What on earth does a non-uniform parallel growth look like?

[Lupinbunny]

(whee! Delurking!)

I''ve been looking about for a sapphire for my engagement ring, and think I''ve settled on one. The colour is lovely, a really rich, saturated blue - not too dark, not too light (heat treated, but I ain''t fussy). But it''s graded (on the Type II scale used for sapphires) as slightly included. I''m told the inclusion is a ''non-uniform parallel growth'', but that the gem faces up eye clean.

Now I''m not expecting perfection by a long shot, but I''m a bit concerned about it being SI on the Type II scale... and I have no idea what the inclusion might look like - a little hazy fingerprint-type cloud? like rutile inclusions? a bleeding black mark in the middle of the gem?

Would you be put off by an SI grading? Opinions or advice for me?

 

[Pieface]

Sorry no-one has been able to help you yet Lupinbunny. I''ll bump this for ya and hopefully some-one with a gemmological background will spot it.

Welcome to Price scope

 

[Lupinbunny]

Well thankyou.

And no probs - I think it amounts to something akin to colour zoning.

I guess I was just in angst over amazing colour + inclusions; or less great colour + free of inclusions.

I''ve settled on the better colour, and I''ll see what "SI" looks like when it turns up Hope I''ve made the right choice!

 

[misspinky]

ohhhh, any pics to share? Did you go with Richard Homer like your other post mentioned?

 

[Proteus]

I''m fairly sure that what they mean is a growth zone, or twinning plane. Usually it looks like a distortion... it''s more common in ruby, but I''ve seen it in sapphires. I have a picture here that I took of some growth zoning from a spodumene (it''s related to kunzite if you''re not familiar) so you can get an idea of what it probably will look like. The way they describe it as "non-uniform" is kind of unusual, but dealers don''t always use proper gemological terms to describe gems and inclusions. They probably mean that it isn''t straight lines like it appears in this spodumene, but perhaps an irregular shape.

Hope this helps!

 

[Lupinbunny]

Oh I did go with Richard Homer - no question about it! No pics because I''m halfway round the world and the gem is transit. Also my partner is threatening to not let me see it at all in an attempt to keep some element of surprise (i''ve had, a, ah, obsessive degree of control over my ring...). But I''ve pointed that that''s not fair because it''s difficult to choose a stone from a picture and I really need to check that I like it.

(I can''t imagine that I won''t, though).

I am guessing it''ll arrive around 12 August... it''s too long to wait!

Proteus: Thanks so much for that picture. It was very helpful. It look in that photo like it''s going across the pavilion/ table? I''m not sure where it is on my gem because it apparently faces up fine. Fingers crossed for something just below the girdle, where I can hide it with a bezel setting!