sided plates and grains in meteorites.
* Hardness is 9.25
* Specific Gravity is 3.1 - 3.2 (average)
* Streak is white.
* Other Characteristics: Index of refraction is 2.6 - 2.7, crystals are thermally conductive and highly double refractive.
* Associated Minerals include iron meteorites and olivine.
* Notable Occurrences include Diablo Canyon or Meteor Crater in Arizona and as a trace in several kimberlite deposits and placer deposits eroded from them.
* Best Field Indicator is crystal habit, color, index of refraction, double refraction, density, thermal conductivity and especially hardness.

Diamond

Diamond is the ultimate gemstone, having few weaknesses and many strengths. It is well known that Diamond is the hardest substance found in nature, but few people realize that Diamond is four times harder than the next hardest natural mineral, corundum (sapphire and ruby). But even as hard as it is, it is not impervious. Diamond has four directions of cleavage, meaning that if it receives a sharp blow in one of these directions it will cleave, or split. A skilled diamond setter and/or jeweler will prevent any of these directions from being in a position to be struck while mounted in a jewelry piece.

As a gemstone, Diamond's single flaw (perfect cleavage) is far outdistanced by the sum of its positive qualities. It has a broad color range, high refraction, high dispersion or fire, very low reactivity to chemicals, rarity, and of course, extreme hardness and durability. Diamond is the April Birthstone.

In terms of it's physical properties, diamond is the ultimate mineral in several ways:

* Hardness: Diamond is a perfect "10", defining the top of the hardness scale, and by absolute measures four times harder than sapphire (which is #9 on that scale).
* Clarity: Diamond is transparent over a larger range of wavelengths (from the ultraviolet into the far infrared) than is any other solid or liquid substance - nothing else even comes close.
* Thermal Conductivity: Diamond conducts heat better than anything - five times better than the second best element, Silver!
* Melting Point: Diamond has the highest melting point (3820 degrees Kelvin)
* Lattice Density: The atoms of Diamond are packed closer together than are the atoms of any other substance
* Tensile Strength: Diamond has the highest tensile strength of any material, at 2.8 gigapascals. However, that does not quite translate into the strongest rope or cable, as diamond has cleavage planes which support crack propagation. The strongest ropes can likely be made from another material, carbon nanotubes, as they should not suffer from the effects of cracks and break. Still, if a long, thin, perfect crystal of diamond could be manufactured, it would offer the highest possible pulling strength (in a straight line - don't try to tie it in a knot!)
* Compressive Strength: Diamond was once thought to be the material most resistant to compression (the least compressible). It is the material that scientists use to create the greatest pressures when testing matter. However, the rare metal Osmium has recently been shown to be even less compressible (although it is not as hard as diamond). Diamond has a bulk modulus (reciprocal of compressibility) of 443 GigaPascals (GPa). The bulk modulus of the metal osmium has recently been found to be 476 GPa, about 7% greater than diamond.

Diamond is a polymorph of the element carbon. Graphite is another polymorph. The two share the same chemistry, carbon, but have very different structures and properties. Diamond is hard, Graphite is soft (the "lead" of a pencil). Diamond is an excellent electrical insulator, Graphite is a good conductor of electricity. Diamond is the ultimate abrasive, Graphite is a very good lubricant. Diamond is transparent, Graphite is opaque. Diamond crystallizes in the Isometric system and graphite crystallizes in the hexagonal system. Somewhat of a surprise is that at surface temperatures and pressures, Graphite is the stable form of carbon. In fact, all diamonds at or near the surface of the Earth are currently undergoing a transformation into Graphite. This reaction, fortunately, is extremely slow.

Diamonds are found in kimberlite pipes (the cores of certain volcanoes originating beneath thick plates of the Earth's crust), and in alluvial deposits resulting from the erosion of those pipes. Nanodiamonds are also found as presolar grains in meteorites, and presumably in asteroids and comets.

• Chemistry: C, Elemental Carbon
• Class: Native Elements
• Subclass: Non-metallics
• Group: Carbon
• Uses: usually as a gemstone and abrasive, also scientific uses.
• Also See:
• The Mineral Diamond
• Diamond - the Ultimate Gemstone
• Diamond Mining Around the World
• The History and Lore of Diamonds
• Buyer Beware - Imitation Diamonds
• Diamond - the April Birthstone
• For natural diamond mineral specimens, see our diamond specimens page.
• For Diamond Jewelry, see JewelsForMe.com

Happy Buddha Necklace

Buddha - or Awakened One, was the name given to Siddhartha, the founder of Buddhism, 2,500 years ago. The Buddha symbol represents achieving self realization and a spiritual path of enlightenment. It is the search for compassion, wisdom and truth. It is a journey in seeking knowledge, peace and inner tranquility. The Happy Buddha is significant with self awareness and teaches us that happiness and freedom are already ours. We are free when we stop believing and identifying with the image we have of ourselves in our own heads. It is through meditation that we see and eventually free ourselves from debilitating images. Happiness and freedom are already ours when we stop getting caught up in our own hypothesizing and agitated thinking, which is what meditation is really about.

This beautifully crafted fine pewter necklace comes on a legend card with a 33" long cord.