Help me with this red spinel problem, color changed

[pajero_exceed]

Hi,

I bought this red spinel one year ago, the clarity was not satisfied, but I loved the vivid red color. I noticed there was a fracture or fissue on the surface, don't know which word should be used to describe it. I asked the seller and was told it would not affect the stone as long as it already went through the cutting process, tough enough and nothing would happen. I took the photo. I know the color was not pretty even, seller told me there are different inclusions, well I know sometimes it happens, therefore I accepted it.

Now the worst part is something unexpected pops up, the white stuff I definitely didn't see has appeared. I took some pictures, the left is now the right is before.

Could anybody tell me if there is treatment to spinel, such as oil, which can heal fracture or fissue? if no, then why my spinel changed? the color is not as vivid as before, especially the unexpected white substance.

 

[mastercutgems]

Good Day Pajero_exceed ;

I hope you are doing well.

The only thing I can say at this point in the game is that you need to take it to a gemologist or someone with knowledge of gems with a 100x gem microscope to see in detail what is going on with your gem.

We all on here know there is an abundant amount of treatments going on the gem world today and the most sought after colors in a particular mineral are usually the first to get the treatment as they are sought after...

I have in the past seen a gem exhibit a fracture many years after the purchase and left alone in a vault with no interference from me or anyone else. After much debate with others in the craft and with extensive lab work and scrutiny under the scope some I found out were oiled with either cedarwood type oil, some polymer like opticon; and some just fractured evidently from a release of tension on the molecular crystalline structure of the gem...

Before I would go off into never, never land as someone doing something; please do some looking under strong magnification to better enable you to know what has gone on as it may have been a natural occurrence with the crystalline lattice structure with the mineral itself.

I wish you all the best in this and hopefully it did not go deep and there is some recourse or re-cutting in the future for that lovely colored gem.

I wish you all the best in your quest for truth.

most respectfully;

Dana Reynolds
ASG certified
Supreme Master Gem Cutter
#96CGE42

 

[pajero_exceed]

Dear Dana,

Thank you very much for your reply, yes I'd better take it to the lab, I was thinking that spinel was THE gemstone immune from treatment. many thanks again.

 

[mastercutgems]

It is my pleasure to help anyone; anyway I can...

Well do not feel bad as we do not know what has gone on... I know they have been making synthetic spinel since the very early 1900's and maybe even before that date. But treatments on the gem mineral have not been widespread until the last 10 years or so; and that came about when people (due to forums like this) started to learn the value and beauty of the gem mineral...

Of course you never know when someone will do limited alterations to a gem mineral in their personal lab or basement...

But all that being conjecture at this point I just wanted to say strange things can and have happened to gem crystals/cut gems in a vault all alone with no help from outside hands. Opal for one can sit lovely alone in a vault for 5 years and then one day you go back and it looks like it was hit with a hammer and had crazed beyond hope!!! been there experienced it first hand... sadly ...

I know of a very true story of a 29 carat tanzanite popping in front of 4 people at a desk deciding who was going to buy it and for what cost ?? Yikes !!! I know as I am the guy that picked up the pieces and cut 4 stones from the one gem. It was said that the gem had been heated and the owner thought they could get a better color by heating it again... Well it did make a finer looking gem; but... It evidently created an internal monster of undue stress within the gem..

So I just wanted you to get some professional advice before you could rightly determine what you had and what if anything had been done by another trying to make the gem better than nature was allowing...

It is a very lovely color for spinel and hopefully it will be again as it would make a lovely piece of jewelry..

Keep your fingers crossed and I hope it all works out the very best for you !!

Please let the group know what you come up with as I am sure many read this and would love to know what has happened; it is all learning experiences for us all as it will just make us more wise and that is always a good thing

Most respectfully;

Dana Reynolds
ASG Certified
Supreme Master Gem Cutter
#96CGE42

 

[T L]

Like Dana said, they fill spinels with resins and polymers. It is possible that these fillers can dry up over time or change color. It is a really beautiful spinel and like Dana, I suggest you send it to a lab, AGL in NYC is preferable if you're in the United States.

 

[GregS]

Gorgeous stone, it's definitely worth a trip to the lab for testing. Like others have said there's no sense in trying to draw conclusions from the pictures. I hope it comes back untreated as it is very beautiful and looks to be fairly large.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

As a fellow red spinel owner (mine is currently at AGL), I hope you're able to figure out what's going on. It looks like a beautiful stone!

 

[GliderPoss]

Looks exactly like my BE-treated cheap ruby buuuuuut for your sake I truly hope it's not the same! Best to take it to a gemologist for proper testing. Keep us posted...

 

[pajero_exceed]

already sent the spinel back, the sell will refund money, he's got some other spinels which have same problem

 

[T L]

already sent the spinel back, the sell will refund money, he's got some other spinels which have same problem

What was the problem exactly? Was it natural, was it filled?

 

[pajero_exceed]

I don't know, just got to know he's got some spinels which have same kind of change, that's reason he immediately agreed to refund.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I'm sorry you went through that, but I'm glad the seller refunded your money. Will you resume your red spinel search?

 

[GregS]

Would you mind sharing the name of the seller?

 

[iLander]

I was assuming lead glass filled, what did it turn out to be? Did you put your stone in an ultrasonic cleaner at any point? That would loosen the lead glass.

 

[pajero_exceed]

I should have sent it to a lab at first, didn't put it in cleaner, didn't set it, just let the stone in a box, then after a few months it looked different.