ABOUT FINE GEMS

How are gemstones enhanced?
Natural colored gemstones often are heated or otherwise treated to improve their appearance using traditional jewelry industry practices. Most of these treatments are permanent and require little or no special care by the wearer.

Ruby
Passion, excitement, luxurious opulence... these are just a few words that describe our fascination with this most precious of gems. For thousands of years, men have sought to own precious rubies as symbols of devotion and objects of desire. Imperfections and impurities may be removed by controlled heating of the gemstones. Some rubies have fissures or surface breaks that are filled with a glass-like byproduct of the heating process. This enhancement technique may wear over time if treated harshly or exposed to strong solvents or abrasives. Your jeweler will inform you of the best method to care for your natural gemstone treasures.

Sapphire
Soothing, sensuous blue; liquid blue; evening sky blue; cornflower blue... these are among the many shades of this lovely gemstone. And there are many other colors and hues of sapphire from which to choose: hot and soft pink; orange, green, purple, gold, yellow and white... all for your pleasure. Since ancient times, man has treasured sapphire. Yet the perfect sapphire is as rare as the finest work of art. And thus, methods have evolved over the centuries to enhance the purest hues of sapphire. This is often achieved by controlled heating of the gemstones to improve their clarity and color. Heating sapphires is a permanent enhancement, as lasting as the gems themselves.

Emerald
Emerald, to many, symbolizes rebirth and life abundant. The rich green hues bring to mind regeneration of life in spring, and hope of new possibilities. Yet perfection in emerald, as in all things, is among the most rare of nature’s treasures. When they are mined from the earth, almost all emeralds have unique birthmarks that distinguish them as truly natural gemstones. Early gem merchants sought to purify the color of their emeralds by immersing them in clear oils or paraffin. Today, we have many sophisticated technologies with which to enhance the clarity of emeralds. In addition to the oils and waxes of ancient method, we now use clear resins to penetrate the open fissures surfacing in the stones. "Hardeners" are often added to solidify these liquids. This step prevents the resin from evaporating from the stones, thus making the clarity enhancement more permanent than oiling or waxing the gem.

Aquamarine
The very name, aquamarine, brings to mind the limpid, clear blue tint of the sea. Many aquamarines are greenish when mined and cut. For those who prefer the purer blue, these stones are heated to enhance their blue color permanently. Yet many aquamarine fanciers prefer the greenish hues, saying the greener tones remind them more of the sea. The color tones of aquamarine are subtle and varied. Their soft luster is a wonderful addition to any natural colored gemstone jewelry collection.

Tanzanite
Tanzanite is renowned for the exquisite combination of purple and blue hues of the loveliest of gems discovered in modern times. Mined in Tanzania, at the foot of the majestic Mount Kilamanjaro, virtually every tanzanite is heated to permanently change its color from orange-brown to the spectacular violet-blue color for which this precious gemstone variety is known.

Blue Topaz
Nature rarely produces topaz in the blue variety, although some examples have been found. Challenged by this rare occurrence of nature, man has discovered an enhancement method to “excite” blue color from a clear to brownish topaz variety. After the raw topaz is mined, it is irradiated to brown and then heated to a rich sky blue. This enhancement process is permanent.

Amethyst/Citrine
Amethyst and citrine are gemstone varieties of quartz. Artifacts from ancient cultures the world over attest to amethyst's and citrine's place in our collective cultural heritage. The royal purples of amethyst and the occasional bright, golden hues of citrine were treasured possessions of emperors, kings and queens throughout recorded history. No jewelry collection would be complete without these fine treasures of nature. Darker hues of amethyst are rarely enhanced to perfect their color, although some varieties do respond well to heat enhancement. Brownish varieties, when heated, magically turn the bright yellow or orange colors known as citrine. This enhancement method is permanent and will last for the life of the gemstones.

Tourmaline
Tourmalines are found in an abundant array of colors. They offer a wide variety of choice for the discerning gemstone jewelry enthusiast. Dark blue, blue green and green tourmalines are often heated to lighten their color. Red tourmalines (also known as rubellites) and pinks varieties are often heated and/or irradiated to improve their colors. Heat and irradiation color enhancement of tourmalines are permanent.

Cultured Pearl
Pearls have been treasured for their lustrous, creamy textures and their subtle iridescent reflections since the dawn of humankind. Because they are so very rare and so very difficult to recover from the oceans depths, man invented the technique of "culturing" salt and freshwater pearls from oysters carefully seeded with irritants similar to those produced by nature. This painstaking effort of "culturing" is one of the most dramatic examples of man’s quest to coax beauty from nature. Cultured, fresh and saltwater pearls are often bleached to achieve a uniform color. They may also be polished in tumblers to make them round and lustrous. Naturally colored pearls are in short supply. Some pearls are dyed and/or irradiated to achieve the rich blacks, grayish blues, pinks and golden hues that are now so much in demand. To care for your cultured pearls, avoid using nail polish, abrasives, solvents and polish removers while wearing them.

Diamond
Unique in the world of gemstones, diamond is the hardest of all materials. Perhaps it is because of this durability that diamonds are treasured symbols of devotion and purity. Yet within the structure of diamonds we often find impurities, or "inclusion," that trap light, distracting our eye from the radiance we so value. Sometimes these tiny imperfections are removed by cutting them away. Often we employ methods that do not sacrifice precious diamond in the process. Today we have perfected a fascinating enhancement technique that focuses tiny beams of laser light at imperfections and vaporizes them. The minute passageways created by the laser beam may be filled with clear resins or glass - hard substances, rendering them nearly invisible to the naked eye. Only extreme heat or specifically formulated chemicals removes the filling from the laser passageways. This method is also utilized to fill fissures that reach the stone’s surface, thereby rendering them less visible to the naked eye. Diamonds may also be colored in a variety of hues. Extreme heat and/or irradiation permanently enhances certain innate color properties, allowing them to display their hues in more brilliant array. Whether irradiated, laser or cut from the most perfect raw state, your jeweler will inform you of the magical journey your diamond has followed, from deep within earth's mantle to the fine, finished gemstone you see before you.