If you visit the fine jewelry shops  on Ruby Lane and other sites on the internet, you'll probably find numerous sellers carrying some, if not quite a bit of Ruby and Sapphire jewelry. Why? Well, they are beautiful gems that most people generally find attractive and appealing, and in good quality, these dazzling gems are highly collectible. However, buying corundum can be confusing, exciting, worrisome and sometimes laborious. What is a 'fine' ruby? What is the 'best' blue? These questions have one simple answer: How do YOU see or feel about your stone? If your first instinct or reaction is “This is amazing – it's so gorgeous!” Well, to you, your gem is fine, the 'best', and a treasure you'll hold on to for perhaps forever! Other stones grow on us ... natural inclusions inside gems are amazing to study and gaze into, and many times help tell the 'history' of the stone!

Not all corundum is made equal though. Yes, all natural corundum (not lab-created or synthetic) have the same hardness, refractive index, specific gravity, crystal habit – gemological terms & findings - but the quality and treatment, especially in today's gem world can drastically vary, sometimes with devastating results, others with surprising, valuable outcomes.

Most ruby and sapphire are 'heated', once pulled from the earth in order to improve color and clarity. Heating corundum is absolutely standard in the gem trade, legal and does not depreciate a gem's value. For a sapphire that comes out of the ground with eye-visible inclusions or poor color, heating the gem will not only improve its clarity and color (think melting/fusing/dissolving inclusions together to make them less obvious or ripening a banana in the sun so it changes from green to yellow), but it will appreciate its value. In the case however where a brilliant blue or fancy-colored sapphire (Padparadscha, Fuschia Pink, Hot Orange, Purple etc.) is mined, inclusions and all, if the color is prized, these gems won't be treated (if avoidable) if the clarity is decent, because the color, NOT the clarity, or even cut, becomes the key determining factor for value and rarity. Finding unheated fancy gems however, is no easy task, and not for everyone's pocket book! But they very definitely DO exist, and when found, are 'true' gems of the earth.

So, what do you have to look out for in corundum? Well, thankfully on Ruby Lane, the jewelry offered is older vintage, estate and antique, meaning most of the gems found in rings, bracelets, and necklaces, and when sold as 'natural' or 'real', will have only been heated as their 'treatment'. Heating has existed for several thousands of years and it is assumed in the gemology world that all corundum has been heated until proven otherwise. However, gems have also been synthesized and created since the late 1800's to early 1900's, and there are many fine pieces that contain 'lab' gems. These not-from-the-earth gems to many are just as beautiful, or sometimes more beautiful than natural gems, because they generally have perfect color, cut and clarity. Many people are proud to own these pieces because in their eyes it's 'perfect', regardless of whether it came from the earth. Most certified gemologists will be able to decipher the difference between real and created after a quick look with a loop or microscope, but during the mid to later 1900's, very good 'fakes' started appearing on the market. Sometimes not even 'fakes', but real gems, such as garnet and spinel, sold as ruby or corundum. We had one...a 'ruby' that looked like ruby, had inclusions like corundum and was sold to us as ruby...yet it turned out, to our dismay, to be red spinel. There's nothing wrong with red spinel, but that's not we bought or how it represented to us! Or take a look at our gorgeous “Kyanite” ring – an incredible blue gem that fooled our gemologist until he refractive-tested it – looks like sapphire, sparkles like sapphire – but it's not.

To the unknowing buyer or seller, many 'stand-in' stones are mistakenly (or sadly intentionally) sold as another type of gem.

