Recently, ‘Swan Jade’ has caused quite a stir in the jewelry circle, facing criticism from many insiders. It’s a common practice to misrepresent items in the jewelry industry, so no one should cast the first stone. So, what should you do when encountering such situations? Of course, rely on the appraisal results from certificates. However, there are genuine and fake certificates, as well as instances of certificate fraud.
Therefore, when purchasing more valuable gemstones, it is essential to have them re-inspected. The most crucial part of a certificate is the appraisal conclusion. The parameters such as quality, shape, and color are understandable to everyone, but magnified examination requires certain knowledge of gemology. There are too many types of gemstones to discuss in detail. The appraisal conclusion includes the name of the gemstone and any optimization treatments it has undergone. Let’s delve into these two aspects in detail. For the authenticity of the certificate itself, there are many online tutorials available for you to learn from. Even if you master how to distinguish between genuine and fake certificates, there can still be instances of certificate fraud, so re-inspection is necessary for more valuable gemstones. Taking Swan Jade as an example, its certificate is named Quartzite Jade. It must be said that Teacher Ma is particular; the certificate he issued is from the National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC), the most authoritative and rigorous certificate in China. He claims that Swan Jade is a name he came up with after consulting many materials, which is fine, as anyone can name a gemstone. However, he says that Swan Jade is a commercial name, which is incorrect. Let’s discuss why it’s incorrect below.The naming of gemstones is not arbitrary; there are specific regulations and guidelines. The ‘GB/T 16552 Jewelry and Jade – Naming’ clearly defines the basic and commercial names of gemstones. Basic name of gemstones: The mineralogical, petrological, material science, and traditional gemological names of the gemstone variety. The basic name can be a gemological and mineralogical name, such as Crystal, which is the gemological name, and its mineralogical name is Quartz.
Commercial name of gemstones: In the gemstone circulation field, other names that are widely used and generally recognized besides the basic names of jewelry and jade. See? The commercial name is widely used and generally recognized in the gemstone circulation field. The name ‘Swan Jade’ is coined by Teacher Ma himself and is unknown to others in the market, so the name ‘Swan Jade’ cannot be considered a commercial name. The basic name of a gemstone is like a person’s formal name, while the commercial name is like a nickname. For example, my formal name is Wang Daqiang, and my nickname is Bald Strong. Although the nickname is well-known, it does not have legal effect; my ID card can only bear my formal name. Take Crystal as an example; there are only seven basic names: Crystal, Amethyst, Citrine, Smoky Quartz, Rose Quartz, Green Crystal, and Hair Crystal.Familiar trade names such as Rose Quartz, Strawberry Quartz, Super Seven, Aurora 23, Rabbit Hair, Jelly Flower, Phantom, and Smoky Quartz are not legally binding. When these names appear in the identification results of a certificate, it indicates a significant issue with the scientific credibility of the certificate; it is either a fake or from an unprofessional institution. Similarly, Sugilite is a trade name, with the basic name being Sugilite; Charoite is also a trade name, with the basic name being Charoite. Names like Green Grape Milk Cap, Taro Bobo, Van Gogh Starry Night, Monet Garden, and Dragon Scales and Phoenix Blood are trendy nicknames, which should be taken lightly.
