Identifying whether a ruby is flux heated, glass filled or any other treatment?

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Hi everyone, could use your advice on a pair of earrings I own…

I received them as a gift some time ago, they each have a small ruby. I was wondering what is the best way to identify treatment if any so I can be sure not to clean it in a damaging way?

I have no idea of how much they cost and I didnt want to ask. I’m sure they’re treated in some way, and I’m totally fine with that. They are obviously not certed.

So far I’ve only occasionally cleaned them with warm water and soap, and they haven’t been damaged in any way. But the more I read about glass filled rubies online the more concerned I get that I might accidentally damage them. They have sentimental value to me and I wouldn’t want to wreck them. But I also would like to wear them more often and clean them appropriately (I don’t have an ultrasonic, but I do clean all my diamond jewelry with hot water and Windex or jewelry cleaner regularly, and I’d like to do the same for these earrings but I don’t want them to get damaged).

Is there any way to gauge what treatment the stone has? I have a basic loupe but no other equipment.

If there’s no way other than contacting an appraiser, will cleaning a glass filled ruby (that should be the worst case scenario, correct?) with hot water and windex ruin it? What’s the best way to clean a glass filled stone?

 

[Autumn in New England]

Hello there! So there are a multitude of instruments used to identify treatments in ruby. If you do not own them and are not trained in using them, then your best bet is to send the stones out to a lab. I wouldn't trust a neighborhood jeweler or even your average G.G. to give you a reliable opinion.

As far as cleaning your jewelry, I always avoid ultrasonic cleaners and any sort of dip. I'm also not sure when using Windex became commonplace (but I know a lot of folks and even some jewelers who use it). However, I find it to be completely unnecessary, especially if it contains ammonia. I use warm, not hot, water and a mild detergent like Dawn, along with a soft toothbrush. If your rubies are in fact fracture-filled or flux-healed, that cleaning method will be safe for them. I hope this helps a bit!

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Hello there! So there are a multitude of instruments used to identify treatments in ruby. If you do not own them and are not trained in using them, then your best bet is to send the stones out to a lab. I wouldn't trust a neighborhood jeweler or even your average G.G. to give you a reliable opinion.

As far as cleaning your jewelry, I always avoid ultrasonic cleaners and any sort of dip. I'm also not sure when using Windex became commonplace (but I know a lot of folks and even some jewelers who use it). However, I find it to be completely unnecessary, especially if it contains ammonia. I use warm, not hot, water and a mild detergent like Dawn, along with a soft toothbrush. If your rubies are in fact fracture-filled or flux-healed, that cleaning method will be safe for them. I hope this helps a bit!

Thank you!

I am reluctant to get them certed because the stones are small and don’t look visibly like amazing quality anyway (they have that pinkish red colour of Thai rubies in real life). It’s more curiosity than anything else, even if they were glass filled it wouldn’t bother me or make me reach for them less.

I’ll just stick to the warm water and detergent then! Thank you

 

[Bron357]

I wouldn’t think “at home” cleaning with a soft toothbrush and a dab of liquid soap will do any harm.
I wouldn’t use Windex on rubies.
what isn’t recommended is ultrasonic cleaners, unlikely to do damage but best to avoid.
the main issue is “working” on the jewellery. Jewellers use a torch and then a pickling solution to remove the carbon marks from the torch. These will “kill” a glass filled ruby.
The glass will melt out.
If in jewellery, glass filled rubies require extra care and a laser not torch.
unfortunately to the “eye” you can’t tell and it’s not good to find out the hard way.
Rubies that are flux treated, that is high high heat that actually causes recrystallisation of the ruby to repair fissures is permanent, they require a degree of extra care but an ultrasonic cleaner won’t do any harm.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I wouldn’t think “at home” cleaning with a soft toothbrush and a dab of liquid soap will do any harm.
I wouldn’t use Windex on rubies.
what isn’t recommended is ultrasonic cleaners, unlikely to do damage but best to avoid.
the main issue is “working” on the jewellery. Jewellers use a torch and then a pickling solution to remove the carbon marks from the torch. These will “kill” a glass filled ruby.
The glass will melt out.
If in jewellery, glass filled rubies require extra care and a laser not torch.
unfortunately to the “eye” you can’t tell and it’s not good to find out the hard way.
Rubies that are flux treated, that is high high heat that actually causes recrystallisation of the ruby to repair fissures is permanent, they require a degree of extra care but an ultrasonic cleaner won’t do any harm.

Thanks for the info! When would a jeweler need to take a torch to a piece of jewelry - during repairs or when first making the piece? Since the earrings don’t look visibly problematic in any way, they’ve presumably survived one round with a jeweler.

I don’t own an ultrasonic anyway since I’m paranoid about using one for anything other than diamond solitaires. I wouldn’t want to use one for pave pieces either. my concern was more about using ammonia based cleansers or hot water. My current technique of warm water and a bit of soap seems to do the trick though, so presumably I shouldn’t borrow trouble

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Hi everyone, could use your advice on a pair of earrings I own…

I received them as a gift some time ago, they each have a small ruby. I was wondering what is the best way to identify treatment if any so I can be sure not to clean it in a damaging way?

I have no idea of how much they cost and I didnt want to ask. I’m sure they’re treated in some way, and I’m totally fine with that. They are obviously not certed.

So far I’ve only occasionally cleaned them with warm water and soap, and they haven’t been damaged in any way. But the more I read about glass filled rubies online the more concerned I get that I might accidentally damage them. They have sentimental value to me and I wouldn’t want to wreck them. But I also would like to wear them more often and clean them appropriately (I don’t have an ultrasonic, but I do clean all my diamond jewelry with hot water and Windex or jewelry cleaner regularly, and I’d like to do the same for these earrings but I don’t want them to get damaged).

Is there any way to gauge what treatment the stone has? I have a basic loupe but no other equipment.

If there’s no way other than contacting an appraiser, will cleaning a glass filled ruby (that should be the worst case scenario, correct?) with hot water and windex ruin it? What’s the best way to clean a glass filled stone?

What no pictures ?

What's a girl got to look at at 11pm on a Sunday night ?

Im thinking you must have seen @Garry H (Cut Nut) picture of the treated ruby cleaned in the ultrasound on that other ruby thread
It reminded me of a smashed lolly

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

What no pictures ?

What's a girl got to look at at 11pm on a Sunday night ?

Im thinking you must have seen @Garry H (Cut Nut) picture of the treated ruby cleaned in the ultrasound on that other ruby thread
It reminded me of a smashed lolly

I did! It got me thinking about my ruby earrings haha because I got scared about inadvertently damaging them

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I did! It got me thinking about my ruby earrings haha because I got scared about inadvertently damaging them

Better safe than sorry