Aquamarine is the birthstone for March and the traditional gift for 19th wedding anniversaries.

Aquamarine’s name is derived from the Latin for sea water. Ancient seafarers believed that the beautiful blue stone came from the treasure chests of the mermaids. Ancient peoples believed that the water in which an aquamarine was soaked would cure eye troubles and stop hiccups (never been proven by modern medicine). In medieval times, it was believed to reawaken love between married couples. Soldiers through the ages have called Aquamarine the “Stone of Courage” and believe that it guards against injury and makes them invincible.

Aquamarine belongs to the Beryl family of gemstones. Emeralds and Morganite are also included in the Beryl family. Beryl is comprised of beryllium-aluminum-silicate. Iron is the trace element that creates the lovely blue color in Aquamarine while chromium creates the green in emeralds and manganese gives Morganite its pink color. The beryl family generally originates in granitic pegmatites and found in alluvial deposits. The largest gem quality specimen on record is a 243 pound crystal found in 1910 in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil.

Properties

• Hardness: 7.5 – 8.0
• Color – Greenish blue through blue-green
• Stability
• Very good
• Rarities include cat’s-eye
• Clarity – majority is eye-clean
• Enhancements –
• Majority is heat treated to remove yellow and green overtones and is undetectable

Aquamarines are found in Brazil, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Burma, China, Australia, the Ural Mountains of Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the USA.

Care

• Cleaning methods
• Ultrasonic – usually safe
• Steamer – usually safe
• Warm soapy water – safe

Cut – The forth “C”
In the 1200’s and prior diamonds were worn in their rough or natural octahedral shape because of the difficulty in cutting something so very hard. It wasn’t until 1375 in Germany where a guild of diamond cutters formed and developed the Point Cut. The point cut was an octahedron. Next came the Table cut in the mid 14th century. The table cut was a point cut diamond with some of the top cut off. By the end of the 14th century the single cut or 8/8 cut was introduced. The single cut was a table cut with the addition of four corner facets top and bottom. About the mid 16th century the Rose cut diamond was introduced. It had triangle facets arranged in a symmetrical radiating pattern with a flat bottom. The first brilliant cuts were known as Mazarins and were welcomed in the mid 17th century. They were cushion shape and had 17 facets on the crown as well as 17 facets below. Also in the 17th century came the Peruzzi cut. It has 58 facets like most modern round brilliant cut diamonds today. It had 33 facets on top and 25 below the girdle. Because bruting had not been developed yet all of these cutting styles had square or rectangular outlines. These were given a general name of cushions also known as Mine cuts. Bruting is the rounding of the diamonds girdle with a lathe. Sometime in the mid to late 18th century came the Old European Cut which also had 58 facets but a shallower pavilion, rounded outline and a different facet arrangement. The old European cut was the forerunner to our modern cut round brilliant cut diamond and was used throughout most of the 19th century. In 1919 Marcel Tolkowsky developed the model of today’s ideal cut diamond.

Topaz is the Birthstone for November and the 4th and 23rd wedding anniversary stone.

The Egyptians said that topaz was colored with the golden glow of the mighty sun god Ra. The Romans associated topaz with Jupiter, who also is the god of the sun. Legend says that it dispels all enchantment and helps to improve eyesight. The Greeks believed that it had the power to increase strength and make the wearer invisible. Topaz was also said to change color in the presence of poisoned food or drink and curative powers waxed and waned with the phases of the moon. It was said to cure insomnia, asthma and hemorrhages. The name comes from the same island that Peridot originally came from – Topazios or Zabarad in the Red Sea. In Sanskrit, the word topas or tapax means fire. In medieval times nobility and ruling classes were given engraved topaz as a token of loyalty and friendship.

The name for Imperial Topaz originated in nineteenth century Russian because the Ural Mountains were the leading source. Ownership of the gem was restricted to the royal family.

