Beryllium treated orange sapphire

[IcePhoenix]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Top-VVS-0-...-Orange-Sapphire-Songea-Tanzania/372618408879

What do you guys think of this little Be treated sapphire? I know it can't be of the highest quality but I still wanted a stone with a rose cut to familiarize myself with this new (to me ) type of cutting. Does Be diffusion influence the clarity of the sapphire? What is the value of this type of sapphire?
That's lots of questions, sorry I'm still learning (and definitely need more) about gemstones

 

[voce]

My impression is that Be treatment is not stable and that a lot of us wouldn't buy Be treated sapphires. Be only gets applied to sapphires that are of low value when unearthed.

 

[IcePhoenix]

I read that the treatment is stable and permanent and should only affect colour, what are your sources that say it's not? Sorry not trying to be confrontational I just want to know. Do you think it's at least worth those few dollars spent?

My impression is that Be treatment is not stable and that a lot of us wouldn't buy Be treated sapphires. Be only gets applied to sapphires that are of low value when unearthed.

 

[PrecisionGem]

Be treatment doesn't change the clarity of the stone, it changes the color. The Songea sapphires from Tanzania are know to respond very well to Be treatment with most of the stones turning various shades of yellow and orange. Most untreated Songea sapphires are not very attractive colors, so the treatment would enhance the value of the stone.
This is also a permanent stable treatment.

The price guide, for a 1 to 2.99 ct. Be Orange sapphire, good quality, shows a wholesale price of $75 to $200 per ct.

 

[IcePhoenix]

Be treatment doesn't change the clarity of the stone, it changes the color. The Songea sapphires from Tanzania are know to respond very well to Be treatment with most of the stones turning various shades of yellow and orange. Most untreated Songea sapphires are not very attractive colors, so the treatment would enhance the value of the stone.
This is also a permanent stable treatment.

The price guide, for a 1 to 2.99 ct. Be Orange sapphire, good quality, shows a wholesale price of $75 to $200 per ct.

Thanks for all this info

 

[seaurchin]

Hey, if the price is in line with what you're getting and you like it, go for it!

The only thing that would give me pause is what the setting I'd want would cost. If the setting would cost more then I would probably want a stone that seemed to logically go with it. In other words, no $30 stone in a $500 setting. But maybe that's a different topic...

 

[IcePhoenix]

Hey, if the price is in line with what you're getting and you like it, go for it!

The only thing that would give me pause is what the setting I'd want would cost. If the setting would cost more then I would probably want a stone that seemed to logically go with it. In other words, no $30 stone in a $500 setting. But maybe that's a different topic...

Thanks for the advice, of course I would put it in a pricey setting

 

[voce]

I read that the treatment is stable and permanent and should only affect colour, what are your sources that say it's not? Sorry not trying to be confrontational I just want to know. Do you think it's at least worth those few dollars spent?

Sorry, my thought was that Be treatment was a form of irradiation, in which case the color would fade over time. After reading the response from @PrecisionGem I realized that I was confused. Be treatment is diffusion, not irradiation.

However, with color diffusion watch out for color zoning. I would say that the sapphire is worth the few dollars you paid. However, with the color zoning and the small ct weight I do not think I would be happy putting it into an expensive setting. If it'll make you happy, go for it.

 

[IcePhoenix]

No, the price is 7 euros, but I bought other gems from the seller so it should be fine. What do you think?

 

[pwsg07]

From my understanding BE is a coating outside a natural stone. The core of the be stone still the original colour of the stone.

 

[IcePhoenix]

Thanks for the advice, of course I would put it in a pricey setting

*would not

 

[seaurchin]

If this source is adequate, beryllium treatment goes throughout the stone. "Surface diffusion" is the treatment that's only on the surface.

https://www.gemrockauctions.com/learn/technical-information-on-gemstones/sapphire-treatments

The only problej I'd have with it is if they were charging prices you'd expect for naturally-colored sapphires or not disclosing the treatment.

 

[voce]

From my understanding BE is a coating outside a natural stone. The core of the be stone still the original colour of the stone.

From my understanding, with how diffusion works, there is a gradient. The core of the stone would not necessarily be the original color, based on the concentration of the beryllium and the length of time the beryllium is allowed to diffuse. If you introduce the beryllium slowly, doing the sapphire crystal over many days, you would get more color in the center and more even distribution of color throughout. But theoretically the edges are where there is the highest concentration of beryllium, and will always be darker colored than the center. In practice, I've seen Be sapphire that look good in the center because it looks like the reflected color or key color of a completely natural gemstone, while the outer edges look like the non reflecting body color. The human eye is not so good at discerning these differences if the diffusion is done well.

 

[qubitasaurus]

I don't know how you cost your time, but at this stage the 7 euro price tag will be a small proportion of the resources you have sunk into this -- so I would just buy it.

If you are interested in rose cuts in general then I would flip through xothebijouxbox's instagram. Also this one caught my eye recently.

 

[arkieb1]

BE treatment is used to turn blaaah coloured stones into something worth looking at, they commonly use low value African and Thai sapphires. For this price what you are getting is O.K, the only issue is when vendors are selling stones worth very little like this as heat only or untreated sapphires and charging hundreds (sometimes thousands) for them.

 

[IcePhoenix]

From my understanding, with how diffusion works, there is a gradient. The core of the stone would not necessarily be the original color, based on the concentration of the beryllium and the length of time the beryllium is allowed to diffuse. If you introduce the beryllium slowly, doing the sapphire crystal over many days, you would get more color in the center and more even distribution of color throughout. But theoretically the edges are where there is the highest concentration of beryllium, and will always be darker colored than the center. In practice, I've seen Be sapphire that look good in the center because it looks like the reflected color or key color of a completely natural gemstone, while the outer edges look like the non reflecting body color. The human eye is not so good at discerning these differences if the diffusion is done well.

What do you think about the colour of my sapphire in particular? The edges look darker

 

[IcePhoenix]

BE treatment is used to turn blaaah coloured stones into something worth looking at, they commonly use low value African and Thai sapphires. For this price what you are getting is O.K, the only issue is when vendors are selling stones worth very little like this as heat only or untreated sapphires and charging hundreds (sometimes thousands) for them.

The seller disclosed the treatment in the description and said the value is around 10 to 15 dollars depending on the market

 

[chrono]

Look really nice for the price. I believe that as long as the buyer is fully informed and the price is reasonable, there's no reason to avoid BE diffused gemstones. The treatment is stable and permanent. The newer diffusion has the colour permeate evenly throughout the gemstone. I believe that the gradient colouration you see might be due to the cut, not the treatment.

 

[IcePhoenix]

Look really nice for the price. I believe that as long as the buyer is fully informed and the price is reasonable, there's no reason to avoid BE diffused gemstones. The treatment is stable and permanent. The newer diffusion has the colour permeate evenly throughout the gemstone. I believe that the gradient colouration you see might be due to the cut, not the treatment.

Thank you so much for the info