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Introducing Dr. Hanneman written by Dr. William Hanneman |
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 If you don't already know of Dr. Bill Hanneman, let me say this. He believes himself to be the world's foremost S.O.G. (Self Ordained Gemologist), inventor of practical and cost effective gemological instruments, author, avid angler, gardener, and iconoclast with a perverse sense of humor who has become a legend in his own mind. Other that that, his wife of 59 years, four children, grand child and two great grand children, dog, and cat still appear to tolerate him. While he recognizes others might hold different views everyone is entitled to his own erroneous opinionsForty two years ago, he developed the first direct reading density (SG) balance which could measure gems of less than one carat. Thirty-two years ago, he patented the first practical reflectivity meter which could instantly separate diamonds from immitaions even before CZ hit the market. Twenty-two years ago, he developed a simple refractometer which required no toxic liquids to determine the RI, birefringence, and dispersion of faceted gems with RI values as high as 2.37. Twelve years ago, he developed a yet simpler refractometer of unlimited range which can determine the optical properties of diamond, synthetic moissanite, and everything else. With that accomplished, he wrote a book, Guide to Affordable Gemology. In it, he provided instructions for fabricating ones own gemological tools and, using them to master the techniques of gemstone identification and classical gemology. Then, to bring gemology into the 21st Century, he compiled a set of color filters for the characterization of Red Stones, Blue Stones, Synthetic Emeralds, Green and Lalic Jadeite, Tanzanite, Alexandrite and Color Shift Gems, Synthetic Yellow Sapphires, Chromium Fluorescence, Cape Line, a Poor Man's Chelsea Filter, and a Standard Reference Color Filter. Currently he is remodeling his world famous Direct Reading Specific Gravity Balance to handle faceted gems, gem rough, minerals and/or metals in any size from 15 points to 10 pounds or more. That done, he will be working to bring a Visible Range Spectrometry to the working gemologist. For those new to gemology or those with questions, great or small, he recommends tuning in to gemologyonline.com . Here, one will find over 2000 gemophiles, from rank beginners to experts, discussing all phases of gemology. Dr. Hanneman is an active participant and can be reached through their Private Message System. |
