The best gem labs

[fredflintstone]

It was suggested to me by a gemmologist - but cant remember who it was. Apparently a lot of rough stones end up Sri Lanka - is that true Fred?
If so, a lot of stones are going to be sold as Sri Lankan that are actually Madagascar.
The fact they are the same geological source does not satisfy a buyer who wants Sri Lankan and knows they cost a bit more.

There really is no price difference between Sri Lanka and Madagascar blue Sapphire anymore. There was at the start of the find in Madagascar, but like any important high quality gemstone find especially with Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, etc. price goes up the longer the mines are producing (as the public becomes more aware) and at the start of the find prices are the cheapest, even for many secondary gemstone species. It’s really all about the color today and not comparable to the premium Kashmir and Burma Sapphire brings, but there are dead ringers for both Kashmir and Burma from both Sri Lanka and Madagascar that has been labeled by the big labs as Burma and especially Kashmir origin. Sometimes you just cannot tell the gemological difference.


While it is true that Sri Lankan dealers are over in Madagascar buying stones as deposits in Sri Lanka are increasingly shrinking, that does not mean Sri Lanka's two top labs are being paid to say Sri Lanka origin as the two are gemological indistinguishable in many cases. So, how is one to tell?

But it is true that some Sri Lanka dealers are calling Madagascar stones Sri Lankan, or I should say Ceylon, as it is a more recognizable trade name, or brand if you will. With that said, there was more importance on the trade name Ceylon 30 years ago than today. Times change.


Here is an interesting article.

World Sapphire Market Update • 2020 • Lotus Gemology

Review of the world sapphire market in 2020, with major sources such as Kashmir, Burma (Myanmar), Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Madagascar compared.

www.lotusgemology.com

 

[Frost]

Thanks Frost, that was a great coverage.
Do you think there should be a rating on labs for their equipment levels?
or a pass or fail?
or nothing needed because it's a given?

@Garry H (Cut Nut)
In practice it's pretty much a given with any even remotely serious lab - but it's always better to check and ask if it isn't a lab that a person knows. I wouldn't expect people in NA to know labs around Asia or someone in China to know SG labs etc., so questions are still better than assumptions I suppose.

The other thing that needs saying at least for the sake of it is that having the instruments is one thing but knowing how to practically use them another. FTIR for example needs a good database and this is something that needs to be constantly updated and maintained and researched - new stones, new sources etc. have to be compared so a framework of "heat" and "no heat" could be maintained with a good degree of certainty.

Labs mentioned on here do that already, but I just wanted to mention it so people don't assume that a new lab that popped up out of nowhere yesterday and simply bought the instruments is trustworthy simply because of the tech itself. It takes expertise as well, as I'm sure everyone on here already knows (mentioning it for newbies).

The fact they are the same geological source does not satisfy a buyer who wants Sri Lankan and knows they cost a bit more.

Buyer origin preferences aside (which everyone is entitled to), pricing doesn't change significantly between LK and Mada for anything of high enough quality anymore, IMO.

Take a 5 carat vivid royal blue as an example, it'll be every bit as expensive from Madagascar as it is from Sri Lanka for the simple fact that there are never enough of them out of the ground.

Madagascar has shaken off its "less preferred" status over these past few years due to how massive the demand for these stones that are very rare to begin with is. Or that's been my experience at least.

The one exception I could think of would be pads, where Lankan pads just simply tend to look better than the Mada counterparts. Less brown, fewer inclusions, more delicately balanced colors. But even that has some exceptions.

Thank you for your modern assessment of sapphire treatment. Based on what you say, then if I sent my sapphire, that could not be diagnostically detected for chemical enhancement, to the same lab today (AGL/Chris Smith), they wouldn’t have to send it to the LA-ICP-MS. Is that correct?

From what I remember, the stone didn't even have crystals that showed signs of high heat (which would have likely been a clue to AGL themselves) but due to diffusion being a scare at the time, you wanted to be extremely sure of it so AGL connected you to C.S. who told you that in order to be 100% certain they could send it for the type of testing usually reserved for mineralogical research samples.

Theoretically, if they see a stone that has not been put through near-melt heat and has none of the other signs of diffusion outlined earlier above, they already know it hasn't been diffused through either surface or lattice.

But who knows, maybe they weren't sure themselves? Perhaps it was heated with very high temperatures but showed no other traces of anything? Or maybe the stone contained unexpected traces of Be like some stones from Madagascar or Australia naturally do? Or maybe it was simply to give you peace of mind?

It was in 2011 after all... Been a long while.

Either way, an LA-ICP-MS simply isn't the necessity it's sometimes made out to be here because other instruments provide more than ample info on likelihoods and possibilities unless we're talking about really astronomically low chances that will more often pop up in research centers than in any collector's box. And in those cases, any lab worth being called a lab will anyway return the stone to the customer and tell them that further testing would be needed to issue a report.
Put simply, if labs routinely had to send sapphires to research centers or Unis they'd go out of business both because of costs and lead times.

 

[Rfisher]

Thats what I am proposing.
I will start a poll thread for Sri Lanka.
We can make this into a review thread as topics like this on PS rank very high on search engines.
First though - are there any other labs not in that list? (using it because it seems the longest online list I found)

1. Emteem Gem Laboratory(E.G.Lab/EGL) - Sri Lanka
in Beruwala. - - No Price List to the Public - - Report Verification
very professional in Sapphire & Ruby, a very respected lab, the no.1 lab in Sri Lanka.
http://emteemgemlab.lk/

2. Gemmological Institute of Colombo(GIC) - Sri Lanka
in Colombo. - - No Price List to the Public - - Report Verification
https://www.gicolombo.com/

3. Global Gem Testing Laboratory(GGTL) - Sri Lanka
in Colombo, Beruwala. - - No Price List to the Public - - Report Verification
http://www.ggtlsl.com/


And some more from a Google search

4. GIC https://www.gicolombo.com/

5. French Gem Lab https://www.frenchgemlab.com/

6. Gem Lab Kandy https://glklab.com/

7. A government one??? NGJA https://www.ngja.gov.lk/

8. CGL http://www.ceylongemlaboratory.com/

9. LGL https://lankagemlab.com/

This is another resourcwith a list OMG there are so many!

Gem Testing Lab, Wholesaler & Dealers in Sri Lanka - Where to Find Them?

Find the list of Top Gem Testing Lab, Gemstone Wholesaler & Dealers in Sri Lanka on our business directory. Best Gem Testing Lab, Gemstone Wholesaler & Dealers near me.

classifylanka.com

#5 French Gem Lab

I have a sapphire on which they reported as no evidence of heat
But AGL reported as standard heat.

I know this thread is old

But it’s be interesting to hear anyone else’s experience with these labs Garry listed

 

[icy_jade]

Can‘t link to the closed thread but thought these are interesting to include in this thread:

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/magnificent-jewels-i-2/sapphire-and-diamond-ring-10-06ke-la-tian-ran-ma

and
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/fine-jewels/synthetic-ruby-and-diamond-ring

 

[LilAlex]

^ Gubelin 95.9 and unheated. Don't need much more than that!

I failed to notice the transition mid-post and briefly thought that's pretty good for a synthetic ruby!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

^ Gubelin 95.9 and unheated. Don't need much more than that!

I failed to notice the transition mid-post and briefly thought that's pretty good for a synthetic ruby!

Yup, it is not exact science but Gem Genus is a no brainer, gem species and origin is all over the shop!