Best Way to ID Stones?

[Ariadne_Theia]

I am trying to figure out the best way to ID some stones I have. I know Bron did this recently but I don't have that level of gemology knowledge. I do have 490 carats of faceted "semi-precious" stones and a small number opal type cabs (triplets maybe?). They are undoubtedly badly cut and since the original owner bought them for some sort of investment scheme, they are probably not worth anything. But I would love to ID them and play around with them. Frankly, opening the package gave me the biggest thrill. I am such a magpie.

Is a gem tester a good start? And are there good cheap ones? Is there anything else that might help me;I was thinking a loupe? I know some of them have inclusions so that might narrow it down.

Sorry for the terrible snap but this is what I have!

 

[Gloria27]

Chelsea filter and a magnet would be fun to use unless you want to get a refractometer.

 

[Bron357]

How exciting for you, I know the feeling ha ha.
Ok, it’s certainly not as easy as it seems.
I was able to use a Presidum gem tester (a few hundred dollars, the cheap Chinese ones are no good) to sort out the “glass” from “real” gemstones but you can’t differentiate much more than that and certainly not between synthetic and natural gems.
To identify gems it require a combination of knowing if they are doubly refractive, have characteristic inclusions, have fluorescence etc etc etc.
Garnet though is easier, they can be picked up by a rare earth magnet as their iron content is very high.
I also have a gem microscope, a proper Loupe (not a cheap Chinese one), gem tweezers, spectrometer, a UV light, Chelsea filter and a dichoscope but I don’t have equipment for Specific gravity or a polarscope or a Refractometer. I really need a Refractometer!
If you’re keen to learn more there’s heaps of information on line to read.
I would recommend buying a gem microscope because it is so much fun looking at gems under a microscope.
Enjoy your new hobby.

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

Thank you so much for the suggestions! I just bought a number of tools and I can't wait for them to get here so I can start trying to figure these gems out!

 

[arglthesheep]

Hi Ariadne,
I think the best think for your kind of gems would be a refractometer, a neodym magnet, a polariscope, a loupe and then lets see how far you get.
With the refractometer you can get most of the job done. The cheaper ones (around 200 $) are in the beginning working fine. So you can ID most of the stones, unless you know how to handle it. But there are plenty of tutorials out there (youtube ... )
Much fun with these, as it is real fun

 

[PrecisionGem]

Alll the tools in the world won’t help if you don’t understand the results. Buy this:

https://gemologytools.com/