Surface treatment of a Gemstone
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Muhammad Umar
I am a content Writer, write articles on different subjects, including spiritual, technical etc.By Muhammad Umar
Published on 08/28/2008
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The various treatments for gemstones such as Oiling, Heating, Dyeing, Bleaching and some other are used on the gemstones. These are called as surface treatment of a gemstone.
Surface treatment of a Gemstone
- The oiling is used during the preparation of emerald gemstones. A special transparent oil is used for this purpose. After bringing uncut emerald stones out from the mining area to the finishing & cutting lines. Oil is used during cutting. This oil is used as lubricant during cutting of gemstones. The oil goes inside the crack lines of the emerald pieces and causes hiding the crack lines. Thus these cracks become almost invisible to the customers. Then oil is applied to retain the quality and finish of the emerald gemstone.
- Heating is a common method used to change the look of the gemstones.
- Heating can darken, lighten, brighten, coloring, and clarifying the gemstones.
- Availability of such heat treated gemstones is very common.
- Most widely & frequent available heat treated gemstones are Aquamarine, Pink Topaz, Citrine, Sapphire, Ruby, Tourmaline, Blue Zircon and colorless Zircon.
- Dyeing is one of the most common method adopted to color the gemstones. It is very cheap and beneficial method. The dyes used for coloring the gemstones are not natural but artificial.
- Dyeing of gemstones such as, lapis lazuli, jade, turquoise and coral is less chosen.
- Dyeing is applied to over come the low poor quality of the some gemstone.
- Bleaching is applied on organic gemstones only.
- Bleaching reduces the color of the gemstone and keep its mineral in a good condition.
- Bleaching makes the gemstone a bit shiny, enveloping and faint.
- Lasering is a technique in which laser is used to cover up the deficiencies of the diamonds
- Lasering is infrequently used for diamonds. It involves guiding into microscopic cracks through an insertion of laser created by it in a diamond which can be quite detrimental to the quality of the diamond. This treatment involves lightening those microscopic cracks making them un-noticeable by the human eye. An intensified laser is used to view the microscopic cracks which are viewable at 90 degrees to the drill hole. Although a laser treated diamond looks perfect but still considered as imperfect.
- This treatment is usually practiced on emeralds, rubelite and tourmalines. It is a process used for breaking hollow spaces in plastic and glass to keep the gemstone determined with reference to flexibility and precision.
- Filling is a process of filling of available hollow spaces on the outer walls of the gemstones. Some other powder like things are put into these hollow areas and spaces to fill out them. Glass, plastic and others binding materials are used to fill out these holes.
- Filling is done mostly on rubies. Such a filling can not be noticed easily.
- Ethically such a treatment is not accepted as there are chances to cheat the customers by giving them fake gemstones