Home PageAbout MindatThe Mindat ManualHistory of MindatCopyright StatusWho We AreContact UsAdvertise on Mindat
Donate to MindatCorporate SponsorshipSponsor a PageSponsored PagesMindat AdvertisersAdvertise on Mindat
Learning CenterWhat is a mineral?The most common minerals on earthInformation for EducatorsMindat ArticlesThe ElementsThe Rock H. Currier Digital LibraryGeologic Time
Minerals by PropertiesMinerals by ChemistryAdvanced Locality SearchRandom MineralRandom LocalitySearch by minIDLocalities Near MeSearch ArticlesSearch GlossaryMore Search Options
The Mindat ManualAdd a New PhotoRate PhotosLocality Edit ReportCoordinate Completion ReportAdd Glossary Item
Mining CompaniesStatisticsUsersMineral MuseumsClubs & OrganizationsMineral Shows & EventsThe Mindat DirectoryDevice SettingsThe Mineral Quiz
Photo SearchPhoto GalleriesSearch by ColorNew Photos TodayNew Photos YesterdayMembers' Photo GalleriesPast Photo of the Day GalleryPhotography
╳Discussions
💬 Home🔎 Search📅 LatestGroups
EducationOpen discussion area.Fakes & FraudsOpen discussion area.Field CollectingOpen discussion area.FossilsOpen discussion area.Gems and GemologyOpen discussion area.GeneralOpen discussion area.How to ContributeOpen discussion area.Identity HelpOpen discussion area.Improving Mindat.orgOpen discussion area.LocalitiesOpen discussion area.Lost and Stolen SpecimensOpen discussion area.MarketplaceOpen discussion area.MeteoritesOpen discussion area.Mindat ProductsOpen discussion area.Mineral ExchangesOpen discussion area.Mineral PhotographyOpen discussion area.Mineral ShowsOpen discussion area.Mineralogical ClassificationOpen discussion area.Mineralogy CourseOpen discussion area.MineralsOpen discussion area.Minerals and MuseumsOpen discussion area.PhotosOpen discussion area.Techniques for CollectorsOpen discussion area.The Rock H. Currier Digital LibraryOpen discussion area.UV MineralsOpen discussion area.Recent Images in Discussions
Fakes & FraudsRuby in Zoisite versus Ruby in Fuchsite
18th Oct 2009 17:48 UTCKristi Hugs
Online, I see lots of vendors who are saying what they have is Ruby in Zoisite, but it is a light green to blue/green which I have always known to be fuchsite. How do you tell the difference?
Also, are there fake/fraudy pieces of this out there?
Any help is gratefully appreciated!
18th Oct 2009 18:17 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager
Fuchsite is a green mica variety, so it will be soft and flaky - If it's fuchsite, you should be able to break thin flakes off very easily with the point of a needle. Zoisite can be lots of different colours, so shade of colour is not a good guide to its identification. The zoisite which forms the massive matrix of the rubies from East Africa is usually light green. The black parts in that material are mostly an amphible.
18th Oct 2009 18:22 UTCKristi Hugs
The reason for the fake question was because someone pointed out that the ruby in her specimen looked more like chips that were inserted.....:) I didnt really get that but it always is prudent to ask :)
thanks again!!
18th Oct 2009 19:25 UTCAdam Kelly
The material with the smaller ruby "chips" is the older material in general.
The newer stuff, maybe five or six years ago, has the bigger/better pieces of ruby.
Fun fact, tanzanite is a form of zoisite.
AK
9th Nov 2009 18:21 UTCJohn Betts
9th Nov 2009 19:53 UTCRock Currier Expert
11th Nov 2009 01:55 UTCKristi Hugs
21st May 2011 05:30 UTCZeng Zhouyu
but ruby fuchsite is from India,Yellow-green fushite (mica) with red Corundum.the rough stone is a slice and chip,not a block.
it is different~~
our factory make the two stone to export many kinds of beads,spheres,eggs,and pendants, cabs....
Just I had a working visit for the ruby fuchsite mine in india.
