Gemstone Inclusion

Type of inclusion found

Included Crystal: a solid crystal or a liquid like, often angular inclusion.

Chip ( Ch. )	: Small damaged area (usually at the girdle)
Indented natural ( IndN )	: A dark included crystal or a hole opening inside a Gem.
Cloud ( Cld )	: Any hazy or milky area inside the gem.
Feather ( Ftr )	: Feathery appearance, often a white plane of minute included crystal.
Pinpoint ( Pp )	: Very small, light or dark included crystal (occurring as a dot or dots).
Needle ( Ndl )	: Long and thin included crystal or a fine parallel silk inclusion.
Nick ( Nk )	: A Small opening or damaged on a polished surface (normally at the girdle of Gem).
Bruise ( Br )	: Surface crumbling, often accompanied by tiny, root-like feathers.
Cavity ( Cv )	: A large or deep opening.

Some descriptive words that are occasionally used:

Words	Description and examples
Atoll, halo or fried egg	Included mineral and its encircling tension cracks or the fluid remnants around a cavity or crystal, for example in corundum.
Bamboo	Actinolite crystal, for example in emerald.
Centipede	Intersecting cleavage cracks in moonstone.
Feather or fingerprint ( Fpt )	A partially healed fracture or fissure, or a group of small particles trapped during the natural growth process or synthesis.
Horse-tail or pony-tail	Fibrous inclusions radiating from a nucleus in demantoid garnet.
Lily pads or water lily pads	Partially healed tension cracks around a crystal or cavity, in peridot.
Needle	Thin rod-like crystal inclusion.
Rain	Thin straight tubes orientated parallel to each other in beryl.
Silk	Fine rutile inclusions that may cause a hazy appearance in the stone, seen in corundum.
Snowflake	Whitish crystallites on a dark background in obsidian.
Snow-stars	Liquid droplets radially disposed around a crystal inclusion, for example in beryl.
Sun spangles or spangles	Tension cracks resulting in a radial pattern, for example in amber.
Tiger stripes or zebra stripes	Ribbon-like rows of partial healing along twinning planes in quartz.
Trichites (Hair like)	Fine fluid inclusions often joined together in a web, seen in tourmaline, these may be two phase.