This book is all about Oh My God gemstones and the simple people who love gemstones. Our compassionate boss and his team whose inspiration is Jesus is going to share with you the precious details of appreciating God’s splendid gift to mankind without any need of gemological expertise.
Written by P.J.Joseph
The price of wisdom is above rubies.
-Bible, Job 28:18
Chapter 5
Corundum
One late afternoon a mechanical engineer telephoned the compassionate boss for an appointment. The compassionate boss came forward, welcomed the mechanical engineer politely and offered him a chair; the precious assistants glanced at him knowingly.
He looked at the plaque and paused.
“Sir, I bought this beautiful jewelry and other colored stones in Thailand during my vacation. I was told they were rubies and sapphires. Are they really precious?” the mechanical engineer asked.
The compassionate boss examined the gem and jewelry collection with caution. He summoned Peter to examine the jewelry and identify the colored stones.
The compassionate boss said, “Rubies may be red, pinkish red, orange red, purplish red and brownish red, while blue sapphire colors are violet blue to blue, blue to greenish blue. Colors other than red or blue are termed sapphire with color prefix; for example, green sapphire, yellow sapphire, orange sapphire, pink and pinkish orange sapphire. They are precious.”
“Are there colorless sapphires?” the mechanical engineer asked.
“Pure corundum is nearly colorless,” the compassionate boss explained. “Totally colorless stones are rare and the so-called colorless sapphires have a faint yellowish shade of color. Many of the small colorless sapphires used in inexpensive jewelry are most likely synthetic.”
The mechanical engineer tried to reason, to understand.
He asked, “Does diamonds and colorless sapphires look the same?”
The compassionate boss replied, “For the novice they may look the same, but colorless sapphires are good imitations of diamond. If the stones are well cut, colorless sapphires may be confused for diamonds. For the trained professional, colorless sapphires does not show the same luster like diamonds. Diamonds have more dispersion and flash.”
He remained perfectly calm.
A few moments later he asked, “I heard people talking about star rubies and sapphires at the shop. I didn’t know they were valuable. What are star rubies and sapphires?”
The telephone rang.
As he was about to leave the office for commercial errand, he turned toward the mechanical engineer, lowered his eyes and said, “My precious assistants will be working with you for a while.”
The mechanical engineer bowed and said, “Certainly, sir.”
Margaret answered, “Stars or asterism as it is often called are one of the phenomenal effects seen in rubies and sapphires, if cut as cabochon. Asterism or stars may be perceived as multiple cat’s eyes and the special effect is due to inclusions. Instead of one set of parallel inclusions there may be three intersecting at 60/120 degrees. If the stones are cut correctly, this will provide a six-rayed star in rubies or sapphires. Top quality stones are rare and valuable.”
He interrupted, “How do you judge stars?”
“In my opinion, you should look for good body color—the sacred aura,” Paul explained. “When you find one, then you know it’s an Oh my God star ruby or blue sapphire. In rubies, you are looking for top red with fine transparency, with just enough needle-like inclusions to show a good star. The color should be intense as possible and evenly distributed throughout the stone. The stone should be free from color zones or bands or distracting patches of whitish silk.”
“Any more tips?” he asked hesitantly.
“Of course, there are more,” Judith said. “A good star ruby or sapphire should be free from distracting inclusions and blemishes. In other words, the stones should be free from cracks and surface reaching fissures. There must be a fine balance between the stones transparency and quality of stars. If the stone is heavily included with needle-like inclusions, this reduces transparency and intensity of color; lack of needle-like inclusions may cause ill-defined stars. The password is if the color is intense and transparent, with sharp and complete star, with no missing or weak stars, with good shape and symmetry and near perfect finish, you have an Oh My God star ruby or sapphire. Buy it.”
The mechanical engineer looked into Judith’s eyes with excitement.
“What is the best color for ruby?” he asked eagerly.
Thomas replied, “The best color should be red with spiritual intensity, with no pink, purple, orange or brown shades. If the rubies are relatively free from inclusions and blemishes and well cut, then it’s the best, but most rubies are cut for weight. The standard shapes are oval and cushion. Mind you, some people like rubies with a slight shade of pink or orange. It’s a personal taste, and one should be sensitive and compassionate when judging ruby colors.”
He asked, “What about blue sapphires?”
