Guess the stone!

[fiona00004]

Well, 'starry base' isn't exactly a standard gemmological term... I just made it up. I mean that the stars are produced by a layer of 'starry' material in the base. 'Starry' material has lots of parallel inclusions or scratches that cause the star (as I outlined in the demo with the scissors blade and the loupe.)

This contrasts with 'normal' star stones, in which the whole body is made of starry material, not just the base.

If the base and dome are glued, then ultrasonic cleaning could force fluid into the join, weakening it.

Ok I see!

 

[pokerface]

Here is a similar example:

10k Gold Ring * Synth. Star Sapphire Doublet * "Jelly Belly" Style * Size 6 | eBay

Eye-catching 10k gold ring with a synthetic Blue Star Sapphire. It's hard to show the star effect with the lightbox lights, but the first photo shows it. The ring is stamped "10k" and was tested and verified to be authentic 10k gold.

www.ebay.com

 

[fiona00004]

Here is a similar example:

10k Gold Ring * Synth. Star Sapphire Doublet * "Jelly Belly" Style * Size 6 | eBay

Eye-catching 10k gold ring with a synthetic Blue Star Sapphire. It's hard to show the star effect with the lightbox lights, but the first photo shows it. The ring is stamped "10k" and was tested and verified to be authentic 10k gold.

www.ebay.com

Awesome example! Very similar indeed!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Very interesting! So a thin slice of star gem material with a clear quartz on top. I had no idea these existed!

 

[fiona00004]

Si according to my jeweler who is GIA certified, she says it's probably a chalcedony with a painted bottom. So a type of quartz basically.

 

[Starstruck8]

Si according to my jeweler who is GIA certified, she says it's probably a chalcedony with a painted bottom. So a type of quartz basically.

With all due respect, etc. etc. ... I seriously doubt it. And that's putting it mildly.

How could a star painted on the bottom produce multiple stars in multiple lights? (A bottom engraved with three sets of parallel scratches could, but I don't think that's what your jeweller meant.) Also, chalcedony is usually translucent. The dome looks transparent, more like quartz (in the narrow sense) than chalcedony.

I think @Pokerface's example nails it:

Here is a similar example:

10k Gold Ring * Synth. Star Sapphire Doublet * "Jelly Belly" Style * Size 6 | eBay

Eye-catching 10k gold ring with a synthetic Blue Star Sapphire. It's hard to show the star effect with the lightbox lights, but the first photo shows it. The ring is stamped "10k" and was tested and verified to be authentic 10k gold.

www.ebay.com

The description says quartz dome over synthetic star sapphire. That would explain everything I see in your stone. Of course, other combinations could work - different starry material for the base, different transparent material for the dome. But since the example looks so much like yours - it might have been made by the same people - quartz dome over synthetic sapphire seems most plausible.

 

[fiona00004]

Ya, I know. A bit questionable too. Especially since she only realised there were 6 ray stars when I TOLD her. She at first said "a star? No..just a cat's eye"...

We both agree.not a glued on doublet for sure. The.bottom is likely.coveted in some kind of paint

 

[Starstruck8]

We both agree.not a glued on doublet for sure.

I'm not sure I understand this. @Pokerface's example is described as a doublet. Your stone sure looks like a doublet, judging from the side views. Here's a comparison of Pokerface's example (left) with your stone (right):

Note how similar they look, down to the strange blue blobs above the main division line.

I suspect your jeweller is wrong about this. Or else I may be misunderstanding.

Of course, it could be that the seller's description of Pokerface's example is wrong, and it's not a doublet either. But I doubt it.

 

[fiona00004]

Wouldn't a doublet mean a dome glued to another material underneath. I really don't see any thickness of any kind underneath.
I don't see another layer. Just color

 

[Starstruck8]

Wouldn't a doublet mean a dome glued to another material underneath. I really don't see any thickness of any kind underneath.
I don't see another layer. Just color

I'm still not understanding.



In the pictures, each indicated area looks to me like a blue layer. What does it look like in real life, that suggests it is not a layer glued to the dome? Does the blue look like paint applied to the outside of a bottom shaped like a shallow bowl? If you look in from the side (maybe with a loupe), can you see the bowl curving up to the rim? (But refraction might make it tricky to see what's really happening.)

What does puzzle me is the blue blobs. You can see them in both rings. I can't make sense of them on any theory. Does looking with a loupe throw any light on this?

 

[fiona00004]

Yes, I think a loupe would help. I will try to get one somehow