In part two of our Scientific Equipment blog series, Amanda Zhang, Catalogue Manager from the Jewellery Department, has been discussing her various techniques and equipment used in her day-to-day work.

Advanced techniques and advanced gemmological devices have had a huge impact upon gemstone identification. This has changed how we observe gemstones and impacted what we can find, hence what we understand.

technique

Spectroscopic measurements, carried out principally by gem-testing laboratories, can determine whether a sample gemstone is natural, or has been changed by some form of 'treatment'. Nowadays, increasing quantities of gemstones grown by synthetic methods are now finding their way into the gem market making it is necessary to differentiate these stones from their natural counterparts. Laboratory testing equipment, including FTIR, Raman and UV-VIS, are currently available only in a gem laboratory.

Fellows has been working closely with Jewellery School of Birmingham City University, which is the leading gemmological institute in the UK. Their advanced devices and gemmologists have helped us identify those 'suspicious' gemstones that cannot be confirmed through handheld equipment. Furthermore, Fellows' extensive jewellery resources and gemstone samples enable their students to study gemstones used in a 'real world' setting.