Today most people think of blue when they think of topaz and yellow topaz is often mistaken for the common citrine or smoky quartz.

American Golden

The most famous topaz is a giant stone set in the Portuguese Crown called the Braganza. The Smithsonian has many large specimens including the biggest faceted gem (by weight) ever recorded known as the “American Golden” It weighs 22,982 carats or 10.14 pounds.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63894475@N00/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Topaz is the state gemstone of Texas and Utah.

Source

The Ouro Preto area of Brazil is the major commercial source of imperial and red topaz. The Ghundao Hill area of Pakistan produces a naturally pink to red topaz sometimes called “cyclamen pink”. Brazil and Sri Lanka are the most significant sources of treatable colorless topaz. Topaz comes from Australia, Madagascar, Mexico, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria and the USA as well. The primary source of gem-quality topaz are pegmatites. Because it grows in an orthorhombic crystal structure (crystals are typically elongated with strong parallel grooves or striations, parallel to their length) it has weaker bonds between the atoms in one direction which causes cleavage. A sharp blow or extreme pressure or sharp temperature changes might cause it to split along the cleavage plane.

Properties

• Toughness – poor due to cleavage
• Stability
• Reaction to Heat – might cause fading.
• Reaction to Light – might cause fading.
• Reaction to Chemicals – not resistant to sulphuric acid.
• Care during polishing and setting because of danger of cleavage
• Rarities include Red, Pink and Imperial or Precious Topaz
• Most popular cuts are emerald or step cut, scissor cut, cabochon and brilliant cut particularly for colorless Topaz.
• Confused with Apatite, aquamarine, brazilianite, chrysoberyl, citrine, danburite, diamond, fluorite, kunzite, orthoclase, phenakite, ruby, sapphire, spinel, tourmaline, zircon and precious beryl. Blue synethetic topaz is known. Yellow heat-treated amethyst are falsely called “gold topaz” or “Madeira topaz” so real topaz is sometimes called precious topaz to distinguish them.
• Enhancements –
• Blue Topaz – depending on type of treatment and starting material, it comes in many shades of blue.



• London Blue
• Swiss Blue
• Super blue
• Maxi Blue
• Sky Blue
• Blue starts usually as colorless and treated with gamma rays or high-energy electron radiation. This is permanent. The stones must be quarantined from three months to a year to allow radiation to dissipate.
• Heat treatment is usually used on yellow to create pink and red hues. This is also permanent.
• Surface Diffusion – stones are heated in cobalt-rich powder which produces color about 0.5mm deep at the surface.
• Coating – coating colorless topaz with microscopic layer of metallic oxide compound by heating the stone in a vacuum-sealed container with metal oxides to form a vapor coating. This causes an optical effect of visible spectral hues. The coating is not durable but can resist daily wear but abrasive cleaners and buffing wheels remove it. It is safe in ultrasonic, alcohol and mild soap.

Synthetics – glass, synthetic spinel, flame fusion, flux, hydrothermal, Czocharalski-pulled, doublets

Care

• Cleaning methods
• Ultrasonic – avoid
• Steamer – avoid
• Warm soapy water – safe
• Pickling Solution – see above in Reaction to Chemicals

Carat

Most people want the biggest bang for their buck, so carat weight seems to be the most important. A carat in the gem world is a magic number because it is a whole unit. Carat is derived from the carob seed. Before modern times, diamonds were measured for weight by comparing them to the carob seed which is very uniform in size and weight. So carob became carat to weigh gemstones. There are one hundred points to a carat. Think of it like pennies to a dollar. A gem that weighs 0.25 carat is 25/ 100ths of a carat or a quarter carat, a gem that weighs 0.50 carat is 50/ 100ths of a carat or a half carat, a gem that weighs 0.75 carat is 75/ 100ths of a carat or a three quarter carat, and so on and so forth. A larger diamond is always rarer and than a smaller diamond. The largest rough diamond ever discovered is the Cullinan Diamond. It was discovered in 1905 at the Premier Mine in South Africa. It was cut into nine large diamonds and about one hundred smaller diamonds. The largest of the nine diamonds is the First Star of Africa also known as the Cullinan I. It is a pear shape and weighs 530.2 carats. It is set in the Scepter in the British Crown Jewels. September 24, 2009, a 507 carat rough diamond was discovered at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa.

