All of my gemstones have been identified as "mine".
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
Such accuracy!~
@Algoldprospecting8 ай бұрын
I like that one 😊
@KP-ty9yl8 ай бұрын
Though not a substitute for actual instruments, the Hodgkinson Method is my favorite "party trick" for educated guesses
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
Are you referring to what some call "visual optics"? I've heard rumours (2nd or 3rd hand from gemologists) of people doing it successfully, but not seen it myself. Sounds interesting, if only inductive.
@KP-ty9yl8 ай бұрын
@@GemologyforSchmucks Yep, visual optics! Take a stone (a synthetic ruby is a great starting point because it has a distinctive spectrum) and hold it quite close to your eye, like you’re putting in a contact lens, table toward you, with a pinpoint light source behind (a cell phone flash works well). You might need to tilt the stone or adjust the distance from your eye a bit, but you should see a number of spectra. Obviously the spectrum itself is indicative evidence. Also you can determine single or double refraction by whether the spectra bleed into one another, though this will only happen if you are looking down an/the optic axis, giving a clue to optic character. The higher the birefringence, the further the two spectra will be from one another. And since high RI means light is bent more, the spectra will be further from the center of the stone in high RI stones, and very near the center in lower RI like quartz. Another interesting effect - hydrothermal stones that show the “roiled” growth pattern that may not be evident to the naked eye will show distinctly fuzzy spectra. I consider it a mildly useful skill, but have used it to determine a “rubellite tourmaline” and an “aquamarine” were singly refractive impostors.
@FarangDoingThaiStuff8 ай бұрын
Perfect response, Peter. This will save you lots of time explaining yourself 😂
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
explaining yourself... "again".... XD ~ thanks. I sure hope so.
@rogerhargreaves22728 ай бұрын
Hey Peter, an hilarious intro. Great to see you again, hope you are well. Rog. Brilliant video btw, I can’t agree with you more.
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
Hey Rog, thanks for the comment and hope this earned a chuckle ;)
@rogerhargreaves22728 ай бұрын
@@GemologyforSchmucks Ha yea I know, people look at you oddly when you tell them that the stone in their ring is a “Light Green stone”, when they expect you to precisely identify it. 😱😂
@nooranen31788 ай бұрын
Fun video! :D But absolutely true. Don't ask identifications by pic or video.
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
Thank you ~ and yes... if we can just make it common knowledge that visual ID isn't reliable or certain, then we will have accomplished something good!~
@KP-ty9yl8 ай бұрын
You're on a roll lately!
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
I have my seasons~
@austinfreyrikrw66518 ай бұрын
Oh yeah, there are just so many gem stones that look alike superficially it’s impossible to say for certain what is what from just a photo alone, in some cases the best one can do is to rule out what it is not.
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
Definitely, which is why we have to go back to our tests. A wild guess is more dangerous than helpful.
@briangilbert38844 ай бұрын
Hi Peter- since we're talking about gemstone ID... have you ever seen a book (or other source) that gives a gem ID "flowchart?" For example, let's start with a red stone- it could be ruby, garnet, colored glass, something else. Going down my hypothetical flowchart, the Cheapest/easiest way to eliminate colored glass might be, I dunno, a 10x loupe exam to look for doughnuts (or swirls, or whatever)... etc, etc. Ending up with the only way to tell an X from a Y is a refractometer(which I have but am not confident that I'm using correctly) or polariscope (which I don't have but have faked using polarized sunglasses.) I'm never going to be an expert, or even a proper gemologist, but I do worry that I'm going to unwittingly pass on a bad stone that I bought in good faith. I'd like to be able to weed out the most obvious problem stones. Thanks as always- I love watching your videos! BG
@GemologyforSchmucks4 ай бұрын
Hallo~ the Handbook of Gem Identification by Richard Liddicoat has quite a bit of this, yes. It's old, but fortunately gemstones change much slower than we do.
@lenoraschwede2240Ай бұрын
Love this guy 😊
@GemologyforSchmucks23 күн бұрын
Thank you for your kindness and support~!
@rain33047 ай бұрын
LOL 😊 you look like me trying to figure out my rings
@GemologyforSchmucks7 ай бұрын
Cheers~ i've been in those shoes too.
@tangojuli2098 ай бұрын
I had to laugh. I get this all the time for both gems and mineral/rock specimens. I can probably identify more of the minerals/rock, than faceted gems :) A lot of minerals you can I.D. based on a few field tests. There aren't a lot of minerals that are synthesized like gems.
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
Growth structure is definitely a boon. That said~ no one knows the variety of growth structures/ crystal habit of minerals better than the miners, and who knows what one is tempted to do when the coin runs low.
@Pollenoverponds8 ай бұрын
What I really wanted to know is if the round green gem in the thumbnail is a chrome diopside cat’s eye, and if you were going to talk a little bit about chrome diopside 💚💚💚
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
What luck ~ that green stone in the thumbnail will be featured in a video here shortly. Keep your eye's peeled and your curiosity will be fed.
@Pollenoverponds8 ай бұрын
Yay thanks!
@mrmoondoggful8 ай бұрын
I get this question all the time...and my answer is always the same. If you would like a valuation of your stone, I must have it in hand to do so. It is a very simple concept...I thought at least. In my younger days, I was a pro photographer and sold high end photographic equipment. We would get calls from customers about repairs and they would say things like 'My camera stopped taking photos...do you know what is wrong and how much would it be to fix it?' *facepalm*
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
Jeepers. It sounds like you can indeed relate. On par with with making a phone call: "i'm ill, Doc... What should I take?" Give me that unicorn pill! XD Ah well ~ on the one hand, there is at least optimism in the world. On the other hand... some folk make optimism look bad.
@mrmoondoggful8 ай бұрын
Bingo! Humans gonna human lol@@GemologyforSchmucks
@Algoldprospecting8 ай бұрын
You looked confused but you never said what the stone was 😮
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
Indeed not~ as that was not the goal of the video ^_^ . I do believe I drop the identity in other episodes however, if you're keen to find out #treasurehunt
@valesialabelle48488 ай бұрын
I am a new subscriber, And I have questions about other gemstones other natural stones, I'm looking to invest in laramar, I need to know more about and how to identify fake from real, I recently found out that they have stopped Mining Laramar in 2021 because of. Cause of the The difficulty in mining and loss of life. Any knowledge that you could Provide that would be totally awesome, P s, As always sending peace love and joy your way happy new year
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
Happy New Year, and welcome to the channel. Larimar is a stone that I don't have extensive experience with, nor do I have an in depth understanding of the mining situation surrounding it. We mostly see lower grades in Bangkok.I would suggest you approach a company or dealer that specializes in this material.
@anniepoulton85018 ай бұрын
You shouldn't identify any gemstones by pictures or video
@GemologyforSchmucks8 ай бұрын
Absolutely correct, Annie. This is what I've been saying from the beginning of this channel, though some folks seem to still have SO much faith.