Wallis Futuna Islands Emerald Fashion 2014 Wedding Party Jewellery 1023

Wallis Futuna Islands Emerald Fashion 2014 Wedding Party Jewellery. 

 By Aamir Mannan. 

Most emeralds are oiled as part of the post-lapidary process, in order to fill in surface reaching cracks, improving their clarity and stability. Cedar oil, having a similar refractive index, is often used in this generally accepted practice. Other liquids, including synthetic oils and polymers with refractive indexes close to that of emerald such as Opticon, are also used. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires the disclosure of this treatment when an oil treated emerald is sold.[11] The use of oil is traditional and largely accepted by the gem trade, although oil treated emeralds are worth much less than un-treated emeralds of similar quality. Other treatments, for example the use of green-tinted oil, are not acceptable in the trade. Gems are graded on a four step scale; none, minor, moderate and highly enhanced. Note that these categories reflect levels of enhancement, not clarity. A gem graded none on the enhancement scale may still exhibit visible inclusions. Laboratories tend to apply these criteria differently. Some gem labs consider the mere presence of oil or polymers to constitute enhancement. Others may ignore traces of oil if the presence of the material does not materially improve the look of the gemstone.[citation needed

]