Sapphires

[cra61]

I took the family to NC two years ago and we ended up with nearly a pound of sapphires with our mining efforts. How do we tell if any of them are gem quality? Any thoughts?
Thank you ahead of time,
Rick

 

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[Bum Luck]

Well, they probably aren't, but I'd get a loupe and check them out with that.

 

[cra61]

Oh, I realize the odds are long. With a loupe how would I determine anything? What do I look for?

 

[Bum Luck]

Clarity primarily.

Google it up. I can't give you a class in gemology, but you can learn a lot online.

Everyone should have a loupe anyway, it really helps in checking small stuff out.

 

[StoneWhisper]

I thought the same thing.. Without a gemologest as a back up source.. or that the stoens are way to small for faceting.. You may have simple chards. Yet.. My wife and I were mining and found a muddy rock and thought nothing of it.. The stoen was approx the size of you big toe (nail) but looked very dark and muddy. The gemologest told us it was the darkest Sapphire he had ever seen.. So anything is possible.. Just look for the "oblong" type same and sturcture to the sapphire. and lets not forget that as with any stones, they can be nearly any color of the spectrum.. so what might look like a Sapphire.. coudl eb soemthing else.

 

[Eu_citzen]

As a rule of thumb I try not to cut anything smaller (rough wise) then 5 cts, or 1 gram. (although there are exceptions!)
Clarity is usually graded on a white paper in sunlight. If it is transparent, like glass, it is gem quality.
I have a picture somewhere if you want it for reference?

If it almost goes black on hitting the paper, colour saturation might be to great.
For checking out small pieces a loupe is highly recommended: 10x triplet, preferably corrected.

I'd try to get in touch with a faceter who cuts stones.