Red gemstone characterization by micro‐Raman spectroscopy: the case of rubies and their imitations

In the framework of a wide project aimed to study the potential of Raman spectroscopy in characterizing gems, jewels and jewellers’ collections, in this work the results of a micro‐Raman investigation on red gemstones are proposed. In detail, a set of red gems supplied by a jeweller as representative of the current red gems in the trade were analyzed by using micro‐Raman instrumentations equipped with different laser excitation sources. The obtained results allow not only discriminating rubies from simulant and fakes but also achieving useful information on inclusions and treatments, obtaining a complete characterization of the studied red gems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.