Fake certificates can be identified when one has certain knowledge, as the identification of Rhyolite with Mica should be Rhyolite or its parent Quartz, not Crystal. The naming rules for gemstone certificates are as follows: 1. The basic name of the gemstone and the methods and degrees of optimization treatment must be clearly stated and prominently displayed on the certificate. This is the most important part of a certificate, which is the identification result we refer to. 2. Trade names should not be used alone; they can be explained in the remarks section of the certificate: “Trade Name: Strawberry Quartz”. 3. The place of origin is not part of the naming. For example, Uruguayan Amethyst, Burmese Ruby, Brazilian Tourmaline, etc. There is currently no technology to scientifically identify and distinguish the origin of gemstones, so many merchants exploit this loophole, exaggerating the origin of gemstones or substituting materials from other origins, as you cannot identify them. This is especially evident in the crystal industry, such as Himalayan Crystals, Cruz Crystals, etc. Except for the Big Five gemstones and high-end gemstones like Paraiba Tourmaline, the origin’s influence on the value of semi-precious stones like crystals is extremely limited. Many buyers focus solely on the origin, neglecting the 4C factors that affect the gemstone’s inherent value. 4. The combination of two or more gemstone names is not allowed, such as Moonstone Crystal, Aquamarine Crystal, etc. 5. Lastly, the name should not be ambiguous, such as Sea Green Treasure, Purple Arrival, Blue Crystal, etc. These ambiguous names often appear in counterfeit live broadcasts. What is optimization treatment in gemstones? All methods used to improve the appearance and durability or usability of jewelry and jade, such as color, clarity, transparency, luster, or special optical effects, excluding cutting and polishing, are divided into two categories: enhancement and treatment. What is enhancement? Traditional and widely accepted enhancement methods that reveal the potential beauty of gemstones. What is treatment? Non-traditional and unacceptable enhancement methods.As can be seen from the above, although we often say “enhancement and treatment” together, they are actually two words with two different meanings. More vividly put: Enhancement is like putting on makeup, while treatment is like having plastic surgery. Enhancement and treatment in the gemstone industry are like the “Hextech” in the gaming world. Their purpose is to make originally unattractive gemstones look better and more marketable! Now, the key point is that gemstones that have been enhanced can be sold in the market as natural gemstones without any special declaration; while gemstones that have been treated must be declared as artificially treated and not natural gemstones when sold in the market. Methods and Categories of Gemstone Enhancement and Treatment Heat Treatment (Enhancement) During heat treatment, the content and valence state of coloring particles are changed under high-temperature conditions. The internal structure of the crystal is adjusted, and some internal defects such as inclusions are eliminated to change the color and transparency of the gemstone. Heat treatment is a way of enhancing gemstones and can be regarded as a repetition and continuation of natural geological processes. It can lead to long-term and stable improvements in the appearance characteristics of gemstones such as color, transparency, and clarity. Common gemstones subjected to heat treatment include: aquamarine, morganite, tourmaline, crystal, zircon, tanzanite, amber, etc. Filling (Enhancement or Treatment) Materials such as colorless oil, wax, glass, or resin are used to fill the cracks, (open) fissures, and cavities of gemstones, or to infuse porous and fissured gemstones to improve or change the clarity, appearance, and durability of the gemstones. Filling is what we often call gluing (spot gluing, dipping in glue, pouring glue), and it may be the most common method of gemstone enhancement and treatment today. Filling gemstones with colorless oil or wax; filling the cracks of gemstones with a small amount of resin to slightly improve their appearance. This belongs to the enhancement method. Filling a small number of fissures and cavities of gemstones with glass or artificial resin to improve their durability and appearance. This belongs to the enhancement method, but a note should be added. Infusing porous and fissured gemstones with solidifying materials such as glass and artificial resin to change their appearance and durability. This belongs to the treatment method. Common gemstones subjected to filling treatment include: aquamarine, tourmaline, turquoise, labradorite, jadeite, sugilite, amber, agate, amazonite, lapis lazuli, malachite, larimar, beryl, charoite, opal, crystal, nephrite, garnet, chalcedony, fluorite, rhodochrosite, quartzite jade, etc. (The order is not ranked, and the gemstones in bold are the major ones for filling). Bleaching (Enhancement) Jewelry and gemstones are soaked in a chemical solution to lighten their color or remove impurities. Bleaching is what we often call pickling. Bleaching treatment belongs to enhancement and does not need to be disclosed. Are you surprised? Many people think that pickling is a very scary treatment method. Some false popular science articles will scare you by saying that there are strong acid residues, which is pure nonsense. Gemstone processing goes through a long process including heat treatment, polishing, and flushing with water. Even the strongest acid will have volatilized completely.
Organic gemstones such as pearls and ivory, as well as other gemstones such as jadeite are often bleached. However, bleaching + filling = treatment. The combination of bleaching and filling is a treatment method. The common B-grade jadeite is bleached and filled treated jadeite.
