Gemstone Treatment Guide

Gemstone Treatment Method Special Care & Advice
Alexandrite None Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush.
Amazonite Permeated with a colorless wax, paraffin or oil to
improve appearance.
Avoid chemicals and do not use
ultrasonic cleaner or steamer.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Amber Sometimes heat treated or dyed to deepen color.
Sometimes pressed/compressed with extreme
pressure and heat to fuse together small pieces of
natural amber.
Avoid chemicals and do not use
ultrasonic cleaner or steamer.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Amethyst Almost all are heated to improve appearance or
deepen color.
Do not expose to intense heat.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Aquamarine Almost all are heated to improve appearance. Do not use ultrasonic cleaner or
steamer. Clean with warm
soapy water and a soft brush or
cloth.
Citrine Usually heat treated or irradiated to improve color. Do not expose to intense heat.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Coral Usually dyed or bleached to enhance color.
Sometimes stabilized with colorless plastic to
increase durability and to improve appearance.
Sometimes stabilized and compressed under
extreme pressure and heat to bind together small
pieces of natural material into a larger whole.
Avoid household chemicals,
steam and ultrasonic cleaning.
Cubic
Zirconia
Synthetic. Some are coated with a product that
makes the stone more durable.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft cloth.
Cultured
Pearl
Usually bleached and polished to achieve uniform
color and shape. May be dyed or irradiated to
produce various colors.
Do not use ultrasonic cleaner or
steamer. Avoid contact with
cosmetics, hair spray, perfume and household chemicals.
Clean with a soft cloth.

Diamond None Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Black
Diamond
There are two different processes that create black
diamonds: heat treatment and irradiation. Heat
treatment exposes the diamond to high
temperatures, which creates graphite residue in the
crystal. Irradiation modifies the crystal structure of
the stone.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Emerald Usually penetrated with oil, wax or resin to
improve appearance. Often dyed with color agents.
Do not use ultrasonic cleaner or
steamer. Avoid sudden
temperature changes, steaming
and contact with cosmetics,
hair spray, perfume and
household chemicals. Clean
with a damp cloth or soft brush
.
Garnet None Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Lab-Created
Gemstones
Grown in a laboratory, but are chemically,
physically and optically identical to natural gems.
Natural gems typically have inclusions from the
crystallization process, where gases and other
minerals mix during the molten stage of stone
creation. Lab-created stones rely on a steady,
controlled process of applying minerals, heat and
pressure, and they usually have few inclusions.
Avoid strong detergents, heat,
pressure and ultrasonic cleaner
or steamer. Avoid re-polishing
or re-cutting of the stone. Color
may fade in light or with heat.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Onyx Always dyed Avoid exposure to extreme
light and heat as stones may
fade. Clean with warm soapy
water and a soft brush or cloth.
Opal Occasionally treated with sugar or smoke to
enhance the color. Sometimes infused with wax,
oil or plastic to enhance appearance and durability.
Do not use ultrasonic cleaner or
steamer. Avoid heat and
contact with cosmetics, hair
spray, perfume and household
chemicals. Clean with a damp
cloth or soft brush.
Peridot Sometimes infused with oil, wax resins and/or
colorless hardened substance to enhance
appearance.
Do not use ultrasonic cleaner or
steamer. Avoid sudden
temperature changes and contact with harsh chemicals.

Quartz Usually dyed and/or heat treated to produce
different colors. Sometimes surface enhanced with
a coating to enhance color.
Avoid abrasives, harsh
chemicals, steam, and
ultrasonic cleaning. Clean with
warm soapy water and a soft
brush or cloth.
Rose Quartz Heated to improve appearance and deepen or
lighten color.
Do not expose to intense heat.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Rhodolite
Garnet
None Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Rubies Certified rubies are heat treated with residue to
improve appearance. Impurities may also dissolve
or become less noticeable after heating. All
treatments are permanent and fully disclosed on
the IGI certificate.
Avoid strong detergents, heat,
pressure and ultrasonic cleaner
or steamer. Avoid re-polishing
or re-cutting of the stone. Color
may fade in light or with heat.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Sapphire Usually heated to improve appearance.
Occasionally irradiated. Commonly diffused along
with heat application to create different colors.
Yellow sapphire is always diffused.
Avoid strong detergents, heat,
pressure and ultrasonic cleaner
or steamer. Avoid re-polishing
or re-cutting of the stone. Color
may fade in light or with heat.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Created
Sapphire
Powdered sapphire heated to recrystallize. Color
induced by lattice diffusion of titanium from an
external source. Always heated to improve
appearance.
Avoid strong detergents, heat,
pressure and ultrasonic cleaner
or steamer. Avoid re-polishing
or re-cutting of the stone. Color
may fade in light or with heat.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Smoky
Quartz
Heated to improve appearance and to deepen or
lighten color.
Color fades when exposed to
heat. Clean with warm soapy
water and a soft brush or cloth.
Spinel None Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.

Created
Spinel
None Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft cloth.
Tanzanite Usually heated to improve appearance. Do not use ultrasonic cleaner or
steamer. Avoid sudden
temperature changes. Clean
with a damp cloth or soft brush
.
Tiger's Eye Usually heat treated, dyed or bleached to enhance
color.
Avoid harsh chemicals and
sudden temperature changes.
Clean with a damp cloth or soft
brush.
Topaz (All
colors)
Usually irradiated and heated to produce color.
Some topaz may be coated with a thin film of
minerals applied through heat.
Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft brush or cloth.
Tourmaline
(Pink &
Green)
Commonly heated and/or irradiated to improve
appearance.
Do not use ultrasonic cleaner or
steamer. Avoid sudden
temperature changes, steaming,
and contact with cosmetics,
hair spray, perfume and
household chemicals. Clean
with a soft brush or cloth.
Created
Turquoise
Usually stabilized with plastic to enhance
durability. Dyed to enhance color.
Do not use ultrasonic cleaner or
steamer. Avoid contact with
cosmetics, hair spray, perfume
and household chemicals.
Clean with a damp cloth or soft
brush.
Stabilized
Turquoise
Porous turquoise immersed in a glue compound,
which is absorbed into the stone to give it strength
& stability.
Do not use ultrasonic cleaner or
steamer. Avoid contact with
cosmetics, hair spray, perfume
and household chemicals.
Clean with a damp cloth or soft
brush
Garnet None Clean with warm soapy water
and a soft cloth.
Zircon Usually heat treated to create blue color. Avoid abrasives, rough handling and exposure to
excessive light. Clean with
warm soapy water and a soft
cloth.

 

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