![]() They specialize in making beautiful Larimar jewelry. We were just introduced to a company called Marahlago. So now, anything Larimar is an easy gift idea. She loves the Stone of the Caribbean, and when I told her it’s also called the Mermaid Stone–she was even more excited! Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the mermaid thing, this could get expensive. To avoid making a mistake, it’s not a bad idea to consult your local gemmologist.As a man whose wife loves the Caribbean, getting her jewelry that reminders her of that passion and allows her to show that passion off is a big win. Trying to ID unknown blue gemstones can be tough given the possibilities on offer. Some more unusual blue gemstones include benitoite, kyanite, fluorite and spinel, and don’t forget composite gemstones intended to imitate blue sapphire – garnet-topped doublets, used in antique jewellery, are comprised of a hard garnet top-fused to a blue glass pavilion while sapphire doublets have a natural corundum top and blue glass or synthetic sapphire pavilion. Even though it never displays the double effect, diamond may be confused with zircon due to its high dispersion. ![]() Some of these are of a lighter tone normally associated with natural coloured material. ![]() ![]() Natural blue diamonds are extremely rare more commonly seen are irradiated ones. Zircon, a natural gemstone that is usually heat treated, is available in the same colours as aquamarine and topaz however, high dispersion and strong doubling should reveal its identity. Both aquamarine and topaz are frequently imitated by synthetic spinel. It is often confused with blue topaz, a less expensive gemstone routinely irradiated and heat treated to create sky blue, Swiss blue or the darker London blue. The former may be imitated by neon-blue apatite but is separated by tourmaline’s doubling of the back facets.Ĭompeting for the mantle of “most confused” blue gemstone are aquamarine, topaz and synthetic spinel.Īquamarine is a member of the prestigious beryl family and varies from pale blue with greenish overtones to rich ocean blue. Next up is tourmaline, available in many shades of blue, from striking neon colours to dark indigo depths. Known simulants for sapphire, tanzanite and iolite include cubic zirconia, synthetic sapphire, synthetic spinel, YAG and even blue glass. Iolite, improperly known in the trade as “water sapphire”, can also be confused with both sapphire and tanzanite. Forsterite is a possible tanzanite imitation but the two are easily separated. Tanzanite is usually heat treated to achieve this colour. Sapphire is frequently confused with tanzanite, a gemstone introduced in the 1960s that causes havoc for manufacturing jewellers and consumers alike because its colour resembles Ceylon sapphire. Such treatments are deceptive to the untrained eye. Sapphire is routinely heat treated to improve its colour and clarity but it is other treatments that keep gemmologists on their toes – surface diffusion combines heat with iron and titanium to produce Kashmir-like blue while cobalt-doped glass filling transforms low-quality corundum into bright blue sapphire. From the corundum family, sapphire’s tone and saturation ranges enormously from pale blue to almost black however, the velvety blue of Ceylon sapphire and the royal blue of Australian material are both highly prized. The first and most popular candidate in any blue gemstone line-up is sapphire. In this new series, the gem detective, Megan Austin discusses how to navigate the complexities of the blue gemstone family. Beautiful blue gemstones ranging from sky-coloured pastels to deep-sea blues are captivating to many but not always so easy to identify.
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