Manufactured Diffused Sapphire Definition

Traditional heating of sapphires typically takes 2 3 days and requires extreme temperatures and conditions to achieve the desired results that will make the sapphire more commercial quality.

Manufactured diffused sapphire definition.

This purplish black sapphire from burma has been transformed into a commercially usable pink sapphire after a flux additive is put in the heating process. This light element is diffused in the sapphire. Sapphire is a precious gemstone a variety of the mineral corundum consisting of aluminum oxide α al 2 o 3 with trace amounts of elements such as iron titanium chromium vanadium or magnesium it is typically blue but natural fancy sapphires also occur in yellow purple orange and green colors. While doing the treatment there might be some traces of yellow color in the stone s interior.

However most buyers never repolish or recut the gemstones set in jewelry. On the mohs mineral hardness scale of 1 to 10 going from softest to hardest sapphire a form of corundum scores 9. Parti sapphires show two or more colors. Polishing or recutting would remove this surface treatment.

In some cases sapphire beads are treated with lattice diffusion that can have shallow embeds of colours superficially exhibited on the surface. Discover more about these beautiful and affordable gemstones. Sapphire gemstone showcasing myriad colours like vibrant red fiery purple electrifying blue silky yellow and pitch dark blacks are produced using diffusion through the crystal structure. A sapphire made into a diffused star sapphire cannot be polished for a second time or recut as the treatment is only on the surface of the stone.

Sapphire is transparent durable and scratch resistant. To remove or lighten the blue color in too dark sapphires. The treated goods may also be less transparent as the thin diffused surface may exhibit noticeably different optical qualities from the bulk of the cut specimen. In some cases the added color is shallow.

Diffusion treated blue synthetic sapphire is inferior to grown blue sapphire in that the treatment is very shallow eliminating the possibility of recutting. In others it goes all the way through the stone. Ordinary glass scores 6 to 7 and diamond scores 10. Lattice diffusion is a treatment process that uses heat and chemicals to diffuse an element into a gemstone to artificially change its color.

This yellow color can be removed with subsequent heat treatment.