Comments on: Beauty Revealed – Gemstones under the Microscope

By: GIA 4Cs of Diamond Quality

GIA 4Cs of Diamond Quality — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The top photo is Opalized Wood and the second image is actually rutile (a mineral) in sapphire magnified 60x.

By: curious

curious — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 17:46:00 +0000

Which gems are the top to pictures?

By: giamktg

giamktg — Thu, 01 May 2014 02:06:00 +0000

Single crystals of hematite sometimes have a hexagonal outline because of their crystal structure. However, the discs shown in this image are an aggregate of many hematite crystals radiating out from a single point. Because it is confined to a break in the apatite, the radial structure of the hematite is limited to two dimensions resulting in disc shapes instead of spheres.

By: diknaian

diknaian — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 20:58:00 +0000

Hematite is an iron oxide and doesn’t form like traditional gem stones. It is formed in the same crystal structure as corundum (hexagonal) but because its an iron oxide rather than an aluminum oxide like corundum it forms in these rounded shapes kind of like a big mound of melted marshmallow.

By: Bernie Santen

Bernie Santen — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 01:57:00 +0000

Hematite discs ?? Why are they round? I thought all crystalline objects have angles . Only gas and liquid in gems would cause rounded edges .
Bernie Santen