You may have noticed there are more sapphire & rubies being offered on Ebay lately. There is a Reason and you should know the facts

There are  treatments being used to color enhance otherwise cheap sapphires & rubies as well as make them look better to the naked eye .One is a process that uses Beryllium. It relies on temperature (heating) along with other elements.  Otherwise poorly colored sapphire & ruby can be improved with such treatment.  This color can rage from Blue to Yellow to the so called Padparadscha color and several colors in between As a matter of fact 99% of all   Padparadscha Sapphires you   see being offered   on ebay  have been treated this way  and are of very low value .Although beautiful they are not as valuable as unheated   or traditional heated sapphire or rubies. 

Under U.S. Federal Trade Commission  disclosure law the dealer must let you know it has been color enhanced. But unfortunately they are not doing so Whether from either not knowing or not wanting to disclose it , they ignore U.S. Federal guidelines.  We feel it is our obligation to let our customers know about  new processes So what would seem to be a great bargain really isn't .

Another example is  Ruby being treated with Lead Glass infusion  This process relies on lead based glass being heated along with ther ruby. The ruby absorbs the lead glass and makes the ruby look better. But the process is not permanent. Over a period of time the ruby shows white type streak lines to it and can easily be damaged with an ultrasonic cleaner      You are assured that 99%  of all rubies being offered on Ebay are with this treatment.  Your only protection is buying a ruby that has been certified. 

Your best protection is ask a dealer what treatment is used If they tell  you outright  what it is then you know and there is not need for further investigation    You do not   need to concern yourself with it as they disclosed it to you.  On the other hand when buying a sapphire or ruby make sure the dealer is willing to guarantee the stone  did not go through a process by guaranteeing you a total refund if proven otherwise.  

Keep in mind that it is not cost  effective to test all stones Stones with a low value of a few hundred dollars or less  cannot be   tested  simply out of economics.  But if you are going to invest a few thousand dollars be prepared.  All we can say is it's your money you decide We give you the facts We will clearly state that a sapphire  or ruby has been treated with Beryllium or has other treatments if it has and not hide the fact.    Your Local Jeweler does not have the lab Equipment nor the knowledge needed to determine this in any way shape or form  So do not expect it. Go to a Gem Laboratory or make sure the stone comes with some type of  3rd party independent gem certification.

Take the guess work out of guessing   Also watch out for stones that have the phase "doublet" which means part man made and part real . The most common doublets are Opals . They take a thin piece of opal and place it on a man made substance and then polish it . Its good for a lot of people that enjoy spectacular opal at an inexpensive price. So don't be fooled into believing you are buying pure solid opal which will cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars for top quality stones

Recently we have seen Alexandrite Doublets appear on the market as well as sapphire and ruby The top part of the stone is real  gemstone .The bottom portion is something else . They fuse the two pieces together and then pass it off as genuine Your local jeweler may not eve catch it since it is polished as one piece. You best bet is to have it certified by a Gem Laboratory or if the dealer has disclosed that it is a doublet that that is sufficient  So if you see something at $1 No Reserve and know it is a very expensive stone then make sure you are not being led down the garden path

There are many dealers that are not disclosing what a doublet is so in the long run you loose and the seller wins. That is not a situation you want to be in If you are going to bid on an expensive stone there is no reason for the seller not to have it certified for you before they ship it ships it .

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