ICA GemLab

Name: ICA GemLab
Address: 919/7-8 6th Floor Jewelry Trade Center Silom Road, Silom, Bangrak,, Bangkok, 10500, TH
Telephone: +6626300001

ข้อมูลการติดต่อ, แผนที่และเส้นทาง,แบบฟอร์มการติดต่อ,เวลาเปิดและปิด, การบริการ,การให้คะแนนความพอใจในการบริการ,รูปภาพทั้งหมด,วิดีโอทั้งหมดและข่าวสารจาก ICA GemLab, วิทยาศาสตร์ เทคโนโลยี และวิศวกรรม, 919/7-8 6th Floor Jewelry Trade Center Silom Road, Silom, Bangrak,, Bangkok.

16/12/2025

This natural Paraíba tourmaline from Batalha, Brazil stands out for its blue color, caused by trace amounts of copper and manganese typical of Paraíba-type tourmalines. What makes this specimen especially remarkable is its large size approximately 20.54 gms, which allows the natural blue color zoning to be seen clearly as it shifts into milky white areas. The combination of transparency and internal features gives the crystal depth and liveliness under light. Left in its natural, uncut form, the piece preserves clear growth features, offering both strong visual impact and geological interest.

03/12/2025

When stars align in sapphire.

This ring showcases something extraordinary: star golden sheen sapphires. Each cabochon displays asterism, that sharp star effect created by intersecting needles of rutile arranged in precise crystallographic orientations within the corundum. But here’s what makes these special. They’re not just showing stars. They’re showing stars while maintaining that distinctive golden sheen we talked about earlier.

The center stone and surrounding sapphires each capture light differently. Some lean toward greenish-gold tones, others show deeper bronze, and a few display blue undertones. This color variation happens because of different concentrations and orientations of those rutile inclusions. Same optical phenomenon, completely unique expression in each stone.

What you’re seeing is the result of incredibly specific crystal growth conditions. The rutile needles had to form in just the right way to create both the metallic sheen and the six-rayed star simultaneously. It’s gemology and craftsmanship meeting in one piece.

Photo credit: Thanawarn Meepanya for ICA | GemLab

28/11/2025

What makes a pink sapphire truly natural?Look closer. Those tiny crystals trapped inside aren’t flaws. They‘re proof of authenticity.When sapphires form deep in the earth, they sometimes capture other minerals during growth. These crystal inclusions, with their sharp edges and geometric shapes, act like a geological fingerprint. No two are alike, and they’re nearly impossible to replicate in a lab.

The wispy patterns you see in slides 3 and 4? That‘s iron staining along ancient healed fractures. Millions of years ago, this crystal cracked and healed itself, trapping iron-rich fluids in the process.For gemologists, these features tell a story. For collectors, they’re reassurance that what you‘re holding is genuinely natural.

This vivid pink owes its color to trace amounts of chromium, the same element that gives rubies their red. A little more chromium, and this would be a ruby. A little less, and it would be nearly colorless.Nature works in incredibly fine margins.

Microscopy: Kanokwan Dokprom
Field of view: 3.00mm (Figures 1-3), 2.00mm (Figure 4)

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25/11/2025

Golden Sheen. Golden light captured in stone.
Golden sheen sapphire is one of those specimens that stops you mid-examination. That metallic shimmer you’re seeing? It’s caused by the reflection of the light from oriented needle-like inclusions of rutide and platelets of Fe-Ti oxides within the corundum structure.

When light hits these microscopic needles and platelets just the right angle, they create this extraordinary golden sheen effect.This cabochon-cut specimen shows the phenomenon beautifully. The alternating bands of gold and bronze reveal how the rutile needles are aligned within the crystal. It’s the same optical effect that creates asterism in star sapphires, just expressed differently.

Under the microscope, specimens like this become windows into crystal formation. Every inclusion pattern tells a story about temperature, pressure, and the specific conditions present millions of years ago.

Photo credit: Thanawarn Meepanya for ICA | GemLab

21/11/2025

Transparent triplite arrived at the lab recently, and it’s a specimen we were excited to examine. This phosphate mineral is exceptionally rare in faceted form the Smithsonian holds only one transparent example in its entire collection.

What makes triplite fascinating goes beyond its scarcity. The name comes from the Greek “triplos” (threefold), referring to its three distinct cleavage directions - the same property that makes cutting it so challenging. This specimen displays moderate birefringence, creating a subtle “double vision” effect visible under magnification, where facet edges and inclusions appear doubled.
Under the microscope, we found characteristic two-phase fluid inclusions containing liquid with trapped gas bubbles, along with curved fingerprint type healing patterns. These features preserve snapshots of the hydrothermal fluids present during crystallization in the phosphate-rich pegmatites where triplite forms.

The orange brown color, optical effects, and internal features make this a compelling example of how rarity and geology intersect in collector gemstones. We documented the full examination and what makes this mineral special - link in bio.

Photo credit : Jinnapat Swangrojn for ICA | GemLab

Medium Link :
https://medium.com//seeing-double-inside-a-rare-transparent-triplite-gemstone-339e0b27f337

19/11/2025

Purple perfection in its rawest form.

It’s been a while since we’ve posted, and we’re back with good reason. We’ve been receiving a lot of amethyst specimens lately, and they’ve sparked our curiosity to dig deeper into what makes this gem so captivating.

This crystal shows exactly what gemologists look for: natural crystal faces, color zoning, and those distinctive purple hues created by iron traces and radiation deep within the Earth. Before any cutting or polishing, this is where identification begins. We’re examining the natural characteristics that make each stone unique.

The tweezers? Essential. The precision? Non-negotiable. The geological story hidden in that purple? Absolutely worth the close look.

Photo credit: Thanawarn Meepanya for ICA | GemLab