Treated V's Unreated

Q. What is an untreated gem?
A. An untreated gem is a gemstone, which has not been enhanced in any way at all, apart from cutting and polishing. The colour & clarity in such a gem is completely natural.

Q. What is a treated gem?
A. A treated gem is a gemstone, which has had it's appearence enhanced by any of a variety of methods including heat, dying, oiling, irradiation, filling, stabilisation etc.

Q. Do treatments have any affect on the value or price of gems?
A. This depends a lot on the type of gem. In the case of rubies and sapphires it could have a huge affect on the stone's value. Fine quality untreated rubies and sapphires are extremely rare and highly sought after. This means top prices are paid for these stones. It should be noted however, that a dull, low quality untreated ruby or sapphire would not necessarily have a premium over a comparable treated stone.

Q. Are treatments permanent?
A. Some treatments are permanent and some are not. Heat treatment is a permanent. Dying, oiling, irradiation, and filling are not permanent treatments.

Q. Why are gems treated?
A. There are records of gem treatments which date back hundreds of years. These treatments are performed to improve the colour or clarity of a gem. Filling treatments are performed on gems which have surface reaching fissures or cracks. It should be noted that without gem treatments there would be only a tiny fraction of the gems available today and they would be completely unafordable to most.

Q. Are all types of gems treated?
A. Although some gems are treated as a matter of routine, there are many gems which are never treated and do not respond to treatments at all.

Q. Are rubies & sapphires treated?
A. Nearly all the rubies and sapphires on the market today have been heat treated. Heat treatments can vary and some of these treatments are accepted as normal trade practice, others are considered controversial. There are however, a small amount of rubies & sapphires available, which have not been treated but these are the exception rather than the rule.

Q. What does the heating do to a ruby or sapphire?
A. Most heat treatment of rubies & sapphires entails heating the stones up to tempreatures of around 1800 degrees celsius. At these tempreatures inclusions in the stones can melt and re-distribute themselves in the crystal structure. This can improve both colour and clarity of the stone.

Q. What types of heat treatments are there?
A. Heat treatments vary tremendously. There are basic treatments where the stones are just heated. There are more complex and somewhat controversial treatments which use chemical additives such as beryllium, to change the stone's colour or lead-glass additives which are used to fill cracks in low quality gems.

Q. How can you tell if a gem has been treated?
A. A gems would need to be examined by an experienced expert to detect treatments. In the case of rubies and sapphires some treatments can be detected with a microscope by examining the inclusions in the gem. However, some treatments can only be detected properly by gem laboratories using sophisticated equipment.

Q. Should gem treatments be disclosed by the vendor?
A. Yes. All gem treatments should be properly disclosed. Everyone buying a gem has the right to know exactly what has happened to the gem they are buying.

Q. Do you sell treated gems on this website?
A. Yes we do. We sell heated rubies and sapphires but we don't sell stones heated with beryllium. We also do not sell lead-glass filled rubies and sapphires. We do not sell irradiated, dyed or composite stones.

Q. Do you sell untreated gems on this website?
A. Yes we do. You will find them by clicking here.

Q. Do your untreated gems come with an independant lab report?
A. For a nominal charge we can arrange a lab report for you with an independant and respected gem testing lab.

Q. Do you disclose treatments?
A. Yes we do. We believe it is the client's right to know what has happened to the gem they are purchasing. Our 'Treatments Policy' can be found by sellecting from the menu.

Q. Finally, do you sell synthetic gems?
A. No, all our gems are natural and were bought to us by mother nature.

If you have any questions regarding gem treatments, please feel free to ask.