BIG Trouble for Color Change Stones?

[iLander]

A horrible thought occurred to me; I can only see the purple in my color-shift sapphire under an incandescent bulb.

Incandescent bulbs will soon be outlawed, right?

How will my grandkids ever see the purple again?

What about me in ten years? I kinda want to see it too. . .

So should I start hoarding incandescent bulbs?

I also have a color change garnet, that goes from burgundy to beige, but only in my closet (one of the few incandescent bulbs we have left).

What are we gonna do?

 

[cookies]

How about stocking up on incandescent flashlights and batteries? They will eventually run out though.

 

[JewelFreak]

Stock up! We have enough incandescent bulbs to last years, all packed in a trunk. DH & I HATE CFLs -- they are inefficient for light & are darned dangerous to have around the house. No. Thanks. LEDs will have to improve, imho, before they replace the nice light of incandescents. No pencil pusher in DC has any right to tell me what kind of lighting to use in my house, period. Especially when it affects how my gems look!

--- Laurie

 

[minousbijoux]

Candles

 

[Richard M.]

The sun? It's pretty incandescent

Richard M. (Rick Martin)

 

[T L]

Well I don't think they're going to outlaw candles any time soon.

 

[johnfish]

Candles !?!?! Wait dont they emit pollutants including the dreaded CO2. Global Warming!!!!!

 

[ChrisA222]

You cannot beat candles for Incandescent...much better than a light bulb! Course you need to stack a few of them. Wait, maybe a fireplace would work!

 

[iLander]

Stock up! We have enough incandescent bulbs to last years, all packed in a trunk. DH & I HATE CFLs -- they are inefficient for light & are darned dangerous to have around the house. No. Thanks. LEDs will have to improve, imho, before they replace the nice light of incandescents. No pencil pusher in DC has any right to tell me what kind of lighting to use in my house, period. Especially when it affects how my gems look!

--- Laurie

I agree! But this article says we need to go stock up NOW on the 100 watt bulbs!

From USA Today Jan 1, 2012:

The congressionally mandated efficiency standards gradually phase out Thomas Edison's 131-year-old creation in favor of other light bulbs that use at least 25% less energy. The first to go, beginning Sunday, is the traditional 100-watt, followed in January 2013 with the 75-watt version and in January 2014 with the 40-watt and 60-watt bulbs.

 

[iLander]

The sun? It's pretty incandescent

Richard M. (Rick Martin)

For some reason, it doesn't work in the sun. It closes up in direct sunlight, and then goes light sky blue in indirect sunlight.

No purple.

Purple is only in incandescent light . . .

Maybe I should weedle it away from DH long enough to take pics of it's changeable self . . .

 

[orbaya]

Stock up! We have enough incandescent bulbs to last years, all packed in a trunk. DH & I HATE CFLs -- they are inefficient for light & are darned dangerous to have around the house. No. Thanks. LEDs will have to improve, imho, before they replace the nice light of incandescents. No pencil pusher in DC has any right to tell me what kind of lighting to use in my house, period. Especially when it affects how my gems look!

--- Laurie

DH laughs when I tell him I want to stock up! I have the Reveal bulbs all throughout my house and I have NO idea what I'm going to do when I can't get them anymore.

eta - I live in the northeast where it can get cold and gloomy during winter. I have noticed a difference in myself during the winter months since I started using the Reveal bulbs a few years ago.

 

[Fly Girl]

Stock up! We have enough incandescent bulbs to last years, all packed in a trunk. DH & I HATE CFLs -- they are inefficient for light & are darned dangerous to have around the house. No. Thanks. LEDs will have to improve, imho, before they replace the nice light of incandescents. No pencil pusher in DC has any right to tell me what kind of lighting to use in my house, period. Especially when it affects how my gems look!

--- Laurie

I agree! But this article says we need to go stock up NOW on the 100 watt bulbs!

From USA Today Jan 1, 2012:

The congressionally mandated efficiency standards gradually phase out Thomas Edison's 131-year-old creation in favor of other light bulbs that use at least 25% less energy. The first to go, beginning Sunday, is the traditional 100-watt, followed in January 2013 with the 75-watt version and in January 2014 with the 40-watt and 60-watt bulbs.

