[Jewelry making - Article 00303] - Re: [Orchid] Red amethyst?

[Neilthejeweler]

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>     Part of me believes it must be natural because of its apparent age
>     and the other part believes it must be synthetic because it doesn't
>     quite fit into anything that I can think of! 

    Apparent age is misleading, synthetic corundum has been around a
    loooong time. 

    I don't have the literature handy, tis Christmas afterall, but you
    should be able to search, or maybe someone else here has the info
    handy...but here's what you can do w/o instruments. 

    syn corundum will often exhibit growth lines. They appear as curved
    lines when backlit. Sometimes its helpful to hold a thin tissue
    between the light source and the stone. Look at it from all angles.
    You need to not confuse a curved line with this anomoly.... A line
    that extends under both bezel facets and table may at first glance
    appear curved because of I dunno, a lensatic effect? optical
    illusion? You may also see tiny bubbles or clusters of bubbles that
    sometimes occur along the growth lines. 

    I don't deal with this stuff often so my memory lapses on whether
    syn corundum alexandrite-like material will always show this
    property. 

    Based on my interpretation of the original description I'd bet money
    it is indeed syn corundum. 20mm, only one tiny chip after all those
    years. 

    "I got it at the mine in Alexandria, Egypt!" yuh.
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