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Frequently Asked Gemstone Questions
NEVADA OUTBACK GEMS: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT GEMSTONES
5. What About Treated or Altered Gemstones?
| Is It Imortant to Know About
Treated and Altered Gemstones? For thousands of years, jewelry artists have treated gemstones to enhance their beauty and value. Sometimes this was done in honesty simply to improve the gem, but other times it was done with intent to deceive the buyer. In recent decades, with the scientific advances that have been made, the alteration and enhancement of gemstones has become both commonplace and increasingly sophisticated. Natural gemstones are rare. Only a comparative few of
the stones which mined are of the very best quality. If the natural stones that are not
the very best can be improved to increase their beauty, and the changes are permanent and
fully disclosed to the buyer, why not take the efforts to make a gem crystal put forth its
very best appearance? Stone which are naturally nothing much to look at can be made quite
beautiful. Many simply view gem enhancements as lending nature a slight helping hand to
finish the job started deep inside the earth. Of course, the issues of gem enhancement are
just not that simple. The positive results of some gem treatments are
only temporary, some can even make the gem hazardous to the wearer by making the stone
radioactive, and others may hide an otherwise weak or damaged stone making it appear as if
it were fully sound. There fore it's worthwhile to know something about gem treatments. |
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| If the seller fully discloses the treatment
of a gem to the buyer, including a full description the permanence of the changes and how
the enhancements may affect the value and wear ability of the gem, then there is no
deception or dishonesty in gemstone treatment. However, because processes as simple as
ultra sonic cleaning of the gemstone may remove or reverse some alterations, and heat may
distroy some treatments, it is only fair that the buyer needs to know these things.
Unfortunately, many times there is not full disclosure of all the potential problems by
the seller. Enhanced gems are sold as if they were fully natural and the buyer does not
know what he or she is purchasing - and that is wrong. Of course, the value of a truly
natural fine piece is definitely greater than a treated stone, so there is a financial
incentive for sellers to mislead their customers. It is not always the fault of the
jeweler, as he is often sold treated stones without proper disclosure by wholesalers and
other suppliers. The pages that I am providing here below summarize the most common gem treatments, their benefits as well as the necessary precautions, risks and potential downside of owning stones that have received these treatments. These pages will provide you what you need to know about gemstone treatments. |
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| The Encyclopedia of
Gemstone Treatments: The treatment of many gems is not always disclosed to the buyer. This is what the jewelry buyer needs to know! Here is a detailed description of how a variety of gems are treated to changed their appearance, how those treatments affect the value of the gems, what precautions the buyer needs to take and if those treatments are permanent or not: |
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| The Beryl Family: Aquamarine, Emerald and Morganite | |
| The Corundum Family: Ruby, Sapphire | |
| Diamonds | |
| The Quartz Family: Amethyst, Citrine and Agates | |
| Tanzanite | |
| Topaz | |
| Tourmaline | |
| Turquoise | |
| Zircon | |
NEVADA OUTBACK GEMS
