Work Space.<

Photo: E. Skalwold

Work Space
Some views through the microscope.
Posted above my workbench, and elsewhere on this website, as it has become my mantra....and not just for microscopy:

"A quotation from a 1743 book by Henry Baker, "The Microscope Made Easy, " provides a fitting admonition for all inclusionists involved in the many problems of phase (and artifact) identification in fluid inclusions (Dr. Edwin Roedder, 1992):

"Beware of determining and declaring your Opinion suddenly on any Object; for Imagination often gets the Start of Judgement, and makes People believe they see Things, which better Observations will convince them could not possibly be seen: therefore assert nothing till after repeated Experiments and Examinations in all Lights and in all Positions.

When you employ the Microscope, shake off all Prejudice, nor harbour any favorite Opinion; for, if you do, 'tis not unlikely Fancy will betray you into Error, and make you think you see what you would wish to see.

Remember that Truth alone is the Matter you are in search after; and if you have been mistaken, let not Vanity seduce you to persist in your Mistake."
Fiberoptic Darkfield.

Photo: E. Skalwold

Fiberoptic Darkfield

Camera Attachment.

Photo: E. Skalwold

Wild M400 microscope attachment altered for the Nikon D300s.
Live-view screen.

Photo: E. Skalwold

Live-view screen.
Olympus IX50 Inverted Metallurgical Microscope.

Olympus IX50 Inverted Metallurgical Microscope.
Photo: E. Skalwold
The highly polished base of a maw-sit-sit cabochon was resting on the center of the stage; I removed it just before this picture was taken but the last view is still up on the screen. A similar view is shown below.
Mawsitsit.

Maw-sit-sit as seen through the above microscope.
Moving between microscopes is like driving a stick-shift truck one day and the next climbing into an automatic sedan; one usually spends the first few minutes stomping around for the clutch. What I love about this instrument is the ability to move the stage around with just two knobs; it is like driving the lunar module, though in a verdant green landscape in this case. Maw-sit-sit is one of the most fascinating, lovely gem materials I can think of, especially under a microscope.
Leica MZ APO.

A Leica MZ APO, very similiar to the Wild M400, but with these attachments, even more fun...
Photo: E. Skalwold
Needles in star smokey quartz from Brazil.

Needles (probably rutile) in star smokey quartz from Brazil.
These are the needles causing the star in the smokey quartz seen at the bottom of this page (see Asterism). They are so fine that they are barely visible with the naked eye and very hard to resolve even under a high power microscope such as this. They have an iridescent golden color and, as expected, there are three sets of needles oriented in a plane perpendicular to the c-axis of the cab. What I hoped to see was a good cross-section where a needle breaks the surface of the cabochon, but they are just too small. So, off to the next room and the instrument which has held my fascination ever since I was in highschool....
Scanning Electron Microscope.

Scanning Electron Microscope.
Photo: E. Skalwold
Before being placed in the SEM, the specimens are first coated with a very thin layer of gold. Rushing does not pay off; the first pictures depicted vast mountain ranges of finger grease (confirmed by spectroscopy), but I'll find that cross-section - all bets are that it will be a square - more pictures coming soon!
Star smokey quartz.

Star Smokey Quartz, Brazil 21.52ct
For more on this phenomenal stone, see Asterism

Specimen courtesy of Rick Martin, Art Cut Gems.
Photo: Rick Martin

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