You can use your tablet or smartphone as a dichroscope!!

[Marlow]

I "discovered" this today!!

I played a bit with my alexandrites and put a small indian pear table facet down on my ipad screen ( white screen of course!! )

The stone has a very strong CC and think it is a twin.

The stone showed the strong bluishgreen daylight color and I rotated the stone carefully with my tweezer - and the color changed to a pinkish red !! Exactly the same colors like using my dichroscope!! I tried this with an Axinite and a Benitoite - same result.

SO YOU HAVE A VERY CHEAP DICHROSCOPE - easy to use.


White screen - gem table down - carefully rotate the stone with a tweezer ( scratches!) - repeat it putting the stone on a pavillion facet.

Try it with a green Tourmaline or a Tanzanite.

O.K. a discroscope will show the colors a bit stronger but this is easy to use, you see it with the naked eye and it is a good way to check and compare many stones. With a bit experience you can check the orientation of the stone.

Tried pictures but no way!!! Maybe tomorrow with daylight.

 

[gemandjewelrylover]

Hmmm, very interesting! Looking forward to the next installment of your tutorial...

 

[Marlow]

Some pictures - two alexandrite around 0,26ct - 0,31 ct

You will see it much better at home with your own stones!



90 degree rotation left stone



90 degree rotation right stone

 

[gemandjewelrylover]

How clever of you to discover this! Lol

Unfortunately, my Alex is in a ring - so I'm not sure if this would work. I think maybe not. Will have to take a look the next time it's out of its safe house!

 

[lilmosun]

Thank you Marlow. Sounds like it might come in handy when buying gems at shows? If I can figure it out ahead of time

 

[Marlow]

Thank you Marlow. Sounds like it might come in handy when buying gems at shows? If I can figure it out ahead of time

Yes, you can use it in shows! Wanna see the face of the vendor

 

[minousbijoux]

Yep - this true of laptop screens as well, only I could never figure out how to put my stones on my screen! Some people on "the other gem website" suggest holding your gems up to your Macbook screen and rotating...

 

[Marlow]

Yes, with sunglasses - not to dark - then you have a polariscope ( four rotations and dark-bright-dark-bright... in uniaxial or biaxial gems) - I know this from GO.

The white illuminated tablet or smartphone screen will show you the di- or pleochroism. You see it with a loupe and a tweezer with your naked eye too but think this is a very easy way. But no polarisation.

 

[PieAreSquared]

Very interesting Marlow!
Welcome back BTW, I missed your posts while you were gone.

 

[Marlow]

Very interesting Marlow!
Welcome back BTW, I missed your posts while you were gone.

 

[Rockinruby]

Very cool!

 

[jordyonbass]

That's brilliant Marlow!! Thanks for the info!!

 

[Marlow]

How clever of you to discover this! Lol

Unfortunately, my Alex is in a ring - so I'm not sure if this would work. I think maybe not. Will have to take a look the next time it's out of its safe house!

Use a lid of a gembox - so you avoid scratches on your smartphone. I am sure it will work...

 

[minousbijoux]

I just realized that you were not talking about an Iphone but an IPad. Tell me how to use my IPhone and I'll be gratefully indebted to you.

 

[Marlow]

The same way...

You need a white screen ( browser and a new "page" - I have still an ipad 1 - so I click the "+" ) - put your alex one the screen - and rotate it . It is only a "lighttable".

But in a gemshow, at a fleamarket you have an easy way to seperate a synth. spinel from an aquamarine, or glass from a ruby or sapphire.
Or an alex from a CC-Garnet. And with sunglasses you have a polariscope too.

 

[evergreen]

Marlow, how would we tell the difference between glass and corundum, or synthetic spinel and aquamarine? Which stones should we expect a color change when rotating sideways? I'm hoping something I have at home will have this property so I can see what you mean... (I do not have an alexandrite to test this out, but I do have corundum and aqua... )

 

[Marlow]

Glass ( amorph) and garnet, spinel, fluorit and diamond is cubic - only one RI and no dichroism ( uniaxial gems like tourmaline, zircon, beryl, corundum and quarz for example) or pleochroism ( biaxial like tanzanite, chrysoberyl, topaz or peridot)

You will see no change of colors in a cubic gem or glass.

You will see two colors in uniaxial gems and three colors in biaxial gems.

A ruby will show orange-red or better a warmer red in one direction and bluishred or better a cold red in the other directon.
Synthetic too!!

But glass or red garnet or spinel will show no change. Aqua has a weaker dichroism but you will see a difference - synth. spinel again will show the same color.

 

[Cognition]

wow! this looks like a magic! I hope someday we can use our smartphone as a raman spectrometer and other fancy tools