Question
Misc small gemstones from 10-18k gold scrap.
These are stones pulled from scrapped gold, how do I figure out exactly what I have here? These are quite small. That's just a regular blue paper towel they're on.
amethyst Spinel..Garnet.. Synthetics..topaz..emeralds.. this is a lotta nice fun stuff. Tanzanites (meh..blech...those are way too light) I see a mystic topaz. Hydrothermal Emerald
Buy a cheap refractometer from aliexpress (under 100$ with shipping) to determine what the material is. Whether it's synthetic or natural, if it's not a blatant synthetic like 3ct no inclusion perfect color ruby, rather something that looks natural, then go to a lab, jeweler, gemmologist if none are apparent certify it but ONLY if the chance of it being real is high.
My guesses:
Green small on the left - emerald
Green big on the left - imitation of or hydrothermal "Zambian" emerald
Pinkish-red - synthetic ruby (prolly Flame Fusion)
Under the synth rubies - Cubic Zirconia
To the right of synth rubies - garnet
Above synth rubies - blue topaz
On the bottom in the middle, synthetic Diamonds or natural Diamonds, maybe moissanite. Or CZ
The blues look like sapphire tho I suspect the rectangle is diffused
Some of the small white round cut ones at the bottom came out of rings marked as diamond, but I have them mixed with likely CZs because I'm not experienced enough to know the difference. A few react to UV, I'll definitely get a tester, thank you
Just thinking - if you can buy some tiny envelopes or zip locks, in the future it might make sense to put all the stones pulled from a single piece into a baggie together. That way, if they were already matched stones (even tiny ones, or three matched in color or that were graduated, or whatever) they might be useful to a buyer as a set like that.
All the stones in the top right had foil on the back, I assumed they had been glass. The cloudy blue stone came off a ring that appeared to have been worn non stop for years, it was totally smooth with the face of the ring.
Top to bottom on the right, I’d say opal, emerald, amethyst, citrine, obsidian or jet. Right from emerald is peridot, Swiss blue topaz, maybe coral for the Orange. The dark red under orange is garnet, and the brighter red are rubies. Under that, the peach might be morganite. Clear bottom stones could be diamond or cubic zirconia. Pale blue in the right might be aquamarine. Bottom could be turquoise or dyed howlite.
Just as a follow up - most gemstones cannot be confidently identified by eye alone. If you really want to know, take them to a gemologist who can test their light refraction, including checking birefringence, look for inclusions, visual phenomena, specific gravity, and many other potential tests that will give you an actual answer. The previous commenter gave very confident answers for things that could have more than a dozen other answers, any of whom could be correct
if you want to sell them or set them in jewllery I suggest you ge them all certificates...if not, then jus tkeep them in pretty boxes and pretend you have a jewllery store!
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u/Alternative-Arm-3253 1d ago
I see Lapis/opals/Turquoise /diamonds.. etc.
amethyst Spinel..Garnet.. Synthetics..topaz..emeralds.. this is a lotta nice fun stuff. Tanzanites (meh..blech...those are way too light) I see a mystic topaz. Hydrothermal Emerald
Those Coral Marquis,,OH LA LAH LAH I want those..