Few people know, but most of the red, yellow and other sapphires in our jewelry are treated and at the time of their extraction they look completely black and, frankly, not very attractive stones.
Sapphires before the treatment. Sapphires before the treatment.
At the same time, the so-called treatment itself is carried out not only in order to return the color to the precious mineral, but also to increase its value in the jewelry market. True connoisseurs know that the best corundum is a precious stone that has received good clarity and color from nature, and not as a result of special processing.
blue sapphire after processing. blue sapphire after processing.
The very procedure of «color return» is a special process of heating and heat treatment of stone. Sapphire is placed in a special capsule, where it is heated with temperatures up to 1200 degrees.
To add value and remove micro-cracks, the gemstone can be heated to a plastic state where some of the scarring fuses and becomes invisible. Deeper cracks and tunnels are filled with a special composition and the pebble acquires perfect purity,
red sapphires before and after heating. Photo source thenaturalsapphirecompany.com red sapphires before and after heating. Photo source thenaturalsapphirecompany.com
Poorly colored sapphires are coated with a special layer based on titanium, and if such products get chipped, then a duller color of the mineral will be noticeable in the place where the stone broke off.
Treatment with a controlled flow of radiation is also practiced to improve the brightness and color characteristics of the gemstone. This method is absolutely safe, but its main disadvantage is clouding and fading of the stone during prolonged exposure to the sun.
Whether it is worth buying treated sapphires is a fairly popular question.
If you are buying a mineral as an investment, then naturally it is better to take a sapphire that has not responded to treatment.
If you just take a piece of jewelry with such a beautiful gemstone, so that it simply pleases you and brings good luck. There is nothing wrong with treated sapphires. They are cheaper, while they have the same characteristics as untreated ones, and it will be possible to distinguish one from the other only with the help of an expert.
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