How do I buy untreated all-natural gemstones?

Spinel

Spinel is a historic gemstone with great colors and exceptional clarity and yet is underrated despite often being mistaken for valuable rubies. Heat treatment has been tried on spinel but is generally detrimental so is not worth the risk with such a valuable gemstone.

A very rare occurrence has been fissure filling tiny surface cracks but this is not seen enough to be a real issue. It has been suggested that the extremely rare and quite expensive cobalt blue spinel may be the result of heat treatment so be wary if purchasing.

Peridot

Peridot is one of the few gemstones that only come in a single color - green. The samples deemed good enough to become gemstones have typically excellent clarity and a deep and intense color. Heating does not appear to have any real affect on the quality of the green color.

Occasionally, Peridots can be treated with oils or resins to fill surface fractures but this is not particularly common and is easy to spot.

Chrysoberyl

Chrysoberyl is a gorgeous, durable and completely natural stone that is not treated in any way to enhance its appearance. Considering its strength, versatility and bright sparkle and polish, it is a very modestly priced gemstone available is all sorts of shapes and is ideal for any jewelry items.

Tourmaline

Tourmalines are probably the most colorful of all gemstones with just about every color represented by this durable, bright stone. In general, tourmalines found on sale are not treated with heat or radiation.

With such a diverse gemstone it is impossible to say they are ALL untreated - Mozambique Paraiba style tourmalines are most likely heated and some dark red stones can be lightened by heat and irradiation.

Treatments of tourmalines are very difficult to spot, even in the laboratory and, so far, do not impact the value of the gemstones.

Because of the assortments of chemical composition in tourmaline, treatments that work on one stone will not be the same in another and can just as often be detrimental to the gemstone so merchants are loathe to do it unless they feel they have to.

Iolite

Strangely enough, in the case of Iolite, the lack of treatment has been detrimental to their value and fame. Although they are a lovely color already, if they were able to be turned a deeper blue by heat treatment they would be a lot more popular but Iolite does not respond to any treatment other than that by nature herself.

Andalusite

Andalusite is a little-known gemstone with lovely earthy or fall colors such as orange, yellow, brown, green and gold. It is an attractive gemstone with an unusual play of color where the color switches two or three times as it is turned.

We are not aware of any enhancing treatment for Andalusite other than the cutting and polishing of the rough gemstones.

Chrome Diopside

Chrome Diopside gemstones are natural and not heated or enhanced at all. This gemstone has an intense forest green color with a fantastic sparkle and a clarity that is the envy of many other green gemstones. Perhaps it is the rather clinical sounding name that has prevented it from gaining the popularity it deserves!

Sunstone

Sunstone gets its name from the orange to red inclusions that seem to glitter like sunlight as the gemstone moves. This glittering phenomenon is called 'schiller' or sometimes 'aventurescence' and there are no known treatments for these bright sparkly gemstones.

Grandidierite

Grandidierite is a rare and expensive gemstone, especially when found in clear and faceted specimens. As yet they are not known to be treated in any way or synthetically created for jewelry in the laboratory although this may change if grandidierites become more well known around the world.

Kornerupine

This earthy green to brown gemstone is not often found in jewelry items although this may change as people continue to search for the out of the ordinary or unusual. Kornerupine is not known to be treated or enhanced in any way.

Strawberry Quartz

Quartz is a very popular gemstone for both use in jewelry and for spiritual reasons. One of the rarest types is a clear gemstone with red inclusions of iron oxide. These internal reddish needles, flakes or fibers have given it the name Strawberry Quartz.

There are some totally synthetic versions available with alternative names such as cherry quartz, blueberry quartz, kiwi quartz and the like so do be careful where you buy your Strawberry Quartz - make sure it is a reputable source.