12.30.2022 Sapphire & Tanzanite Inclusion photos

Check out some of these rutile inclusions I've been documenting in some of my sapphires!

This is a unique rutile growth on this sapphire from Nigeria.  Silky & wispy in appearance. Here is an up close:

 Up close you can see some really defined detail on this rutile. The definition of this type of inclusion is a marker that the sapphire was not heat treated to enhance its color or clarity. Heating will dissolve the rutile (titainium oxide) into the surrounding sapphire leaving a blotched appearance and destroying the detail on the inclusion. Darkfield Illumination 45x

And the big picture. The photographed inclusions are need the point, you can see a whisp that is thickest at the right and tapers to a point near the left. 

These are rose channel needles that span this corundum (sapphire) from the Umba Valley in Tanzania.  Clear crisp definition.  30x, darkfield illumination.

And an upclose on one of these rose channels. This one is accompanied by a very small stress fracture. darkfield illumination, 90x.

Another cluster of rose channels intersecting in the same sapphire. Darkfield illumination, 30x

And the big picture, its often hard to visualize context of these inclusions without seeing the whole gem. The photographed inclusions are on the bottom portion of the gem.