Just read now some of the posts sent during the past week or so
regarding startup gem dealers and gem treatments. Would like to add
my couple of cents before the subjects goes away. Actually, I wanted
to send this post earlier, but this is my first post to Ganoksin
(been lurking for the past couple of years), and didn’t know how to
send until a friend explained how (actually was mailing to
“Ganoskin” - with the s and k in the wrong place!).
I must agree more towards Steve Green’s and Ed Cleveland’s views
regarding the separation of natural stones with treated/enhanced,
than I do with Gerry Galarneau’s (though I have seen Gerry’s posts
in various discussion groups over the past couple of years, and my
impression of him is someone who is straight-forward and honest in
his views). There are many attributes that determine the value of
any gemstone. Chief among those attributes is rarity. A natural
occurring gemstone of beautiful color and clarity is a great rarity
in nature and deserves the optimum price. Anyone working in top
quality gem materials will tell you that a gem material of high
quality, and being natural in origin, would earn a premium over a
similar stone that has been enhanced or treated. That’s why
Sotheby’s and Christie’s prefer auctioning fine untreated gems over
treated. Ms. Antoinette Matlins, one of America’s foremost experts
in stressed in her buying guides (for serious gemstone
buyers and investors) that when it comes to purchasing top quality
stones, only untreated stones should be considered.
But most of the problems lay within the $1 - $1000/carat retail
range (the so-called “commercial qualities”), I believe. On one
hand, Gary said (and correctly so):
The reason for this is that it becomes an arguement that no one
can prove. GIA nor any gem lab I know of can prove if a gemstone
has been heated or radiated if there is no indicators of radiation
or heating in the stone. Heating or radiation treatments do not
leave indications in most As stated by EGL - We know
that gem treaters are making amethyst out of clear quartz, but we
can not prove it nor identify it. We do know that from experience
this amethyst does not occur naturally in this quantity and
quality
Yet on the other hand, Gary said something like:
I do have a suggestion for all that have anything at all to do
with My suggestion is that we call natural any stone
that has not had anything added to the stone. That means that
heating and radiating a stone still makes the stone natural. Even
blue topaz would be a natural stone under this definition
Gary are you aware that natural occurring deep blue topaz is among
the rarest stone in the world? Far rarer than diamond. And it’s a
very beautiful stone too. But what merit does it have in the gem and
jewelry world now? As a person who loves gemstones just as much as
buying and selling them, it’s like seeing a loved one going to the
gallows. These two different sayings from the same dealer show how
puzzled the industry is. And it’s not Gary’s fault, because I am
just as puzzled.
Another one:
I also do not put a premium on the stone being natural. There is
no difference in my pricing between stones that are treated and
those which are not
That’s only further salt in the wound for people who seriously wish
to buy a gemstone, but are scared as to whether they are getting
their money’s worth. When it comes to the Olympic games, and all
sporting events for that matter, athletes are expected to be “clean”
(that is, natural in body and ability, and not enhanced by drugs or
steroids in any way), and athletes breaking this rule have been
banned for life. Yet, when it comes to there are no
differences between a stone that was mined in its natural form from
that which was enhanced in a nuclear or scientific lab.
It’s interesting to note that there are plenty of irradiated fancy
diamonds in the market - pinks, greens, oranges, yellows, etc - yet
these sell far below the prices of “real” fancy diamonds. Why?
In my humble opinion, the truth about the buying and selling of
gemstones is all about greed. Almost everyone in this field - from
the miner sitting in the darkest corner in Africa, Brazil or
Afghanistan - to the suave talking gem dealer sitting in plush
office on 5th Avenue or Rodeo Drive, wants to buy a gemstone for as
cheap as possible and sell for as high as possible. Having been in
this field for six years, that’s my observation of things.