Outside of 'heat' though, other treatments have been around for quite some time and come about regularly in the trade. You may have heard of 'fracture-filled' diamonds? Well, there are fracture-filled, more well known as 'fissure-filled' rubies showing up all over the place. Fracture filling fills in little cracks and holes that exist in poorer quality ruby with a resin or glass that isn't stable and can loosen and 'fall' out over the years. These treated rubies are not very valuable at all, and all gemologists who have even basic training will be able to discern a fracture-filled ruby easily. From personal buying experience, I've found these treated rubies tend to be very dark, purplish or brownish-red, with very poor clarity, little to no 'sparkle' and an opacity or dull, murky look to them. On their surface you may see what look like little rivers running across them, or areas that don't refract (give off light) as well as other areas of the stone. To sum it up – fracture-filled rubies aren't 'beautiful' to the naked eye. They just don't gleam like unfilled stones. And they're usually cheap. If you find a 6ct 'ruby' being sold for $20, or even $200, you can pretty much guarantee it's been filled/treated, is synthetic or is not natural-from-the-earth.

Also on the market are 'Be-heated' (beryllium heated/treated), and 'Lattice-Diffused' sapphire and ruby. Disclosure is very important, but not always followed. A Be-heated or lattice-diffused gem generally is a cleaner natural corundum that didn't have great color when mined. They are 'cooked' during heating with certain chemicals that enhance, coat, diffuse etc. into the surface of the gem, producing a much purer, stronger red, blue, pink, yellow, orange. These gems should sell for less and this form of treatment should always be disclosed, as it will greatly affect the outcome of the value. Also, as some forms of these treatments don't permanently affect the stone, re-cutting or damage to a stone could reveal the natural color or their lack-of underneath, and no one wants to know they paid “X” for a 'red' stone when in fact it's 'yellow-brown' underneath. Diffusion treatment first entered the marketplace in the late 1970's, and at the time, disclosure wasn't always made, and many 'only-heated' stones got mixed and sold with 'diffusion-treated' stones. Most reputable gem dealers today however will disclose this treatment, as their reputations depend on it.

In the end, certified gemologists and the 'big labs' are the best to turn to when questioning a gem. A GIA graduate gemologist should be able to tell you outright if they believe the stone has been filled with a filler. Diffusion and Beryllium are much harder to detect outside of cutting the stone in half, or paying many hundreds of dollars to have it tested. Testing for 'Unheated' gems is always a good idea if the opinion of one or more gemologists is that they believe it is likely not to have endured heat. The GIA, AGTA, GRS and AIGS (Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences NOT American International Gemologists Laboratory) labs are the most renowned labs in the world when it comes to gem-testing. It costs quite a bit to have a gem tested, but if you've paid a fair 'whack' for a gem that doesn't have any sort of certification, it may be in your best interest to invest the money to find out what you've really paid for. If the seller is reputable and has made an honest mistake, they should have no problem allowing a return, as long as the gem in question is indeed the gem sold.

Remember, if someone is selling a good looking 2ct+ ruby that they claim is 'unheated' for a mere few hundred dollars, or even just a $1000, question it if they can't supply certification. Yes, there are big (some HUGE) poor-quality unheated rubies and sapphires available, but their opaque or completely non-transparent clarity will drastically affect their worth, and you wouldn't want to buy it just from looking at a picture – not very pretty. And yes, there are 6ct unheated beauties that will be certified and you'll pay a reasonable $20,000 if not more. Even a heated, not treated, finely colored royal blue sapphire SHOULD cost you several grand. Natural gems do not depreciate which is why antique and vintage pieces are sometimes even more valuable than new pieces. Always ask questions. Honest sellers will be open about all the details they know. Mistakes do happen – we've all been caught selling and buying – but if there's a certificate, and the seller has a good track record, most of the time you can rest assured you're getting a great deal for the money. If you want an heirloom or a new purchase examined and you can't afford the prices the aforementioned labs charge, take your piece to a CERTIFIED GEMOLOGIST – not your 'local jeweler' (sorry, but we've seen so many items 'identified' or 'graded' inaccurately that it's worth the $50-$100 for a graduate gemologist, not your 'jeweler' to look at the piece).

Hope this has helped clear up any confusion you might be experiencing when you compare prices of rings and gemstone jewelry. If a diamond or gemstone ring costs a lot more in one shop than a similar one in another shop, there’s probably a good reason for it. So read the ads carefully and ask questions!

Victoria Boland

VINTAGE JEWELRY SHOWCASE

http://www.rubylane.com/shops/vivijewels