pink sapphire/blue spinel gemstone

[lovedogs]

You also said the company/dealer has stated stones coming from two different places on the planet and they don't test every stone. You should question it, and due diligence is the smartest move.
There are no chimera stones that I'm aware of.
It would be classed as a bicolor or parti sapphire whether natural or synthetic.

Yup. But the company in question has paperwork stating they test every stone. So the chances that this is a chimera stone is essentially 0 IMHO.

 

[Autumn in New England]

like bugs bunny said, " HARDY HAR HAR "

But Ralph Kramden said it first.

 

[Autumn in New England]

I don't see how those pics show you anything about lattice or multiple minerals

^ It's difficult enough to decipher color from photos, let alone chemistry, composition, or structure. Other species of gem, such as corundum, often have inclusions of spinel. But I've never heard of a crystal with one side sapphire and one side spinel, which have grown perfectly together in varying degrees of the same color. This is clearly zoning.

 

[tomhorn]

^ It's difficult enough to decipher color from photos, let alone chemistry, composition, or structure. Other species of gem, such as corundum, often have inclusions of spinel. But I've never heard of a crystal with one side sapphire and one side spinel, which have grown perfectly together in varying degrees of the same color. This is clearly zoning.

yes. mineral zoning. on the left picture there is light color zoning AND 4 instances of spinel cut with the sapphire. ( i absolutely love the crystal in the bottom left pavillion. its so utterly cool ) thankyou everyone for collectively answering my question. here is what is was. " IF THIS HOLDS REAL, how many of these are there in this world ? "
everyones answer was this. " JUST THAT ONE ". thankyou all for your honesty or lack there of. i cant hardly wait to view this with my X10 loupe.

 

[lovedogs]

Wishing you luck. I honestly have no idea what you're seeing or think you're seeing, but I hope it turns out that you're happy with it

 

[Autumn in New England]

Again, I agree with @lovedogs. So to answer your question... if what ends up being the case is the stone simply has color zoning and maybe some spinel inclusions, I'd say it's very common. Is the sapphire crystal is somehow miraculously and perfectly spliced with a spinel crystal, I'd say it's very rare. Whatever the case, I too hope you love the stone and enjoy it!

 

[tomhorn]

Wishing you luck. I honestly have no idea what you're seeing or think you're seeing, but I hope it turns out that you're happy with it

once i see the confirmation of magnesium being in this stone, i will make sure to capture that report on camera an post it. color zoning im quite familiar with. ive seldom seen color zoning on this scale. i once saw an article about rubys with blue color zoning. i wouldnt say this is ruby. someone said this was amethyst here. ( yes, ive been buying oddball diamonds, sapphires, garnets and tourmalines now for 4 years running. ) its wonderful to my ears that a ask a very specific question, and 90% come back with an attack.

 

[Autumn in New England]

once i see the confirmation of magnesium being in this stone, i will make sure to capture that report on camera an post it. color zoning im quite familiar with. ive seldom seen color zoning on this scale. i once saw an article about rubys with blue color zoning. i wouldnt say this is ruby. someone said this was amethyst here. ( yes, ive been buying oddball diamonds, sapphires, garnets and tourmalines now for 4 years running. ) its wonderful to my ears that a ask a very specific question, and 90% come back with an attack.

But see rubies and sapphires are the same material, just colored by different trace elements. So it makes sense that the crystals may grow together along the same planes. This would be two totally different species of gem perfectly melded together, so it's difficult to wrap our heads around. The much simpler and logical explanation is color zoning.

I don't think anyone is attacking you and I'm sorry you feel that way... it's just that we have some very experienced collectors (and vendors) here who really know their stuff. So when a new member posts about something like this, they're going to give it to you straight without a lot of sugar-coating. If you end up being a frequent poster, you'll come to understand the dynamic.

 

[lovedogs]

once i see the confirmation of magnesium being in this stone, i will make sure to capture that report on camera an post it. color zoning im quite familiar with. ive seldom seen color zoning on this scale. i once saw an article about rubys with blue color zoning. i wouldnt say this is ruby. someone said this was amethyst here. ( yes, ive been buying oddball diamonds, sapphires, garnets and tourmalines now for 4 years running. ) its wonderful to my ears that a ask a very specific question, and 90% come back with an attack.

Sapphires have color zoning. Tons and tons of them. Winza rubies/sapphires do too. I think you're confused.

 

[tomhorn]

But see rubies and sapphires are the same material, just colored by different trace elements. So it makes sense that the crystals may grow together along the same planes. This would be two totally different species of gem perfectly melded together, so it's difficult to wrap our heads around. The much simpler and logical explanation is color zoning.