Treatments and enhancements only make it better. It’s like turbo
charging your old Huffy bike into a Ducatti motorcycle. Pure profit,
and the major players who get it all together are laughing on their
way to the bank. With treated gems you are basically selling nothing
for everything. I started my mark in this field supplying Kunzite to
a top buyer. I was supplying him rough cubes SAWN 100% clean and
perfect shape for a $1 a gram (anyone who cuts Kunzite will tell you
that sawing the material is the hardest part, faceting is easy
provided you have delicate hands). The material was pale pink;
something that Afghanistan produces perhaps thousands of kilograms
every year. But after subjecting the material to radiation and
heat-treatment, it was selling for $10 a gram next day as soon as it
got out of the lab (even higher prices per gram for special
quality). I once saw a couple of treated pieces in Bangkok, and it
just blew me away. The color was a mind blowing green (it was never
intended to be that way, the guy was trying to get the classic deep
pinkish-red color after treatment, but the internal chemistry of
Afghan Kunzites were different from other sources), and was selling
for $20 a carat WHOLESALE cut in Bangkok. I have no idea what it was
selling for retail in Europe, the U.S. or Japan. Now we all know
about the various markups that go into a product, but where’s the
justification for marking up a stone purchased for $.20 a carat (in
perfect rough form) to a whopping $20 a carat cut and wholesale in
the world’s gemstone market base? The sad thing about this was that
naturally occurring Kunzite, which in it’s finest and deepest color
qualities (both the red and the intense green varieties) is among
the rarest and most beautiful gemstone in the world, was being
totally overshadowed by this treated variety. Afghanistan is the
world’s most prolific Kunzite producer, and out the thousands of
kilos produced, perhaps only a tiny fraction is of true gem quality.
The way the rejects of this mineral were being made into
“Terminators” to kill their siblings for almost nothing in a lab was
shocking to say the least, and most worrying.
Dyed, diffused, impregnated, etc stones all will be called
"treated". Doing this will eliminate the current deception of
pricing based upon whether the stone is natural or treated by
radiating or heating. Cutting will be put on the same level as
heating or radiating. They will become necessary processes to
produce a marketable stone. That's my suggestion
My friend, cutting is cutting. Treating something that was born
light pink into something deep emerald-green is quite another.
I ask Steve Green - How do you know for sure your stones have not
been heated or radiated?
I can’t speak for Steve, but with me, I only buy rough, and the
rough can tell a lot whether or not the material was fooled around
with. Working at the mines helps a lot too. In fact, it helps a
tremendous amount. However, when it comes to cut goods, at times I
have this little feeling in knowing whether or not a stone has been
treated (not to say that I am right or wrong). It’s kind of hard to
explain, but generally, in my opinion, natural stones have a softer
and more delicate color (that doesn’t mean loss of color or a weak
color, it could be just as vivid and powerful as anything). Natural
stones tend to have more inclusions as well (and again, this doesn’t
have to be a detriment to the overall quality and beauty of the
stone - the world doesn’t look at a ring stone with a huge 10x).
Stones that have been treated and enhanced have this slightly
“artificial” or “synthetic” quality to them. The color is too vivid,
too uniform, and the clarity just as perfect. Yet the stone is cold
and lifeless - it lacks the “jazz” that most natural stones possess.
Natural occurring stones breath “life” that is hard to explain in
words. In the case of pleochroism, treated stones tend to have very
little pleochroism as compared to natural stones (though this may
not be true in all materials, such as Tanzanite, which is frequently
heated). Again, the color seems too uniform, too perfect. Being a
Kunzite specialist I can easily tell from Kunzite that is natural
from material that is treated simply by observing the pleochroism of
the stone. A natural Kunzite usually has intense pleochroism all
over the crystal or cut stone. The heat-treated stones show a much
more subdued pleochroism, almost as if it were amethyst. Same thing
for natural and heated tourmaline. Again, I could be wrong in this,
but that is my view and feeling.
Long time gem dealers like myself will tell you that only in the
last 10-15 years has the availability of brightly colored
gemstones been so abundant
That may be true for African and Brazilian stones. Shucks, you
should have seen what was coming out of Afghanistan 15-20 years ago.
I have seen a couple of old roughs and pictures from that time
period and was very impressed. Any old timer working in Afghan and
Pakistan stones would tell you that the material coming out today is
nothing in terms of size and quality than what being found 15-20
years. Only the good Lord knows what those old stones are selling as
today and for what price…
Sadly, unless something honest and effective would be done, Ron
Mills’ view about gemstones of the future would probably be reality:
My take is that ultimately natural gemstones will overwehelmed by
phonies and that the market will implode. The public will be
brainwashed into accepting such phonies as Moissanite and,
ultimately, the jewelry business will be awash with so much crap
that the public will wind up settling for costume grade goods".
In fact, I think the process has already started 
Sincerely,
Nasim Ahmad
Nasim GEM
“Your American source for top quality gems and precious stones from
Afghanistan and Pakistan”
P.s. Someone asked: “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is
there to see it, will make a noise?” I would say that the answer to
that is “Yes”. You just weren’t around to hear it!