Gemstone Treatments and Enhancements

The links displayed on this page will take you to the external website of the Gemmological Institute of America.  Each link will open in a new browser window.  Mystical-Spirit has no control of the behaviour of the GIA website on mobile devices so you may need to expand the text to be able to read it on those devices.

Link Description PDF
An Introduction to Gem Treatments As a consumer, you will regularly encounter in the marketplace gems that have been treated to change their appearance. A topic that often comes up is whether a particular gemstone is or isn’t treated.
The Early History of Gemstone Treatments This article examines the origins of gemstone treatment.
Gemstone Enhancement and its Detection in the 1980s The impact that enhancements had on the gem market in the 1980s may be unparalleled in the history of the industry.
Gemstone Enhancements and Detection in the 1990s Gemstone enhancements and their disclosure became the most important gemmological issue for the jewellery trade in the 1990s.
Gemstone Enhancement and its Detection in the 2000s Advances in technology and increased demand for lower-priced gem materials contributed to the proliferation of new treatments throughout the first decade of the 2000s.
Gemstone Irradiation and Radioactivity With the increasing use of radiation to colour enhance gemstones, the issue of radioactivity has become a source of concern for gemmologists worldwide.
Chart of Commercially Available Gem Treatments This chart combines a comprehensive listing of the commercially available treatments for the most commonly used gem materials with an indication of the current status of their detectability.
Amber with Insect-Bearing Filling Natural amber beads were found to have been filled with plastic and a variety of insects.
An Introduction to Simulants or Imitation Gem Materials This article provides an overview of synthetic gem materials.