DOCTORS FOR JEWELS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 48, Issue 84, 19 January 1928, Page 8

DOCTORS FOR JEWELS.

NEED FOR TREATMENT. Doctoring precious stones is often misconstrued with faking. Yet it is quite legitimate when done to bring out all that is best in a gem (says George H. Holden in the “Daily Mail.”) Sometimes really good diamonds are spoilt by a coloured tinge and the only remedy is to ibteaeh it out. This is done by placing the gem in a covered crucible brought 'to great heat over a gas or charcoal fire. After cooling slowfv and regularly, the yellow or other tints are entirely' removed Without, injuring the brilliance of the gem or the polish of its facets.

Opals, when first mined, are comparatively soft compared with other gems, and need to be hardened. To. do this the gems are arranged on trays and exposed to the direct air current of high-speed electric fans for a few hours. The harder the stone the better it retains its polish.. The likelihood of pearls being “run down” due to the indifferent health of the wearer is well known. To restore their lustre the pearls are bathed in honey for 48 hours, at intervals of two weeks. The treatment occupies from one to six months', and imparts a lustre equal to that of well-conditioned gems. The topaz, although likely to become “off colour” at- frequent intervals, yields easily to the gem doctor’s - art. The stones are simply put aside and allowed to rest for about three months in some light, airy place. Each stone is then enclosed in a piece of sponge, and the latter set on fire and allowed to burn until nearly consumed, but without the flame reaching the gem. Made hot in this manner; the gem assumes a permanent pale red. / To get them up to perfection sapphires frequently need theirl vitality reduced. This is not difficult. All that is necessary to correct the fault is to give the gems a series of baths of liquid and sunshine. Water, cheese, offals, sawdust, cork, methvlated spirit, olive oil and eau de Cologne figure largely in the gem doctor’s prescription!! for curing “sick” gems, not forgetting Spaniish-bayonet, a prolific weed tlhat soon proves a- nuisance whenever it happens to take root.