Advanced Coloured Gemstones Course
This advanced training course (ATC) is an intense gemmological programme that offers a detailed hands-on approach to identifying treatment and origin of ruby, sapphire and emerald.
5 days, 4000.- Swiss Francs
Upcoming dates: 24 – 28 April 2023 (fully booked), 19 – 23 June 2023, 20 – 24 November 2023
Aim of this course
You will work hands-on with an optical microscope and UV-lamp to identify the common characteristics of: i) natural ruby, sapphire and emerald from different geographic origins, ii) synthetic ruby, sapphire, and emerald, and iii) treated ruby, sapphire, and emerald, while being made aware of the possibilities and limitations of gemstone authenticity, origin determination and treatment detection with these methods.
For additional details, please do not hesitate to contact us
Day 1
- Synthetic rubies and sapphires as well as treatments involving heating of ruby and sapphire
- Use of the optical microscope to observe and identify the microscopic characteristics of a wide range of treated (including flux and glass filling) and untreated ruby and sapphire samples, as well as synthetic rubies and sapphires
Day 2
- Origin determination of ruby
- Introduction to the different methods used to determine the geographic origin of rubies.
- Use of the UV-lamp and optical microscope to observe and identify the characteristics and inclusions of rubies from a wide range of different geographic origins (e.g. Burma, Mozambique, Thailand)
Day 3
- Origin determination of sapphire
- Introduction to the different methods used to determine the geographic origin of sapphires.
- Use of the UV-lamp and optical microscope to observe and identify the characteristics and inclusions of sapphires from a wide range of different geographic origins (e.g. Burma, Kashmir, Sri Lanka)
Day 4
- Origin Determination and Treatment Detection of Emeralds
- Introduction to the different methods used to determine the geographic origin of emeralds.
- Use of the UV-lamp and optical microscope to observe and identify i) the characteristics and inclusions of emeralds from a wide range of different geographic origins (e.g. Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, Zambia), ii) the detection of clarity modification (e.g.fissure filling with oil, resin or wax), iii) the characteristics of synthetic emeralds.
Day 5
- Practical training with the optical microscope on a wide range of rubies, emeralds and sapphires from the SSEF collection
- Discussion and review of content covered during the course
- Presentation of the ATC- Coloured Gemstones Certificate of Attendance
Information on dates and prices of courses: click here
