Do any of you use BE treated sapphires? How much one expect to pay
per carat for BE treated Sapphires?
Hobbs
I sold BE stones in the past. A nice dark blue, clean 3-5ct was
$300-$500/ct a few years ago. Its one of the reasons white sapphire
price increased and availability decreased. Before of the older or
superficial BE treatment. the color is minimal (<1mm surface) so it
could lose color with repolish. The newer treatment is deeper if not
the full stone. The BE stones fool dealers all the time. The only
certain way to separate stones is using a LIBS laser analysis
machine which takes a microscopic sample from the girldle. The
disclaimer on dept stores like Baily Banks Biddle or Zales etc write
possible diffusion
Eddie Cleveland