|
|
Gemstone treatment is any
enhancement, by man, to a gem material other than cutting or
polishing. Below is a list of gemstones, the method of known
treatment with its frequency of
use. |
Alexandrite - None
Amazonite - Usually, the use of wax,
paraffin or oil via impregnation; occasionally,
use of plastic or
hardening agents.
Amber - Occasionally, heated for sun
spangles or color enhancement; rarely, dyed
or surface
treated.
Amethyst - Occasionally, heated to
lighten color and to remove 'smoky'
components.
Ametrine - None
Ammolite - Commonly treated with
colorless hardening substances, for stability, via
impregnation.
Andalusite - None
Aquamarine - Usually heated to
remove yellow components (green) to leave the
blue.
Beryl - Blue-Always
irradiated blue from colorless; Pink-Commonly heated to
remove
the yellow component; Yellow/Green-None; Red-None; Yellow-Usually
produced by irradiation.
Chalcedony - Agate-Usually
dyed; (Black) Onyx-Always dyed; Banded-Usually
dyed; Blue-Commonly dyed;
Green-Usually dyed; Carnelian-Usually heated,
occasionally dyed; Jasper-Occasionally dyed;
Chrysoprase-None.
Chrysoberyl - Cat's
Eye-Occasionally irradiated; Yellow or Brown or Green - None.
Citrine - Usually produced by
heating various types of quartz.
Coral - Black-None;
White-Commonly bleached; Pink-Commonly impregnated
with
colorless wax; Orange-Commonly stabilized with plastic;
Gold- Usually bleached
from black; Red-Occasionally
dyed.
Diamond - Occasionally to commonly
laser drilled; Rarely coated; Occasionally by
filling surface cavities
or fractures with a hardened substance; Occasionally
irradiated and/or
heated. Now a recent procedure (currently undetected) of taking a
brown
diamond and making it white.
Diopside - None.
Emerald - Usually the penetration of
colorless oil, wax, unhardened resins into voids; Commonly
the filling
of surface cavities or fractures with a hardened colorless substance;
Occasionally dyed
with colored substance.
Garnet
- None
Hematite - None
Iolite - None
Ivory &
Bone - Commonly bleached; Occasionally
dyed; Occasionally impregnated with colorless wax paraffin; Commonly
impregnated with colorless hardened substances.
Jade - Commonly impregnated with
colorless wax; Commonly bleached and polymer impregnated; Occasionally
dyed.
Kunzite - Commonly heated and/or
irradiated.
Lapis
Lazuli - Commonly impregnated with
colorless wax or oil; Commonly dyed.
Malachite - Occasionally coated with
a colorless wax; Rarely impregnated with plastic and/or other hardened
agents.
Moonstone - None
Opal - Rarely impregnated with
colorless oil, wax and resins; Rarely impregnated with colorless
plastic; Commonly sugar solution infilling in an acid bath; Occasionally
infusion of unhardened essentially colorless substances into voids; Usually impregnated with colorless resins and
hardeners.
Pearl
- Usually bleached; Rarely dyed in natural
pearls but usually dyed in cultured pearls; Occasionally irradiated;
Commonly chemical treatment with heat.
Peridot - Rarely penetration of
colorless oil, wax, unhardened resins into voids; Rarely filling of
surface fractures with a
colorless hardened substance.
Rhodochrosite - Rarely
dyed.
Rhodonite - None.
Ruby - Usually heated; Rarely dyed;
Commonly intentional filling of surface cavities and fractures
with a
foreign material, including glass; Commonly as a by-product of heat
treatment the presence
of solidified borax or similar colorless
substances; Rarely diffusion of color or asterism.
Sapphire - Usually heated;
Occasionally diffusion of color or asterism; Occasionally irradiation to
provided temporary intense yellow or orange color.
Serpentine - Rarely
dyed.
Spinel - None
Spodumene - Rarely irradiated
green.
Sugelite - None
Tanzanite - Usually
heated.
Topaz
- Blue-Usually irradiated and
often heated; Yellow/Orange-Occasionally irradiated;
Pink/Red-Usually heated;
Brown-None; Green-Usually irradiated.
Tourmaline - Chrome
Vanadium-None; Cat's Eye-None; Yellow/Orange-Rarely heated or
irradiated; Blue/Green-Commonly heated, Occasionally the penetration
of
colorless oil or
unhardened resins into voids, Occasionally filling of
surface cavities or fractures with a colorless
hardened substance;
Pink/Red/Purple-Occasionally heated, Commonly irradiated,
Occasionally
penetration of colorless oil or unhardened resins into
voids, Occasionally filling of surface cavities or
fractures with a
hardened substance, Occasionally penetration of coloring agents into
voids.
Turquoise - Commonly impregnated
with plastic; Commonly impregnated with colorless oil or
wax; Rarely
dyed.
Zircon - Green/Brown-None;
Yellow-Rarely heated; Blue/Red/Colorless- Always heated from the
brownish crystals.
|