Diamond Treatment Methods
Diamonds and gemstone treatments or enhancements refer to the way
some gems are altered or treated to improve their appearance or
durability. The effects of some treatments may lesson or change
over time and some treated stones may require special care. Sometimes,
enhancements affect the value of the stone.
Some common treatments and their effects include:
- Heating can lighten, darken, or change the colour of some gems.
- Irradiating can add more colour to coloured diamonds and certain
other stones.
- Impregnating some gems with colourless oils or wax masks a
variety of imperfections, hides cracks, and improves colour.
- Fracture filling hides cracks or fractures in gems by injecting
plastic resins into the cracks.
- Diffusion treatment adds colour to the surface of colourless
gems; for some gems, the center of the stone remains colourless.
- Dyeing adds colour and improves colour uniformity in some gems.
- Bleaching lightens and whitens ivory and pearl.
HPHT Treatment
High Pressure High Temperature - HPHT Diamond
Treatment
Where to buy treated stones
Articles
Color Bind
The colored diamond market is beset by treatments and synthetics.
People aren’t worried, but some think they should be. For a
low-key business, the colored diamond market has seen a lot of action
lately—though not necessarily the kind of action it would wish.
Diamond
Substitutes - Treatment
Our report identifies some of the treatments, points up industry
and consumer concerns and tells of the measures being taken in the
industry to detect, track and register all such enhancements and
maintain strict control of them in the marketplace.
Synthetic,
Imitation and Treated Gemstones
A synthetic gemstone will be just like its natural gemstone counterpart
in virtually every way. This includes the same basic crystal structure,
chemical composition, colors, and other characteristics. Many times
the synthetic will fool even good gemologists since many, if not
all, gemological test results on a synthetic will be the same as
its natural counterpart.
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