Abstract:“Trapiche” gemstone has a special phenomenon of hexagonal symmetry similar to “six starlight” caused by the uneven distribution of inclusions or chromogenic elements. Gemstones with this special phenomenon can be divided into two different types, one kind is the “trapiche” gemstone, which is formed by separating the main crystal into different regions by inclusions. The other is a “trapiche-like” gemstone, which looks like the “trapiche” gemstone because of its internal reasons. UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy shows that the main absorption peaks are dominated by 375 and 450 nm, which induced by Fe3+ and its crystal field spectrum. The wide absorption band near 560 nm should be the charge movement spectrum due to the charge transfer between Fe2+ and Ti4+ ions, which can be found in most colors of the sapphire except the yellow one. The mineral phases from the Raman spectrum in all parts of Shandong sapphire with a “trapiche-like” pattern are corundum phases. All Raman shift peaks are concentrated at 378, 417 and 576 cm-1, confirming that sapphire crystal is not separated into different growth regions by mineral inclusions and it should belong to the “trapiche-like” type. EDXRF results confirm that the aluminum in sapphire is much higher than other elements and reaches the theoretical value of corundum mineral, more than 97%, which is consistent with the Raman results. LA-ICP-MS results show that the amount of Fe and Ti elements contained in the “core” and “arm” were significantly higher than that of another area, which can make these regions darken. Shandong Sapphire’s “trapiche-like” pattern is different distribution of coloring elements, the inclusions cannot divide main crystals into the different regions, and this ChangLe sapphire still belongs to the “trapiche-like” type.
[1] Pignatelli I, Giuliani G, Ohnenstetter D, et al. GEMS & GEMOLOGY, 2015, 51(3): 222.
[2] Pignatelli I, Giuliani G, Morlet C, et al. The Journal of Gemmology, 2020, 37(4): 404.
[3] Vertriest W. GEMS & GEMOLOGY, 2020, 56(2): 170.
[4] Behnke Russell E. GEMS & GEMOLOGY, 2016, 52(3): 323.
[5] Wang Xiaodi, Song Yanjun. GEMS & GEMOLOGY, 2019, 55(2): 285.
[6] Sun Ziyin, Muyal Jonathan, Hand Dylan. GEMS & GEMOLOGY, 2018, 54(2): 237.
[7] Guo Hongshu, Yu Xiaoyan, Zheng Yuyu, et al. GEMS & GEMOLOGY, 2020, 56(3): 336.
[8] KONG Fan-mei, LI Xu-ping, ZHAO Ling-quan, et al(孔凡梅,李旭平,赵令权). Geological Review(地质论评), 2017, 63(2): 441.
[9] HAN Xiao-zhen, GUO Shou-guo, KANG Yan, et al(韩孝朕,郭守国,康 燕,等). Journal of the Chinese Ceramic Society(硅酸盐学报), 2018, 46(10): 1483.
[10] Schmetzer K. GEMS & GEMOLOGY, 2019, 55(1): 156.
[11] WANG Yu-yan, YANG Ling-yue, WANG Chao-wen, et al(王雨嫣,杨凌岳,王朝文,等). Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis(光谱学与光谱分析), 2021, 41(8): 2611.
[12] Cho Hsun-Wei, Liao Kuo-Lun, Yang Jih-Sheng. Applied Surface Science, 2018, 440(15): 125.
[13] Hagiwara Y, Yoshida K, Yoneda A, et al. GEMS & GEMOLOGY, 2021, 559(5): 119928.
[14] Yu Xiaoyan, Niu Xiaowei, Zhao Linghao. The Journal of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), 2015, 67: 391.