Can anyone confirm these are straight striae lines, photos are dont give the best view of the stone, when viewed visually eg. Without camera lines are a lot more easier to see and look straight.
Ruby
Any advise will be highly appreciated
Hi Raja,
Is this the same stone you just posted images of in Ruby natural or synthetic? These images do seem to show straight lines in some areas, but slightly wavy in other parts of the stone. In image: 20250325_103441 the same bright fields are present, similar to the ones in your newest post, where the light seems to be generating shadows on the lines. This indicates that those areas in the bright illumination are structured grooves, usually caused from the polishing of the facets.
The best images that show striae (growth lines) are in images 20250325_103426 and 20250325_103358 in the lower left portion. This is where I can see some areas where the lines are slightly wavy around the darker spot near the facet edge.
Cheers!
Yes its the same stone under higher magnification here,
on the other topic
its at less magnification. Here its at 20x on the microscope then 10x on the camera. So i think thats 200x magnification.
Thanks for the info.
Aloha -
In my experience, a good way to distinguish between growth striae and polish lines is more evidently shown in your other post -
Striae will be continuous across facets, where polish lines will often change direction or alignment at the facet junctions. Although its really hard to tell from the photos, IMHO the striae in your other post *APPEAR to be slightly curved when contrasted with the facet lines, especially in the left hand photos. I would look very carefully inside the stone to see if any bubbles exist - that would be evidence of synthetic growth alongside curved striae.
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*** I would look very carefully inside the stone to see if any bubbles exist ***
That was the first thing i tried to observe, didn’t find any,
except for where facets meet only ( look like bubbles but they are all at the facet lines only),
they are most likely chips, dents made whilst cutting.
This is why i need a second opinion,
striae appear straight under microscope and like you said they appear slightly curved in some photos, some photos they appear straight.
I think its the reflection between camera lens to microscope lens causing the curved looking straie.
Anyway still need to photograph the stone and then select 2 points and draw a straight line.
Any ideas ?
Appreciated
Hi Raja,
First, I want to say thank you for the images you have posted. They are good because features like the striae and inclusions are visible. 
I am not sure I can see any curved striae, as Tonya (@taurean) has hinted at, yet it is very possible the curved features are very subtle.
You mentioned the orientation of the stone seems to display or hide a “curved” effect. That can be induced from the quality of the optics being used, or as some literature here in the IGS library has stated, internal stresses in the crystal can produce optical distortions. Honestly, I am not seeing truly curved striae.
I had mentioned earlier that there was silk or bubble-like strand inclusions in your stone. These are very visible in the lower right portion of image: 20250326_134511 from your Ruby natural or synthetic post. These linear strands seem to be broken up, which can be an indication of heat treatment. I recommend observing these under high magnification. It would be awesome to see those images. 
A good resource to do comparison of inclusions can be found at the Hyperion Inclusion Database at Lotus Gemology. Click this link to see Inclusions in Natural Ruby with Heat Treatment, as an example.
You can do refined filtering for specific types of inclusions in both natural and lab grown material (if images exist in the repository).
Secondly, not that this has any relevance to your initial questions, I am not sure the images in this post are at 200x magnification. The field of view (FOV) seems too large and too bright, especially if you are using dark-field illumination. The amount of light needed for higher magnification becomes exponentially larger the higher you go. Admittedly, most phone cameras have good auto-balancing algorithms that can help post-process with lighting and weak contrast and hue artifacts. This could account for the nice illuminated field of view.
Depending on the phone and camera lens, they typically have up to 4x optical zoom with any additional zoom capability being digital. Digital zoom does not count towards the physical optical magnification value. You probably have 80-90x magnification, which is very good from a gemology perspective.
-Cheers!
These are from phone camera, some at 40x zoom. Some at 80x zoom darkfield illumination,
the md35 doesnt work with the darkfield, i think its something to do with field of view.
Raja,
These images show more of the inclusions and what seems like striae. Image: 20250331_153236 has some really good definition of both.
I think Tonya (@taurean) has really keen eyes for this…
The lines do look curved when viewed across the facet edges. It wasn’t obvious to me in the other images. Thanks, Tonya!!!
Using some image analysis tools… I generated two parallel grids and in group #2 there are a few striae that show curved features (very faint yellow arrows). Other lines in this image show similar behavior.
.
In the same image, there are several fields of inclusions that look like they may have halos surrounding small crystal or minerals, which could be an indicator of heat treatment.
Props to @TroyJ49412 for the detailed analysis -
I definitely think that distinguishing synthetic from natural corundum was one of the hardest things to do in the labs when earning my GG from GIA in Carlsbad. There were many times that the distinguishment came down to a single inclusion or lack thereof.
I would hesitate to hang the designation of synthetic on the slightly curved striae wihout being able to see the whole stone, but synthetic corundum striae also tend to be more uniform in width vs natural growth lines which typically vary in width -
One thing I am wondering is if you are seeing any “gloopy” flux like inclusions. I seem to see some at the upper left of that same photo mentioned above. Its possible that that could be confirmation of a synthetic designation, or maybe a natural heated in borax to “heal” some fractures.
I think @TroyJ49412 is much better at analysing by photo than most of us!
Aloha!
Tonya,
Thanks! But like everyone else who has tried, I am finding it nearly impossible to identify a stone with images alone. Witnessing the stone in person is truly the best opportunity to build a solid analysis. And on top that, I am still learning the fundamentals. Every opportunity to exercise the lessons and have experienced members point out details like this, is worth more than the carat weight of any stone… 
Looking back at the images again, I am not sure the “curved striae” I placed measurement markers on, are actual growth lines. They could be strands of really tiny inclusions. Which should follow the striae? Maybe?
Having other experienced eyes definitely helps pick out the details.
Cheers!
Appreciate the input, with visually viewing without camera everything is a lot clearer to understand,
so thats why i need a microscope camera.
I replied to your post, if i get the images clear as you are getting then its a lot easier to get a second opinion from just the photos.
Ofcourse having the actual stone yourself is the best option.
Thanks for the info. So what do you think, what else would you personally require to tell if the stone is natural or synthetic.
Or what advise can you offer me to get the answer.
@TroyJ49412 Sometimes in synthetic corundum, the tiny bubbles (or even “seed” material) can follow the striae - this could be the case here
@RajaJunaidA94635 - the best way I know to confirm is to take this stone to a trained gemologist or send to a reputable lab like GIA. Other factors like cut, proportioning, color, can also provide clues as to natural or synthetic, which we cannot see from photos very well…
Good luck!
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Ok, long story short i sent a ruby once to a gem lab birmingham assay uk,
the gemologist i spoke to said it was synthetic, i asked how did you determine this,
the reply was using a 10x loupe with a light source and found curved striae.
I tried with a 10x loupe and light but could not find curved striae,
even under the microscope i could not find the curved striae.
So any ideas here, yes i was thinking GIA also.
Thanks
If possible, bring it to a lab that has a Raman Spectrometer
Can you suggest a lab that has
Raman Spectrometer
Appreciated
I’m in Salvador/Bahia/Brasil. The Gemological Center of the State of Bahia has one. Imho, this device is a must have for any serious gem lab nowadays.
GIA labs have a raman spectrometer as well - but they prob wont even need it to ID this - there will be other clues they can pick up on…