What do you prefer cdarwood oil or opticon Ok opticon
deteriorates with time and becomes white of brown But, if i have
a stable resin that is induce liquid and become solid and it
Does not come out What everyone believes it is better? No better
natural oils, even on the way the might come out Only buy non
oil emeralds, Emeralds are a rip off Is a permanent resin the
solution for emeralds or will their way to die? Please we want to
receive your point of view, it can change the way we do Things in
Colombia
WARNING! Long reply…page down if uninterested in subject line.
Carlos…the kind of oil hardly matters. There are no “natural”
oils I know of being used today. All are at least partially
man-made to some degree; cedarwood sounds natural but it is not.
There have been some excellent articles recently for those that
want to catch up on the politics of emerald treatment. I’ll
recommend Richard W. Hughes’ article at http://www.ruby-sapphire.com/home.htm called The Politics of
Opticon…it’s my favorite. Also check out Mark Liccini’s
excellent article at http://www.bovagems.com/eclectic/ titled
Emerald Treatment. The point that I’d like to make and the one I
have never seen addressed is the different ways different
emeralds react to treatment. Let’s use Colombian emerald as a
starting point. Colombian emeralds are very crystalline; they
tend to react well to higher temperature and more evasive
treatment. The Gemtrat process does very nice things to Colombian
emerald but the same treatment will ruin a Brazilian emerald.
Why? Brazilian emerald is usually treated in the rough with just
Opticon in low heat (no vacuum). Residually nothing seems to
happen here long term. The same treatment is NOT effective on
Colombian emeralds. Colombian emerald can be cleaned and
retreated several times (and usually is). While this is all well
and good for the gem dealers out here, how do you think the
reheating affects the chemical structure of the emerald? There is
little argument that doing the same to ruby or sapphire tends to
weaken the gemstone and make it brittle…somehow I tend to
speculate the same thing happens with emerald that is treated,
retreated, and then retreated again. I wrote an article published
in the AGA Cornerstone (Fall 1995) titled “Emerald Treatment-A
Brave New World” that was somewhat valid at the time. Like
everything, a lot has changed. I was selling only Colombian
emerald at that time. In the past four years (since that article
appeared) I have had a change of mind more than heart. Let’s face
it…all emerald treatment is invasive. We all want a single,
one-time, stable treatment. There are rumors there is a new
process that is being used in Colombia that is closer to this
ideal than most. Before it comes into the trade I sincerely hope
that it will be tested and disclosed for what it is including
heat used, type of resin left intact, and durability of the
treatment AND how it affects long-term durability of the emerald
itself! This is what we have NOT had disclosed in the past and
the “mystery” has left some outstanding retail jewelers afraid of
emerald, regardless of origin or treatment. To regain the ethical
jeweler’s confidence in emerald we must first be ethical and
honest with the jeweler and have confidence in the treatment as
well as the supplier of the emeralds themselves…this is what we
need to do to sell emerald in a way that satisfies the jeweler
and in the long run, the public consumer. What we do not need is
another “mystery treatment” that know one knows enough about to
endorse enthusiastically.