Ruby, blue sapphire, yellow sapphire, emerald, pearl, coral, hessonite, cat's eye and diamond — and the stones sold in their place.
The nine gems of Indian tradition, the stones commonly sold in their place, and what a laboratory can and cannot verify about each.
How yellow sapphire is separated from citrine, topaz, glass and synthetic corundum, and why vivid yellow at a low price so often means beryllium diffusion.
Tradition provides substitute stones for each of the nine gems. What each Upratna actually is, what is sold in its place, and why it still deserves testing.
How a laboratory confirms ruby, separates it from garnet, spinel, glass and synthetic corundum, and detects the heating and glass filling that set its value.
Precious red coral has a distinctive grain. How it is separated from dyed white coral, pressed coral powder, dyed bone and shell, plastic and glass.
Almost every pearl sold is cultured. What separates natural from cultured (an X-ray question), how imitations are caught, and which treatments need disclosure.
Hessonite is orange grossular garnet with a swirled treacle interior. How it is separated from spessartine, orange zircon, citrine and glass.
The ratti is not one fixed unit. How ratti converts to carat and gram, why the difference matters, and what a laboratory reports.
How emerald is confirmed as beryl, separated from green glass, dyed quartz and synthetic beryl, and examined for the filling nearly all emeralds carry.
How diamond is confirmed, separated from its simulants, screened for laboratory growth, and graded — and which treatments must be stated on a report.
True cat's eye is chatoyant chrysoberyl. How it is separated from quartz, apatite and tourmaline cat's eye and from fibre-optic glass fakes.
How blue sapphire is confirmed as corundum, separated from synthetic spinel, glass, tanzanite and iolite, and examined for heating and diffusion treatment.
The laboratory examines Rudraksha, gemstones, malas, bracelets and crystals and issues a numbered, PIN-protected report you can verify online at any time.