Thank you indeed! Such High praise. Keep an eye out for more ;)

I know man this dude was a lil different at first but he’s cool and smart. How he words things is great, no deceptive type stuff

excellent~!

My pleasure KingLoopie1 - It's my pleasure to serve, and to add value to everyones experience when I can. Keep an eye out for more :D

@@GemologyforSchmucks please mention some tools which normal pepole used to differentiate between fake synthetic and natural gem during buying

@@titu2435 Depends entirely on which synthetics you are looking at. Many synthetics may be identified purely through inclusion scenes, so a good loupe goes a long way. Sometimes the inclusions are much more subtle and require either a microscope, or advanced analysis in a lab if there are not tell-tale natural or synthetic inclusions.

Hopefully not hidden for too long~! Thanks for your kind words.

Glad to be the bearer of good news :D

Thank you Duck Hunter. Its my pleasure to supply the information and razzlemataz :D

Thanks very much Priscilla~ i'm glad to have brought some levity and education also.

Hi Gabriel - good question. Due to the technology of the camera, the red colour will not be visible on your laptop. If you used the CCF in person directly with your eye, you would be able to see it clearly. Cheers~

I also seen green on my cell phone but he's already answered why that is 🙂👍

I would say it definitely depends on the stone, but most aquamarine i've encountered were quite uniform in colour (as opposed to zoned). That said, so are many of the blue topaz that can look identical.

Maybe I misspoke. Aquamarines generally appear as though they have different color saturation from different angles; clear from one angle, very blue from another.

@@elanarobin Colour intensity can definitely change based on the angle the stone is viewed from, correct.

Thank you Tanmay, keep an eye out for more coming soon :)

That's a solid idea Shawn. I'm getting a lot of questions about further reading recommendations, so i'll get to work on that soon. Thanks.

Welcome~! and thanks.

Cameras make the situation complex indeed. Physics and all that. I strongly suggest that you get a Chelsea colour filter and check around and see for yourself. After all~ why trust an internet gemologist eh?

@@GemologyforSchmucks Yes, I definitely will. I don't trust online buying for gemstones unless it is from a reputable business in Australia where we have laws in place for consumer protection. BTW I love your channel 😍

I thought it was green too I had to rewind back 🤣

Zelda JF my pleasure Zelda. Presidium is a good company, and many professionals use the thermal pen tester when they are checking diamonds and its simulants. It is a good tool, but you have to know about its limitations. It isnt going to distinguish natural vs synthetic diamonds for example, and I would not recommend it for anything aside from diamonds and its simulants. Some people think its a magic wand. It is not. Thanks for the question~

@@GemologyforSchmucks What are your thoughts on the ARI by Presidium? Is it worth the $1,200? You would think it would have at least a lithium battery 😃

@@MindKontrolleAmerica Hi Mike, I'm not a huge fan of any of the electronic gizmos that pretend to "make gem ID easy" as they usually have some dangerous associated pitfalls even if they do work "some of the time." This particular device, the ARI, i've not used personally so I can't speak at length on that. Thanks for the question.

@@GemologyforSchmucks Agreed, experience in the profession is separation .

Wonderful and entertaining videos.. I tip my Indiana Jones "Schmuck" hat to you. 🤠

Thanks for letting me know LaDonna ~ I'll look into that issue. I appreciate it, and I hope my other content serves you well.

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/b8ukpLOQt9_FgIk.html

I'm glad you're enjoying my work~ There are indeed a lot of synthetic spinel products out there. Especially considering that synthetic spinel doublets can be made to create almost any (general) coloured gemstone, they're useful in cheap jewelry. I actually have a large one that is used to mimic an emerald, so maybe that'll be a good choice for a video in the near future~ The short answer on the simple UV light trick is: not in most situations. Natural spinel with certain elements is HIGHLY fluorescent.

Topaz and aquamarine can be difficult to distinguish discretely. Most of the time the colour will give it away, but I have seen some topaz that also has lighter aquamarine colouration. Really I can just say: if you can buy the piece for a blue topaz price, and it turns out to be aquamarine, then you stand to make some serious money. Otherwise, if you don't mind being less discreet, look into getting a polariscope and get comfortable finding the optic figure on stones. Thats definitely the Inspector Gadget way to do it, though it may weaken your bargaining position XD

To differentiate between topaz and aquamarine simple instant test is there with a acid in which if u drop the stone in a cup of acid ,if its aquamarine it will float 8n that liquid,if its topaz it will sink.am dealing with aquamarine mostly

The long oval one? That ended up being man-made glass~! Oh NOEZ.

