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 Post subject: Fake Tanzanite in South Africa
PostPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:25 pm 
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Passing this on. I have left the pictures quite big .

Dear Member,

EGL SA has brought under our attention that there are pieces of glass being sold as rough tanzanite.

You are urged to be careful. See attached pictures of some of the pieces.
Image
Image
Cheers, Hans

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 9:07 pm 
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:lol: thanks for sharing the news with us, hans, on the new glass tanzanite rough.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 7:13 am 
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looks to be etched with acid..

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 8:55 am 
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Or maby fired with crushed glass just to fusing point?

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 9:15 am 
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man..what folks will do to make a quick buck

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:45 am 
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What I find curious is that the amount of ingenuity and industriousness shown in some of these "frauds" is such that if an equal amount of effort were applied to a legitimate business, they would probably succeed... and legally. :cry:


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 4:34 am 
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This is why it is so neat to have your traveling kit with polariscope, "penlight", loupe etc, in the backpack when travelling :D

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:10 am 
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besides glass, synthetic forsterite and iolite are also beeing passed off as tanzanite


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 Post subject: Re: Fake Tanzanite in South Africa
PostPosted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 4:33 pm 
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That picture reeks of cobalt. I can smell it through the monitor. :P


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 Post subject: Re: Fake Tanzanite in South Africa
PostPosted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 3:27 pm 
Gearloose wrote:
That picture reeks of cobalt. I can smell it through the monitor. :P

But it's *such* a nice colour! :lol: .

I have a lovely example, of about 4.5 ct, quite nicely rectangular cut that I bought as part of a small 'teaching' set of imitation, synthetic and natural faceted stones. Give me a couple of days and I'll get it under the 'scope and and if there are useful 'tell-tales' I'll postthe pics here. Come to that, if I can spot no visual tell-tales, that might be worth putting up a couple of pics for general comment also :shock: :D

Other inspections get it easy enough though. RI is wonky for the main look-alikes apart, maybe, from Hauyne nsub](y)[/sub] = 1.514; ADR and UV fluorescence is suspect at least for blue spinel, corundum and even Hauyne.

Still pretty though (until I drop it on a tiled floor.....).


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