Instructions for using Immersion Liquids

Immersion liquids can be purchased as a expensive set or as simple as glycerin oil. 


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Immersion Instructions - Step by Step
Label Description Instructions
1 Pick your Gem Rough or Gemstone Select the gem rough or gem stone that you want to analyze. Immersion liquid is used to examine the interior of gems or rough that have rough exterior surfaces or have a high refractive inde that disperses a lot of light making it hard to see inside of them.
2 Immerse the stone into the Immersion liquid. Immerse the stone completely into the Immersion liquid. Immediately the outer edges and the light shining off the surface goes away. It looks like the outer surface of the stone has been peeled away!
3 Move the stone inside the Immersion liquid Move the stone around inside the liquid and take notice of any inclusions or color zoning that is present. Use a strong light source near the stone to help illuminate any veils that can be difficult to locate.
4 After Immersion Once you remove the stone from the Immersion liquid it will still have some Immersion on it and it dampens the light dispersion. This allows you to continue to see into the stone well and gives it an extra transparency for review from outside of the refractol liquid.
Disclaimer CYA! I am no expert! I use these tools as best I can, but I am not a graduate gemologist by any means. I try to keep it simple as much for me as for you, so please use this as a starting point and when you get in deep, consult your books and experts. Thanks!