Tag Archives: sapphire

Madagascar: A gemologist’s journey (Ilakaka Sapphire Deposit)

Ilakaka was probably the most exciting mining stop for me on the entire trip. As a Gemologist, I learned about this discovery, saw pictures and videos of it in my studies, but never imagined I would ever go there. This … Continue reading

Posted in 9. September Birthstone Tidbits, Madagascar | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pleochroic Sapphire

Like most gemstones, sapphire is doubly refractive and like many doubly refractive stones, it generally shows pleochroism. Pleochroism is an optical phenomenon that is a direct result of double refraction…when a light beam splits and travels in different directions at … Continue reading

Posted in 9. September Birthstone Tidbits, Gemstone Tidbits | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Sapphire: A rainbow of colors

Sapphire is the birthstone for September, and while most people think of sapphire as being blue, sapphire is actually available in a rainbow of colors. I mentioned in my previous post that the gem species corundum is colorless in its … Continue reading

Posted in Gemstone Tidbits | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment