Practical Colored Stone Grading

Lesson One
Section 1 Introduction
Note: Those who took the Practical Gem ID class have seen Lesson #1 here
previously. However, it would be a good idea to review.

Welcome to the Colored Gemstone Grade Course from

YourGemologist.com. In this course we are going to learn the
practical approach to the evaluation of colored gemstones as
pertaining to quality, that being the quality of color, clarity, and cut
of the gemstone. The purpose being to understand how the value of
gemstones can vary based on the above factors. The important
point for you to remember, however, is that I cannot offer a complete listing of all of the
inclusions, for instance, that you may encounter in gemstones.... here in these 6 lessons.
What I am going to do is give you the practical application of how and what to look for.
Later in this lesson and in the remaining lessons I am going to provide some
recommendations for further study on this important topic. But I wanted you to know that
what you are going to learn here is the "how and why" of colored gemstone grading. But
that "what" will be a life long study.

We are going to start out learning a few basic concepts about what qualified a gem
material to be considered a gemstone, what goes into the making of a gemstone, why
gemstones have color. This will give you a basic foundation to understand many of the
grading factors you are going to be studying in later lessons. I hope this information will
be helpful to you. Whether you are a professional gemstone dealer or a part time
hobbyist, the ability to quickly judge a colored gemstone's quality will be important to
help you make buying decisions.

With that purpose in mind, let's go to Section 2.....

Section 2 What qualifications make a gemstone

The first question we have to ask ourselves when considering gemstone quality is: What
does it take for a material to become a gemstone in the first place? What qualities are
required for any material to be considered a gemstone. Let's look at the graphic below:
 Here are the important attributes for a
gemstone....

There are three important properties that are needed for any material to become a
gemstone. Beauty. Durability. Availability.

Let's first remember that a gem material does not have to be a stone. Many other
materials are also gems, such as amber, coral, pearls, and others. But regardless of the
source, all gem materials must possess three properties to be classified as gems. First they
must have beauty. Let's face it, if its not pretty no one will want to buy it. So the material
must have beauty.

Second, it must be durable. If it does not wear well and breaks easily it just won't make it
as a gem because it will not last. Think of some stones like kunzite that are very nice
gemstones and were once very popular, but they are very fragile. So the popularity level
greatly decreased in just a few years. They were pretty but not very durable so they have
not done very well as gemstones.

And finally, a material must be available. There must be enough of it available to create
and sustain a market. A beautiful gemstone that has a lot of durability is great, but who is
going to go to the trouble to create a demand for the stone if there is not enough of the
material available to sustain the demand by consumers. Such as was the case with Paraiba
tourmaline. The genuine material was mined for only about two years. And although
there is still material being mined that is close, none has truly duplicated the finest
Paraiba tourmaline that was mined from Brazil. A large market was started for the stone,
but there was just not enough to meet demand, and the marketability of the stone crashed.
Today it sells for very high prices, but is just not a major player in gemstone markets
because there is not enough to go around. So for a gem material to be truly a gem it must
be beautiful enough to make someone want to buy it, be durable enough to withstand a
lot of wear and tear, and be available enough to supply a large market of demand.
 Section 3. What is a gemstone?
Now here is a question that many people ask. And the answer is not what you have read
above in Section 2. Because the question is not: What makes a gemstone be considered a
gemstone? The question is: What goes in to creating a gemstone? What physically is a
gemstone made of? Ask any gemologist: What is a colorless sapphire? And you will
probably get the answer: A colorless sapphire is a corundum without coloring elements?
But that is not the answer. The answer is: A colorless sapphire is pure aluminum oxide in
crystalline form. In other words, a sapphire is a crystalline form of aluminum, like the foil
on your sandwich today, and oxygen, as in the air that you breath. In fact and indeed, that
is what a colorless sapphire is really made from Air and Aluminum Foil. Let's see how
this works.

Here is a basic sapphire

molecule...

You get one atom of aluminum and two atoms of oxygen and you get an aluminum oxide
as shown in the photograph above. Now...for all of you science majors I know that this is
something of a simplification of this concept, but remember...this is practical gem ID, not
science of gemstones so please indulge me for some of my drawings.

At any rate, above you see what starts a sapphire growing. And by growing I mean that
exactly that. When a crystal forms it literally grows. As one molecule joins to another..to
another...to another..until you get something that starts looking like this:
 Aluminum oxide molecules
joining up to form crystal

Before too long the group starts getting bigger until it is visible and an aluminum oxide
crystal forms that we call colorless corundum.

Building layer, upon layer,

upon layer...

...upon layer...upon layer...

I think you get the point. This is how crystals grow, and how many of the most popular
gemstones form. And the crystal shapes that you see on YourGemologist.com are the
same formations of the very first tiny atoms that started the gemstone crystal growing.
Now, you may be asking yourself, what does this all have to do with colored gemstone
grading? Well, the next section should tie all of this together. Because to understand the
structure of a colored gemstone to the point that you can make a quality judgement, you
have to know a little something about what you are seeing. Because in the case of colored
gemstones, what causes the color will also, in many cases, cause other features, such as
inclusions. So its important to understand the tiniest feature of the gemstone in order to
be able to grade the overall quality of the finished product. So....let's get a basic idea of
why gemstones have color, and how that can cause clarity grading issues.....

Section 4. Why do gemstones have color?

Remember the graphic below about the colorless sapphire? Well, the next important
study topic is how do we get from this colorless corundum we call white or colorless
sapphire into a red corundum we call ruby. (Note: To avoid confusion I should point out
that all other colors of corundum are called sapphire while the red color is called ruby)
This will be our study example for what gemstones have color. But the concept will apply
pretty far across the gemstone list...with a few exceptions that we will discuss later. For
now, let's consider that most gemstones in their purest state will be colorless. Such
as...colorless quartz, colorless beryl, colorless tourmaline, colorless topaz, colorless
corundum, and on down the list. Mainly because in their original state of formation there
is nothing to provide any color. For instance the colorless sapphire below. The pure state
of being of these stones, being one atom of aluminum and two atoms of oxygen, have
nothing to offer in the way of color. So what we need is an impurity to get into the
structure. Which is how most gemstones get their color...due to impurities in their
crystal structure.

Let's first take a look back at our colorless sapphire crystal. That being a colorless crystal
of corundum. You remember that it has two oxygen atoms and one aluminum atom
making up the corundum molecule.

Colorless sapphire or corundum

Now, let's imagine that in the hot mixture from which the corundum is starting to cool
and crystallize there is an ever so tiny amount of chromium running around in the mix
which attaches itself to the aluminum oxide crystal and suddenly we have a mixture of
aluminum, oxygen and chromium like this:

Add chromium to the mix and it becomes a ruby

But how does the chromium cause color in a corundum that makes it red? Well, we are
not going into the physics of how it takes 2.5eV of...well, I said we weren't going into
that didn't I. Suffice it to say that the presence of chromium causes a red color to be given
off. How, because the chromium absorbs most of the other visible wavelengths of white
light and transmits a red color that is sent to your eye. You will learn about that with the
Practical Gemstone Identification course in the spectroscope section. For now, let's just
look at the graphic below. And keep in mind the graphic of the colorless sapphire crystal
and compare it to the ruby crystal. As you will note the ruby crystal is the same chemical
make-up as the colorless sapphire except that it contains this impurity of chromium
attached to the moleculte. And this atom of chromium causes the molecule to transmit a
red color. The molecule might look something like this:
 The corundum molecule with the
chromium impurity

The crystal grows with the

chromium

Soon the crystal gets large

enough to see...
 And finally..large enough to
cut and facet a ruby...

Compare to the same colorless sapphire crystal and the ruby crystal...the only difference
is the presence of chromium to add color

While this may be a very simple demonstration of how a gemstone gets color, it is still a
very good example of how a colorless gemstone gains color. Now, if we were to do the
same demonstration above and use a double impurity of iron and titanium...we would
get a blue sapphire.

The same type of demonstration could be done with beryllium aluminum silicate. With
no impurity it is colorless beryl. But add this same chromium as above with ruby and,
viola', you get a fine green emerald. But put some uranium in that beryllium aluminum
silicate and you get golden beryl or heliodor. But put some iron in it and you get an
aquamarine. Change out the silicon from the beryllium aluminum and add oxide (O2),
throw in some chromium and you get alexandrite.

I'm getting you off into the deep end of the chemical end of gemology, but I think you all
get the point. Most gemstones are colorless in their pure state. It is the presence of
impurities that give most gemstones their individual colors.

Now, you may be asking yourself: What is the importance of studying the impurities of
gemstones that cause color? Well, for one thing, these same impurities that cause color
also cause inclusions in gemstones by which we are able to identify many of them. And
most important to our purposes here is that these inclusions can cause wide variations in
the value of the gemstone. With some inclusions aiding in the identification, and others
causing serious structural problems that you must know about when grading the stone.
For this reason you should make yourself very aware of the type of inclusions that might
be found in gemstones.

For this information I urge you to obtain a copy of PHOTOATLAS of Inclusions in

Gemstones, by E.J. Gubelin. This is the definitive reference book for the inclusions of
gemstones. And will provide you with excellent photographs of virtually all types of
inclusions that you might encounter.

Impurities tell us alot about a gemstones origin and identification

With the information provided above, you are ready to go forward with the study of
colored gemstone grading. But before you go on to Lesson 2 let's take a short exam to see
how well you have retained this information.
Practical Colored Stone Grading Lesson #2

Section 1 Introduction
The most important grading consideration for colored gemstones is color. Color is the
reason that we buy and sell colored gemstones. For without color, we would just have
colorless or white stones. But beyond just the color......the quality of the color is an
important factor when determining value. Some colored gemstones offer colors that are
more unusual, more rare, or just more beautiful than others. Which is why your first
consideration when grading any colored gemstone will be: color. But you should
remember that everyone sees color just a little bit differently. Which is why American
Gem Society appraisers holding the title of Certified Gemologist Appraiser must take
color vision tests every few years. To insure that the colors they are seeing are accurate.
This will not affect us here since we are dealing with what you percieve as color. But you
should remember that all eyes are a little different when it comes to the perception of
color.

Now, the most important pointer that I can give you regarding the grading of colored
gemstones is to have the concepts in your mind so that you can make your judgment call
quickly, and without having to go through a written check list. With a little practice, you
should be able to look at the color of a gemstone and go through a mental checklist to
decide the quality of the color very quickly. To do that, let's take a look at that mental
checklist:
 Section 2 Depth of
Color
Look at the image above of the five blue topaz stones. Notice that the colors run from
dark blue to light blue. This will be your first step in making a grading call on a colored
gemstone....to determine the depth of color. Now some of the gemological institutes go
into great detail regarding this topic, and if you decide to take the courses offered by the
various gem schools you will certainly learn these aspects of color grading. But for our
purposes we want to be as practical and quick as we can. To do this we need to develop a
method of determining the depth of color in a quick and simple fashion.

To do this, we will set forth five basic colored gemstone color elements. That being, five
levels of color that we will establish in our minds, one of which we can set as the color
we are seeing in a stone.

For instance, look again at the five blue topaz above. The stone on the far left is dark
blue. The stone on the far right is light blue. With the stone in the middle could be
described as medium blue. This gives us our scale by which we will set our judgments of
colored gemstones. With the second colors on each side being modified by the others.

Therefore, our blue colored gemstone scale will look like this:

Of course the same scale system can be applied to any color of gemstone you might
encounter. For instance:
I think you get the point. But before we go on I need to make one comment for those
enrolled in the GIA Colored Stone courses, and others who might be in other gemological
classes....

What we are dealing with here is a practical approach to assessing color based on what
goes on in your mind, not on paper. On paper there is a system, such as the GIA
nomenclature, whereby colors are listed based on the Hue, Tone and Saturation. Which is
a good method to set forth on paper what the colors might be, so that others can know
what we are talking about. But for our purposes here, we are dealing with how you can
establish a mental protocol for making a judgment call on the color of a gemstone for
yourself. And if you will get in your head the Dark, Medium Dark, Medium Medium
Light, and Light color scale so that you can make a quick mental call as to what you are
looking at, this will make the process quicker. And if you go to the GIA or elsewhere,
you can learn how to apply this concept on paper using other terms.
Now, let's try a few examples and see how you do. On a separate sheet of paper write
down your color grades for the four gemstones shown below. List them according to the
color scales above based on your mental grading. Honor system here. Write them down
and then we will see how you did.

-waiting

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-waiting

Ok, before we go on I have to say that since we are dealing with colors on a computer
screen everyone's answers may not be the same. Just as your eye's interpret colors
differently, so do computers. So if anyone gets something really different don't get
rattled. It may just be the way your computer is interpreting the colors.

With that said here is the color grades based on our scales above:

Medium Dark Purple, Dark Yellow, Light Blue, and Medium Red. Remember, we are not
dealing with any aspect of these stones other than color.

Now, two very important point here that we need to stop and talk about. First, did you
have a problem with the yellow stone? We will talk about that in a minute. First, did you
notice that the blue and red colors had different backgrounds? There is a reason for that.
Its because certain colors will show better against certain types of background. Which is
why, if you have ever purchased a loose ruby, it is shown in a yellow stone paper. The
reason being that the yellow stone paper will show the red color better. Here is a little test
to show you this. Look at the graphic below. Notice that the red rectangle in the yellow
background has a lighter, more "red" color red the one with the white background which
looks at bit off. The problem is, they are both the same. The red just looks a bit more red
to your eye with the yellow background. Now look at the aqua colored rectangle below
the red. Again, the aqua rectangle in the blue background looks more "aqua" than the one
with the white background. But again, they are the same.

The point here is that you should be aware that colors of gemstones can vary based on
where you are seeing it. And some very knowledgable stone dealers are aware of this,
and will be sure to use colored stone papers to show loose stones with. Nothing wrong
with it, but you should know that the ruby looks more brilliant red to you than it will in a
ring. And if you sell a ruby to a consumer in a yellow paper, they could think that you
switched it when they see it set in the ring. So be aware of the color difference based on
the environment in which you are looking.

Now, on to why you had some trouble with the yellow stone.

Section 2 Combination of Colors

Notice the two stones shown above. One has a nice even purple color, while the other has
a combination of colors. The yellow one is said to have modifying colors. Meaning that it
offers two colors that your eyes can see at the same time. This will often happen with
gemstones, and it is important that you are able to recognize this when making your color
grading determination.

In the case of the yellow stone above you have a specific light yellow color and a specific
brown color. In this case you could not give the stone a specific place on your color chart
because the stone offers more than one color. In this case you would have to think in
terms of the dominant color, and the modifying color. That being the general overall
color that the stone presents, and the color that is present to a lesser extent.

In the case of the stone above, the majority of the surface of the stone offers a brown
color, with a smaller portion offering a yellow color. Therefore, the color of this stone
would be called yellowish Brown. And you should see it as such for your color grading
consideration. Let's try a couple of examples and see how you do. What would be the
dominant color and the modifying color of the following gemstones?

Did you get yellowish green for the first, and yellowish orange for the second. Let's take
a look at them and see what we have. In the graphic below I have put arrows to the colors
in the gemstones. These are the areas of different colors that exist with each, and should
give you an idea of where to look for the colors. And remember, this thought process
should go through your mind in an instant. Which is why you should practice with
gemstones that you have to get as fasat as you can at recognizing these dominant and
modifying colors.
 #2 is
dominant green, #1 is modifying yellow

#1 is dominant orange, #2 is modifying

yellow

Now that you have seen that gemstones can have one color or a combination of colors,
let's look at the quality of color. That being the overall appeal of the color that the
gemstone has to offer.
 Section 2. Quality of Color
Once again, look at the two gemstones shown in the image above. What do you
immediately see? The purple gemstone has a nice even color, while the blue gemstone
has some darker areas and lighter areas. This has to do with the quality of the color based
on the presence of darker or lighter regions of colors known as color zones or color
bands.

Color zones are areas where a gemstone shows a deeper or light color than the overall
color of the gemstone. A color zone may be large or small, but will show a region of
color differential rather than a specific line. A color band will be a distinct line of lighter
or darker color, or perhaps no color, that will run through a stone.

Two important notes to keep in mind. First, many gemstones will have minor color
zoning. And a good gem cutter will be able to make that zone virtually impossible to see
when the stone is viewed through the table or top of the stone. Which is why you should
always color grade a colored gemstone through the table. Because this is where the color
will be seen by the wearer. A color band or zone that shows only through the bottom of
the stone should make for a somewhat lesser price, but should not be a reason to reject an
otherwise beautiful gemstone.

The second important note is to consider the lighting environment in which you are
looking. Look at the sapphire below. At the left is the stone shown through dark field
illumination. This is the type of lighting you use to clarity grade stones since it shows
internal characteristics. However, this type of lighting is not good for color grading
because it causes the coloring elements to be less visible. Compare this photograph to the
one on the right. Notice how much easier you can see the color zone (#1) and the color
band (#2) in the photograph on the right than the one on the left.

For this reason you should use transmitted light only for color grading your gemstone.
Never dark field illumination. Let's look at another example of color banding shown
below. Again, using transmitted light you can see the distinct bands of color running
through the stone. In this case, a green sapphire with very distinct color bands with bands
of no color at all. Making this a very inexpensive sapphire due to this banding being so
visible directly through the table.

So always look for a stone that presents a nice, even color through the table. This will be
your best quality for color. But there is still a couple of additional considerations we need
to look at regarding color.

Section 3. Other Types of Color

Notice the cabochon of charoite shown above. This stone offers a combination of colors
running throughout the stone that vary in swirling bands. This type of coloring is know as
mottled colors. Meaning that the colors are all mixed up and swirled together.

Another example is shown below with the nephrite jade. With this stone you see mostly
green with black occurring in various areas. Another type of mottled color.
Below you see one more type....banded color, in this piece of rhodochrosite. Notice that
in banded coloring you have specific colors running across the stone in bands. Other
types of gemstones that can offer banded colors are malachite and onyx, among others.

And finally, remember that many gemstones will occur in a variety of colors. Just as the
sapphires shown below. You should always be aware of the types of colors that
gemstones can occur in to be sure that you do not miss a rare or unusual type of coloring
should one be offered to you.

I hope you enjoyed this section on Gemstone Colors. Next we go to the Evaluation of
Gemstone Cut.
Evaluation of Cut
Practical Colored Stone Grading Lesson #3

Section 1 Introduction
You can have a colored stone with the most beautiful color in the world, but without a
proper cut it will still look like something less than it should. The art of the gemstone
cutter is to bring out the maximum beauty in a stone. For without proper cutting, the
finest gemstone can look dull. This is why we are going to talk about cut as the second
most important feature of a colored gemstone. Because without a proper cut, the beauty
and value of the stone will not be fully realized.

You can see some of the various types of cuttin styles shown at the top of this page.
These will certainly be familiar to you as far as shape. But being able to analyze the cut
for grading is something else. For that we need to format a method of evaluation based on
features within the cut. To do that, let's first learn the parts of the gemstone.....
 Section 2 The parts of the
gemstone
Let's first take a look at the parts of the gemstone. If you will look at the graphic above
you will see the basic parts of a colored gemstone named. Of course there are many types
of gemstone cuts, but we are going to stick with the basics for the purposes of this course.

