iLander
Ideal_Rock
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I don't know if this article from Barron's has already been covered, but it's the fascinating tale of how the GIA missed a simple test for synthetic Alexandrite.
Here's the link if you want to read the whole story, my excerpt left out some interesting bits: http://online.barrons.com/article_email/SB50001424052970203511504576329081143859922-lMyQjA1MTAxMDIwMzEyNDMyWj.html#articleTabs_article%3D1
Here's the excerpt:
False Promise by SUSAN M. NEIDER
In January of last year, I was offered a spectacular natural alexandrite, a rare color-changing gem that is among the most expensive on the planet. An oval of diamonds surrounded the gorgeous stone, all set on a classic Tiffany & Co. platinum ring. A Philadelphia jeweler, with whom I'd done business, had bought it several weeks earlier from a well-dressed woman selling her mother's estate. To be prudent, the jeweler made his purchase contingent on an inspection by the Gemological Institute of America and the issuance of a GIA Lab certificate stating the alexandrite to be of natural origin, not man-made.
TOP-QUALITY NATURAL ALEXANDRITES can cost more than $30,000 a carat. The stones are millions of times more rare than diamonds. They look like nothing else: Traces of chromium cause two distinct colors to flash from the gem: green in daylight, red in incandescent or candlelight.
The alexandrite in the Tiffany-stamped ring looked totally clean. I could not see any flaws, even with my 10-power loupe. At its greenest, it resembled a bluish emerald with intense green flashes; at its reddest, a fiery amethyst or garnet. The hues were pure. No bleeding of colors, no brown or gray undertones. It seemed perfect.
As a trained chemist and experienced gem collector, I did wonder for a moment if the gem was too perfect. But it came with a GIA certificate, which I trusted.
When I got home, my first order of business (and that of every serious gem buyer) was to call the GIA and verify the authenticity of the certificate. Each document issued by the GIA has a report number, and it's important to check that this number matches what the GIA has on record. Counterfeit certificates float in the shadows of this industry. Even when a GIA certificate is obtained, a valuable natural gem can be removed from its mounting and replaced by a lab-created lookalike that has been cut by laser to match the original.
Donna Beaton, manager of colored-stone services, confirmed that the GIA New York Lab had indeed examined and issued a report on a natural alexandrite. Their report number matched mine, as did the description of the stone.
I asked Beaton directly about the gem's stunning clarity, which was unusual for alexandrite. She told me GIA gemologists had also noted a very clean and transparent stone, but assured me that visible under magnification were an assortment of "natural inclusions"—the trade term for the tiny flaws that occur in nature and are proof that a gem is not man-made.
I WENT TO MANHATTAN TO DELIVER the ring to Chris Smith, the current head of AGL. To enter the building of the AGL and the GIA, you must pass through a controlled turnstile, provide a driver's license and leave a fingerprint. Brinks Security has an outlet in the lobby. Inside, men in dark overcoats hustle along the hallways, speaking in code to one another or their cellphones. After passing through two sets of bulletproof doors, I left my ring with AGL.
A few days later, my phone rang: "Hi Susan. This is Chris Smith from the AGL. Your alexandrite is synthetic."
"Synthetic? As in…not real? How can this be—it has a GIA cert!" But I knew he was right. That stone really did look too perfect.
When two well-respected labs disagree on a matter this fundamental, it is necessary to establish that both labs examined the same stone. I called the GIA and told Beaton that the AGL had contested their findings. Still, the GIA stood by its decision. At least two GIA-trained gemologists had agreed that the alexandrite they examined was earth-born. The lab suggested that I send the stone again with its original GIA certificate, to rule out the possibility of a stone swap.
After a week, the GIA rendered a new verdict: The alexandrite was indeed the same stone submitted in December… and upon review by its senior gemologists, the GIA reversed itself and declared the stone to be synthetic. In other words, the world's leading authority on gemstones was admitting it had made a fundamental mistake. And had I not been curious about the country of origin, I might never have known.
Years ago, a type of synthetic alexandrite was marketed under the trade name Allexite. The manufacturer was the House of Diamonair, a subsidiary of Litton Airtron (today part of Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems). Under shortwave ultraviolet light, the synthetic stones fluoresce chalky yellow mixed with a weak red-orange. The authentic counterpart is inert.
I raced to the basement and plugged in my ultraviolet lightbox. Sure enough, I could see the fluorescent glow clearly, like a ring of hot yellow powder outlining the alexandrite…or should I say, the Allexite?
I asked the GIA's Moses about the analytical techniques used by his lab to distinguish natural from synthetic alexandrite. He confirmed that infrared light would reveal differences. Unfortunately, in the case of my stone, the GIA hadn't performed that test. "As gut-wrenching as it is to make a mistake," he said, "fortunately, it only rarely happens."
To the AGL's retired founder, Cap Beesley, however, the lesson was clear. "Unfortunately, there are some people who still believe that GIA stands for 'God In Action,' " he said. "Laboratories need to realize that arrogance has no place in the gemological process. Gem buyers need to be more vigilant about protecting their interests, rather than relying on PR, marketing hype and dealer rhetoric."
Though the Philadelphia jeweler was gracious enough to take back the ring and give me a refund, not all jewelers would have done that. And, if my jeweler sold it again as a clearly labeled synthetic gem, there's no telling how the buyer might have tried to resell it. That stone might be making the rounds as prize possession for an unknowing buyer. Don't be that person.
I thought this was an awesome story, so I'm passing it along. So, what, we need to get 2 certs now?