@@GemologyforSchmucks Oh no indeed!

Hi Corey ~ the effectiveness of heat treatment really comes down to what trace elements are in the stone to begin with. If the stone has the right elements to change to a blue colour, then heat treatment just creates an environment where those elements can bond together and cause colour absorption (which leaves us with the colours we see). For your specific stone, you'd need to let someone with heating experience look at the stone. They can typically tell from the look which stones are good candidates for heating and which is not and what colours they might turn if heated for certain periods of time and in oxidizing or reducing environments. If the stone isn't cut yet and its 1ct, then I wouldn't go through the expense/risk of heat treatment. Heating is a full area of study and the price of experience with sapphires is... not kind to the wallet. We hope that heaters will pass on their wisdom to others.

Just about any strong light should be sufficient.

Thanks ~ "value" can be thought of in a few ways. The retail value will naturally be quite different from the independent value you might get from a reseller/ pawnshop. Unless they love the aesthetic/ it was made by a notable artisan, a reseller/pawnshop will most likely give scrap value for the gold and each dealer has a different perspective on buying gems. Some folks are ignorant and just give gold weight, others will put a bid on the stone.

Let put it another way then if it is a real Aquamarine what would a average Jewelry shop have it retail priced at?

Hi Jessica ~ without seeing and testing the stone, im hesitant to say much. What I WILL say is: if a blue sapphire is pink under the chelsea filter, the next thing i would grab would be my spectroscope. Stones that are chromium diffused in my experience have an obscenely strong chromium band.

@@GemologyforSchmucks that j you so much! It's the next tool I am going to purchase. Very helpful info.

@@jessica00beck I have the OPL one ;) Its tricky to learn, but once you get it: you will never go back XD

I don't suggest going to magnets as a reliable identification tool. Aquamarine and topaz can be easily distinguished with a polariscope or refractometer.

I hear you - buying online can be scary. Much of the gem trade depends on trust (or at least knowing how far you can trust someone) so its difficult to motivate a buy-sell relationship until there is trust there. It might be better to work directly with a seller through an independent gem selling site, if you dont trust ebay or the other major commercial outlets. Etsy might also be a good choice to look into.

The camera unfortunately is unable to pick up the red that you would see when using the Chelsea filter in person. You'd need to have the sample in front of you with a Chelsea filter in hand.

Hi Tayraee, without testing the stone in person there is no way to be sure to the left or the right.

The real kicker is "is it a bubble?" or "is it a round crystal" ~ you have to see enough stones to discern between the two. If you are certain it is a bubble and not a rounded crystal, then that is proof that it is glass. We usually look for other evidence to support our suspicions. Where you find a bubble, you're likely to find flow lines, and the snake-band effect in the polariscope~

@@GemologyforSchmucks Thank you so much for replying, I am learning a lot from you & your videos. My language is more refined I don't sound so amateurish. I do have more equipment coming, and the main reason for my question was to give a little more credit to the gem world exchange from a novice level of gemology. I don't think the online sales a as much fake as they are "weathered" from my short time of observation I'm seeing more chips or ruff cut lines on the gems. So that could be a good reason for the low online price, but I have gotten a few eye Popper's ijs. 🙏🏽

Howdy ~ congrats on your new treasure acquisition. Blue topaz is highly available and affordable, so it is unlikely that they'd use another stone to simulate/ "fake" it, for the simple reason that it would likely cost more to try to fake it than to use blue topaz. It's attractive, but very common. The other stones you mentioned have quite different properties, which can be revealed with a refractometer and or possibly a polariscope, depending on the stone. If you want the high-science answer, you'd want to have someone test the stone with these two instruments. Thanks for the question. Cheers~

HAH~! Yes, the gem world is like a maze. There's a right way, but you wont know until you get to the other side of the maze and that might require taking a few wrong turns first. (and we all hope they don't unleash the minotaur in the meantime)

I appreciate your kind words Eugene. Who knows~ the day may yet come for that :D

If you check out about 1:10 in the video, you'll see this tool called the Chelsea filter. Thats what you'd be looking through in order to see pink originating from cobalt or chromium (and in the case of a suspected aquamarine ring.. would mean the ring is not aqua and probably synthetic spinel etc.) If you're just using a UV light and its going pink, that could be many other stones. There are many stones that have a fluorescence reactions, so it does not necessarily mean its a synthetic stone (though its also unlikely that it would be aquamarine). Thx for the question.