I don't think anyone is attacking you and I'm sorry you feel that way... it's just that we have some very experienced collectors (and vendors) here who really know their stuff. So when a new member posts about something like this, they're going to give it to you straight without a lot of sugar-coating. If you end up being a frequent poster, you'll come to understand the dynamic.

i can understand fully the alarmbells going off. im very happy the tree was shaken. i sure didnt shake it. all i did was ask for a population report. and what i found out is that eyeclean its 1. now i can be happier still adding this to my growing collection of one-off gemstones. ( thisll be a different subject )

 

[Rfisher]

once i see the confirmation of magnesium being in this stone, i will make sure to capture that report on camera an post it. color zoning im quite familiar with. ive seldom seen color zoning on this scale.

Magnesium being in the stone will confirm what to you? Sapphire can have it..

I once had a blue sapphire that had fluorescence zoning.
Oddities are cool.

 

[tomhorn]

magnisium in the stone confirms there is spinal in the stone. i just read where i can skip the gamma spectroscopy. magnesium is radioactive. nothing else in there will be radioactive but the Mg. unless it has Fe, which would make it a ruby. so my cheapo geiger counter will suffice.

 

[Rfisher]

magnisium in the stone confirms there is spinal in the stone.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

magnisium in the stone confirms there is spinal in the stone. i just read where i can skip the gamma spectroscopy. magnesium is radioactive. nothing else in there will be radioactive but the Mg. unless it has Fe, which would make it a ruby. so my cheapo geiger counter will suffice.

No, it doesn't.
Zoning like you showed for sapphire is very common. As @Rfisher has already stated there are trace amounts of magnesium in all sapphire. Differing amounts of trace elements dictate color.
Synthetic parti sapphire is also common.
The only way you're going to know about this sapphire is if you get it tested by a reputable lab.

The one thing I'm positive is that it's not some chimera spinel/sapphire.
I'm sorry to disappoint, but we won't lie to you. We're here to educate.

We aren't attacking you. We just have some experience with colored gems. Quite a lot of experience spread out among us. We're just telling you what we know.

 

[tomhorn]

No, it doesn't.
Zoning like you showed for sapphire is very common. As @Rfisher has already stated there are trace amounts of magnesium in all sapphire. Differing amounts of trace elements dictate color.
Synthetic parti sapphire is also common.
The only way you're going to know about this sapphire is if you get it tested by a reputable lab.

The one thing I'm positive is that it's not some chimera spinel/sapphire.
I'm sorry to disappoint, but we won't lie to you. We're here to educate.

We aren't attacking you. We just have some experience with colored gems. Quite a lot of experience spread out among us. We're just telling you what we know.

ive heard four or five posters litteraly say HUH? and i never asked anyone what they thought about my rock. i asked a very pointed question. should this hypothesis be true..........do i need to repeat the prior phrase? cause im sure i highlighted it before..........how many of these in this condition are there on the third rock from the sun? no one has answered that. in a direct way. so this is very cool. i never asked anyone here about what they thought of my stone. i asked what its population was. and due to the denial of everyone who wished to one upmanship there way to being irrelevant, i simply say bravo. i am sure i said if you thought this was bothering you just dont reply and continue about your business. i can dig that up im sure to remind you. so the lattice in the corundum is hexagonal. okay. and the spinel would be isometric. this alone would account for the sharp contrasting of zonation wether you call it color zonation or not. why you continue to post " no way, isnt so " " nananabooboo " i have no idea. 50 some posts later the answer is " one Tom. if that is indeed what you have ". not some crap of no way, im right youre wrong. how childlike. we are supposed to be adults. a few of you have acted very mature. others are rehersing for when someone gets a kickme sign taped to their backs. you act like im to say, oh my!!! thats right. GIA, and all Gods angels will reveal the truth. imaging that.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

how many of these in this condition are there on the third rock from the sun? no one has answered that.

Fair enough.
None.
Enjoy your parti sapphire.

 

[Autumn in New England]

ive heard four or five posters litteraly say HUH? and i never asked anyone what they thought about my rock. i asked a very pointed question. should this hypothesis be true..........do i need to repeat the prior phrase? cause im sure i highlighted it before..........how many of these in this condition are there on the third rock from the sun? no one has answered that. in a direct way. so this is very cool. i never asked anyone here about what they thought of my stone. i asked what its population was. and due to the denial of everyone who wished to one upmanship there way to being irrelevant, i simply say bravo. i am sure i said if you thought this was bothering you just dont reply and continue about your business. i can dig that up im sure to remind you. so the lattice in the corundum is hexagonal. okay. and the spinel would be isometric. this alone would account for the sharp contrasting of zonation wether you call it color zonation or not. why you continue to post " no way, isnt so " " nananabooboo " i have no idea. 50 some posts later the answer is " one Tom. if that is indeed what you have ". not some crap of no way, im right youre wrong. how childlike. we are supposed to be adults. a few of you have acted very mature. others are rehersing for when someone gets a kickme sign taped to their backs. you act like im to say, oh my!!! thats right. GIA, and all Gods angels will reveal the truth. imaging that.