First you will see the shoulder of the stone. This is the outer part or curve that is shown
by the arrow. As you can see, pear cut stones will have two shoulders, ovals will have
four, and rounds will have none.

Next is the table. This is the big flat top of the stone. And is really a big facet, but is
called a table for obvious reasons.

The point is pretty well self-explanatory.

And the girdle is the area where the bottom of the stone meets the top. Like a diamond,
the girdle of the gemstone should be thick enough to protect the stone from chipping
when the prongs are put in place, but no so thick as to add extra weight and take away
from the light passage through the stone.

The facets are all of the reflecting surfaces that give the stone the glitter and controls how
light travels through the stone.

And the keel line is the bottom of the stone, just like the keel of a boat. This should be
straight and of a size that helps protect the bottom of the stone from chipping.
Section 3 Symmetry of Gemstone Cut
The symmetry of a gemstone deals with the uniform shape of the stone, and is the most
important aspect of cut. If its a circle, how perfect is the circle. An oval? How perfect is
the oval. This is very important to the visual appeal of the stone as much as the color
uniformity.

For our purposes here we are going to look at four gemstones for their symmetry. And
see if you can find which one's have problems....
 

#1
Here we have four oval gemstones. Before we move o
good symmetry and which do not....based strictly on y
but let's take each one individually and compare it to
 

#2
Let's draw a blue line around stone number one. The p
the stone outline. This stone has a nice general symme
 

#3
By taking the same blue oval from the purple stone w
parts of the shoulders extend beyond the blue line, and
stone has very poor symmetry. On to the red stone.....
 

#4
More problems here. While the oval is even at the mid
the shoulders, with bulges occuring in uneven places
cutting job here.
 

#5
Now this is a nicely cut stone. Basically even all the w
beyond the blue line. A fairly nice and symmetrical cu
 

#6
Look back again at the four gemstones. What you sho
the two bottom stones. When viewing a colored gems
mental evaluations. Something that you can look at an
symmetry problems.
  

Next let's look at the gemstone from the side angl

that you need to look out for. At top (#1) is a ston
the stone weigh more, but generally will take awa
stone. Also, if you notice the area below the table
area is outlined in red). The amount of this is call
estimation if you are doing this by measurement.
stone, which due to gemstones being sold by the w
the beauty of the stone.

At bottom (#3) you see a stone that is what I call

use this type of cut when they have a piece of rou
With this shallow cut the stone will look much bi
stone like this in a bezel type mounting, for instan
(heavier) than it really is since from the top it loo
inspect a stone from all angles before you decide

 Section 4 Polish and Finish

 

Our next consideration will be polish. How smooth and even are
scratches or wheel marks? Let's look at the stone at left. Not hard
what other problems do you see with the polish and cut of this sto
  

Well, in #1 you can see the that the keel line is somewhat crooke
than necessary. But look also at #3. Can you see the lines that run
polishing wheel. And these lines mean that someone was in a rea
not be on a stone that has been properly polished. Let's look at an

Perhaps the most noticable part of this stone is the wheel marks as shown abov
This is a good indication that you are indeed seeing wheel marks and not wear
facets are cut individually on a cutter and polishing wheel. And as a result the d
So when you see these lines all running different directions you can be pretty s
And this speed can cause the stone to get too hot and get little cracks running i
wheel marks on a stone.
  

During the course of normal most gemstones get tiny dings a

extreme case). This is due to the softness of the stones (as com
junctions are the most exposed areas of the stone. These can b
occur in new stones that have not been cut with proper care. H

Notice that the peridot at left appears to be a fairly nicely cut stone. The sym
nice. However, there is an unknown that you are not seeing except with clos
been worn. But the cutter got in hurry while finishing the stone out and did s
image...

...............................................................................................................................................................................

Under 10x magnification you see what appears to be three lines of abraided
that has been abraided during the polishing or cutting of the stone. And due
far more than it is. However, since this is a new stone this is a fairly serious
the stone.

 
  Section 5 Windowing of Gemstone
 

Finally, let's look at this peridot which has its own problems. What is the fir
That is the open part through which you see no color. Gemstones should be
see here, its defeats the purpose of the colored gemstone.....to show color. A
very quickly.

But what else is there here? Scratches on the table. This stone has very large
they all go the same direction, you most likely have wheel marks. Because if you have a wear and tear issue, i
ways across the table.

Important Tip from a YourGemologist Guru

When I look at polish as a custom faceter I try to get all the oil or other foreign matter off the
stone. This is much harder when faceting because polish is usually accomplished with very
small diamonds or an oxide in oil or water. Oil is especially difficult to clean completely and
very minute quantities will often leave oil lines that can be difficult to tell from scratches. There
is nearly always enough oil on your fingers to leave lines on a stone. **Thorough **cleaning is
the first step. Inspect polish in "half light". Too bright a light will obscure small scratches. Too
dark and you can not see scratches either, in between at just the right angle you can see any
scratches of the depth allowed by your loupe. If you have doubts about whether something is a
scratch or oil line clean again then wipe with a lint free cloth or tissue 90 degrees from
"scratch". Oil lines if any will be aligned with the last direction you wiped. Scratches of course
will not change orientation.

Most competition and custom faceters use two lighting systems for gem inspection. Meetpoints
can be seen best
with a broad source light. Scratches are best seen with a pinpoint source. Inclusions are a
different matter and require another skill set and much practice to see the very smallest ones.

BTW 10x loupe is the standard for judging, inspection and faceting. Many competition faceters
are using 15x to 30x loupes or machine mounted microscopes to give themselves an edge. I
think this may be overkill for meetpoints and polish.

Dan Clayton
 Section 5 A Cut Grading System
Now that you have seen the various cut grading issues let's look at the cut grading
system. Remember, this is designed to be a simple system that you keep in your head, not
on paper. Because if you start thinking in these terms when you look at a gemstone you
will mentally do the cut grading without having to do a lot of math.

Notice on the symmetry, the importance is placed on how quickly you can see the "out of
roundness" of the stone. And this should apply to a 360 degree view of the stone. Look to
see if the keel line is straight, not too long and not to short to give the stone a nice
symmetrical view. Make sure the girdle is symmetrical, regardless of whether it is round,
square, oval or whatever. And make sure the table of the stone is parallel to the girdle.
These are all points that go into the overall symmetry of the gemstone.