Irradiation (treatment) irradiates jewelry and jade with high-energy rays to change the color of jewelry and jade. Irradiation treatment is often accompanied by heat treatment. Irradiation treatment can be used to change the color of crystals. Colorless crystals can form smoky color through irradiation. Colorless iron-containing crystals produce purple through irradiation. Subsequent heat treatment can turn amethyst into citrine. For crystals, irradiation treatment is an optimization method. For the citrine in the above picture, even if it is color-changed by irradiation, it can only be regarded as natural citrine because its color cause cannot be revealed. The certificate issued can only be natural crystal, which is clearly stipulated by national standards. This is not artificial cultured crystal at all. Artificial cultured crystal is synthetic crystal and is still different from natural crystal. Dyeing (treatment) penetrates coloring substances (such as colored oil, dyes, etc.) into jewelry and jade to improve or change the color of jewelry and jade. Dyeing treatment can make coloring substances penetrate into gemstones to achieve the purpose of producing color, enhancing color or improving color. This treatment method is mainly used for color-changing treatment of gemstones with light colors and low values. Such gemstones usually have loose structures, are porous or contain quite a lot of cracks and fissures, so that pigments can penetrate. For single crystal gemstones such as crystals, if dyeing treatment is to be carried out, there must be large fissures on the crystal surface or inclusions exposed. If there are no fissures on the crystal surface, dyeing treatment can also be carried out after artificial ‘quenching and bursting’. Burst crystal is made by this process. There are many gemstone varieties treated by dyeing, such as emerald soaked in colored oil, quartzite dyed to imitate jade such as southern red agate and lapis lazuli, burst crystal, dyed kyanite, dyed magnesite imitating turquoise, dyed phantom crystal, dyed strawberry crystal, dyed lapis lazuli, dyed jadeite, etc. The dyeing treatment of agate and chalcedony is an optimization method, which is also a case. Composite (treatment) A gemstone product made by artificially combining two or more gemstone materials is called composite treatment. Composite stones are often made from thin slices of gemstone rough. Sometimes both parts of a composite stone are natural materials. More often, only the crown of the gemstone is a real natural gemstone, while the pavilion is made of synthetic material or glass. It belongs to imitation gemstone.Coating (Treatment)
Coating or plating is used to apply a thin film on the surface of jewelry and gemstones. This is done to change their luster, color, create special effects, cover surface defects (such as pits, cracks, scratches, etc.) or protect the jewelry and gemstones. Coating treatment methods are generally used on gemstones such as topaz, fancy diamonds, and crystals. Coating natural crystals to imitate tourmaline makes the appearance extremely realistic.
Diffusion (Treatment)
Under certain temperature conditions, foreign elements are introduced into jewelry and gemstones to change their color or produce special optical effects. Diffusion treatment is another special heat treatment method, mainly used for colorless or light-colored corundum. By diffusing the required chemical elements into the crystal interior, color and starlight can be induced on the outer layer of sapphires or rubies. Diffusion treatment can be divided into surface diffusion and volume diffusion treatment.
High Temperature and High Pressure (Treatment)
Jewelry and gemstones are treated under high temperature and high pressure conditions, mainly to improve or change their color. High temperature and high pressure treatment is a new optimization treatment method that has received attention in recent years. It can be used to fade brown diamonds whose color is caused by structural defects resulting from plastic deformation.
Representation Methods of Optimization Treatments
Optimization
The representation method of optimization should meet the following requirements:
1. Directly use the name of the jewelry and gemstone, and the specific optimization method can be noted in the certificate.
2. For the method of “optimization (should be noted)”, the specific optimization method should be noted in the certificate, and the degree of optimization can be described, such as: “filled” or “lightly/moderately filled”.
Treatment
The representation method of treatment should meet the following requirements:
1. Indicate at the basic name of the gemstone:
(1) Add the specific treatment method before the name, such as: dyed crystal, assembled crystal, filled tourmaline;
(2) Indicate the treatment method after the name, such as: crystal (dyed), tourmaline (filled);
(3) Add “treatment” in parentheses after the name, such as: crystal (treatment), tourmaline (filled); The specific treatment method should be noted in the certificate as much as possible, such as: dyeing treatment, filling treatment.
Gems that have not been confirmed as untreated may omit this information in their names. However, it should be noted in the certificate with phrases such as ‘possibly treated with XX’ or ‘unable to determine if treated with XX’ or ’cause of XX undetermined’. For instance, consider aquamarine. Some merchants claim that most aquamarine has many inclusions and is brittle, requiring resin treatment to be workable, and that the entire industry sells such treated aquamarines.
Yes, low-end aquamarine materials do have many inclusions and cracks, necessitating resin treatment to improve the yield of finished products. Here, the merchants seem to express their position but deliberately avoid discussing the degree of filling. National standards permit filling treatment, but they do not allow you to sell heavily filled gems as natural ones. The test conclusion in the above certificate can also be expressed as: ‘Aquamarine bracelet (filled)’ or ‘Filled aquamarine bracelet’. This method of representation is also a form of treatment indication. Do not assume that the gems are untreated simply because the words ‘treatment’ or ‘filled’ are not visible.