“With blue sapphires, the best should be blue with no violet or green shades. Like rubies, most blue sapphires are cut for weight,” Judith said.
Inwardly, smilingly he observed the gems and jewelry collection in the office.
“I have been told that rubies and sapphires look different under different lighting. It’s hard to believe. Is it true?” he asked.
“It is,” Paul confirmed. “Rubies tend to look dull or sleepy under fluorescent lights, while blue sapphires look more vibrant under fluorescent lights. Rubies look vibrant under incandescent lights because incandescent lights contain more red wavelengths, while fluorescent light contain more blue wavelengths so blue stones look more intense under fluorescent lights. I think if rubies look red under fluorescent lighting and blue sapphires blue under incandescent lighting, the stones have passed the color test.”
He nodded.
“Can you judge the quality of rubies and sapphires by their locality?” he asked anxiously.
“Not really,” Judith replied. “Traditionally, Burmese rubies and Indian (Kashmir) sapphires were perceived the best, but you may also find poor quality stones from the same localities. So I would suggest one should judge the stones by their quality not locality. You will always find good quality rubies and sapphires from other well known sources, but at times they are sold as Burmese rubies or Indian (Kashmir) sapphires. Validating the origin of a popular locality is not perfect science. There are a few gem testing laboratories specializing in origin determination.
Occasionally, gem testing laboratories does make mistakes with origin determination.”
“What about treatments?” he asked. “Are they frequently encountered in the market?”
Peter answered, “Nearly all rubies and sapphires are treated to improve color or clarity resulting in an increase of salability and value. There are different types of treatments such as heat treatment, where the purpose is to improve color or clarity; surface diffusion treatment adds color or stars on surface only; glass filling improves color or clarity and may also add weight; shellac infilling may improve the appearance and add weight; impregnation with oils, waxes or dyes improves clarity or color; surface coating may add color; irradiation may add color and the colors but may not be permanent; beryllium treated stones may add color. Overall as long as they are properly disclosed there is nothing wrong with the treatment.”
“It’s scary,” he said, “but how do we know what we are buying?”
“Generally speaking treatments may be selectively disclosed to the consumer for fear of losing business,” Paul explained. “The fact of the matter is virtually all rubies and sapphires are heat treated, but untreated rubies and sapphires fetch good premiums if one can prove it. Only a very few sources produce good quality untreated gems.”
“Are there any synthetics?” he asked.
Judith said, “Nearly all varieties of corundum have been synthesized by different processes. The only way to identify them from their natural counterpart is by studying their inclusions, color and at times their cut and, of course, the price. They are relatively inexpensive, but if one is to judge by their color, there is a possibility of misidentifying the stones as natural.”
“What about imitations?” he asked.
Margaret answered, “There are many, but for rubies the most frequently encountered red stones are red spinel, garnets of different red shades, red tourmaline, red glass and ruby/synthetic ruby doublets. For blue sapphires you may encounter blue spinel, blue tourmaline, tanzanite, iolite, kyanite, blue glass and blue sapphire/synthetic blue sapphire doublets.”
When the compassionate boss returned he displayed extremely fine qualities of corundum varieties from his gem collection for comparison. The mechanical engineer was delighted.
“Rubies are sapphires have been known to many cultures in different ways in different times,” the compassionate boss said. “Their beauty and mystique continues to excite buyers all over the world even today, but many do not understand stones which is why they make mistakes. Perceptions about quality and locality can make a big difference. The main character defects are ignorance, panic, greed and expectations. There is a lot of froth in the stone market on perceived qualities and prices so valuations have to come to realistic levels. Buying stones may become an emotional transaction if you don’t know the facts. You should never buy them based on rumors and false promotions. Gemstones nourish the emotional component of your life. Ask your soul to guide you to the one that is best for you.”
The mechanical engineer bowed, “You’re are absolutely right, sir.”
Precious insights
- Learn the basics of the qualities and other varieties of corundum.
- Set a personal budget.
- The standard magnification for viewing gems is ten times.
- Use transmitted, reflected and fiber optic light source to view the color contrast between natural, treated, synthetic and imitation.
- Judge the overall appearance of corundum in natural skylight and artificial light source (s).
- Always judge corundum by their overall quality not locality.
- Always do your research
- All treatments should be disclosed at all levels of distribution chain.
- If doubtful, have it checked by a reputable gem testing laboratory.
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