Is there a cheap way to idenify loose gemstones?
I have a BUNCH of loose gemstones that I have received and I have no idea how to go about identifying them without paying big bucks. The books and sites that I have found suggest using expensive equipment, which I cannot afford. Is there a good book/s that will help a novice identify stones or any where or way I might be able to identify these without breaking the bank??
Answer
If you want to simply identify what gemstones do you have ( stones varieties, names) and you don’t want to spent weeks reading books then your best move will be to visit your local gemdealer and pay him some small fee for reviewing your collection. Do not try jewellers or diamond dealers, because they don’t know much about colour stones. You can also visit local GIA campus and ask students to help you. They should be glad to practice with your gemstones , especially if they doing identification course.
If you want to check whenever your gemstones are natural ( gemstone identification), then your only option is to use gem lab and pay for the identification reports. Depending of the lab, stone size and type of report it will cost you betwen 15 USD to 150 USD per gemstone.
Below links to some gem labs:
GIA ( Gem lab and campus in USA)
Gemlab ( Gem lab in Liechtenstein)
LGL ( Gem lab in USA)
GemA ( Gem lab in UK)
AIGS ( Gem lab in Thailand, Cheap)
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