Micro-WorldFall 2023 - Volume 59, Issue 3, Fall 2023, Vol. 59, No. 3

Rainy Lakeside City in Peridot

Makoto Miura

Inclusions in gemstones provide useful information regarding their geological origin. A 2.08 ct Burmese peridot containing unique black blade-like inclusions developed from healed fractures (fingerprints), as shown in the figure above. Raman spectroscopy identified these blade-like inclusions as magnetite. Tiny raindrop-like magnetite lamellae were also observed throughout the stone. Such inclusions in Burmese peridot sometimes create four-rayed asterism. According to previous studies, the presence of magnetite lamellae suggests the oxidation or dehydration of olivine by geological processes. This image resembles a rainy lakeside city landscape.

Makoto Miura is supervisor of colored stone identification at GIA in Tokyo.

You Might Also Like

YMAL AJP
Discover GIA's New Campus in London
Learn About NextGem
GIA NextGem™ Diamond Training for Retail
Explore GIA Laboratory Promotional Offers
Explore GIA Laboratory Promotional Offers
Shop the GIA Store
Shop the GIA Store