I am building another microscope from scratch, as I am wont to do. Though, unlike most of my homemade microscopes, this one can be used to photograph gem inclusions. While I plan to add a few more bits, right now the current build is ridiculously good for making precise length measurements of microscopic objects.
I like photographing three phase inclusions in Colombian emeralds, because they are usually pretty small, but then also very distinctive.
The first two photos below show the same patch of emerald, with a slight change in focal position between the two.
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This first photo shows the typical jagged crevice holding cubic crystal and gas bubble. The length of the left (nearly vertical) side of the cube is 39.8 micrometers or 0.0398 mm, so kind of a larger size for these type inclusions.
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This second photo shows the same region, but with a tiny change in focus. You can still see the previous inclusion out of focus at the bottom of the photo, but now a new inclusion has revealed itself just above and to the right. The left side of cube in this inclusion is 13.8 micrometers.
Now I increase magnification and go to another place in the emerald.
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The third photo shows two cubic crystals in the crevice with a gas bubble trapped between them. The conversion from tiff to jpg format doesn't do this picture justice. But anyways, the smaller cube on the right has a left side length of 5.6 micrometers.
