This content was first published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review no. 9 in 2020. The information provided here is therefore current as of the original publication date.
Gemology has always had a predilection for superlatives. It must be made sure that the attention of buyers, graders, students and the industry as a whole is kept as high as possible. Impressing consumers has to do with the creation of captivating narrations on the most expensive rubies, the most tricky treatments, the most accurate investigations.
Extraordinary facts are always newsworthy. The famous 3,106 carat Cullinan, the 14.23 carats Perfect Pink diamond beaten by Christie’s for over 23 million dollars or – why not? – a rare grandidierite, all of them suit to the purpose. If in trouble, we will search the archives for details. Which ones? The most complete.
What about the identification of synthetic diamonds? As scrupulous as Nobel Prize winners we will aspire to the best, to the most sophisticated, the most up-to-date equipment, regardless of its inevitably unaffordable cost.
Nowadays the available scientific information is embarrassingly abundant, comprehensive and accessible. To some degree we will probably feel inadequate and frustrated as we realize that the extreme and amazing cases in gemology are one thing and what gemstone dealers experience every day is another. As a matter of fact ordinary labs are unlikely to be asked to assign a geographical origin to outstanding Paraiba tourmalines. Unique alexandrites that once belonged to the the tzars don’t happen to be identified in our office quite often. Lizards caught in pose and gently imprisoned in amber don’t occur frequently in the lots and once a demantoid is observed at the microscope, its typical horse-tail inclusion will not automatically appear. A fine and attractive sapphire can present scanty and boring inclusions and who knows whether its provenance can be referred to Sri Lanka or Madagascar.
Yet nothing is trivial when the optical fiber is turned on. A creative cutting style responding well to the optical characteristics can redeem even the most insignificant pieces of rough material. Interesting ideas, original points of view, more practical purposes can attract people concerned with gemology as much as the flood of quantitative data actually do.
What about the equipment? The use of plasma mass spectrometry inductively coupled with laser ablation (LA-ICP-MS) is more and more crucial and this magazine in the last issue has given an account of how often it is conclusive. But more accessible instruments are continuously evolving as well and it’s interesting to note how effective if not even perfectly diagnostic at times they are. Sometimes it is more important to discuss on how proportionate to the gemologist’s goals the equipment is, rather than focusing only on more sophisticated technology. In short, the superlative and rare aspects as well as the chemical and physical data can be complemented by useful and practical examples in a captivating atmosphere of curiosity prone to multidisciplinary and comparative contributions. Some appropriate examples can be found in this issue. The Gemological Institute of Thailand has long since developed standard color reference masters in order to grade sapphires and rubies. In addition to the superlative degree, that is the coveted “pigeon’s blood”, GIT tells us in these pages that two additional new indicators have been proposed, named the “rabbit’s eye” and the “golden red” associated with tints that are as much intriguing and desirable as the “pigeon’s blood”, even though not as much costly when all the other features are equivalent. Once the masters are referred to the Munsell codes, aren’t the new terms already about marketing?
Challenging a prohibitive environment, Greenland has been striving for developing the production of its rubies. At the moment the material is not considered memorable, yet it has a pleasant color and it is well suited to the cabochon cut. Beyond excellence, are there other factors to consider? Yes, perhaps the idea that common rubies in Greenland can contribute to the conservation of the Arctic environment and that what the earth gives us comes in some way from the sky as a gift. It’s all good.
By Paolo Minieri, published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review #9, Spring 2020 