Next, look at the finish or polish. Again, its is based on how quickly you can see any of
the polish features. Do you need magnification to see any polish problems? Or do they
stand out at you without magnification? See the scale below and remember that the level
or grade depends on how well and how quickly you can see the polish features.

And finally, check for the windowing of the stone. Does it have a big clear hole in it
when you look though it? Consider the overall view of the stone as being 100%, that is
100% of the stone surface looking down through the table. Then, look to see how much
of that 100% is taken up by the window. The smaller the better. But if the window is very
big, calculate in your mind how much of that stone's surface appears to be in the window.
Then make your call accordingly. This entire cut grading consideration should take you
about 2 minutes once you get some practice.

However, it is very difficult to practice on internet images. So I urge you to practice,

practice, practice anytime and every time you get a chance to hold a colored gemstone in
your hand. Below is a definition list of the cut grading terms:
Important Note: Gemstones should be cut in calibrated sizes. Those being sizes
that are standard in the industry. Such as a 9 x 7 mm or 5 x 7 mm, etc... The reason?
Because jewelry mounting manufacturers make their jewelry to fit these standard
calibrated sizes. If you buy gemstones that are of an odd size, you will have to have the
mountings custom made, which will significantly increase the cost of the mounting. So
be sure when you are grading for cut that you remember to check the mm size of the
stone to insure it has been cut to a calibrated size.

Now, go back up to the ruby picture at the top of the page and see a nicely cut colored
gemstone. Notice there is no window, a nice symmetry, and an overall nice presentation
of color. This is a good example. The art of gemstone cutting is just that....an art. Being
able to bring out the best that a colored gemstone has to offer takes many years to learn.
But it is a trade worth learning if you are considering gemstone cutting. Next, let's go to
the evaluation of gemstone clairity.

Evaluation of Cut
Practical Colored Stone Grading Lesson #3

Section 1 Introduction
You can have a colored stone with the most beautiful color in the world, but without a
proper cut it will still look like something less than it should. The art of the gemstone
cutter is to bring out the maximum beauty in a stone. For without proper cutting, the
finest gemstone can look dull. This is why we are going to talk about cut as the second
most important feature of a colored gemstone. Because without a proper cut, the beauty
and value of the stone will not be fully realized.

You can see some of the various types of cuttin styles shown at the top of this page.
These will certainly be familiar to you as far as shape. But being able to analyze the cut
for grading is something else. For that we need to format a method of evaluation based on
features within the cut. To do that, let's first learn the parts of the gemstone.....
 Section 2 The parts of the
gemstone
Let's first take a look at the parts of the gemstone. If you will look at the graphic above
you will see the basic parts of a colored gemstone named. Of course there are many types
of gemstone cuts, but we are going to stick with the basics for the purposes of this course.

First you will see the shoulder of the stone. This is the outer part or curve that is shown
by the arrow. As you can see, pear cut stones will have two shoulders, ovals will have
four, and rounds will have none.

Next is the table. This is the big flat top of the stone. And is really a big facet, but is
called a table for obvious reasons.

The point is pretty well self-explanatory.

And the girdle is the area where the bottom of the stone meets the top. Like a diamond,
the girdle of the gemstone should be thick enough to protect the stone from chipping
when the prongs are put in place, but no so thick as to add extra weight and take away
from the light passage through the stone.

The facets are all of the reflecting surfaces that give the stone the glitter and controls how
light travels through the stone.

And the keel line is the bottom of the stone, just like the keel of a boat. This should be
straight and of a size that helps protect the bottom of the stone from chipping.
Section 3 Symmetry of Gemstone Cut
The symmetry of a gemstone deals with the uniform shape of the stone, and is the most
important aspect of cut. If its a circle, how perfect is the circle. An oval? How perfect is
the oval. This is very important to the visual appeal of the stone as much as the color
uniformity.

For our purposes here we are going to look at four gemstones for their symmetry. And
see if you can find which one's have problems....

Important Tip from a YourGemologist Guru

When I look at polish as a custom faceter I try to get all the oil or other foreign matter off the stone.
This is much harder when faceting because polish is usually accomplished with very small
diamonds or an oxide in oil or water. Oil is especially difficult to clean completely and very minute
quantities will often leave oil lines that can be difficult to tell from scratches. There is nearly
always enough oil on your fingers to leave lines on a stone. **Thorough **cleaning is the first step.
Inspect polish in "half light". Too bright a light will obscure small scratches. Too dark and you can
not see scratches either, in between at just the right angle you can see any scratches of the depth
allowed by your loupe. If you have doubts about whether something is a scratch or oil line clean
again then wipe with a lint free cloth or tissue 90 degrees from "scratch". Oil lines if any will be
aligned with the last direction you wiped. Scratches of course will not change orientation.

Most competition and custom faceters use two lighting systems for gem inspection. Meetpoints can
be seen best
with a broad source light. Scratches are best seen with a pinpoint source. Inclusions are a different
matter and require another skill set and much practice to see the very smallest ones.

BTW 10x loupe is the standard for judging, inspection and faceting. Many competition faceters are
using 15x to 30x loupes or machine mounted microscopes to give themselves an edge. I think this
may be overkill for meetpoints and polish.

Dan Clayton

Section 5 A Cut Grading System

Now that you have seen the various cut grading issues let's look at the cut grading
system. Remember, this is designed to be a simple system that you keep in your head, not
on paper. Because if you start thinking in these terms when you look at a gemstone you
will mentally do the cut grading without having to do a lot of math.

Notice on the symmetry, the importance is placed on how quickly you can see the "out of
roundness" of the stone. And this should apply to a 360 degree view of the stone. Look to
see if the keel line is straight, not too long and not to short to give the stone a nice
symmetrical view. Make sure the girdle is symmetrical, regardless of whether it is round,
square, oval or whatever. And make sure the table of the stone is parallel to the girdle.
These are all points that go into the overall symmetry of the gemstone.

Next, look at the finish or polish. Again, its is based on how quickly you can see any of
the polish features. Do you need magnification to see any polish problems? Or do they
stand out at you without magnification? See the scale below and remember that the level
or grade depends on how well and how quickly you can see the polish features.

And finally, check for the windowing of the stone. Does it have a big clear hole in it
when you look though it? Consider the overall view of the stone as being 100%, that is
100% of the stone surface looking down through the table. Then, look to see how much
of that 100% is taken up by the window. The smaller the better. But if the window is very
big, calculate in your mind how much of that stone's surface appears to be in the window.
Then make your call accordingly. This entire cut grading consideration should take you
about 2 minutes once you get some practice.

