Gemlab Books and Instruments, a subsidiary of the Canadian Institute of Gemmology is the exclusive distributor of the "Gemstone Inclusion Library"; it contains 25 pages, 5.5"x8.5", with 120 b&W line-drawings, 1 colour plate, CD-ROM disk loaded with over 100 JPEG picture files (also available on floppy disk upon request). A WWW browser such as Netscape or Explorer and VGA monitor with a minimum of 256 colours is required for your computer platform.

SORRY the manual has been out-of-print since 2005

J. Wolf Kuehn, C.I.G. Director of Education, has compiled numerous inclusion pictures from the comprehensive study collection of the Canadian Institute of Gemmology. It is an ideal reference for serious gemstone identification. The guide contains 120 detailed line-drawings of typical inclusion features found in synthetic and natural gemstones; a diskette with over 100 colour micro-photos of inclusions (in JPEG and .htm format) is included. Most of the pictures were taken with an immersionscope (horizontal micsrosope)allowing the study of internal features with more ease and clarity. If a colour-printer is available high photographic quality can be obtained with special paper.

From the Author's Introduction

After many years of teaching C.I.G.'s Gem Identification courses I felt that other students, practising gemmologists and appraisers might equally benefit from the various instructional materials used in the "Accredited Gemmologist" diploma program such as the Gemstone Inclusion Library.

When attending conferences, workshops and gem shows it was one of my most important tasks to look for new gem materials - natural, synthetic, invented, enhanced and/or assembled. Today I can state with great confidence that almost any possible gemstone encountered in the market-place is represented in the study collection of the Canadian Institute of Gemmology (C.I.G.); that includes natural gems such as Taaffeite and Benitoite as well as synthetic gems such as Knischka and Lechleitner rubies and emeralds.

During an evaluation of a gem or a piece of jewellery the most important part is the proper identification of the gem materials. In most cases this is a straightforward procedure; however, if the gem happens to be a ruby, sapphire, emerald, alexandrite or opal, it may require the microscope to study the internal features before deciding whether it is a natural or man-made product.

This is particularly true in the case of the latest flux-fusion and hydrothermal synthetic gems which include the Kashan, Knischka and Ramaura rubies, the Chatham, the Lennix, Biron and Regency emeralds and others. Most of us do not have access to more sophisticated testing equipment such as the electron microprobe or a Raman spectroscope. Our work must depend on the recognition of visual clues including diagnostic inclusions, colour zoning and growth patterns.

I have attempted to show many of these features in the following black and white drawings and the numerous colour microphotos which can be viewed on the accompanying diskette. For the latest up-to-date information please visit C.I.G.'s website GEMMOLOGY WORLD at http://www.cigem.ca or write to the Canadian Institute of Gemmology, P.O. Box 57010, Vancouver, B.C., V5K 5G6 CANADA.

I wish to thank the Gemstone Training Centre Ruppenthal in Idar-Oberstein, Germany for their support in this project.

J.Wolf Kuehn, Director of Education, C.I.G.

Vancouver, B.C., August 1996

(the images are posted for educational purposes only)

Liquid inclusion "trapped" in a topaz	Crystal features under polarised light	Heated air-bubbles moving in liquid inclusion