All About Gemstone Treatment or Enhancement

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The question about gemstone treatment is frequently broached. Humans, in a sense, change all gemstones after they are discovered on the earth to make jewelry out of them. The shapes, outlines, and levels of polish in rocks that we admire and wear in jewelry are created from the rough crystallographic form of a natural gemstone.

These processes are the standard operating procedure to produce treated gemstones and have been for a long time. Gemstone enhancement can not only improve the beauty of the gems, but it can also increase (or decrease) the gem’s durability.

Gemstone treatment might be permanent, long-lasting, or only for a limited time, depending on how often the jewelry is worn. If gemstone enhancement isn’t disclosed, someone might feel that treated gemstones are of higher natural grade and consequently more valuable than it truly is.

Listed here are various gems for which the treatment technique is employed, how easy or difficult it is for a qualified gemologist to discover the treatment, how common it is in the jewelry industry to find the treated gem, and how long it will last under typical handling conditions.

Table of Contents

Assembled Gemstones

An assembled gemstone is made up of many pieces that have been put together in a specific way. Gemstone doublets and other creations may have their natural parts, but the completed stones aren’t. Synthetic materials such as glass and plastic are sometimes used in the construction of assembled stones.

Bleached Gemstones

A bleached gemstone uses several cleaning agents to get rid of an undesired color. This type of treatment is possible only with a few types of gems. In certain circumstances, acids are used. While in others, hydrogen peroxide or other oxidizing agents are utilized. As with most bleached gemstones, the effect is limited to a thin surface layer that is quickly destroyed and removed.

Coated Gemstones

A coated gemstone is made by applying a thin coating to a gem’s surface to alter the stone’s color, luster, or brilliance, depending on how drastic the change is desired. Also known as backing, it involves painting the entire or part of the surface of a gemstone to change its color. Crystals like quartz and beryl are the most widely covered gems because of their noticeable color changes and false iridescence.

Diffused Gemstones

A diffused gemstone uses specific natural components used to allochromatic color gems deposited on the gem’s surface. Diffusion techniques disperse color into the precious rock. The treatment is long-lasting; however, the gem’s color will only diffuse a short distance after application. This method frequently uses gemstones like star sapphires and star rubies to bring out their stunning asterism effect.

Dyed Gemstones

A dyed gemstone is a method of color alteration to improve the overall aesthetics of a material. The goal of changing the hue is to make the product more visually appealing and marketable. To give the stone color, a colored liquid can easily penetrate porous tumbled stones. Dye-treated gemstones are typically beautiful in every manner except for their hue, which can appear unnatural for some gem patrons.

Fissure-filled Gemstones

A fissure-filled gemstone is made to improve its aesthetics, durability, or monetary value. Fissures are tiny openings on the gem’s surface. Gem filler is used to fill up these fissures, referred to as fracture filling or fissure filling. Glass, resin, and oil are the most often used materials. The procedure improves the stone’s clarity by masking the micro-cracks.

Heated Gemstones

A heated gemstone is common, and many gems have been treated in this way. This method is recommended to brighten, darken, or even completely alter the color of precious rocks. The procedure is frequently used to enhance the color and clarity of rubies and sapphires. Gems that have been heat-treated are more durable because the treatment is permanent.

Imitated Gemstones

An imitated gemstone can be designed to appear like anything in nature, or it can be made to seem like something in nature. Imitation, simulant, and synthetic are all terms used to describe these gemstones. Dyes, glass, plastics, and resins are commonly used to create imitation gemstones that mimic the real thing’s color, form, or appearance. A skilled gemologist can quickly identify certain jewels as such by performing tests on them in a laboratory.

Irradiated Gemstones

An irradiated gemstone is made through artificial irradiation to improve its optical qualities. Radiation can modify the crystal lattice’s atomic structure, changing the gemstone’s optical characteristics. Irradiation has made it possible to create gemstone colors that would otherwise be impossible to find. Topaz is the most widely irradiated gemstone, and as a result, it turns blue. Artificial irradiation creates blue topaz, which is extremely rare in nature.

Laser Soldered Gemstones

A laser soldered gemstone is best replaced for regular gemstone soldering. Traditional soldering is being replaced by laser soldering, a high-tech, low-heat alternative. Instead of using typical heating methods, lasers heat the solder, which is then “shot” onto the region to be soldered together with extreme precision. Because the heating source is far from the object to be welded, it won’t influence any heat-sensitive components—like precious gemstones.

Oil or Resin Infused Gemstones

An oil or resin-infused gemstone is a technique used by gem cutters to increase the gem’s emotional value and monetary value. The translucent gemstone is infused with a substance with similar optical qualities to mask a gem’s imperfection. Fractures that have been oil-infused increase a gem’s vulnerability to damage during cutting. The final gem’s appearance might vary dramatically, and this can be remarkable to some people.

Waxed Gemstones

A waxed gemstone is another revolutionary technique aside from laser soldering. Because of this, many previously unachievable designs have been liberated, and the manufacturer has been able to move on with the creation of numerous challenging setting projects. Gemstones are impregnated with colorless oil, paraffin, or wax to enhance their appearance. Waxing gemstones sets the revolution of the invisible setting approach that is used for gemstone settings. This cost-effect stone setting technique can have the same quality of gold-casted and platinum-casted variants.