Improve appearance
Gemstone treatments
In addition to being cut and polished, some gemstones are given other treatments to improve their appearance. Most often this is done to improve the colour or the clarity of a stone. It is often difficult or impossible to tell with the naked eye whether or not a stone has been treated.
Widely accepted
Identification card
Some treatments, such as heating of sapphires and rubies, are widely accepted in the jewellery industry around the world. The vast majority of these stones – over 95% by some estimates – are heated to improve colour or clarity. The change is permanent.
Other treatments are not as well accepted, for example where they mask a gemstone’s fragility.
At D.Hindley we only accept treatments that are widely accepted in the industry, permanent, and do not affect the durability of the stone.
We are always happy to answer any questions about gemstone treatments. The gemstone identification cards we obtain from independent labs for our higher value gemstones often identify what treatment, if any, the stones have received.
