6.3: Fracture

Fracture is the random breakage of a gemstone when being hit with a sharp or hard object along a direction other than then the direction of cleavage or parting. The most common type of fracture is termed "conchoidal" (shell-like).

The types of fracture are:

• conchoidal
• uneven
• even
• splintery
• granular

Sources

• Gemmology 3rd edition (2005) - Peter Read