Pink Mystery Stone

[jmays*1]

Can anyone help me figure out what kind of stone this is? It''s a gorgeous saturated pink stone that has a brilliant sparkle to it. When you look at it from top to bottom, it is a deep pink with flashes of lavender and yellow. When observed across the top of the stone, it has a more lavender appearance. Under black-light it "glows" bright yellow. It is set in 14kt yellow gold with 3 diamond accents set in platinum. So far I have been told that is kunzite, pink ice, or maybe pink sapphire. I have read everything I can find but I''m stumpped!

 

[valeria101]

"pink ice" is CZ... and that might explain the yellow fluorescence, but why would someone blend CZ and diamonds...

Kunzite is not very brilliant and your description hints at high dispersion. Sapphire is brighter, but still not fiery at all. Any chance you could show this to a jeweler or appraiser nerby ? There aren''t that many gems with strong fire and none light pink that I can think of

 

[jmays*1]

Now you can understand why I''m so confused. I thought the same thing about putting diamonds with a cz. I tried all of the tricks I have read about detecting cz''s (fogging, marking with a pen...) and they all came up negative. I showed my local jeweler and he thought it was pink ice at first but after taking a good look at it he wasn''t sure what it is. It is so bright and brilliant with color that he didn''t think it could be a cz. I have another kunzite that is more lavender-pink and although it is very pretty, it doesn''t have the same sparkle or faceting that this one has. Thanks for the reply, I''ll just keep searching until I see something that looks similar.

 

[gemça]

Dear jmays,

My first idea was the same as valeria.

If you have a hand spectroscope

download this article (sorry in French), take a look on pink CZ spectrum, and compare the spectrum of your stone.
I have done this article to help CZ identification when mounted... I hope that it can help you.

http://www.geminterest.com/download/articles/article.distincCZcolore.pdf

http://www.geminterest.com/download/articles/article.distincCZcolore.pdf

 

[jmays*1]

Thank you for your reply. I don''t have a hand spectroscope as I am a "newbie" and didn''t even know what it is.(lol) I did a little research and found an article that gave me a basic understanding of what it is and how to use it...
http://www.yourgemo logist.com/Spectroscope/spectroscope.html
Would a common mall jewelry store have one to look at the stone for me or would I have to find a more experienced expert? I looked at the examples of cz''s from the site you gave me and although it''s hard to know how accurate the colors of the stones are, none of them looked like mine. Well, the search continues....Thanks again, I learn a little more each day.

 

[jmays*1]

I took a better picture this morning that shows the truer color of the stone. I tried to a picture in sunlight so all the color and flash would show but it blinded the camera. Whatever it is, it is beautiful!(apparenly I''m not very good at taking pictures yet)

 

[MJO]

Date: 6/1/2005 11:03:56 PM
Author:jmays*1
Can anyone help me figure out what kind of stone this is? It''s a gorgeous saturated pink stone that has a brilliant sparkle to it. When you look at it from top to bottom, it is a deep pink with flashes of lavender and yellow. When observed across the top of the stone, it has a more lavender appearance. Under black-light it ''glows'' bright yellow. It is set in 14kt yellow gold with 3 diamond accents set in platinum. So far I have been told that is kunzite, pink ice, or maybe pink sapphire. I have read everything I can find but I''m stumpped!

My guess would be kunzite from the pink and lavender description. Kunzite tends to fade to a paler color if left out in UV light for awhile. Either that or it could possibly be morganite which is a pink beryl (in the emerald and aquamarine family)

 

[jmays*1]

Thanks MJO. I am familiar with morganite as I have a couple of them so I have able to safely eliminate them as a possibility. My morganites are quite clear with a more transparent pink. This stone is more deeply saturated with color, almost what I''ve heard mentioned as "cotton candy" pink. When you look through the stone from bottom to top, it has what I would call, a kaleidoscope of colors like a diamond has. But thanks again, every little bit helps!

 

[partgypsy]

Could it be a mystic i.e. coated topaz? They can be of almost any color and often show "rainbow like" flashes.

 

[bstraszheim]

Perhaps it could be Spinel? I have a light pink Spinel and the flashes of colour it gives me are spectacular!

I hope you find your answer!

I wish you well,

Bridget

 

[jmays*1]

OK, we have a possibility here. First I checked out mystic topaz and I didn''t see anything that looked similar. Next, I checked out pink spinel. I am familiar with some info about them as I enjoy rubies. As far as I knew, spinels fluoresce red. However, I just read an article that stated that they can fluoresce red OR neon yellow! Hmmmm...I guess spinel could be a possibility. Thanks, I''ll keep looking!

 

[jmays*1]

This is a picture of the stone under a black light. Pretty interesting!

