Sapphire breath test

[Gecko Asiks]

Hi all, newb here.

The breath test to give an indication if a sapphire is actually corundum, does it really work or is it an internet gimmick?

 

[VividRed]

Hi Gecko,

Welcome to the forum!

Never heard of this before. Funny idea though, maybe we can push it a bit further and test for heat treatment with saliva?

Just kidding, if you need to know for sure have your stone tested at a reputable lab (AGL, GIA, GRS, etc.), they can run basic tests for under 100$.

Cheers!

 

[Skyjems]

That is a myth. Synthetic corundum will act like natural corundum with a 'breath test'

 

[Bron357]

No, the breath test is supposedly useful for identifying diamonds. It’s a silly test.
Even if it was quantifiable, it won’t tell you if it’s from the ground or out of a lab.
A blue coloured gemstone could be anything from glass, to treated Quartz, to Topaz, To Spinel to Sapphire to even Diamond.
Or it could be a lab grown gemstones. This is very common especially if the gemstone is large in size and “perfect”.
Gemstones can also be treated. They can be heated, irradiated, heated with other elements to improve colour or heat with flux (glass) to fill in the cracks and fissures of a poor quality stone. These treatments often require specialized equipment to detect.
All these treatments are designed to make a poor quality stone, worth little, into something that looks a lot better and much more valuable.
The are “tests” you can do at home with some equipment that can help ie using magnification your look for inclusions or calculating Specific gravity. Natural gemstones are rarely flawless. Lab grown gemstones are usually “flawless” and have growth lines called curved striae.
Different gemstones have different specific gravity but again this test doesnt tell you if it’s a natural from the ground or grown the lab.
So no, you can’t simply and easily identify natural sapphire.

 

[Gecko Asiks]

Thanks for everyone's replies.

I get that lab and natural corundum are both corundum, and I wasn't querying if the breath test could pick between the two. My apologies if I confused anyone on that.

Because of the density of corundum (both lab and natural), I simply wondered if the breath test could be used to spot gems of differing substances, that were posing as corundum.

I suppose the jury is still out on that one

Cheers

 

[LilAlex]

I suppose the jury is still out on that one

No it isn't.

Your breath's ability to fog anything depends upon the ambient temperature, ambient humidity, whether the stone is really at ambient temp, how fast you are breathing (impacts humidity of exhaled air), etc., etc., etc.

Maybe it can help you discern if a good-sized stone is actually made of plastic. But if you need your breath for that, I have some gems I'd like to sell you...

 

[LD]

If a breath test determined anything at all (which it doesn't) then it would potentially negate the need for lab equipment. I'm afraid this is one of those old wives tails that just isn't true.

 

[arkieb1]

That is a myth. Synthetic corundum will act like natural corundum with a 'breath test'

+ 1 and I've had man made sapphires so convincing they have inclusions that look like real sapphire inclusions in them too, so if in doubt send it to a lab.