[Jewelry making - Article 00774] - Re: [Orchid] Are they Rubies?

[Karen Goeller]

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    I can't decide whether it's arrogance or ignorance that would make a
    jewelry professional in today's market assume that they could
    identify anything based on seeing a photo of something.  Even with
    the latest tools, synthetics, treatments, and amazingly good
    simulations can be hard to detect.  And the newest generation of
    "lab-grown" material that is molecularly identical to the naturally
    occurring stone complicates identification further. 

    And as for those "customs men" (and women)... many use highly
    trained dogs to help them screen, which is roughly equivalent to you
    and me using a microscope & specific-gravity test to identify stones.
     BUT, no matter how accurate their "screening" might be, they rely on
    lab tests to confirm that the substances found are, indeed, the ones
    they suspect they might be.  And they DO suspect wrongly from time to
    time; more frequently than you might imagine. 

    So you might want to think of your "I'll take a look" approach as
    the initial "hmm, what is that white powder?" screening.  But you
    can't really tell whether it's baking soda or cocaine until you do
    further tests.

Karen Goeller
kgoeller AT nolimitations.com
www.nolimitations.com
No Limitations Designs

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