How to find out if a stone is enhanced....

[skizer41]

I have a really dumb question but I have heard about this lately....How do you findout if a stone is enhanced?


Josh

 

[belle]

you could always ask?

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 12/14/2004 4:42:21 PM
Author:skizer41
I have a really dumb question but I have heard about this lately....How do you findout if a stone is enhanced?


Josh

buy a stone with gia cert,gia will not grade a enhanced stone.

 

[RockDoc]

Date: 12/14/2004 8:12:46 PM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 12/14/2004 4:42:21 PM
Author:skizer41
I have a really dumb question but I have heard about this lately....How do you findout if a stone is enhanced?


Josh

buy a stone with gia cert,gia will not grade a enhanced stone.

GIA spot checks... It''s not a complete analysis for treatments. GIA will not grade fracture filled stones.
They will grade laser drills, but the HPHT type treatments they don''t really do for every stone that comes in.


Rockdoc

 

[Brian Knox]

Hi Josh,

The short answer is to deal with reputable vendors that carry diamonds from reputable labs like GIA or AGS.

Ask upfront,full disclosure is the law.

 

[Nicrez]

Actually Lazare Kaplan and GIA have an ongoing agreement that all HPHT stones are catalogued and documented, since GIA DOES grade HPHT stones, but they mention it's treatment on the report, and in their system of databased stones.

Since right now Lazare Kaplan actually has strict enforcement of their HPHT process, I would say it's safe to say stone with this treatment are catalogued by GIA.

As for fracture filled, if you have a loupe and a good eye, you may be able to determine the laser drill hole on the table, or find the laser drilling from the side profile. If that fails, how about giving it to a Gemologist who can tell you for certain?

 

[denverappraiser]

Josh,

You’re getting different answers to your question because the term ‘enhanced’ includes several differing processes. Currently the most common is what is known as fracture filling or the Yehuda process. This is where a fissure in the stone is filled with a different material that has similar refractive properties to diamond. The result is that in some cases the inclusion can be far less prominent than it was prior to the treatment. Yehuda is a brand name for a company that does this kind of work although they have several competitors. It’s kind of like calling a flying disks a Frisbee or a facial tissue a Kleenex.

Fracture filling can usually be spotted fairly easily with a bright light and a loupe but it does take a little bit of practice. The surface of the filling has a distinctive colored effect on the light. It’s illegal to sell a fracture filled diamond without mentioning this fact so the first step really is to simply ask the selling dealer. If you still suspect that you have a fracture filled stone, you should consult with an expert gemologist. They aren’t usually that hard to find and many will answer this sort of question for free.

Many people find them to be great bargains where you can buy a I2 stone for an I2 price and get an SI2 look. Unfortunately, there are also a fair number of scamsters involved and their behavior in the market gives the products a bad name. Valuing the things can actually get pretty complicated because the treatment has a more profound effect on some stones and the standard GIA grading scale isn’t really applicable to them.

There is nothing wrong with buying enhanced gemstones as long as they are properly represented as what they are.

Neil Beaty
Independent Appraisals in Denver