 

[jmays*1]

The picture came out greener than it is. It look bright yellow in person.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

The fluorescence, saturation of color and brilliance of the stone suggest pink cubic zirconia (pink ice). Pink Ice is often set in gold with small accent diamonds, and sold in catalog showrooms or TV shopping networks.

One way you could check this would be to hold the table of the stone up to your eye, while viewing a small penlight source (tilted sideways to reduce the image) in a darkened room.

A lower refractive stone will show one, two or three rings of spectral images in your field of view. Because of it's higher refractive index, cubic Zirconia will exhibit a random flurry of spectral images, almost like a light snowstorm of images.

A doubly refractive stone will show some of the spectral images doubled (right next to each other) or partially doubled, while a single refractive stone (like cz) will not have doubled images.

 

[jmays*1]

WOW! Is there A "GEMOLOGY FOR DUMMIES" book? It would help if I knew what the table is. Looking down from the top of the stone, I just observed white light. However, looking up through the bottom of the stone, I observed a line of color in the order of - red, yellow, green, purple. Did I do anything right? Now that my battery is dead, I''ll have to try again tomorrow morning. I definately need to do some research on terminology. Thanks for the tip and if you have any other instructions to clarify this for me feel free to educate me!

 

[jmays*1]

OK, now I know what the table is. It was pretty much common sence but I wanted to make sure. It appears that there are 2 of the colored lines next to each other but I will try again tomorrow with fresh batteries. Where should the light source be located? Above the stone, level with it or below it? Thank you for your patience and I hope I''m not becoming too bothersom. Have a great evening!

 

[Richard Sherwood]

You hold the table of the stone so close to your eye that it''s almost touching your eyelashes, and then look at the penlight directly through the stone at arm''s length or more away. Tilt the penlight to get the slimmest image possible from the light source.

The main thing we''re looking for is whether the spectral images form a ring (or 2 or 3) in your field of view, or whether they are scattered in a random flurry of images.

The second thing we''re looking forward is whether the images appear doubled end-to-end (not side by side), or partially doubled with the spectrums overlapping.

You''re no bother. This is fun.

 

[laughinggravy]

Richard - that''s so interesting. And comprehensible!
Abi

 

[jmays*1]

Thanks Richard! I haven''t had a chance to try it yet, it was one of those crazy days. Hopefully tomorrow I''ll get to spend some time on this. Does this work on other stones? I have diamonds, various colors of blue topaz, tanzanite, blue spinal, rubies, sapphires, iolite, amethyst, garnet, alexandrite, morganite, citrine...I thought if I had something to compare it to I could get a better idea of what I am looking at. Thanks again and I''ll keep you informed. (I also think this is a lot of fun!)

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Sure, it works on everything. You just have to get familiar with the different patterns.

The technique is called "Visual Optics", developed by Alan Hodgkinson, FGA. He''s a Scottish gemologist with a penchant for developing inexpensive gemological techniques for identification.

You can order his book (or video) at:

http://www.scotgem.demon.co.uk/

 

[jmays*1]

Great site Richard and I''m def. getting his book. I read the article on "synthetic moissanite, diamond and some distinctions". They showed pictures using visual optics of a cz, a diamond and a synthetic moissanite. What I see in my stone looks like the picture they show of a diamond with a little less color. You described it as a random flurry of images. So now what? My curiosity has definately gotten the best of me on this one. I really don''t care what it is because it''s beautiful and I love it. It would just be nice when someone asks "what kind of stone is that", I could tell them what it is. I''m sitting here by candle light looking at my rings and much to my surprise I found a stone that showed the EXACT display as the picture of the diamond. It''s a color changing stone(?) that is blue/violet in sunlight and pink/violet under incandescent light. I was told that it probably is a cz but it still looks just like the visual optic picture for a diamond. This is whole new way to appreciate my collection and observing them this way is beautiful. I think my favorite is the ruby. What amazing color! Thank you for all your time and if you have any other thoughts feel free to share!

 

[Richard Sherwood]

The "random flurry" of images indicates a very high refractive index stone, such as diamond or cubic zirconia. The "r.f." patterns of these two stones are similar, but once you get used to looking at them you can differentiate between the two.

Since the chances of your pink (and violet) stones being diamond are slim to none (with slim being on vacation), in all likelihood they are both cubic zirconia if they exhibit the random pattern.

 

[jmays*1]

That''s pretty much what I thought but they are so beautiful and are quite a conversation piece. This certainly has been very interesting and I have learned alot. I intend on continuing my quest for knowledge and understanding and appreciate all the help you have given me! I hope you don''t mind if I keep in touch as I come across more questions along the way. Have a great day and thanks again.

Janet