Is there a way to determine if a stone is heat treated? Either by test or loupe observation? I’m dying to know the horses mouth. I mean. The stone itself hahathank you for sharing your experiences, it's always so fascinating to hear how pieces differ in real life and how everyone approaches those variations. I totally agree that VCA places a lot of importance on stone harmony, whether it’s color-matching pink sapphires or pairing lapis with the right tone and veining
about heat treatment, I know opinions vary and there's a lot of nuance in the gem world. some sapphires are treated, some aren’t, and it really depends on the design, the collection, and what the maison is aiming for in the final look. from what I’ve read and heard from gemologists, heat treatment is widely accepted and actually quite common even in high-end jewelry, but I also understand that SAs may share different info depending on what they’ve been told or trained to say
either way, I think we all appreciate and agree that VCA always strives to present the most harmonious and beautiful version of a design, regardless of the gem’s backstory
Blue Agate Fading?
- Thread starter lynne_ross
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from what I’ve gathered, it’s sometimes possible to tell under a loupe if a sapphire was heat treated, but it depends a lot on the type of treatment and the inclusions in the stone. if there are silk inclusions that look “melted” or kind of smudged, that can be a sign of heating. untreated stones usually have silk that’s more crisp and needle-like (like the ones in Kashmir sapphires)
that said, with really tiny stones (like in paved pieces), you often can’t see enough detail to be sure. plus, some heat treatments don’t leave obvious signs, especially when they’re just done to even out the color or help the stones match each other better. it’s not always about making the color brighter. sometimes it’s just about harmony across the whole piece, which makes sense for a maison like VCA. so even experts sometimes need lab tests to know for certain
so yeah… unless it’s a big center stone with a gem report, the stone doesn’t always give a straight answer
I bought blue agate 10+5 when it was released in 2018. It is still as pretty today as it was almost 7 years ago.