Notes on Fake Star Sapphires, Star Rubies, ETC and What to Watch Out For

[FarmMom]

Have you ever had an item of jewelry that you ADORED or maybe was a family heirloom and you FOUND OUT it was actually FAKE?

How does that CHANGE your perception or feelings toward that item?

. . . . . . .

During a period of research this week (I got more results back on my gemstones, I'll post about that in a bit), I came across some information regarding asterism in stones (the star effect).

I'm sure you'll hear Shop LC hosts regurgitate this later (they usually do), but the star effect is caused from a specific mineral: titanium. The amount of titanium usually affects how much star is shown on a gemstone. Likely some sort of electrical charge or heat or radiation caused the titanium fibers to align in a certain direction, and depending on how they align they can show a cats eye, a 4 point star, or many more points. Also they can show many stars at once, some more vivid than others.

But not all star gems are created equally. MANY are fake.

I give ShopLC credit . . . they at least LIST theirs as fake (DF). DF means diffusion is used to INJECT titanium into a stone through the pits and cracks, often used in conjunction with fissure filling (FF) to clean up the cracks. Anytime a stone is FF, it's value plummets. I read an article about a MASSIVE star sapphire that was being tested. The lab noticed brown epoxy on the bottom, which put it into a "treated stone" category and low value. The lab informed the owner that if they removed the epoxy, the stone's value would increase, despite the holes left behind because it would then be able to be listed as fully natural.

of course the owner agreed. However, upon removal of the epoxy, the lab was able to see that it was in fact also GLASS FILLED (where they inject glass or resin, etc into the cracks), and mixed in was the titanium. It could not then be listed natural but only as treated.

The stone then became a paper weight as it had little to no value.

But sadly this isn't the ONLY way a star stone can be faked. There are a few others.

Star quartz is a favorite. While star quartz in itself is rare, it's a VERY easy way to fake a much more expensive stone. The quartz is bonded to a colored disc, or perhaps even a small slab of real stone, which lends the color needed. Upon looking at the stone from above, you see a colored stone with a beautiful star. However looking from the side, while you may still see a star, you do NOT now see the color as quartz is clear. GIA has had a few cases of that brought to them.

The LAST way, is a titanium coating, first made famous by "Lindi". They earned themselves the name "Lindi Star". Lindi was able to create a titanium coating that would reflect back a STUNNING star on whichever gemstone it was applied to. For Lindi, they preferred rubies and sapphires.

Their methods were developed in the late 60's and early 70's, so chances are very good if you had a stone from that time period, it's a fake, especially if it's a Lindi star.

Fortunately, these were VERY easy for any person to spot as fake. Simple sanding and re-polishing would remove the coating and the star of course. REAL star stones will retain their effect regardless of grinding and polishing.

Going back to heirlooms, my Mom had a Lindi star ring which she was very proud of. It was a sapphire and would go to my sister one day. Both us daughters LOVED it and found it fascinating. Likely it's a fake though, which saddens me.

If you like the effect and don't care about re-sale value, DF injected stars are the way to go as they will last.

If you are looking for collectability and value, the real deal are the way to go, but very hard to find (they are rare after all). DF stones are also a bit tricky to test.

[MaeWest1953]

Hi FarmMom.....

I am sure your Mom's ring is still very pretty though
My goodness your knowledge of stones is fabulous and I think you should find a position on ShopLC to "educate" some of those Hosts

[William]

--------- O M G !!!!!!!!!!

Thanks FarmMom INCREDIBLE ! Thanks SO Much for ALL your info & Work!!! You will be able to write your own Book!!! On Stones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AMAZING!!!!!!