accept payment
My Cart

Mini Cart

Common jewellery treatments for enhancing the look

Gemstones are normally treated with heat, pressure, chemical or made to go through certain kinds of processes for enhancing their overall look. Normally, all gemstones are treated in some or the other way to increase the value as well as the aesthetic appeal except in few cases where gemmologist declares use of no treatments.

 

Common jewellery treatments used are mentioned below:

  • Filling: Gemstones may have some cracks or crevices and these gaps are filled with substances like resin, wax, glass, plastic etc to enhance the look as well as the longer shelf life.
  • Reconstruction: This is the technique used from enhancement point of view where small gems pieces are amalgamated to fit in a larger dye; the resultant product is a bit larger gemstone piece. Reconstruction is done by the way of applying heat and pressure along with the use of solvents that are commonly used for enhancement purposes.
  • Assembling: This treatment style is applied by introducing a foreign object over or below the gemstone. This increases the overall value of gemstone in terms of size, colour and durability.
  • Irradiation: This enhancement scheme is applied with the help of bombardment of sub-atomic particles like neutrons, electrons and gamma particles generally to enhance the colour of gemstone.
  • Smoking: This technique is normally performed using dye that is made to replace the moisture content of the gemstone with carbon.
  • Dyeing: A very common enhancement technique used to infuse colour(s) into porous beads and gemstones; normally used to improve the quality of pearls, amber, topaz etc.
  • Oiling: A poorly lit gemstone can be made to have strong lustre by bathing it in oil or a shining lubricant so that its clarity can be enhanced.
  • Impregnation: This enhancement procedure is applied using molten wax where it is infused with the main stone to form a layer - helpful in increasing the sparkle of gemstone.
  • Coating: The gemstone is coated with an artificial layer for enhancing its look, lustre as well as shine.

In addition to above, there are certain treatments that are considered very basic and are carried out normally to enhance the colour or strength of the gemstone used in jewellery. These include heating, diffusion, filling and dyeing and heat & pressure that are simpler in nature, easy to apply and enhance the overall visual appeal of the gemstone.

 

It is worth mentioning that in the absence of all above treatments, the gemstone is said to be in natural, untreated state and can be supplied as raw material too to various jewellery making companies. Additionally, these can be sold to gemstone aficionados too who want untreated pieces for making their gemstone repertoire a dream collection.