GEM ID QUESTIONS? Fake Real or Altered?

[Former_Member]

GEM ID QUESTIONS? Fake Real or Altered?

[StoneWingDesigns]

Can anyone tell me what this stone is?

http://stonewingdesigns.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/beads-to-sell-035.jpg

It's probably some sort of jasper, but I'd like to find the name. Could it be a variety of Unakite?

Thank you!

[Former_Member]

no idea Laurel.. :-) i think it looks like Unakite as you said but it is probably jasper (or unakite :-).. very pretty whatever it is. Jasper come is so many patterns even in one rock and you go over a whole deposit the combinations are almost infinite. I have a deposit of jasper i work and this is really true.

[Former_Member]

I'd say unakite, but not a high quality. Beads are usually made with lower grades so can sometimes be a bit blurry or have other components that make them look less typical.

[WickedMagpie]

A question about amber....I know there are several methods to test and find out whether the specimens I have are amber or copal, and the least invasive sounding test seems to be the u.v. light test. The problem is I don't know where to buy a u.v. bulb, or just how it all works. (Do I have to go into a darkened room? Does the u.v. bulb need a special base to work?) If anyone has the time and information, or if they have a good site for me to learn about it, I'd be so grateful for the help! Thanks!

[Former_Member]

The hardware store should have one (stumbled across them recently).

[Former_Member]

I don't know if this is the info you were looking for, but here is a quote of what I have in my about page.

........."Here is an aside about amber testing as I have received requests for it.

The assumption that amber floats in water with a little salt is so common that it has become somewhat an urban legend.
Amber only floats in a SUPER-SATURATED salt water solution. The confusion results, I think, because most people have no idea that super-saturated means a specific chemical technique that needs to be done correctly to result in a correct reading.

How to prepare the solution:

Prepare the super-saturated solution by bringing water to a boil, add salt little by little while boiling. Add as much salt as needed until it no longer dissolves but leaves visible salt crystals in the bottom of the pan. Let the solution cool, then test the amber in this solution.
This test will require quite a lot of salt.
Here is a link explaining super-saturation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersaturation
or do a google search on super-saturated solutions.

This test is non-destructive. '"

[Former_Member]

You will need a SHORT WAVE UV lamp for this test. Do the test in a dark room.
Copal under a short-wave UV light shows hardly any color change. Amber fluoresces a pale shade of blue.

[WickedMagpie]

Hi Rosita - thank you SO MUCH!!!! You are an angel! I am somewhat worried about the salt water test, and had read what I thought was enough info on it, but what you say makes much more sense. I had run into a couple of 'recipes' but thought the proportions didn't sound quite right. That's one of the reasons I wanted to do the u.v. test.

Off to buy a short wave UV lamp and bulb. Thanks again so much Rosita!

[Former_Member]

You are welcome!