Study on Gemmological Characteristics of Zircon from Penglai,Hainan Province

The occurrence features of the zircon from Penglai,Hainan Province,are introduced in short on the basis of on-the-spot investigation of the author and the previous work of other researchers.The physical and optical properties,the inclusion characteristics and the chemical compositions are studied by using the conventional gemmological methods and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy,and the colouration mechanism of the zircon is preliminarily discussed.The results show that the zircon is high-type one according to the physical properties,with dark brown of different shades,red brown and purple red in dominant;transparent and big grain.The main chemical compositions are ZrO₂ and SiO₂(96.5%).The colouration mechanism of the zircon is caused by impurity elements of iron,manganese,titanium,etc,or by colour centre,or by collective effects of impurity ion,rare earth elements and colour centre.Finally,some suggestions are put forward about the heat-treatment,cutting and exploitation of the zircon from Penglai.