25th May 2011 21:40 UTCAnonymous User
6th Sep 2011 16:02 UTCKristi Hugs
7th Sep 2011 12:45 UTCRock Currier Expert
10th Oct 2011 05:13 UTCCharlie Odorizzi
10th Oct 2011 11:59 UTCRalph S Bottrill 🌟 Manager
27th Feb 2012 03:06 UTCjgb
Zoesite is a very different mineral (the most valuable form is Tanzanite)
The black in the Ruby/Zoesite (also known as Anyolite) is Hornblende
27th Feb 2012 03:23 UTCCraig Mercer
27th Feb 2012 07:44 UTCAndy Stucki (2)
27th Feb 2012 14:01 UTCBart Cannon
Can you direct me to a paper confirming that the dark xls in the green African zoisite / ruby specimens are truly tschermakite? This would be valuable news for the amphibole challenged such as myself.
No surprise, but EDS shows a little chromium in the green zoisite.
Bart
27th Feb 2012 17:29 UTCAndy Stucki (2)
There's some basic information in a 1954 paper in the Mineralogical Magazine. You can download it here:
http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/MinMag/TOC/TOC30/TOC30_226.htm
The paper focusses on the zoisite but offers some basic information on the amphibole.
Hope this helps,
Andy
27th Feb 2012 21:02 UTCBart Cannon
I was hoping for a much newer reference, but I will obtain the article and review it.
Might be fun to track the history of tschermakite.
I bought a tschermakite grain from Harvard back when they were offering probe standards for oxygen analysis. The grains were good for all of the other constituents.
I'll compare the spectra.
Bart
27th Feb 2012 21:09 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager
4th Oct 2013 07:27 UTCLaurelle Rethke
do any of you guys know the best way to break up a larger chunk of ruby in zoiste? i need smaller pieces. thanks!!
22nd Nov 2013 20:43 UTCTim Jokela Jr
29th Aug 2015 12:57 UTCNurseCheriez
29th Aug 2015 13:01 UTCNurseCheriez
29th Aug 2015 13:07 UTCNurseCheriez
30th Aug 2015 17:41 UTCOwen Melfyn Lewis
Not sure how tanzanite got into this thread but try this as a combi-answer to your recent posts here.
Zoisite is one species of mineral. Tanzanite is a particular variety of zoisite that is only found (so far) in one small area of Tanzania (hence the varietal name). Relatively few (<10%) of tanzanite specimens (either cut gems or mineral specimens) are untreated. Most have been heated to produce/maximise the blue colour that the marked expects to see (because almost all is so treated).
Ruby-in-Zoisite (aka anyolite) comes mainly from Tanzania and Kenya. Both the ruby and the zoisite are opaque and not of gem grade. Typically, the ruby is pink to a light red and the zoisite a dark to emerald green. There may be black spotting. The stuff makes a poor gemstone but can be carved skillfully into some very interesting effects in pieces of ornamental size.
Fuchsite is opaque, a variety of muscovite (a mica) sometimes found as an inclusion in some transparent crystal, such as zoisite or quartz. The colour comes from some substitution in the muscovite formula of Al by Cr. Depending on level of Cr substitution, the green colouration imparted to the muscovite to give the fuchsite variety varies from pale green (sometimes called 'Eau de Nil') to a strong emerald green.
To know whether you have ruby-in-zoisite (colouring agent unspecified) or ruby-in-fuchsite may require a chemical analysis or other testing which almost no retail buyer (nor a majority of dealers) will ever perform.
Then there is always ruby in serpentine, just to confuse things further!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDQld5kSjZM
http://geology.com/minerals/fuchsite.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoisite
Of course, to mineralogists (not mere gem buyers) differentiation between rough specimens of all three may be relatively simple but, between cut and polished specimens, one needs to use instruments.
8th Sep 2015 14:46 UTCReiner Mielke Expert
8th Sep 2015 15:20 UTCOlav Revheim Manager
This corresponds to pargasite in all of the amphibole nomenclatures.
On a general basis, the tschermakite end member is unstable, but ferric iron seems to increase the stability somewhat, but all tschermakites root-name analyses I have seen has been very close to the tschermakite/pargasite/hastingsite join. I don't think a ruby/zoisite rock would contain sufficient amounts of ferric iron to allow tschermakite to form.
Olav
8th Sep 2015 17:31 UTCReiner Mielke Expert
25th Oct 2016 01:18 UTCjoanne
Mindat.org is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 24, 2024 11:00:47
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 24, 2024 11:00:47