Didn't the industry come out with 95 -watt bulbs instead?

I use Reveal bulbs throughout my home. I have a small supply of spare bulbs laid in, and hopefully the lighting industry will come up with better alternatives in the coming years. We, too, refuse to use CFLs. HATE the colors unders that lighting.

 

[tanzelf]

I love incandescent bulbs and absolutely hate those new bulbs that the government is forcing on us. I will never use those bulbs and feel the government shouldn't tell us what lighting we are allowed to use in our home. The new bulbs give off horrible lighting and are very dangerous. I am always viewing my stones in all sorts of different lighting sources. Most of my stones are pleochroic stones and hope to God that I will always be able to view my stones in ALL lighting even when I am 80 yrs old!

 

[ChrisA222]

I am going to stock up on some Reveal light bulbs since I still see the 75-watt equivalents for sale, they are $39 at walmart.com for a multi-pack.

My question is, do you get the clear ones or the frosted white?

 

[chrono]

I guess you'll have to light those small birthday candles until your eyes are too old to see the wick.

 

[Richard M.]

The sun? It's pretty incandescent

Richard M. (Rick Martin)

For some reason, it doesn't work in the sun. It closes up in direct sunlight, and then goes light sky blue in indirect sunlight.

No purple.

Purple is only in incandescent light . . .

Maybe I should weedle it away from DH long enough to take pics of it's changeable self . . .

Good luck with the photography! If you succeed please tell me your secret methods!

I don't know if anyone pays attention to dictionary definitions these days -- people seem to make up word meanings as they go. But the dictionary says incandescent means light generated as the result of heat. Using that definition it's hard to find a better example of incandescent light than the sun.

However in gemology when it comes to color-change stones, a distinction is made between sunlight and indoor "incandescent" bulbs -- which also generate light via heat. The reason is the difference in spectral colors (color temperature) generated by each light source. Sunlight is stronger in the blue green spectral wavelengths so it generally generates blue/green hues in CC gems. Old-fashioned incandescent bulbs and candlelight are richer in the red wavelengths, so they generate purplish-red hues. That's the classic Alexandrite Effect. But other CC gems present problems.

I have a parcel of small Tanzanian CC garnets I've decided against even trying to sell 1) because they're almost impossible to photograph accurately and 2) because I simply don't need the hassle of trying to explain their peculiarities to buyers. Some exhibit dramatic color change between incandescent and fluorescent lighting but are the same color in incandescent and sunlight. Others show different hues in incandescent/fluorescent/sunlight.

The entire topic of color-change/color-shift in gems is very confused and confusing. For years I've tried to find gemological agreement on exactly what standard light sources should be used in judging CC effects for the purpose of buying and selling such stones. The point being that if I buy a CC stone from someone in Thailand, for instance, I should be able to replicate the same color change with the same type of lighting in California. But so far my quest has met with lots of discussion and little substance. As things stand each vendor appears to make up their own “rules” on lighting for color change.
Richard M. (Rick Martin)

 

[iLander]

The entire topic of color-change/color-shift in gems is very confused and confusing. For years I've tried to find gemological agreement on exactly what standard light sources should be used in judging CC effects for the purpose of buying and selling such stones. The point being that if I buy a CC stone from someone in Thailand, for instance, I should be able to replicate the same color change with the same type of lighting in California. But so far my quest has met with lots of discussion and little substance. As things stand each vendor appears to make up their own “rules” on lighting for color change.
Richard M. (Rick Martin)

The bold line above reminded me of an interesting problem that Barry Bridgestock and I had; he sent me a color change sapphire that he said produced purple and blue. I never saw purple, I only saw brown and blue. Both his purple and my brown were outdoors, sunlight colors. He and I went around and around (intense curiosity, not an argument) trying to figure out why I couldn't see it.

I think the issue was that he was at a latitude very different than mine, and the wavelengths of light just didn't bend that way for me. This summer, as I drove from way up north, down through the states back to my home, I watched the sunlight. It really is very different from the northern US down to the southern US.

Just thought you might find that story interesting. . .

Also, try selling those garnets, PSers love oddities!

 

[Richard M.]