However, it is very difficult to practice on internet images. So I urge you to practice,

practice, practice anytime and every time you get a chance to hold a colored gemstone in
your hand. Below is a definition list of the cut grading terms:
Important Note: Gemstones should be cut in calibrated sizes. Those being sizes
that are standard in the industry. Such as a 9 x 7 mm or 5 x 7 mm, etc... The reason?
Because jewelry mounting manufacturers make their jewelry to fit these standard
calibrated sizes. If you buy gemstones that are of an odd size, you will have to have the
mountings custom made, which will significantly increase the cost of the mounting. So
be sure when you are grading for cut that you remember to check the mm size of the
stone to insure it has been cut to a calibrated size.

Now, go back up to the ruby picture at the top of the page and see a nicely cut colored
gemstone. Notice there is no window, a nice symmetry, and an overall nice presentation
of color. This is a good example. The art of gemstone cutting is just that....an art. Being
able to bring out the best that a colored gemstone has to offer takes many years to learn.
But it is a trade worth learning if you are considering gemstone cutting. Next, let's go to
the evaluation of gemstone clairity.

Practical Colored Stone Grading Lesson #4

 Section 1
Introduction
As we studied in Lesson 1, most colored gemstones will, by nature, have inclusions.
Sometimes the level of inclusions is slight, sometimes it is a lot. But the fact that the
stone has impurities in it that cause color means that it will most likely have some kind of
inclusion. It is rare that a colored gemstone will not have inclusions, although it does
happen in some types as we will see below.

The study of inclusions is a huge field of gemology. Because there are so many different
types, and they can offer so many different looks. In the photograph above, for example,
its hard to believe that the photographs on the right is actually a close up of the rutile
inclusions in the quartz stone on the left. The one on the right looks like a limp broom,
but is actually rutile needles as photographed under 30x magnification.

This is just one demonstration of the wonder of gemstone inclusions. We are not going to
try to cover them all here....it would take hundreds of pages. But we will cover how to
look for them, and how to evaluate gemstones based on the impact they have on the
beauty of the stone.

Section 2 A Clarity Grading System

Gemstones will usually fall into one of three categories regarding clarity grade. The first
will be gemstones such as topaz that usually have no inclusions at all. And even slight
inclusions will have a significant impact on their value.
The second will be stones such as peridot and amethyst, which normally will show some
inclusions but none that significantly take away from the beauty of the stone.

And the third contains stones such as emerald and pink tourmaline, that always have
inclusions to some degree. And it will take a significant amount of inclusions to have
much of an impact on value at all. Examples of these three are shown below.

Here is a partial list of the gemstones and the categories to which they belong. Please
note that the placement of some of these is a matter of debate among gemologists. So if
you find one that you believe should be in another category.....that is perfectly acceptable.
I have not seen any gemological institute agree with another which category all of these
should be in.

 Category 1 Category 2 Category 3

Gemstones Gemstones Gemstones
 Diamond  Garnet (varies) Emeralds
Spinel Sapphire Ruby
Diopside  Peridot  Pink Tourmaline
 Kunzite  Green Tourmaline  Garnets (varies)
 Topaz  Amethyst  
 Aquamarine Iolite  
Citrine  Andalusite  
 Tanzanite  Zircon  

From these three categories you can break the level of inclusions down further. That
being to levels within the expected category. For our purposes we will call these levels
as:
Here is a graphic to demonstrate the level of inclusions for each level of grading. This
will give you a general idea of what each means:

Obviously, if you have a topaz from Category 1 that falls in the Medium Included range,
this will affect the topaz price far greater than a ruby from Category 3 that is medium
included will affect the ruby price. And by the same logic, a ruby that is normally in the
Medium Included range that has an actual grade in the Very Lightly Included, will
command a significantly higher price per carat due to the higher clarity grade. So you
have to consider what levels of inclusions should normally be expected, and then
determine the impact that the clarity grade will have on the value of the stone.

These terms are rather general, but if you keep them in mind when observing a gemstone
you will be able to make a quick determination of the clarity quality. Basically, your
mind should think in the following order when considering gemstone clarity:

 What level or category of inclusions would this gemstone normally have?

 Of that category, where would this gemstone grade on the inclusion level scale?
 Based on the category, and the level of actual inclusions, does the gemstone rate
the price being asked for the stone?

When looking at a gemstone for purchase, these three questions should run through your
mind in about 2 seconds once you get experience in grading colored gemstones. But it
takes practice. Now, let's go look at some of the things you will be looking for............
 Section 3 Clarity
Features
As you remember in the section on color grading, the type of lighting environment you
use is very important. But with clarity grading, the lighting you need is just the opposite
from color grading. You may remember that color grading is best done in transmitted
light, such as was the case with the color zoning of the blue sapphire. The dark field did
not show the color features properly.
Well, the opposite is true for clarity. An example is shown below. Look at the first
photograph showing the pink tourmaline with the needle inclusions. Notice the first
photograph on the left is in transmitted light while the second on the right is in dark field
illumination. This is why you need to be able to see the stone in dark field if possible.
There are dark field loupes available here on YourGemologist.com. (sorry, rare that I put
in a commercial but these dark field loupes really do work well for loose colored
gemstones and diamonds)

Since we are on the topic of these needle inclusions let's talk about them. Needle
inclusions like this occur in tourmaline, ruby, and a variety of other stones. If they are
straight that is a good indication that the stone is natural. Because some synthetics have
curved striations that can look like needles...but the are indeed curved. So these needles
can help for a number of reasons. But most important this type of inclusion will usually
be so small as not to be noticeable in most gemstones. Unless, of course, you walk
around with a dark field loupe in your pocket and show your friends. You can see the 30x
photograph below that these needles are rather remarkable to look at as the intersect at
about a 60 degree angle (#1) and extend three dimensionally into the stone(#2), as shown
in the image below.

Some inclusions offer some interesting insights into the formation of the stone. As is the
case with the green sapphire shown below.This stone exhibits the results of tiny included
crystals that causes internal strain in the stone, and the stone to fracture. The fracture
partially healed up as the crystal grew, leaving the area you see below, and at the arrow in
the second photograph under this one. The study of inclusions is a fascinating journey
into the interior structure of gemstones. It is unfortunate that we do not have the means to
deal deeper into this subject here. Perhaps as our resources grow we can do more in the
study of gemstone inclusions. Until then, let's take a look at a few more that we do have
available...

