this seems awfully high for a heated sapphire....

[T L]

I believe the seller KNEW that the stone could be BE heated and that the lab that certified it couldn't detect that kind of treatment, but chose to mislead me because (at the time) I didn't know that particular lab couldn't detect BE treatment and took her word for it. I knew just enough to ask if it was BE heated, but not enough to know that that lab NOR the seller could guarantee that - I know better now. ]

Colorluvr,
This happens all the time, even with the seller at the top of the thread in question. I've seen them sell sapphires for a lot of money that are "certified" and yet the certificate states "did not test for a foreign element" or something akin to that. What that means is that the lab did not, or was not equipped to test for diffusion. The "element" is what was used in the diffusion process. Therefore, the naive buyer thinks that it's certified, so great, it's a genuine real sapphire, and nothing to worry about. The problem is that they don't know all the treatments, like you didn't, and thought a certificate made it a winner. It happens ALL THE TIME, especially on ebay. They're not lying when they say it's heated, because be-treated stones are also heated. However, they only choose to disclose the heating, not the altering of the gem with a chemical added to it.

I'm sorry about your deception, but you have educated yourself, and you know this won't happen again. Just be grateful you weren't swindled out of thousands of dollars on a be-treated stone. It happens all the time, and that's why I despise this treatment so much. I know it makes some gems affordable, but all too often, it is used as a deception.

 

[Michael_E]

Michael,
Have you seen the material they diffuse? It's basically road gravel,

Yes, I have not only seen a lot of it, but cut a lot of it as well. It is definitely not "road gravel", but rather material which is considered off color. You can't fix fractures and heavy inclusions with any type of heat treatment or diffusion and so any stone which is clean after BE treatment was necessarily clean before it started.

It sounds to me as if your problem is not with the material but with the deceptive tactics that people use to sell it. I agree with you on that , but that should not be a problem any longer as the major labs around the world are capable of detecting if this treatment was done. This should make any deception short lived for those who care about getting a stone which is free of this treatment. I think that when you separate the deception from the material, that the material is fine and should probably be worth more than it was before being treated. After all the choice is between a stone which is pretty and treated or ugly with no treatment. I've attached a picture of the starting material for what would have become a pad colored BE treated sapphire. I think that whoever let this go just figured that the small negative crystals in it would have caused the stone to blow up had they tried to heat it. I bought it because it was big, cheap and I like weird stones.

If you're looking for more info on how colors are changed with all sorts of heat treatment in sapphire this is a good read:
http://lgdl.gia.edu/pdfs/su03a1.pdf

 

[T L]

Michael,
I could be wrong, but all the samples I've seen online that were shown for be-treatment did look like road gravel. Fish tank gravel looked better. Now if they can diffuse that and make it look nice, I wouldn't waste my time with that material. It would bother me too much. You may have seen better material used for diffusion, but since I can't tell what it looked like before diffusion, I rather pass.

I do have a big problem with the deception in treatment, but when seeing the before and after photos of this treatment, it really is shocking. As for labs, some may detect a foreign element, but the detection is quite pricey, and I'm still not sure if it's 100% foolproof. That's why I prefer untreated and unheated material now. It's nice to see some intact unaltered rutile in a sapphire.

 

[chrono]

I'll have to find the link but the sapphires I saw in pictures prior to diffusion did look like road gravel to me as well. I have several issues with diffusion:
1. Many vendors do not disclose the treatment, are unaware of it or do not know about this treatment method.
2. Not all labs, even reputable ones like AIGS, have the equipment to test for this. I think there might only be 5 or so labs worldwide who are equipped and have the skill/training to use the machine.
3. To test for diffusion is an added cost over the regular memo, which is quite expensive.
4. Mother Nature heats gemstones under the earth but rarely infuse it with minerals like TI and BE. This treatment method takes the corundum almost to its melting point in order to infuse the mineral (colour), which is totally unnatural.

Again, the above are my personal views. I do not begrudge or judge anyone who purchases a diffused sapphire if they do not share my mental hang up because if disclosed, explained properly about the treatment process and priced accordingly, diffused sapphires make for very affordable stones that are attractive.

ETA
Looks like there is now an emergence of very large diffused sapphires
http://www.giathai.net/pdf/Beryllium_diffused_blue_sapphires_at_June_26th_2009.pdf

 

[chrono]

Pictures of road gravel that has been diffused to look somewhat decent
http://www.ruby-sapphire.com/beryllium_sapphire.htm

 

[Michael_E]

The picture attached is credited to John Emmett who is the principal author of the above linked article. That article also has a critical tone towards changing these dark, inky blue sapphires into something more attractive. The top photo of the "road gravel" is taken on a white background at a low angle while the bottom photo is taken on a mirrored surface at about the same angle. That mirrored surface serves to backlight the roughs, which highlights their clarity and color, so the pictures are really designed to show the huge difference that BE treating can have. Pretty remarkable what can be done with a little heat and wisp of a simple metallic element isn't it?

What do you think should be done with this type of dark, but clean material? I ask myself what I'd do with a bucket of this stuff and the answer is definitely, "treat it". Now while I do not have the same appreciation for it as I do an untreated sapphire of the same color and clarity, I definitely would not turn my nose up at the opportunity to cut and sell this material for what it is. My contention is that there is nothing at all wrong with this and that it really is a benefit to everyone involved to treat this material and wring every last bit of beauty out of it for those who appreciate beauty and don't have the deep pockets to buy the untreated stuff.

Looking at the original posters thought that this is dramatically overpriced had me looking around at what this sort of stone would cost, were it an untreated sapphire of this apparent quality. I'm coming up with end buyers costs of $3000 per carat and up...way up depending on the sales arena. I think that the seller of this particular stone knows that it is treated and that's why the price is so low. Since they haven't had it tested for BE content, they can shrug their shoulders when asked about it and let the buyer pay for the testing if they are concerned about it. It's kind of deceptive, but not as deceptive as if they were making a specific claim that the stone was not treated and asking $12K plus for it.

In cases like this any deception is in the LACK of information and the idea that MAYBE the buyer will be getting something grand for a cheap price. Unfortunately this is not a possibility when purchasing on E-bay and from sellers who are well aware of what they are doing. TL is right in that it is a bit of a con game and it's played out on people who really don't know the difference, (right up there with selling light blue tourmaline with the pitch that it hasn't been tested for copper...yeah right). It's too bad the sellers of this material don't just sell it for what it is, since it is attractive, durable and the price is a couple orders of magnitude lower than the material it mimics so well.