- 1Institute
of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Charles University,
Albertov 6, Prague 2, Czech Republic jehlicka@natur.cuni.cz.
- 2Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Charles University, Albertov 6, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
- 3Loreto, Prague 1, Czech Republic.
- 4Jewish Museum, Prague 1, Czech Republic.
Abstract
A
miniature lightweight portable Raman spectrometer and a palm-sized
device allow for fast and unambiguous detection of common gemstones
mounted in complex jewels.
Here, complex religious artefacts and the Ring Monstrance from the
Loreto treasury (Prague, Czech Republic; eighteenth century) were
investigated. These discriminations are based on the very good
correspondence of the wavenumbers of the strongest Raman bands of the
minerals. Very short laser illumination times and efficient collection
of scattered light were sufficient to obtain strong diagnostic Raman
signals. The following minerals were documented: quartz and its
varieties, beryl varieties (emerald), corundum varieties (sapphire),
garnets (almandine, grossular), diamond as well as aragonite in pearls.
Miniature Raman spectrometers can be recommended for common gemmological
work as well as for mineralogical investigations of jewels
and cultural heritage objects whenever the antiquities cannot be
transported to a laboratory.This article is part of the themed issue
'Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeology'.
© 2016 The Author(s).
KEYWORDS:
Raman spectroscopy; cultural heritage; gemstones