Two smaller diamonds don’t equal one larger diamond. If you have two 0.50 carat diamonds they will not equal the value of one 1.00 carat diamond if all the other characteristics of the diamonds are the same. For example, as of the publishing date of this article, a 0.50 carat, round brilliant cut diamond, G color and VS2 will cost approximately $3,200.00 (retail) and the same quality 1.00 carat, round brilliant cut diamond, will cost approximately $12,000.00 (retail).

Arabic legend says opal fall from the heavens in flashes of lightening.  The Greeks believed opals gave their owners the gift of prophecy and guarded them from disease.  The Romans thought opal symbolized love and hope.  The Romans gave its name – opalus – that meant precious stone.  Europeans have long considered the gem a symbol of hope, purity, and truth.  Australian aborigines have a legend that the creator came down to Earth on a rainbow to bring the message of peace.  At the spot his foot touched the ground, the stones became alive and sparkling in all the colors of the rainbow.  The superstition that it is unlucky for anyone born in any month other than October to wear an opal came from  the novel “Anne of Geierstein” by Sir Walter Scott written in the 1800’s.  Opal has actually been considered to be the luckiest and most magical of all gems because it can show all colors.  It was even thought to have the power to preserve life and be color of blond hair.  For ages, people have believed in the healing power of opal and it is reported to cure depression and help its wearer find the true and real love.  They are believed to enhance the positive characteristic of people born under the zodiac sign of Cancer.  Black opal is recommended for those born under Scorpio and Boulder Opal is a lucky stone for Aries.  Opals became prevalent in jewelry during the Art Deco period.

It is thought that opal formed 15 to 30 million years ago with one exception in Australia where at Mintabie it is thought to have formed about 400 million years ago.  It is formed in desert areas that have strong seasonal rainfall and rocks rich in silica.  The water seeping through the rock carries silica that is evaporated out in pockets of rock.  However opal still contains a significant amount of water usually about 3 to 10% and can be as high as 20%.

In 1849 the first opal blocks were accidentally found on the Australian cattle station of Tarravilla.  Prospecting started in 1890 at White Cliff in Australia.  Other famous opal areas of Australia are Lighting Ridge, Andamooka and Coober Peddy (aborigine word for “white man in hole”).  The largest opal found is 6,843 kilogram known as the Andamooka Desert Flame. 

Alex Sepkus Opal Ring

Source

Australia produces black and white opal.  Brazil produces white opal.  Mexico produces Fire Opal.  Peru produces Peruvian opal.  Ethiopia and Malawi produces white opal.

Properties

• Hardness:  5.5 – 6.5
• Toughness – very poor to fair.
• Reaction to Heat – High heat or sudden temperature change can cause fracturing.
• Reaction to Light – Stable but heat from intense light can cause fracturing (known as crazing)
• Reaction to Chemicals – Attacked by hydrofluoric acid and caustic alkalis

Loss of moisture and crazing can result from storage in airtight containers such as safe deposit boxes

• Clarity – Fractures, pits, surface blemishes, matrix, crazing (a fine network of cracks that resembles spider’s web).
• Most popular cut is cabochon.  The Mexican opal is often faceted as well.
• Confused with Ammolite, mother-of-pearl, labradorite, moonstone.  Imitations include opal doublet or triplets and synthetic opal (Gilson) and simulated opal made of glass (Slocum) and a Japanese plastic opal.
• Treatments/Enhancements –
  • Impregnation with oil, wax, or plastic – improves play-of-color and prevents or disguises fracturing.  Black plastic creates appearance of black opal – stability is fair to poor for oil or wax and excellent for plastic.
  • Sugar treatment – soaking in dye, silver nitrate or sugar and acid – creates or improves play-of-color and simulates appearance of black opal. – stability is poor to good
  • Smoke impregnation – creates or improves play-of-color and simulates appearance of black opal – stability is fair to poor because treatment is shallow and abrades or chips away easily.

