treated gemstones???

[tommalle]

I am extremely new to gemstones and I was wondering if most gemstones are treated in some way. I have been browsing the posts and clicking on the links and I have found that a majority of the gemstones that I saw were treated in some way, mostly with heat. Does eveyone buy natural or treated? Do treated gemstones cost less?

 

[T L]

Date: 1/12/2009 10:25:17 PM
Author:tommalle
I am extremely new to gemstones and I was wondering if most gemstones are treated in some way. I have been browsing the posts and clicking on the links and I have found that a majority of the gemstones that I saw were treated in some way, mostly with heat. Does eveyone buy natural or treated? Do treated gemstones cost less?

That's a really complex question and while many gemstones are not treated, most of the popular ones, like rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and even diamonds (clarity and color enhanced) are. The treatments can go from gentle heat to coating, fracture filling with glass and plastic, dying, and changing a gemstone so much that it is virtually indistinguishable from what it was before the treatment. Treatment is like a double edged sword. Although it has allowed more people to enjoy beautiful gems that they could otherwise not afford, there are many unscrupulous sellers that do not disclose or try to candy coat the extent of the treatments.

Treated gemstones tend to cost less than their untreated counterparts if the counterpart looks identical to the treated stone. Some stones, like most tanzanite for example, require treatment to be sellable (most tanzanite is brownish when it comes out of the ground and needs to be heated to get that blue violet color).

 

[shinyrocks]

That is a toughie. As TL said, some gems are very commonly treated, others are not. Paraiba tourmalines are another example of a gem that very often has to be heated to bring out its full potential. Sapphire would be an example of a stone that is often heated, but a premium is placed on those of a particular quality that are NOT heated.... Are you thinking of any gem in particular?

 

[tommalle]

My birthday is in November so I am thinking about citrine. I have a decent collection of diamonds and now I want to learn about gemstones and start getting colorful!! I am not partial to any one color or stone so I think I''ll end up with a collection of whatever catches my eye. I just don''t want make the mistakes that I did with diamonds. Early on I didn''t know any better and I bought a bunch of different things. Now knowing the importance of cut, I am kicking myself and am wondering what to do with the crap I accumulated. And so I don''t want to go into the wrong direction with gemstones and end up with simulated, worthless junk. I want to have good quality pieces that I can leave my kids when I''m ...dead

 

[ma re]

Regarding treated stones I''d only like to add one that''s among the most commonly treated - emerald. It''s not only done to enhance it''s beauty (improve clarity), but also to make the stone more durable and suitable for use in jewellery. It''s usually done by impregnating it''s fractures with resin or oil.

And when it comes to citrine, it''s heated so often that searching for one that''s not could take a long time. In fact, it''s not citrine that''s heated, it''s amethyst, which after heating changes color to that of citrine. Becuse they''re the same mineral (quartz) it''s like changing one stone into the other, and the change is permanent and stable (color won''t fade or wear off with time). Of course, there are natural citrines and they can be found, but color is mostly not as intense as with the heated material, so the treatment is widely acceptable in the industry. And when it comes to making sure you''re not buying crap, I''d start by reading THIS and a few pages that follow it.

 

[m76steve]

just a mention-im seeing that some gem dealers are heating african tourmaline and getting the paraiba effect colors as the brazillian material-some looks pretty good-so be aware-some paraiba is sold as the real mccoy-but just a pretty good lookalike...