Spring 2002, Volume 38, Issue 1

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Serendibite from Sri Lanka
Karl Schmetzer, George Bosshart, Heinz-Jürgen Bernhardt, Edward J. Gübelin, and Christopher P. Smith

Two samples of faceted serendibite, a boron-bearing mineral that is only rarely found in gem quality, are described. These samples reportedly were cut from rough discovered in secondary deposits of the Ratnapura area in Sri Lanka. The bluish green to green-blue gems are similar in color, physical and optical properties, and chemical composition to low-iron-bearing non-gem-quality serendibite from various occurrences. These gems may be confused with sapphirine and zoisite, but can be identified as serendibite on the basis of refractive indices, twinning, and spectroscopic features.

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