Fire Opal Earrings

Types of Opals

• White Opal – translucent to semi-translucent with play-of-color against a white or gray bodycolor.
• Black Opal – translucent to opaque with play-of-color against a black or other dark bodycolor
• Fire Opal – transparent to translucent with brown, yellow, orange or red bodycolor.  This material often doesn’t have play-of-color is also known as “Mexican opal”, “Gold opal”, or “Sun opal”.
• Boulder Opal – Opal with dark base surface with play-of-color and occurs as pebble rock where the opal fills hollows.
• Harlequin Opal – transparent to translucent opal with effective segment like color patterns.
• Jelly Opal (Water Opal) – bluish-gray opal with little play-of-color.
• Crystal Opal – a few red reflexes on colorless, vitreous surface.
• Girasol – almost colorless, transparent opal with bluish luster
• Peruvian Opal – a blue-green mostly opaque with very little play of color opal found in Peru.
• Assembled Opal – precious opal layers and other material cemented together to improve durability and appearance.

Custom Boulder Opal Pendant

Play-of-Color

Play-of-color is caused by sub-microscopic spheres stacked in a grid-like pattern (like layers of ping-pong balls).  This structure breaks up light into spectral colors.  The colors depend on the size of the spheres.   0.1 micron in diameter produces violet.  0.2 micron in size produces red.  In between sizes produce intermediate hues.

• Pinfire or pinpoint – small, close-set patches of color.
• Harlequin or mosaic – broad, angular, close-set patches of color.
• Flame – sweeping reddish  bands or streaks that shoot across the stone
• Peacock – mainly blue and green

Care

• Cleaning methods
• Ultrasonic – Never
• Steamer – Never
• Warm soapy water – safe

Birthstone for October

14^th wedding anniversary stone

As a continuation of last month’s discussion of diamonds I will cover diamond clarity, 1 of the 4 C’s.

Clarity refers to the purity of the diamond. Approximately 15 % of the diamonds mined in the world are gem quality. The other 85 % is used for industrial purpose. Most diamonds have some sort of inclusions or characteristics even after they are faceted. It is extremely rare to find a flawless diamond. Diamonds are graded using several different scales. At Beauchamp Jewelers, we use the GIA scale which is the oldest and most accepted. (See scale and definitions below.)

Clarity Scale

GIA			FL		IF		VVS1			VVS2			VS1			VS2			SI1			SI2			I1				I2				I3
AGS			0				1			2			3			4			5			6			7			8			9			10

FL………..(Flawless) No inclusions or blemishes under 10 X magnification
IF…………(Internally Flaw) No inclusions under 10X magnification; insignificant blemishes on surface only

VVS1……..(Very Very slightly Included) Minute inclusions that are extremely difficult to see under 10X
VVS2…….. (Very Very slightly Included) Minute inclusions that are very difficult to see under 10X

VS1……….(Very slightly Included) Minor inclusions that are difficult to see under 10X
VS2……….(Very slightly Included) Minor inclusions that are somewhat easy to see under 10X

SI1……….(slightly Included) Noticeable inclusions that are easy to see under 10X
SI2……….(slightly Included) Noticeable inclusions that are very easy to see under 10X

I1…………(Imperfect) Obvious inclusions under 10X – may be visible to the unaided eye
I2…………(Imperfect) Obvious inclusions visible to the unaided eye, strong effect on appearance or durability
I3…………(Imperfect) Prominent inclusions visible to the unaided eye, strong effect on appearance and durability

It takes a trained gemologist with years of experience to accurately grade the clarity of a diamond. Even though diamonds are graded at 10 time the naked eye, a gemologist may use a microscope at 60 times the naked eye to discover characteristics in a diamond and then grade them with a 10 power loupe.