Well, I answered the best I could (regarding rarity)... see post #36. But how could we possibly have accurate figures about something we're not even sure exists?

 

[Autumn in New England]

Fair enough.
None.
Enjoy your parti sapphire.

 

[lovedogs]

Yuuuuup. This is my cue to bow out, as we are now fully into delusional territory

 

[LilAlex]

all i did was ask for a population report. and what i found out is that eyeclean its 1.

I'm pretty sure I have a nut that is half hazelnut and half macadamia nut. I don't want to know if such a thing is possible; I only want to know exactly how many of them there are in the world. I think I am paraphrasing your question and this thread.

You are asking a few dozen people on the internet -- how can this possibly provide any useful information about the total number of such instances in the world, assuming that it is non-zero to begin with? I could do a little digging and name a hundred cars or watches that no one here would have heard of but that would not "prove" that mine is unique or that mine is rare and valuable.

 

[LunaIzzy]

Sapphires have color zoning. Tons and tons of them. Winza rubies/sapphires do too. I think you're confused.

I think sapphire has hexagonal color zoning

 

[Starstruck8]

To stir the pot a bit more...

Corundum-spinel stones do exist! Here is an example:


At least, it's claimed to be, and I have no reason to doubt it. The picture is on a forum we are not allowed to link to, but searching on "corundum spinel intergrowth" should find it, along with some interesting discussion.

Here's an article describing a spinel rim on corundum (warning: heavy petrology):
https://academic.oup.com/petrology/article/64/2/egac130/6973193
The article suggests that the spinel rim was formed by reactions between the corundum crystal and the surrounding basaltic melt. As you hinted, there were approximate alignments of the crystal axes of the corundum and the spinel. The corundum crystal was about 2cm long. The rim was only about 0.2mm thick.

Neither of these examples is gem quality, or even close. But maybe they give some hope. FWIW, I've never seen or heard of gem quality corundum-spinel. But that doesn't count for much.

I agree with the others. Your pictures appear to show ordinary colour zoning. I can't see that you have given any good reason to suggest otherwise.

 

[Starstruck8]

I think sapphire has hexagonal color zoning

True. You can see it in top stone in the picture in my previous post.

But often the side of the hexagon goes right across cut stone, so you don't see any tell-tale corners. This is very common, almost standard, in parti sapphires.

You can also get zoning along the c-axis, with the zones parallel to the base plane.

 

[LunaIzzy]

To stir the pot a bit more...

Corundum-spinel stones do exist! Here is an example:


At least, it's claimed to be, and I have no reason to doubt it. The picture is on a forum we are not allowed to link to, but searching on "corundum spinel intergrowth" should find it, along with some interesting discussion.

Here's an article describing a spinel rim on corundum (warning: heavy petrology):
https://academic.oup.com/petrology/article/64/2/egac130/6973193
The article suggests that the spinel rim was formed by reactions between the corundum crystal and the surrounding basaltic melt. As you hinted, there were approximate alignments of the crystal axes of the corundum and the spinel. The corundum crystal was about 2cm long. The rim was only about 0.2mm thick.

Neither of these examples is gem quality, or even close. But maybe they give some hope. FWIW, I've never seen or heard of gem quality corundum-spinel. But that doesn't count for much.

I agree with the others. As best I can tell, your pictures appear to show ordinary colour zoning. I can't see that you have given any good reason to suggest otherwise.

Wow I've never seen or heard of corundum-spinel.

 

[Nick_G]

@Nick_G

I have one or two mineral specimens where corundum crystals are directly embedded in spinel from Luc Yen in Vietnam, but these are somewhat different to cut stones. The best example is a large spinel (which looks to be chemically degraded) hosting numerous purple corundum/sapphire crystals. My guess is the magnesium was used up during the formation of the spinel and corundum was thus formed instead. I've attached a couple of pics.

 

[fredflintstone]

You take the magnesium out of Spinel and you have corundum, aluminum oxide. Can the two fuse? Well, it is in Spinel already. Can Spinel and Sapphire be combined in one stone? I'd think yes, but only partially, you cannot have a whole stone be both. Think of it as sort of a natural diffusion or should I say, un-diffusion??? It would most certainly be one of the rarest of anomalies in gemology. In layman’s term just call it, half baked or half unbaked. Whichever your preference.