Make it Easy!
June 20, 2014
As Seen In: Keeping Vintage Jewelry Clean
August 2, 2014
Update: InStoreMag.com recently reported on a consumer affairs report conducted by The Today Show exposing four major retailers for not properly identifying lead-filled rubies to their customers. You can read the report here:
Colored gemstones have made a comeback, with gorgeous rubies, emeralds, sapphires and more adorning lovely ladies everywhere. When purchasing rubies, buyers need to be very aware of whether they are lead glass filled a fairly common practice that will be disclosed by reputable dealers. Unfortunately, not all dealers are so reputable, so jewelers and their customers both need to be certain of what they are buying.
Lead glass-filled rubies look beautiful, but they require much more careful treatment. Their chemical make-up is altered in ways that make them more easily damaged. Merely being exposed to acidic product like lemon juice can cause white marks on the surface, while solvents such as ammonia used in household or jewelry cleaners can also cause damage. Buyers who choose to purchase lead glass-filled rubies in order to get a lower price should be made aware of this and told how to properly care for them. It is best to use a non-ammoniated cleaner ; simply immerse the piece in the gentle cleaner for a couple of minutes, rinse it carefully and blot it dry.
Most other rubies are treated with heat to enhance their color and quality, and some are heated with compounds to heal fissures. These treatments are common and do not make the stones more susceptible to damage by standard household products. Again, it is recommended to clean these stones with a non-ammoniated gentle cleaning formula.
In recent years, there has been an increase in dealers not disclosing lead glass-filled rubies. Therefore, jewelers are encouraged to be vigilant in identifying them by looking for telltale gas bubbles and for blue flashes when viewed under a Hanneman filter. This precaution can prevent selling a misidentified piece to a customer or damaging an item brought into a jeweler for repairs.
