Tag Archives: sapphire

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

Posted on February 5, 2015 by mrahm

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 →

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Pleochroic Sapphire

Posted on September 30, 2011 by mrahm

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 →

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Sapphire: A rainbow of colors

Posted on September 9, 2011 by mrahm

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 →

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