Dyed rubies discovered!

Jewelry Discussion
21 
No one has mentioned, sometimes the string they are strung on is
dyed, not the beads. If you test the beads on the string, you may
see color if you immerse the beads in water or acetone. The dye on
the string enhances the color of the beads, so they appear to be a
darker color. The beads will be the same color as they were when
you bought them, they were pale, they just looked better on the
dyed thread. I think anyone who works with beads has seen this with
rose quartz beads strung on red thread.

I mentioned this when I was describing the isopropyl bead soak I’ve
used…

As Richard mentioned, the temp strand is often dyed to make the
whole thing look better… So when you soak beads in whatever, you
take the beads off the strand…

The other issue is, is that if the strand is heavily dyed, you
will have dye deposits in the holes of the beads from the
strand…and isopropyl will pull those out…

A lady beader friend clued me onto this…

BTW…for folks thinking maybe about the deleterious effects of
isopropyl (I use the 70% rubbing alcohol from the Walgreens’…it
works better than the 91% stuff does it seems) on stones…2 pints
for $1 when on sale…

If a water bearing stone, yeah, will suck out the water…as well
as many dyes…

I don’t know for sure, but an organic gem probably won’t like it
much either…

If your stones and beads or whatever are oiled…it will pull that
out, too… Be prepared…

The Ph seems pretty close to neutral…maybe a tad
acidic(?)…checked with PH paper back when I first started using the
stuff…because acidity bothers some stones and alkalinity bothers
others…and some are bothered by both…(like lapis, for
example)…

I suppose vodka (ethanol) would work for this, too…but for 70%,
you’d need 140 proof…

Better for making killer Screwdrivers and Bloody Marys…

Denatured alcohol from the local hardware store paint section would
be another source…but haven’t tried that stuff…

That’s also where you’ll find acetone for the cotton swab dye
check…

Nail polish remover comes with additives usually…in addition to
the acetone…

Gary W. Bourbonais
A.J.P. (GIA)

22 
No one has mentioned, sometimes the string they are strung on is
dyed, not the beads. If you test the beads on the string, you may
see color if you immerse the beads in water or acetone. The dye on
the string enhances the color of the beads, so they appear to be a
darker color. The beads will be the same color as they were when
you bought them, they were pale, they just looked better on the
dyed thread. I think anyone who works with beads has seen this with
rose quartz beads strung on red thread.

I’ve seen the effect; and when you disassemble a strand that’s been
presented like that, it is surprising how much paler the beads
really are. But are you suggesting that what I may have experienced
was left over dye from the temporary stringing material? Something
left inside bead holes or something like that? I suppose that’s
possible. I can’t remember what kind of material they were strung on
(the other smaller ruby strands were strung on those lovely,
connected tassled numbers). But these beads are a rich, deep dark
color… a dyed string couldn’t be seen through them. And the smear of
color I experienced was a relatively wide swath. If it was just bead
hole dye, I don’t think it would’ve been so large a stain (more like
a broken series of dots). I haven’t yet tried the ultrasonic on them
yet, but I’ll let you know what comes of it.

23

Hi Neil,

How does one dye a crystalline material? Are we talking about a
true dye that penetrates the lattice or an oil or similar that
fills fissures?

I can’t think of a single example of a dyed crystal, at least not a
mono-crystal. As you point out, correctly, chalcedony is a
crypto-crystalline material ( an aggregate of microscopic individual
crystals joined together randomly) and does have spaces between the
individual crystals, although these spaces are extremely small.
Generally, dying of chalcedony takes place in hot acidic solutions
and can take days or even weeks; penetration is sometimes complete
but more often slight.

A crystal is the outward expression of the internal atomic
arrangement of the mineral or compound in question. As such, in a
perfect or even good crystal, there are no voids or spaces in the
crystal large enough to accept a dye. The spaces DO exist but they
are ether inter-molecular or intra-molecular, so we are talking
tiny, and the valence forces within and between those atoms and/or
molecules are such that nothing else would be admitted at conditions
anywhere close to normal pressure and temperature.

Actually, diffusion of other elements IS possible at extremely
elevated temperatures and/or pressure, where the molecular bonds
weaken and allow elemental sized particles of certain metals
(usually) to be admitted into the crystal structure. Some of these
elements can and do change color permanently, like iron and titanium
into sapphire, causing it to be blue. That’s not really dyeing, but
it’s analogous, and that’s the only way anything is going to get
into a true crystal after it has already formed (heat/pressure, and
a lot of it, like near the melting point).

So, I know of no example of a dyed crystal.

Wayne

24

Hi Neil,

How does one dye a crystalline material? Are we talking about a
true dye that penetrates the lattice or an oil or similar that
fills fissures?