#1 shows healed
fracture
 #1 shows close-up
view of area
In some cases you may see inclusions and wonder what the possible impact will be on
future wear. For the most part, anything that can happen to a stone due to inclusions has
already happened in the few million years since it formed, and certainly during the rough
time that it endured during the cutting process. But it can be fun to know what you are
seeing to be able to identify what types of inclusions you have. For this reason you
should continue your study of inclusions through many of the excellent resource books
that are available on the subject.
Some nice examples are shown below of some interesting inclusions. For instance, in the
photograph below you see inclusions in garnet. Some are rounded while some have a
more rectangle shape.

What you are see in #1 below is gas bubbles, that actually contain some of the gas from
the environment that this garnet formed in. The rectangular shape in #2 is a small
included crystal. You can usually differentiate gas bubbles from included crystals by
looking at the shape. Sharp edges as you see here will usually mean included crystals.
Let's look at a few more types of inclusions before we move on to other areas....

Brazilian emerald
Somewhat known for the dark inclusions, Brazilian emerald offers some exciting
inclusions as shown above. The dark spots are actually mica inclusions. If you notice the
white form at #2, this is on the surface. This is a small cavity that has been filled with oil,
and the oil is starting to seep out. Most of you have seen the following panel on
Colombian emerald 3-phase inclusions here on YourGemologist.com but I wanted to
include it anyway as a refresher....
Here is a strange one shown below. This inclusion in tanzanite looks exactly like a laser
drill hole in a laser treated diamond. But this is actually a natural inclusion in tanzanite
that has caused more than one novice gemologist to call the stone "laser drilled".

Natural inclusion in
tanzanite
And finally, below is a ruby that is so heavily included that it just looks solid red as you
can see in the image below. This stone is a fairly nice red color, but is so included that it
looks solid. But under magnification....
You can see below at #1 that the stone has areas of transparency. Meaning you can
indeed see through it. Base as shown by #2, the stone is so heavily included with veil like
inclusions that it is almost opaque without magnification. Due to the nature of chromium
in gemstones, almost all gemstones colored with chromium will be medium to heavily
included. Such as emerald, pink tourmaline and ruby. But rarely to the extent that you see
below.

And finally, let's talk a few minutes about strain. Internal strain is one feature that you
should look for when it is in conjunction with a fracture in the stone. Strain within a stone
is an area where the crystal has either fractured from stress, or a place that a fracture
could occur. For this reason you need to know what strain will look like. First, here is the
panel from YourGemologist.com on strain and its identification through a polariscope.
Now, here is a fairly nice alexandrite shown below. Notice the circular pattern in the
stone and the slight coloration in that area. This is an area of intense strain in this stone.
And the stone could break in this area during the setting process. The important point
here is that, once again, you need to look at the stone in both transmitted light and dark
field illumination, and from different directions. Why? Look at the next image....

Below you see the strain colors vividly. This rainbow effect will alway be a very strong
indication that you have a stone with a lot of internal stress that could cause the stone to
come apart when a prong is pressed down on it during the setting process. Here is another
look at the next image....
Here is a 30x microphotograph of the strain showing quite vividly the stress inside this
stone. The small stress fractures are extending out from the strained area, and this
could...not will but could...cause the stone to break during the setting process. Some to
look out for when shopping for colored gemstones.

That is the general overview of the practical aspects of grading colored gemstones for
clarity. If you will keep in mind the levels of clarity, and do some further study on the
nature of inclusions, you should have no problem making good decisions on colored
gemstone buying. Now, let's take some time and look at some of the more unusual stones
you might find.
Practical Colored Stone Grading Lesson #5

Section 1 Introduction
The subject of how stars and cat's eyes are generated by gemstones is pretty well covered
in other areas of YourGemologist.com. So we will not spend time on the subject here. I
would, however, recommend that you review those sections to insure that you understand
how these phenomena are made.

For our purposes, we are going to study how to grade the results. What makes a good star
and what makes a bad star. Which is where we will start...with star stones..sometimes
known as asterism.

Section 2 Evaluation of Star

Gemstones
Let's first look at a couple of bad examples....so you will appreciate the good one's later.
Just above on the left you see what one dealer is calling a star ruby. Although this is more
purple sapphire in color, look at the stone. First, it is significantly out of shape for
symmetry with elongated shape and uneven sides. Next, look at the brown discoloration
shown what is most likely an iron deposit inside the stone. And finally, look how off
center the stone is, and how off shape the star appears. Cheap stone, bad quality, who
wants it?
Now below is what this same dealer is calling a star sapphire. Notice that the stone is
considerably out of symmetry. The top part is bulging in size compared to the bottom.
You can see very dramatic color banding in the middle and throughout the stone. And the
stare is off center and misshaped. You can also see the same brown iron deposits in
varisou places around the stone. This is what I refer to as a dog stone. Now, let's look at a
nice star and compare........

Dog Stone for sure

Below you see a very nice black star sapphire. This stone is even in color and the star is
well formed. The star is in the middle of the stone and is of symmetrical shape. This is a
nice star stone and one you can use as a good example. But one thing you should know
about star gemstones....they are not always as pretty on the bottom. Remember they only
get graded on the top of the stone. As you can see in the next image, this stone looked
pretty bad from the bottom, but since this side is never seen, this should not be a
consideration unless it is bad enough to show from the side or top.

Top and bottom of same

stone

Ther are other types of stones that also offer stars. Such as the diopside shown below
with the four rayed star. You should remember that sapphires will have 6 rays and
diopside will have 4 in case someone trying to deal you some 4 rayed sapphires. There is
no such thing.
 Star Diopside
Here is an example of a star ruby, although this stone may well be purple enough to be a
purple sapphire. The photographs on the internet sometimes come out a bit skewed for
color. But you can still see the nicely formed 6 ray star. But not the black dots in the
stone, this will count off in price rather quickly.

Star ruby
And finally, two very unusual opals. One with three rays and one with 6. I was able to
photograph these at the Tucson Gem Show in 2001. They are very rare and very, very
expensive. So if you ever see a star opal at a reasonable price, first know that they do
exist, and second buy it. You may not see another one for many years to come. Now....on
to the cat's eye.....
 Section 3 Cat's Eyes
Here we will start out with a good example. Notice the chrysoberyl cat's eye at the above
left. This is a very nice example. The stone is fairly clear or translucent. The eye is well
formed and well placed across the top of the stone. The color is even. and the overall
appeal is very classic for a honey colored chrysoberyl cat's eye.

