This content was first published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review no. 8 in 2019. The information provided here is therefore current as of the original publication date.
Ok, this number is very rich in information on the applications made possible by advanced gemological instrumentations. Tools (whose cost can exceed € 10,000) for the synthetic/natural diamond separation: Alberto Scarani and Mikko Åström immediately put it in a pragmatic way explaining the pros and cons of their use made possible by UV, visible and fluorescence spectrometry, phosphorescence and luminescence. Here is the conclusion: there is no magic machine working while you sleep or watch TV, but systems at risk of being outdated because of their constant evolution.
Talking about technical evolution, here is a nice example: ICP laser ablation mass spectrometry. With this costly analysis – as Clemens Schwarzinger and Thomas Engeli explain here – it is possible to undo the intricate knots of the deep diffusion of light elements such as beryllium into the crystal lattice of corundums. The LA-ICP-MS overcomes “traditional” instrumental limits and provides a final sentence.
Let’s face it all. Gem dealers cannot always approach such sophisticated equipment. But even by using basic tools, accurate data can still be obtained. This is confirmed by Luigi Costantini and Claudio Russo, veterans of deductive microscopic investigation based on inclusions, the grammar and the arithmetic of students and scholars of gemology.
It is not that we are all Galileo Galileis. Simply filling in pages of spectra and quantitative data does not help to create a wide gemological awareness. Most of the people will do nothing but simply take note of indisputable and ready-made conclusive statements. Precise, reliable but substantially abstract and extraneous to one’s daily working process, which demands concrete answers on tangible objects.
Certainly the equipment of small gemological laboratories is already enriching itself including previously inaccessible instruments, but this does not mean that advanced investigations will enter into the routine of the common dealers. But if we can’t “write” research data, at least we can learn to “read” them, evaluating their scientific criteria, their technical characteristics, their application contexts. The most passionate ones can perhaps approach advanced research systems through the institutes and/or the laboratories they come from or by collaborating with Universities.
But what is essential is the knowledge of the basic principles, the possible uses, the horizons, the limits and the evolution of the technical applications. In the end – as Annabelle Herreweghe and Aurélien Delaunay show us – an old microscope together with the classic laboratory equipment and a pinch of Raman spectrometry are more than enough to identify, classify and indicate the origin of the most beautiful opals in the world. You don’t have to own who knows what. All you want is a bit of enthusiasm together with a well-made master set, assorted with simple and comprehensive samples that clearly show the type and quality of the play of color. Yes, enthusiasm is something you need.
By Paolo Minieri, published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review #8, Winter 2019