There's many that would agree with you. Aesthetic should be #1. I can say from first hand experience that the colour of these stones can overlap perfectly in certain ranges.

I've yet to, but that's a fantastic idea and I might just have the right items for the job. Thanks!~

@@GemologyforSchmucks I would appreciate that as I definitely in the schmuck category trying to learn this trade and I've got a long way to go...yikers!

Hi Jessica ~ this one is a 3 way LED (white, yellow and UV) torch that I got at a local gemological tool supply store here in Bangkok. LED isn't ideal for the beauty of a stone, but having intense white and yellow light is a huge boon for checking gems for fractures or other inclusions. Once we've decided that its worth looking at further, most people will take it out into natural light and not mess around with incandescent. Tungsten and halogen light you hear more about in labratory settings. This sort of LED is more for quick and dirty in the market illumination. That and the battery lasts ages longer than the other light sources. Do you hate LED because of the colour, or other reasons? Thanks for the question~

Gemology for Schmucks First of all ~ Great video & very helpful/informative.! Thank you..🥰 I just love your channel. Im a huge jewelry/gem collector. Also WOW ~ idk they made those torches with led that can change to 3colors🤯🤯 Ive always heard led lights will trick you when looking at gems. So i always use a mag light with yellowish hue. However ~ im a huge tanzanite/Alexandrite collector. (Wells those are my two favs.) But i bought this dichroscope/tanzanite filter & the geologist that sold me it ~ told me “NEVER USE LED.” So i shouldnt say i hate led but was told never use it. Now i really want that torch you have even more. 😹😹 Do you happen to know if they sell that style online?. Thanks soo much for your advice. Im always learning something new. I really appreciate it

Gemology for Schmucks can you please tell me the brand of the one you own? Also can you switch it to yellow/white & uv? That would be phenomenal for me. I Desperately need a uv light for my ruby collection and my jade. Please let me know? Thanks again so much for your valuable information..😘🥰

​@@jessicaishere8416 This one can be laser inscribed with a whole bunch of people's logos, so i've seen many competing brands. This link is a pretty comparable one: www.amazon.com/Flashlight-Gemstone-Identification-Ultraviolet-Measurement/dp/B072J1T5D8 If the link doesn't work somehow, just look for a 3 way LED gemologist flashlight and there should be a bunch of hits. when you press the back button/ turn it off and on, it cycles between white, yellow and long-wave UV.

@@jessicaishere8416 LED can trick you if you're using it to determine the colour of a gem, absolutely. I wouldn't even trust it to hold my beer. The value of the LED torch is more to check out inclusions and inspect flaws in an initial inspection, not lab work or colour grading. It does also work pretty well for using the chelsea filter.

My clients often go to estate sales or auctions and also pawn shops. They curate mountings/jewelry that they appreciate the style and construction of, and then send them to me for TLC and sourcing coloured stones.

There are plenty, and that is something you can research and compile lists of using websites like mindat. Enjoy

Hi there and excellent observation ~ PC monitors emit polarized light. Aquamarine (beryl) is a doubly refractive gemstone, so light travels differently depending on how it enters the crystal. This directional colour is called pleochroism, and is a characteristic in many doubly refractive gemstones (ruby and sapphire, and tourmaline as well for example.) This video linked below goes into it in depth. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sJebqaqU09ytYY0.html

"3 way LED gem flashlight" should provide you with a good search on your favourite search engine.

@@GemologyforSchmucks thank you so much. I absolutely love your channel

I could sample

Im curious on where these blue garnets come from. The only blue garnet ive seen so far in this lifetime was a single exceptionally rare colour change garnet. Id like to own one if it can be shown to be natural. Otherwise there are plenty of YAG (ytrium aluminum garnets/man made garnets that can cover much of the colour spectrum). Tell me more about what you have.

This is called a Chelsea Colour Filter, or Chelsea filter, for short.

If I saw greyish blue i'd be suspicious that it was irradiated. There is a fair amount of that material on the market, commonly called Maxixe. The colour is unstable and likely to fade (and quickly) in the presence of strong light.

There's no jeweler or gemologist (even certified gemologist) that I can trust here honestly. They tell lies(or say nothing) and try to buy cheap.

Its certainly not hot.

gemproducts.com/products

There's fake and real out there, for sure, both in gemstones and in people.

Wonderful - I hope that there will be something new to you in one of my other videos.

I'm honoured that you think so (too?) XD Thanks~

Thanks~ glad you enjoyed it.

We'll have to find a friend to boost it past now wont we ;)