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Ruby gemstones look beautiful when they have fine, uniformly distributed colours and clear-exceptional clarity. In these precious gems, flaws are quite common. Most of the stones have deflects or inclusions, so to improve the overall quality of the gemstone, some treatments are done on them.
Different ruby treatments are used for different purposes. We will discuss these different treatments, why they are used and how they affect the ruby stone.
The treatments, which are done under specific guidelines and expertise, can last for a few weeks to a few days. It depends on what result we need and what procedure is being used.
These are the main treatments for rubies:-
Let's discuss each of these treatments one-by-one:
Heat treatment for ruby stones is the most common. This method improves both colour and clarity. The gemstones are heated at higher temperatures above 1700 degrees Celsius for different lengths of time. It can take up to a few weeks or a few days.
A gem can be treated at low temperatures, as low as 200 degrees Celsius, and at high temperatures as well. The ones that are treated at lower temperatures, it is not easy to detect that treatments are done on them.
The inclusions which are seen in ruby before and removes after heat treatment include rutile needles or silk, gas bubbles, crystal rupture, fractures, etc. The colors of the silk needles lessen, and most of them dissolve.
However, this method reduces the strength of the gem and makes it fragile.
While heating, a flux is added such as borax powder. This is done so to improve the clarity by healing fractures and to reduce the temperature that is needed for heating.
The flux dissolves the surface, including any internal fractures or cracks in the gem. The fractures heal, and clarity improves. This method particularly helps with the artificial healing of the fingerprints.
What is ruby main stone treatment filling? In this method, the main process is heating + lead glass. This method is permanent; it cannot be reversed, so it should be done carefully.
Fractures are quite common in the ruby gemstones and can affect the overall beauty of the gem. So, this method is used to improve the overall appearance.
In this process, a clear synthetic material is injected into the fracture or cavity, like glass or epoxy using specialised techniques such as capillary action. Once this process is done, the fractures become almost invisible.
The ruby glass-filled treatment does not affect the durability of the stone, so it is a great option for filling fractures. Indeed, it actually improves the stability of low-grade material by sealing and glueing the fractures together.
Diffusion is the process in which an external element is added in the ruby gem while heating it. The element enters the crystal and where it enters the crystal lattice the color changes. Basically, this treatment of ruby will create color of the gem.
Two major elements that are used to diffuse are Chromium and Beryllium.
The diffusion of Chromium will introduce a layer of color red, turning pale or light-coloured gems into deep dark red ones.
While the beryllium is diffused to get a layer of yellow in the gem which will neutralise the blue hues of the gem. So, the gems which have undertones of blue or black in them are treated with Beryllium diffusion.
As the name suggests, in this method, the gems are dyed to enhance their colour. The dyes used are organic. It is quite a popular method for improving the shade and tone of the stone. It can create unique pieces as the color can be given in any shade.
The advantage is that once the color is more dark and deep red, the market value of the ruby will increase. However, the drawback is that this stone is susceptible to fading. The process does not leave a permanent impression, just a lasting one. So, your gem’s upgraded colour might last for a long time, but not forever. It will fade with time. So, if you are buying the stone as an investment, make sure it is not dyed. However, if you want it for your jewellery, dyed rubies will look great and add elegance to your look with their deep red hue.
Oiling is also a process that is often done to improve clarity, but more than that, it is actually used for cutting. It makes the cutting process easy. It helps to cut precisely and smoothly, as well as refines the clarity by masking the fractures.
NOTE - Want to buy a good-quality ruby in the correct price? Know how to determine the price - Ruby Price Guide-How Much is a Ruby Worth.
Ruby enhancements are quite common since most of the gems have low quality. To treat ruby gemstones means increasing their beauty. All the processes that are industrially used are mentioned above. These treatments can remove inclusions such as fractures, rutile needles or Silk, flake-like inclusions, irregular growth structures, crystal ruptures, etc.
If you want to buy an original and authentic ruby gemstone, treated or untreated, visit Navratan.com now to get the best prices. All the gems are lab-certified plus are available in different cuts, colours and sizes. You can also get free consultation from our experts.
