Madagascar Ruby Inclusions
Explore Madagascar ruby inclusions in Hyperion, the Lotus Gemology inclusion database. Hyperion contains photomicrographs of inclusions and internal features in natural rubies from Madagascar, documented with information on treatment, lighting conditions, field of view, photographer and published references.
Dark prisms of primary rutile within an untreated ruby from Ambodivoahangy, Madagascar.
Natural Ruby •
Madagascar •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2158-2
Like twigs, small prisms of primary rutile lie trapped within this untreated ruby from Ambodivoahangy, Madagascar.
Natural Ruby •
Madagascar •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2158-1
A thin plate of mica is trapped in this untreated ruby from Ambodivoahangy, Madagascar.
Natural Ruby •
Madagascar •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2125-2
A mica crystal floats agains a backdrop of rounded zircon grains in this untreated ruby from Ambodivoahangy, Madagascar.
Natural Ruby •
Madagascar •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Transmitted
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2125-1
Tiny crystal grains of what appear to be zircon or xenotime in a ruby from Madagascar’s Ambodivoahangy region.
Natural Ruby •
Madagascar •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Diffuse Light Field + Crossed Polars
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2149-2
Amphibole rods, along with rutile silk and exsolved particles in a ruby from Madagascar’s Ambodivoahangy region.
Natural Ruby •
Madagascar •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Transmitted
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2149-1
Amphibole rods in an untreated ruby from Ambodivoahangy, Madagascar.
Natural Ruby •
Madagascar •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Transmitted
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2145-1
Unusual clouds in a heat-treated ruby said to be from Madagascar. The bluish color is created by Tyndall scattering, light scattering from particles in a fine suspension. Tyndall scattering is also responsible for the blue irises of the human eye and the blue color of opalescent glass.
Natural Ruby •
Madagascar •
Enhancements:
Heat (H) •
Lighting Conditions:
Dark Field + Oblique Fiber Optic
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
P-10058-1
Madagascar ruby inclusions may include mineral crystals, rutile silk, healed fissures, fluid inclusions, negative crystals, color zoning and other features formed during or after crystal growth. Such features are important to gemologists because they can provide evidence useful in identifying ruby and evaluating a possible Madagascar origin.
Madagascar Ruby Inclusion Photomicrographs
The Hyperion Madagascar ruby gallery includes microscopic features documented in rubies from Madagascar. Each entry is accompanied by descriptive information and, where available, references to the gemological literature.
What Inclusions Can Reveal About Madagascar Ruby
Inclusions are an important part of geographic origin determination in ruby. Their form, composition, orientation and associations can provide evidence that, when considered together with other gemological properties, may support or contradict a Madagascar origin.
Hyperion combines inclusion photomicrography with supporting gemological information so that individual features can be compared with documented examples from Madagascar rubies.
About Hyperion
Hyperion is the Lotus Gemology searchable inclusion database. It allows users to browse gemstone inclusions by gem type, geographic origin, treatment and keyword.
