Is it worthy to pay Gem Lab?

[suryagiri2012]

Hi, I am not expert at all in Gemstone. But I inherited this stone, and don't know what it is. It was my father's table decoration. My question is, Is it worthy to bring this stone to Gem Lab, since it will cost me almost $100. I made photo of inclusions with smartphone. There is a big crystal in one side that exhibite different color in sunlight, but it is not easy to capture by smartphone camera. Thank you in advance..

 

[Bron357]

Hi, sorry to advise but it is a piece of coloured glass so no, don’t spend $100 for a lab report.
It has air bubbles in it and the presence of completely smooth surfaces and those “circular line type” chips are 100% percent typical of fractured glass. People use this type of material for aquarium decoration.
Natural gemstones typically come in certain crystal shapes, depending on the variety of gemstone. Natural gemstones don’t have air bubbles (except for fast cooling volcanic material like pumice) and the colour is never that even throughout the sample or of that very vivid blue colour.

 

[theredspinel]

Yep I agree with @Bron357 I’m no gem expert by any stretch of the imagination but even to my eyes it looked completely like glass.

 

[chrono]

Agree that it looks like glass from the shape and structure, not to mention the bubbles.

 

[suryagiri2012]

How about the inclusions, that's not bubble.. Bubble is round and no fills I checked in websites.. I just studied after posting it, it seems the inclussions do like the picture in some websites :





This is the Crystal, looks same :





The red is mica :







This is the big crystal on the side, looks similar :





And this is glass bubbles, not similar to the inclusions :

 

[shelovesinclusions]

Is having your curiosity satisfied worth $100, even if it ends up being a piece of cobalt glass?

Glass Rock Slag Clear Cobalt Blue 32.10 lbs Rocks G99 Landscaping Aquarium | eBay

Here is a piece of slag glass cullet that is Pretty Clear Cobalt Blue. It weights approx. 17 1/2" x 9". Ihand sand these to remove most of the sharp edges. These are great to add to your flower garden or your fish aquarium.

www.ebay.com

 

[JackTrick]

I don’t think it’s worth it to take it to a gem lab. I believe it is slag glass.

However, if you want to, and can afford it, sure. Go ahead and satisfy your curiosity.

 

[theredspinel]

Just go for the lab verification.

 

[seaurchin]

How about the inclusions, that's not bubble.. Bubble is round and no fills I checked in websites.. I just studied after posting it, it seems the inclussions do like the picture in some websites :





This is the Crystal, looks same :





The red is mica :







This is the big crystal on the side, looks similar :





And this is glass bubbles, not similar to the inclusions :

Many things can have similarities to other things in ways but if you just google "large, blue gems" you would not find one that looks anything like it in that size (unless it was a rare scam, of course). But if you google "large blue slag glass" or "large blue aquarium glass" you will find many that do look like it.

There's a whole lot of gem experience and expertise on this forum and I agree that it's too obviously not a gem to bother spending the time and money to send it to a lab. But it's up to you, of course.

 

[VividRed]

Is it worth it the lab report price? No

Should you send it? Only you can answer

 

[Bron357]

Our advice is not to bother with a lab report because we believe it is glass.
Of course you can disagree and proceed with spending $100 on a report if you like.

 

[musicloveranthony]

I would not send it to a lab. There isn't a gemstone of that size, that color, and that clarity in the hands of someone who doesn't know what it is

 

[dk168]

Another vote for no as it is almost certain to be glass IMHO.

However, only the OP can decide what to do.

DK

 

[JewelledEscalators]

Don't the labs in your area have a verbal option, where they just tell you what it is verbally and it's a lot cheaper than a cert.

 

[dk168]

Take it to a pawn shop for a free evaluation?

DK

 

[JewelledEscalators]

Or try scratching it with something harder than glass. According to wikipedia, glass is 5.5 on MoH. Anything below that can't be a gemstone that looks like the one you have. No?

Mohs scale - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org