r/Gemology

Natural gemstone deposits forming within ancient river beds and gravel layers.

This is part of the traditional gem mining process used in Sri Lanka for generations — washing gem-bearing gravel, sorting rough material, and searching for sapphire rough hidden beneath the river sediment.

Interesting to see how secondary gem deposits concentrate in river systems over time.

Finally found a specimen, definitely not one thats common or easy to find as the species tends to only form tiny crystals. This one comes out of a some what recent find in Afghanistan.​

Many people assume heating always makes sapphires brighter or lighter. In reality, some Ceylon milky or silky sapphires become noticeably darker after heat treatment — even when the rough looked promising beforehand.

Before heating, these sapphires contain microscopic rutile silk that gives a cloudy or sleepy appearance. The silk scatters light and hides the true color potential of the crystal.

During high-temperature heating:

•	Rutile silk dissolves into the crystal structure

•	Transparency improves

•	Iron and titanium interactions strengthen

•	The stone’s real color chemistry becomes visible

Heating does not create color — it simply reveals what already exists inside the sapphire.

If the stone contains higher iron content, color saturation increases strongly after heating. Instead of becoming bright blue, the sapphire may shift toward deep blue or an inky tone. Stones from the same parcel can therefore produce very different results once heated.

In many cases, slightly lighter or more silky material produces the most balanced royal blue, while cleaner-looking pieces may end up darker due to stronger color concentration.

This unpredictability is one reason sapphire heating remains both a science and an art in Sri Lanka’s gem trade.

So the first rule out is the easiest: synthetic Moissanite exhibits a very obvious birefringence, it is also significantly sparklier than a diamond, which makes it extremely easy to spot. This leaves CZ and Diamond. For CZ, chipping is the most diagnostic clue? It does look EXTREMELY similar to diamond. Finally, synthetic diamond would be the hardest to rule out since the only signs of a diamond being man-made are striations (that may as well be natural graining), certain inclusions, and chemical purity (synthetics are type IIa mostly)?

Is it a poor/rudimentary cut to begin with, or just very beat up?

I haven't seen anything (aside from actual roughs) with such a textured surface before. It's full of pits and grooves but looks very glassy overall. The edges of the facets are quite rounded.

The stone was found in a bag of random gemstones that come from various sources, so the history is unknown. No obvious inclusions seen with a loupe but it's very difficult to discern due to the surface texture. Approx 0.7 carats. Very much a ruby, not glass.

what trade color you would give for this unheated sapphire and how would you like this kind of color?

Hey. I'm pretty new to the gemstone world but I'm trying to learn as fast as I can! I purchased some red beryl and I'm wondering if it can be faceted if it's included? I have two pieces. Part of one has what looks like a "gemmy" piece. But it's VERY small. The pieces were mined here in Utah and confirmed red beryl by the BYU geological dept. I was told the GIA won't take specimens unless it goes through one of their accounts. And the fee would be HIGH.

1. Can red beryl that has major inclusion be faceted? I'd like to make a ring if so.

2. Are these worth more as specimens?

3. Any idea on value?

Adding multiple pics of both specimens. Please be gentle as I'm trying to learn and read everthing I can to educate myself.

I came across someone trying to sell this piece of sapphire claiming that it’s 700-800 ct sapphire. For under $50 is that possible for that price. And for that size could I make so much more if I were to break it down nd face it myself ?

Inside a traditional Ceylon gem mine, it’s not just one tunnel going down.

Once miners reach the gem-bearing layer, multiple tunnels are carefully opened in different directions — like branches of a tree underground. Each branch follows the natural gravel layer where sapphires and other gemstones may be hidden.

These tunnels are dug completely by hand and supported with timber frames for safety.

Miners move slowly, checking every section of earth, because one small pocket can contain stones formed millions of years ago.

Every branch tells a different story…

and any turn could reveal a gemstone.

🇱🇰 Traditional Sri Lankan gem mining

Nature, patience, and experience working together underground.

I bought my first loose sapphire from what I hope was a trustworthy source here in Scotland. It came in the post, I was so excited, and then I dropped it immediately upon opening it, like an idiot.

There's a very crack-like structure internal to the stone: it flashes very brightly and is visible to the eye when you look from the side. However I don't see ANY surface cracks with my loupe, though there is a super tiny chip on a different facet. I asked the seller and he said there was definitely a small inclusion on one side. I got the stone for only £250 and so I didn't by any means expect it to be flawless, so if it is an inclusion I don't mind one bit.

bUT if it is a crack, then every time I look at the stone I will be reminded that I am a bit of a tit.

I know it's next to impossible to determine anything from photos, so they here for support not diagnostics;

1. If it doesn't make it to the outside of the gem surface, could it still be a crack/structural problem? The sources I found said no, it is more likely to be an inclusion, but I was hoping for some advice

2. If I have just been hoodwinked: could glass stones crack like that, without coming to the surface? It's a parti-sapphire (the light in the photos make it look just awful and swampy but it has some great colour splitting), so if it's a fake it's a good enough fake that I am still happy to wear it around but I won't embarrass myself by talking about my sapphire!

3. All of the advice is going to be 'take it to a jewellers', I can tell. Would a jeweller be happy to just say 'yes/no, sapphire, yes/no crack' without me having to get it fully appraised/certified? I am happy to pay just to know if it's something they do for £20-30 but I don't think it's worth £150-200 (for this stone, not the service).

Thanks for your help!

This stone was originally misidentified as a Colombian emerald based off color, but under magnification you can clearly see the blocky multi-phase inclusions, rain-like needles, and phlogopite/biotite mineral inclusions typical of Brazilian material. Be careful when IDing stone origin by eye!

Experts of reddit, I bought a emerald proposal ring and I just found a crack in it.

The document says gemstone clarity is VVS/VS/P1.

Gemstone color RW+/RW.

Gemstone weight in carats 0.08/0.45.

Meaning diamonds 0.08 and emerald 0.45.

Im aware of jardin in emeralds, but this crack looks serious.

Does this looks like a P1 type inclusion?

How screwed am I?

Do diamonds change a dot into a circle?

I found this on a sidewalk, and someone in another group suggested testing it by placing it over a dot on a piece of paper. Would this actually work for identification? Thanks!

(Edited for clarity)