I have included some photographs taken under the microscope of interesting diamond inclusions and characteristics.

When I go to parties and someone asks what I do for a living, I say, “I’m a gemologist”. Often the response is “You are a Gymnast?” or “You are a Geologist?” I tell them “No, I play with diamonds and rubies for a living. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it. It beats digging ditches for a living.

Just about the time I was ready to graduate high school, my parents opened a jewelry store in Northridge, CA. They hired me to clean jewelry and do errands. After being exposed to all these sparkling gems, I had many questions. And so began my quest for gem knowledge. I began my gemology studies at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in Santa Monica in September of 1979. I was hooked! I excelled quickly and became top of my class. I graduated in February of 1980 and thought I knew everything about gems. I enjoyed my studies so much that I applied for a job at the Gem Trade Laboratory, which is a subsidiary of the GIA. The GIA’s Gem Trade Laboratory is known as the world’s authority for diamond analysis and gem identification. After being hired by Gem Trade Lab, I was retrained in diamond grading and analysis and found out just how much I didn’t know.

Twenty-eight years later, I thought I could share my years of being a gemologist with people who love gems like I do. I don’t claim to be perfect or know it all but I do have many years in the jewelry & gem industry and would be happy to answer questions that readers might have.

As a gemologist at Beauchamp jewelers I’m here to serve you by ensuring Beauchamp Jewelers has the highest quality and most beautiful diamonds in Albuquerque, as well as provide you with accurate insurance appraisals for your precious jewelry.

So where do I start? I thought that I would go over diamond basics and share some pictures with you.

The Four C’s

You may have already heard about the four C’s: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat. Today’s topic is Color.

Color actually measures the lack of color. That lack of color makes a diamond more valuable. There are a number of scales available from different organizations that help to label or identify the color of a diamond. Many of you may be familiar with the Gemological Institute of America’s color scale. The best color is D. There is no A, B or C in this scale. Why you ask? I was told that diamonds weren’t so pure as to be an A, B or C. But the main reason is so not to confuse the GIA scale with another scale that might have an A+ or a triple A (AAA) as their best quality. (Some independent jewelry chains have their own scales, to sell more diamonds. The only problem is that an A+ or AAA might only be a G on the GIA color scale.) So… D, E and F are colorless which means no visible yellow or gray or brown to the unaided eye. G, H, I, J, K are near colorless which means that the diamond would “face up” white to the unaided eye. L through Z colors continue to show progressive levels of color which should become obvious to the unaided eye. When you get as low as Z color the diamond will appear yellow but not so much yellow as to appear attractive and become a fancy yellow diamond. Fancy color diamonds are not on the D through Z scale and will be covered in the future.

A color grade is assigned to a diamond when it is clean and loose. It is very difficult to assign an accurate color grade to a diamond if it is in a jewelry setting because shadows and the color of the metal used for the jewelry may cast color into the diamond.

The proper way to color grade a diamond is to compare the unknown diamond to a group of diamonds that have already been graded for color. This group of diamonds is known as a Master Color Set of diamonds or Master Stones.

Master stones must be graded by a laboratory such as GIA or AGS (American Gem Society) for color accuracy. A master stone must be in the middle of the indicated color and not too far to one side or the other. It does not have to be flawless but must be free from inclusions that may impart color into the diamond or make it difficult to compare to another diamond. A master stone cannot be fluorescent. Fluorescence is a unique characteristic that only some diamonds possess. It may change a diamond’s color appearance in different light. Strong blue fluorescence may mask yellow in a diamond when viewed in daylight, however strong blue fluorescence may cause a colorless diamond to appear milky in daylight.

In any case, fluorescence may influence color.