HERE IS A GUIDE TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IS MEANT BY TREATED, ENHANCED, AND SYNTHETIC GEMS.

TREATED AND ENHANCED GEMS

A TREATED OR ENHANCED GEM IS ONE THAT, AFTER HAVING BEEN MINED AND CUT, UNDERGOES SOME TYPE OF PROCEDURE TO EITHER BRIGHTEN, DEEPEN OR ENHANCE THE COLOR OF THE GEMSTONE. A TRAINED GEMOLOGIST CAN GENERALLY SPOT ANY GEM THAT HAS BEEN TREATED OR ENHANCED, AND ADVISE YOU ON THE CARE OF THE GEM.

OILING: THIS WAS COMMONLY USED FROM THE EARLY 1900'S UNTIL AROUND THE 70'S.  IT CAN STILL BE FOUND IN SOME GEMS, BUT THE USE OF OIL ISN'T AS RAMPANT AS IT ONCE WAS.

A GEM (GENERALLY AN EMERALD) HAD COLORED OIL RUBBED INTO IT, THUS HIDING THE FRACTURES WITHIN THE GEM, AND DEEPENING THE COLOR. A LOT OF POOR GEMS WERE SOLD AS FINE GEMS, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE LOST A LOT OF MONEY. THE TREATMENT DOESN'T LAST LONG WITH NORMAL WEAR.

HEAT TREATING:  THIS IS STILL USED TODAY, MAINLY IN RUBIES. APPROXIMATELY 65-70% OF THE RUBIES ON THE MARKET HAVE BEEN TREATED. THE GEM IS PLACED IN OR NEAR A HIGH HEAT SOURCE, AND LEFT FOR HOURS OR DAYS. THE RESULT IS A BETTER COLOR. THE HEAT CAN AFFECT THE GEM, CAUSING IT TO CRACK OR BREAK, AND ENLARGING FLUID FILLED FRACTURES IN THE GEMSTONE. THE EFFECT IS PERMANANT.

IRRADIATING: THIS IS STILL USED TODAY, GENERALLY ON COLORED OR FANCY  DIAMONDS. MOST OF THE BLUE DIAMONDS ON THE MARKET TODAY HAVE BEEN IRRADIATED, AS HAVE SOME OF THE GREEN. THE EFFECT DEEPENS THE COLOR, AND IS PERMANANT. THE TREATMENT DOES NOT HARM THE GEM, AND THERE IS NO RESIDUAL RADIATION.

FILLING: IF A GEM SUCH AS A RUBY, SAPPHIRE OR EMERALD HAS A LOT OF FRACTURES, IT CAN SOMETIMES BE TREATED WITH A GLASS-LIKE SUBSTANCE TO FILL THE FRACTURES, AND MAKE THE GEM LOOK CLEANER IN APPEARANCE. AT TIMES, A DYE MAY BE ADDED TO THE FRACTURE-FILLING MATERIAL TO ENHANCE THE COLOR AS WELL.THE EFFECTS ARE SEMI-PERMANENT. DO NOT USE AN ULTRASONIC CLEANER ON ANY FRACTURE FILLED GEM.

FRACTURE FILLED DIAMONDS:  SAME PROCESS AS ABOVE, WITH A CLEAR MATERIAL INJECTED INTO THE FRACTURES IN THE GEM. THE EFFECTS ARE SEMI-PERMANENT. CARE SHOULD BE TAKEN WITH THESE GEMS. NEVER USE AN ULTRASONIC CLEANER, AS THE HIGH FREQUENCY VIBRATIONS COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE DIAMOND, AND REMOVE THE FILLING.

DRILLING: A DIAMOND THAT HAS A LOT OF CARBON IN IT MAY BE LASER DRILLED, AND THE CARBON 'BLASTED', MAKING THE GEM APPEAR CLEAN. THE EFFECT CAN BE PERMANENT, BUT WITH NORMAL WEAR, THE TINY HOLES MADE BY THE LASER CAN FILL WITH DIRT, MAKING THE GEM LOOK DULL. ALSO, A DIAMOND THAT HAS BEEN LASER DRILLED SHOULD NEVER BE CLEANED IN AN ULTRASONIC CLEANER! THE VIBRATIONS CAN CAUSE THE LASER HOLES TO EXPAND AND CRACK, POSSIBLY BREAKING THE DIAMOND.

DYING:  NOT VERY MUCH IN PRACTICE NOW, DYING A GEM USUALLY MEANT SOAKING A GEMSTONE IN COLORED OIL, OR DYE, SOMETIMES OVER A LOW HEAT, FOR MANY DAYS. THIS TREATMENT WAS NOT PERMANANT, AND WAS OFTEN USED BY UNSCRUPULOUS MERCHANTS TO MAKE MONEY OFF AN UNSUSPECTING PATRON.

SYNTHETICS

A SYNTHETIC GEM CAN BE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

1) A GEMSTONE MADE TO LOOK LIKE ANOTHER GEM BY TREATING, ENHANCING, OR SIMPLY MISREPRESENTING THE GEM. SPINEL WAS COMMONLY SOLD AS RUBY IN THE '20'S THROUGH THE '50'S. ALSO, CLEAR GEMS WERE SOMETIMES PAINTED, OR DYED TO APPEAR LIKE SAPPHIRE, RUBY, OR EMERALD.

2) A NON-GEMSTONE MATERIAL IS MADE TO RESEMBLE A PRECIOUS GEMSTONE. GLASS WAS OFTEN SOLD IN THE EARLY 1900'S AS DIAMOND, AS WAS ROCK CRYSTAL. COLORED GLASS WAS SOLD AS RUBY, SAPPHIRE AND EMERALD. THE WORD 'RHINESTONE' BASICALLY MEANT GLASS GEM.

3) A MAN-MADE MATERIAL, BEARING ALL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES TO NATURAL GEMSTONES, IS PROCESSED TO APPEAR AS REAL GEMS. THIS INCLUDES CUBIC ZIRCONIA, PROBABLY THE MOST FAMOUS SYNTHETIC MADE. ALTHOUGH THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES IN THESE MAN-MADE GEMS ARE EXACT, THE GEMS ARE NOT PERMANENT. AFTER NORMAL WEAR, THE MAN-MADE GEMS TEND TO LOOK DULL OR CLOUDY.

AGAIN, WITH SYNTHETICS, A GEMOLOGIST CAN TELL A SYNTHETIC FROM A NATURAL GEM.

DOUBLETS, TRIPLETS AND CROWNS:  THESE ARE SLIVERS OF NATURAL GEM FUSED ONTO A NON-GEM MATERIAL. THE' CROWN', OR TOP, OF THE STONE IS A NATURAL GEM, BUT THE BELLY IS USUALLY GLASS, OR ROCK CRYSTAL. EMERALDS, RUBIES AND SAPPHIRES AS WELL AS ANY OTHER VALUABLE GEM CAN BE FOUND REPRESENTED BY THIS "CROWN GEM".

A DOUBLET IS GENERALLY A THIN SLICE OF OPAL FUSED ONTO A DARK MATERIAL, AND A TRIPLET IS ALSO GENERALLY OPAL, SANDWICHED BETWEEN GLASS OR CRYSTAL ON TOP, AND A DARK MATERIAL UNDERNEATH.

I HOPE THIS GUIDE WAS HELPFUL IN UNDERSTANDING GEM TREATMENTS, ENHANCEMENTS AND SYNTHETICS.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME!

LAURA