From Carly Wickell,
Your Guide to Jewelry / Accessories.
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The fact is, most gemstones used in jewelry have been treated to improve their appearance. Treated gemstones can be a good choice, because they should be more affordable than untreated stones that achieve their quality naturally. Do you know what the common treatments are? Some last forever, some don't.

Before you buy a colored gemstone, ask if it's been treated. Here are a few methods that are commonly used:

Gemstone Treatments

• Heat and radiation is often used to change or enhance gemstone colors.

• Diffusion is used to deepen a gem's color. Diffusion only intensifies a gemstone's outer layers.

• Oil and waxes enhance gemstone colors by filling-in fine surface cracks, blending them away temporarily.

• Fracture filling coats gems with a clear or colored epoxy resin or another substance. The treatment fills-in cracks, which improves the appearance of the gemstone.

• Laser drilling removes inclusions, improving clarity.

If any form of the word enhanced is used in ads or disclosures, the gem has been treated in some way.

Are Gemstone Treatments Permanent?

Some gemstone treatments are permanent, but others are not. Heat treatments can go either way, because they create permanent color changes in some gems -- temporary changes in others.

Always ask if the jewelry you are interested in contains treated gemstones. If it does, ask which treatments were used and if those treatments are permanent.

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