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| Help identify this sapphire (could be sth else) piece |
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Posted By: John Posted Date: May 08, 2010 (09:21 AM) |
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Message Dear Bill, Ironically, my family happens to be gem dealers. We are living on gem business. We know quite well on corumdum and lepis, both produced in my country. SG and hardness of that two stones are quite different. The SG of our blue sapphire vase can be measured very easily by using mechanical balance. I am 100% sure this is blue corundum. Repeated twinning can be seen on the side of the vase. White spot on the surface is calcite which can be removed. The rest is corundum. Since old times, my people have no skills in curving corundum as it is too hard. Only Chinese knew how to curve it, so it is our main curiosity. Greatwarrior Gangis Khan had blue sapphire curving weared on his arm. That blue sapphire was of Burmese origin. It was exhibited in Burma in 1967, said my uncle who had seen it with his eyes. As far as he remembers, it was owned by a couple from Hong Kong at that time. You can trace it back if you are interested in it. As our vase is not definitely lepis, we send it to you. We have several lepis at home whose hardness can be tested by scratching. Thanks very much for your kind comment and interest. Sincerely, John Post a Response |
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