Ed, I agree with you , almost. It is my understanding, that even
GIA, in there newly revised Grad Gemologist course states that in
some cases, one can not determine if a stone has been treated or
not.
As a GIA student who is reviewing for his Graduate Gemologist final
exam, I feel qualified to field this one, and one other, as well.
GIA teaches us about all gemstone treatments which can be detected
with standard gemological testing equipment. The key word here being
standard. Also, that any gemstone that is suspected of treatment
should be sent to a professional laboratory for analysis. We are
also taught that, unless you know the provenance of the stone, you
must assume that it is treated unless proven otherwise.
Unfortunately, gem manufacturers invent new ways of treating
gemstones faster than the laboratories can find ways of detecting
them. For example, the surface diffused sapphires of the early '90s
were easily detected by examination in immersion under
magnification. Today, though, bulk diffusion treatments of these
stones usually requires expensive (at least $500 per stone) SIMS
(Secondary Ion Mass Spectometry) analysis to detect. SIMS uses
high-energy ions to heat a predetermined spot on the sample surface,
which causes the charged atoms to be ejected from the crystal. The
electrical charge enables the atoms to be carried to the mass
spectrometer for analysis. Indeed, ONE cannot determine if many of
today’s stones are treated in some way. Even as I type this, a
laboratory here in Florida is synthesizing diamonds whose diagnostic
gemological properties are far less distinct than past synthetics
and will fool most gemologists today who don’t have multi-million
dollar equipment at their disposal. Even the mighty GIA Gem Trade
Laboratory admits that, due to the rising number of rapidly evolving
technologies in gemstone treatment and synthesis, many gemstones may
pass their inspection as natural stones before the means of
detecting them are developed. So yes, GIA’s revised G.G. program
states that, in some cases, one cannot determine whether a stone has
been treated.
Next item:
You take on, for example, “Pigeon’s Blood” as a designation for a
type of ruby. To me, it’s a concise description of color, just as
"Champagne" is a color designation for a citrine or diamond. When
someone says to me that something is a “champagne diamond,” I can
immediately picture the color of the stone being referred to.
Here’s another sore subject. I’m looking at a flyer that was
produced by Argyle (the mine which unearths the included brown
diamonds that used to be sold as industrial product). This flyer is
titled Champagne Diamonds C1-C7 Color Scale. Below, there are seven
brown diamonds, each ranging in hue, tone and saturation from light,
pale and de-saturated to deep, dark and vividly saturated, and
numbered C-1 to C-7. On the left of the page, the first two are
labeled “Light Champagne”, the second two are “Medium Champagne”, C5
and C6 are labeled “Dark Champagne” and C7 is called “Fancy Cognac”.
Sorry, but I don’t find “Champagne” as a “concise description of
color”. In fact, it describes at least six DIFFERENT colors.
Yesterday morning, I took a break from studying and turned on the
TV. There, in living color, was a lady hawking jewelry that is set
with “Gourmet Chocolate Diamonds”. I don’t find that a concise
description of color, either. Nor would I find “Semi-sweet”, or
"Toll House" to be. Now, I’m looking at a photo of a pink canary.
Too bad the yellow diamonds (don’t ask me which ones, I only go by
description of hue, tone and saturation) already have that
designation, or Argyle could use that for their very expensive, and
much sought-after pink diamonds. Oops, I just remembered; those
diamonds are so beautiful and rare that they don’t NEED a romantic
name to change them from industrial grade bort into a jewelry item.
I don’t want to demean anybody’s idea of what is acceptable in the
gem trade. Its just that, since I finished the Gem Identification
part of my program, I had to be the bearer of bad news to many of my
friends and family that the incredible gemstone(s) they’ve had for
years, handed down as heirlooms, are, in fact, treated or synthetic.
My mother’s birthstone ring, which she has had for 60 years is, in
fact, synthetic spinel. If this post causes even one person in the
trade to disclose a treatment, or learn a more scientific way of
describing gem colors without romanticizing them simply to make a
sale, it was worth it. Oh yeah, one last thing; yes, I’m a student,
but I’m not new to the gem trade. I’ve been a lapidary and
fabricator since I retired from the military in 1993, and a
rockhound most of my life. The G.G. diploma is just something I’ve
wanted to accomplish for a long time, now. Thanks to Hanuman and all
for this incredible group. I’ve learned things here that no school
can teach!
James Duncan