Porosity, fissures or fractures is the entry for the dyes. Sometimes
quench crackling is involved to create these on non porous stones or
bleach or acid baths on porous stones to create more porosity. This
creates an entry or spaces for the dye to collect. Below is from my
GIA text on dye treatments. -Carrie Nunes, G.G.

  Dyeing- adding or modifying color- is one of the oldest gem
  treatments. It only works on gems with porous surfaces (like
  lapis lazuli, chalcedony, jadiete, coral and turquoise) or
  gems that have surface reaching fractures that can accept the
  dye. 

  Light-colored corundum with surface reaching inclusions is
  often dyed to a deep red color. If it doesn't have surface
  reaching inclusions, it can be quench crackled and then dyed
  to produce a purplish red imitation of ruby. Quench- crackled
  rock crystal is also sometimes dyed to imitate other gems.
  Colorless quartz and beryl can be quench- crackled and dyed
  green to imitate emerald. 

  Cultured pearls are often dyed. Dyed pearls might show dye
  concentration in drill holes or in surface imperfections in
  the nacre. Treating cultured pearls with light pink dye is
  sometimes called tinting or pinking, and it's very difficult
  to detect. 

  Some pearls are treated with light-sensitive silver nitrate to
  darken them. While not a true dye, the treatment turns them
  almost completely black. 

  Lapis lazuli is commonly dyed to improve its appearance. The
  dye colors the gem's calcite component blue so the texture
  appears more even. To test for the presence of dye, wipe the
  back of the lapis lazuli with an acetone-dipped cotton swab.
  If the stone was dyed, some of the dye might come off. This
  isn't always a good test, however. Dyed lapis is sometimes
  impregnated with plastic to improve luster and to seal in the
  dye."

The text also mentions:

  The trade uses the name black onyx for a very popular color
  of dyed chalcedony used in jewelry. The color is created by a
  sugar-acid chemical reaction. 

  Also: "Written Egyptian recipes for dyeing gemstones date back
  to 200 B.C." -excerpts from GIA text
25

I was just speaking to a dealer friend of mine. They have their own
factory in India and do all their own cutting, heat treating, etc…
They have discontinued most of the dyed chalcedony due to fading
problems. He showed me what to stay away from and what is okay.

I asked him about the rubies and he said that many times it is just a
red colored oil on them to make them more shiny at the time of
purchase. He also said that some of the rubies he sells have been
treated to deepen the color and will not fade. I will put his rubies
to the test both my way (ultrasonic) and with some denatured alcohol.

He also showed me the difference between dyed and natural, some
really obvious examples and some more subtle. Some are really easy
to tell, while others look really good. One strand turned my fingers
pink by rubbing them (with pressure) on the stones. He keeps these
dyed materials to show his customers the difference so they don’t get
ripped off. He is competing with many other dealers who have lower
prices because they are using dyed materials and don’t disclose this

BTW, I mentioned that I had some rubies that I thought were dyed
because they leave a slight pink mark on my towels when I dry them
rubies for about 5 years now and I compared these to the ones that
have been protected in the baggie (from the same hank) and they are
virtually the same color. I wear mine to the beach and in the
shower- I know that’s really bad but sometimes I’m too lazy to take
them off.

So, mine have been through the wringer when it comes to salt,
chlorine, etc… and they still look really really good. The only
difference is that mine are a little dull, the ones in the baggie
are

still shiny. So, I don’t know if these were dyed or not…

Amery
Amery Carriere Designs
www.amerycarriere.com

26 
Nail polish remover comes with additives usually....in addition to
the acetone...

Nail polish remover often contains formaldehyde as well as acetone.
Best to buy acetone that contains NO formaldehyde.

27 
They have discontinued most of the dyed chalcedony due to fading
problems. He showed me what to stay away from and what is okay.

OK, so how do I tell if my chalcedony is going to fade? I am
especially concerned about some really pretty rough I bought on eBay
and have just started to cut. Bad enough to waste my money, don’t
want to waste my time too! So do I put a chunk of it in a sunny spot
for a month to see? Is there a quicker way?

Sheesh, there’s just no end to the pitfalls…

Noel

28 
So, I know of no example of a dyed crystal.

All that Wayne says is true. It takes more like a year to make black
onyx, though. They do fill cleavages, as in oiled emeralds, with a
colored oil instead of clear sometimes. That’s not going to be
anywhere near enough to cause the staining this post is about,
though.

29

Noel,

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. The chalcedony he was showing
me was the stuff that is sooo dyed that it looks fake. You know, the
trendy hot pink and bright green stuff. It’s also the very
inexpensive stuff. So cheap and brightly colored that you have to ask
yourself whether or not it’s real.

I was hoping someone else would answer your question, you know
someone who is much more knowledgeable in this field. Me, I’m just
dangerous!

Amery Carriere Designs
www.amerycarriere.com