As you may have read here on YourGemologist.com, cat's eyes form when light travels
down a single path in a gemstone, created by inclusions that are all lined up in the same
direction. And the light travels perpendicular to the inclusions. Which is very important
to assure that the eye will be straight and not curved.

As you can see with the enstatite cat's eye below, beside it is a 30x microphotograph of
the needle inclusions that cause the light to travel perpendicular to them, thereby making
the eye. And notice how nice and straight the eye is.

Now here comes the cool part of grading these cat's eyes...seeing them open and close.
The best quality stones will have a nice open and closing of the eye when you rotate the
stone under a single light source. Again, below you see the enstatite eye at open and
close.....
Here is another example of the cat eye opening and closing. You may have seen this one
on the pages of YourGemologist.com but I thought it was worth placing here for your
observation....remember, the finer quality cat's eyes will open and close just like these
do...

But what about some dog stones for cat's eyes...we have them too. Below you see on the
left a cat eye opal. Which is fairly rare, but look at the eye. It is broken up and shows in
three differenet bands. This is not a good thing to have since the eye is not sharp and well
defined. And finally, on the right hand side you see the dog of all dog stone cat's eyes.
This is a heavily included apatite that has been cut with a huge bulge in the middle. The
result is that the inclusions create the cat's eye effect more due to the cutting of the
heavily included stone, that due to nature. This is a very big and very, very cheap stone
that is being offered as a big cat's eye stone.....so far there are no takers.

A pair of real dogs...

And finally, do not confuse cats' eye with tiger eye. As you can see the tiger eye is a form
of quartz with a lot of asbestos fibers inside. (no danger so don't panic) The tiger eye is
caused by basically the same reason as a cat eye, but the result is far different with the
lighter colors simply being bands of reflection across the top of the stone, rather than a
true cat eye.
And now, one to some more interesting and unusual stones in our final lesson.........

Practical Colored Stone Grading Lesson #6

Section 1 Introduction
In this final lesson we will look at some more of the unusual gemstones...but this list is by
no means complete. There is a world of strange and unusual gemstones out there, and I
hope you will continue your effort to seek out more information, because the learning
never ends in gemology.

Let's take a look at a few more ....

 Section 2 Cabochon Cut Gemstones
As you have seen in the last two pages, there is a huge number of gemstones cut en
cabochon. This include all of the star and cat's eye stones we have seen, and scores of
others we have not seen. But I thought it might be good to take a look at some cutting
styles, and thereby see a few more interesting specimens.

If you notice the photograph above, this is an ammolite. You can read all about this
interesting gem material from fossils in the Ammolite section in The Gemstones here on
YourGemologist.com. For our purposes here, the important thing to note is that this stone
is a composite stone or sometimes called assembled stones. That is, it is usually made of
three layers, althougth it can be made of only two. But normally they are three layers as
shown with the ammolite. The lower layer is onyx, the ammolite layer in the middle, and
a clear quartz layer on top. The reason is that some gem materials are so thin that they
cannot withstand the normal wear and tear of being in a jewelry item. So the onyx layer is
placed for strength and the quartz layer is placed to protect the stone from hits. This same
type of setting is used for many opals as well.

Most cabochon cut stones will be along the lines of the amber seen above. The cabochon
will be oval or round, and should be thick enough to protect the stone during setting and
wear, but not so thick as to be obtrusive. This amber is a nicely cut gem is that it offers a
nice color, is even and uniform in cut and symmetry, but does not look bulky.
Notice this rhodochrosite shown above. This is a rather large stone, measuring about
25mm in diameter. But look at how thin it is. This may be a lot of flash for the cash as far
as face up is concerned, but this stone has been cut so thin that if it does not chip in the
setting process, it most likely will at some time during the wearing of the item. Unless it
is set in a necklace. But for a bracelet setting or something similar, this stone is so thin
that it is just a problem waiting to happen. Always think in terms of durability when
choosing a cabochon cut gemstone. How is it going to be set? And what kind of wear do
you anticipate it having to endure?

And finally, there are some unusual cabochon cut gemstones that you may encounter.
Just remember that the fancy cuts will need to be set. Stones like this flat top maw sit sit
will be no problem. But some of the fancy cuts will require a special mounting to be
made. So be prepared for this if you find something that looks pretty, but is weird in
shape.

The most important point to remember is that any virtually any gem material that is cut or
faceted can be cut en cabochon. And you should inspect the stone from all sides to insure
that it has been fashioned in a manner that will present its best color and beauty when set
in the jewelry item you are considering.

Section 3 Opals
I am throwing this section in because opals are a world all their own. And if you are
considering buying opals you need to study as much as possible. Because there is a
virtually endless number of opal types and grades out there. Far more than we can cover
here. But at least I can show you some things to watch out for when shopping. And then
you can continue your education by reading some of the excellent reference books out on
the market.

Notice in the photograph above that this is a faceted, transparent orange opal. This is a
fire opal. All too often I hear people describe a fire opal as one that has a lot of fire. This
is just not true. A real fire opal will have the orange color, the best having a orangy Red
color that looks like a sunset.

One of the important points about opals, whether you are selling or buying, is the
background against which they are being viewed. Look at the examples below. This is the
same opal shown on a black background at left, and the same stone against a white
background on the right. Notice the difference in color.

Background
changes
This is why opals are always sold on black cards, or shown on black cloth. The black
makes the color come out better. Which is also why you see the opals set in black glue in
the opal inlay jewelry items out on the market.

Color patterns
Another important aspect about opals is the variations of color patterns that you will find.
Normally opals with orange and red and the most desirable and most expensive. But that
can change based on the type of color pattern. Above you see two different types of opal
color patterns. To learn more about how opals generate these colors you can visit the Play
of Color page in the Gemstone Phenomena section here on YourGemologist.com.

Boulder opal
There are also some very unusual opal styles out there. Such as this boulder opal.
Meaning that the opal runs throughout a rock, rather than just being a simple opal. Of
course this boulder opal is more boulder than opal, but I think you can see that they can
make for some very interesting formations. And every opal will be just a little bit
different from the rest.

Opal crazing
Finally, be very careful when you shop for opals. They have a tendency to dry out after
being exposed to the heat or light for very long, and getting small cracks called crazing.
They need to be sealed with oil to protect them from this. But some dealers don't bother
because they think they will not have them in inventory that long. But it does happen.
And when it does you have to be very careful when make a buying decision to avoid any
stone that has this crazing started. Because once it starts it cannot be repaired. And it will
most likely extend throughout the stone in a short time. Notice in the images above the
crazing cracks that have started in these opals.