I think the issue was that he was at a latitude very different than mine, and the wavelengths of light just didn't bend that way for me. This summer, as I drove from way up north, down through the states back to my home, I watched the sunlight. It really is very different from the northern US down to the southern US.

That's an old problem in the gem business, especially with stones (not just CC ones) purchased close to the Equator then brought to northerly latitudes. That's exactly why some universal lighting standard is needed.

Also, try selling those garnets, PSers love oddities!

Maybe, but I don't want the sort of problems you had. Maybe some day I'll take them to a gem show where people can see them without the problem of imaging.
Richard M. (Rick Martin)

 

[jstarfireb]

I'm all about going green, but the thought that the government is going to tell me what kind of light bulbs I can and can't use is infuriating. I suppose that's another discussion for another thread, but seriously?!?

The purple color in my alexandrites is really only visible in incandescent light. Candlelight also works, but it's usually too weak of a light source. The fluorescent light color is pretty similar to the daylight color. It will be disappointing to be unable to see the color change, and the stones will certainly lose their appeal for me. Such a shame.

 

[madelise]

So should I start hoarding incandescent bulbs?

I found this really, really adorable.

 

[Catmom]

we've been stocking up on the 100w bulbs for awhile now. we have cases of them stored away. did i mention we hate cfls?

 

[chrono]

Since candlelight is too weak, now you have the excuse to do a barbeque grill every spring, summer and fall, perhaps a bonfire every so often in the winter months.

 

[gsellis]

Oh thanks for reminding me... I need to get some bulbs for my faceting machine!

Try the quartz lights used in track lighting or for lighting pictures. I makes my CC garnet go blue.

 

[velouriaL]

Am a total geek for the relationship between science, technology, and culture. So as much as I feel for you, I'm also fascinated! Imagine how lack of electric light shaped tastes in gems and jewelry originally. Similarly, There's a book called Mauve about how before the advent of synthetic dyes, the urban environment was pretty bleak because most people were poor (gap between rich and poor was even worse than it is now) and couldn't afford expensively dyed clothes, and so mostly wore shade of brown. When the first cheap dyes were invented, there was an explosion of color on the streets. So interesting!

 

[iLander]

Am a total geek for the relationship between science, technology, and culture. So as much as I feel for you, I'm also fascinated! Imagine how lack of electric light shaped tastes in gems and jewelry originally. Similarly, There's a book called Mauve about how before the advent of synthetic dyes, the urban environment was pretty bleak because most people were poor (gap between rich and poor was even worse than it is now) and couldn't afford expensively dyed clothes, and so mostly wore shade of brown. When the first cheap dyes were invented, there was an explosion of color on the streets. So interesting!

You might enjoy a book by Bill Bryson, called "At Home". It discusses in detail (without being boring) the relationship between the evolution of the home and it's effect on people's habits and lives, over the last 1,000 years. It's really quite interesting, and Bill Bryson is always good. (I am geeky for architecture and it's psychological effect on people.) If you're really interested in history of ordinary life, there's a book called "The Year 1000" by Robert Lacey, that talks about everyday living in that year. I confess I haven't read the second one, it's been sitting in my library for quite a while, staring back at me with reproach.

 

[iLander]

Bumping so that velouriaL will see my reply

 

[JewelFreak]

iLander, my mom gave me The Year 1000 a long time ago -- I loved it. Gives readers a whole new perspective on our lives now, not to mention good history -- I'm a history nut. Especially when people moan about how hard their lives are; we in our times don't know from true poverty & deprivation.

--- Laurie

 

[Arkteia]

Yesterday I read about CFls. One producer said that Soft White CFls were closest to Reveal bulbs, but still not the same.I feel that in general there is no coming back and I am not going to stock up incandescent bulbs because soon the lamp industry will come up with better bulbs given health hazards of CFls.

 

[chrono]

LEDs could be next if they can bring costs down.

 

[Arkteia]

My CFls give yellow-orange, scattered light, which never falls on a stone, and all red, pink and orange colors look horrible. Greens and blues survive, but they do not sparkle. Worst light ever. I am planning to install LEDs, at least in the kitchen. A LED table lamp for my office made a striking difference. I have a suspision that CFls are not good for the mood, but there is little statistics.