Are topaz and tormaline generally treated?

[innerkitten]

I''m sure I heard that blue topaz almost always was. But what about the golds? And what about tourmaline? Also how well do the stones and treatments (if there are any) stand up to time. The colors are so beautiful and they seem pretty affordable compared to some other colored stones.

 

[PrecisionGem]

Blue topaz is 99% treated. There are some lighter blue natural topaz, but for the most part is is treated. The green, pink and mystic topaz are all treated. Some of the treatments actually just a coating of color. Imperial topaz is natural color.
Tourmaline can be found with out treatment in beautiful colors. There is heat treatment done to much of the pink tourmaline to either lighten or burn off undesireable colors. The pariaba tourmaline is usually heated. Im not sure about any of the green tourmaline responding to heat. All the tourmalines I work with are all natural, so I am not up on the latest treatments that may be available.

 

[riogems]

There are a lot of treatments around and new ones coming out or being tested all the time.

Now, there is a treatment for imperial topaz involving radiation. I''m not sure if it is possible for a non-gemologist to detect it.

For other topaz (blue, mystic, pink, etc..) - these were white (colorless) topaz before they were treated. The colorless topaz is very cheap/affordable. Natural color topaz can be very expensive.

Aside from heat, some tourmalines are also oiled (ie, some bi-color watermelon).

The radiation treatment (ie blue topaz) is a permanent treatment.

The coating treatment (ie mystic topaz, pink topaz) is semi-permanent (the coating should last as long as it isn''t scraped off or eaten off by heat or chemicals).

The heat treatment (ie pink tourmaline) is a permanent treatment.

The oil treatment is not permanent. (And also depends on the kind of oil used.)

 

[Richard M.]

While natural-colored topaz in Imperial colors (peach, pink, red) is very expensive and there are less expensive natural yellow and brandy colors, white topaz is among the most-treated gemstones.

Irradiated and coated topaz have been mentioned but there''s also a large amount of white topaz that''s been artificially colored by surface diffusion. That''s a process involving heat and the introduction of various coloring agents that penetrate the surface to the depth of a molecule or two. The treatments are permanent unless a stone is chipped or needs repolishing.

Since heated/irradiated blue topaz needs a "cooling-off" period of up to a year after treatment to eliminate residual radiation, diffusion-colored blue topaz has been developed to create more product, faster. There are also green and teal-colored diffusion topazes.

Richard M.

 

[colorchange]

The only topaz I carry are from Burma (almost only orange and yellow) and untreated but I heard about "imperial" topaz as beeing regularly heated to decrease brown, and the result beeing not completely permanent (brown may come back).

Take care if you are willing to buy topaz online, the price between a bright "canary" yellow is 10 times this of a slightly greyish yellow, and you will easily bee fooled.