Full disclosure; I found the article on the home page of the AGL.
Here's the link if you want to read the whole story, my excerpt left out some interesting bits: http://online.barrons.com/article_email/SB50001424052970203511504576329081143859922-lMyQjA1MTAxMDIwMzEyNDMyWj.html#articleTabs_article%3D1
Here's the excerpt:
False Promise by SUSAN M. NEIDER
In January of last year, I was offered a spectacular natural alexandrite, a rare color-changing gem that is among the most expensive on the planet. An oval of diamonds surrounded the gorgeous stone, all set on a classic Tiffany & Co. platinum ring. A Philadelphia jeweler, with whom I'd done business, had bought it several weeks earlier from a well-dressed woman selling her mother's estate. To be prudent, the jeweler made his purchase contingent on an inspection by the Gemological Institute of America and the issuance of a GIA Lab certificate stating the alexandrite to be of natural origin, not man-made.
TOP-QUALITY NATURAL ALEXANDRITES can cost more than $30,000 a carat. The stones are millions of times more rare than diamonds. They look like nothing else: Traces of chromium cause two distinct colors to flash from the gem: green in daylight, red in incandescent or candlelight.
The alexandrite in the Tiffany-stamped ring looked totally clean. I could not see any flaws, even with my 10-power loupe. At its greenest, it resembled a bluish emerald with intense green flashes; at its reddest, a fiery amethyst or garnet. The hues were pure. No bleeding of colors, no brown or gray undertones. It seemed perfect.
As a trained chemist and experienced gem collector, I did wonder for a moment if the gem was too perfect. But it came with a GIA certificate, which I trusted.
When I got home, my first order of business (and that of every serious gem buyer) was to call the GIA and verify the authenticity of the certificate. Each document issued by the GIA has a report number, and it's important to check that this number matches what the GIA has on record. Counterfeit certificates float in the shadows of this industry. Even when a GIA certificate is obtained, a valuable natural gem can be removed from its mounting and replaced by a lab-created lookalike that has been cut by laser to match the original.
Donna Beaton, manager of colored-stone services, confirmed that the GIA New York Lab had indeed examined and issued a report on a natural alexandrite. Their report number matched mine, as did the description of the stone.
I asked Beaton directly about the gem's stunning clarity, which was unusual for alexandrite. She told me GIA gemologists had also noted a very clean and transparent stone, but assured me that visible under magnification were an assortment of "natural inclusions"—the trade term for the tiny flaws that occur in nature and are proof that a gem is not man-made.
I WENT TO MANHATTAN TO DELIVER the ring to Chris Smith, the current head of AGL. To enter the building of the AGL and the GIA, you must pass through a controlled turnstile, provide a driver's license and leave a fingerprint. Brinks Security has an outlet in the lobby. Inside, men in dark overcoats hustle along the hallways, speaking in code to one another or their cellphones. After passing through two sets of bulletproof doors, I left my ring with AGL.
A few days later, my phone rang: "Hi Susan. This is Chris Smith from the AGL. Your alexandrite is synthetic."
"Synthetic? As in…not real? How can this be—it has a GIA cert!" But I knew he was right. That stone really did look too perfect.
When two well-respected labs disagree on a matter this fundamental, it is necessary to establish that both labs examined the same stone. I called the GIA and told Beaton that the AGL had contested their findings. Still, the GIA stood by its decision. At least two GIA-trained gemologists had agreed that the alexandrite they examined was earth-born. The lab suggested that I send the stone again with its original GIA certificate, to rule out the possibility of a stone swap.
After a week, the GIA rendered a new verdict: The alexandrite was indeed the same stone submitted in December… and upon review by its senior gemologists, the GIA reversed itself and declared the stone to be synthetic. In other words, the world's leading authority on gemstones was admitting it had made a fundamental mistake. And had I not been curious about the country of origin, I might never have known.
Years ago, a type of synthetic alexandrite was marketed under the trade name Allexite. The manufacturer was the House of Diamonair, a subsidiary of Litton Airtron (today part of Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems). Under shortwave ultraviolet light, the synthetic stones fluoresce chalky yellow mixed with a weak red-orange. The authentic counterpart is inert.
I raced to the basement and plugged in my ultraviolet lightbox. Sure enough, I could see the fluorescent glow clearly, like a ring of hot yellow powder outlining the alexandrite…or should I say, the Allexite?
I asked the GIA's Moses about the analytical techniques used by his lab to distinguish natural from synthetic alexandrite. He confirmed that infrared light would reveal differences. Unfortunately, in the case of my stone, the GIA hadn't performed that test. "As gut-wrenching as it is to make a mistake," he said, "fortunately, it only rarely happens."
To the AGL's retired founder, Cap Beesley, however, the lesson was clear. "Unfortunately, there are some people who still believe that GIA stands for 'God In Action,' " he said. "Laboratories need to realize that arrogance has no place in the gemological process. Gem buyers need to be more vigilant about protecting their interests, rather than relying on PR, marketing hype and dealer rhetoric."
Though the Philadelphia jeweler was gracious enough to take back the ring and give me a refund, not all jewelers would have done that. And, if my jeweler sold it again as a clearly labeled synthetic gem, there's no telling how the buyer might have tried to resell it. That stone might be making the rounds as prize possession for an unknowing buyer. Don't be that person.
I thought this was an awesome story, so I'm passing it along. So, what, we need to get 2 certs now?
Full disclosure; I found the article on the home page of the AGL.
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