Say hello to the real Mozambique Tourmaline!
Part I or our III Part series on the heavy metal bulk diffusion of gemstones!
As each day goes by, and we collect more and more specimens from more and more dealers, one thing is becoming crystal clear……this is not an andesine issue. It is not a tourmaline issue. It is a colored gemstone industry issue.
The issue? The bulk diffusion of heavy metals into gemstones. Why is it an industry issue? Because the lack of industry action is allowing hundreds of millions of dollars of diffusion treated gemstones to be sold on the market without proper disclosure. And worse yet, sold as very expensive natural gemstones when, in fact, they are very inexpensive treated gemstones.
The andesine issue is pretty widely accepted as resolved, in spite of the fact that neither Jewelers Circular/Keystone, National Jeweler, Modern Jeweler, or Instore Magazine has bothered to write about the multimillion dollar andesine scam. Lawsuits have been filed, and the sellers have pretty much all finally admitted that the andesine sold as natural is indeed bulk diffusion treated.
But the problem with Mozambique “ Paraiba ” Tourmaline dwarfs the andesine issue by millions of dollars. Both are heavy metal diffused in treatment. But the Mozambique issue is far more widespread, encompasses a far wider segment of the market, and has been buried deep within the industry's most secret hiding places in hopes that no one would find it.
Well, we found it. And its time to bring it out into the light of day.
The bulk diffusion of heavy metals such as copper and iron was proven viable based on the research done by the graduates and friends of the International School of Gemology. Andesine is just one of many that we believe are being treated using this method. It must be noted that the treatment is wonderful. Creates some very beautiful gemstones and greatly expands the market….as long as the treatment is disclosed. The problem has been that the “cookers” who do the treatments have not believed that anyone could prove the treatment, so they don't disclose. They were wrong.
Just as with andesine the bulk diffusion of tourmaline is done in a variety of methods. We have been able to isolate and identify two of those methods, one of which we will cover this week and the other next week.
You remember those pictures we took of the diffused andesine in an immersion cell that became the “smoking guns” of the investigation. Below you see four of them with the green core center and red outer coloring due to the diffusion treatment. Well, let’s next look at some Mozambique “ Paraiba ” Tourmaline in the same immersion cell.
Andesine in Immersion Cell
Below you see a series of six images of Mozambique “ Paraiba ” Tourmaline in an immersion cell. As you will note, we found the same or similar color patterns that denote that same type of diffusion that we found in the andesine. And these all test out with all other gemological properties in line with tourmaline. Well, almost all.
Mozambique "Paraiba" Tourmaline in Immersion Cell (pink and blue/green colors)
Let’s not stop at the immersion cell. Let’s go back to the Enwave Optronics Raman Microscope and compare the Raman scans.
Below is a classic Raman scan from a tourmaline from true Brazilian Paraiba Tourmaline. We have done many here in the ISG office with our own in house study specimens, as well as compared to other database Raman scans such as the RRUFF . And they are pretty much the same with the usual variations due to tourmaline’s rather remarkable directional properties.
But when we take a look at these Mozambique “ Paraiba ” Tourmaline scans below, the scans are nothing like the normal tourmaline. Nothing like the true Paraiba Tourmaline. In fact, when we put all of the gemstones shown above in the Raman we got the same reaction. A composite of all of those readings is also below.
Robert James FGA, GG
President, International School of Gemology
©2008 International School of Gemology . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
All images are taken using the ISG Student Reference Collection of gemstones in the ISG office. We do urge and support sharing of this information in its entirety, with copyright notices intact, to others who are interested in the study of gemology. Jeweler’s Associations are welcome to distribute to your members.
There are a lot of answers that we are still working on regarding the above. Based on our research with over 100 study specimens so far we can identify this particular type of treatment in a specific number of specimens based on the immersion cell and the Raman Microscope. We will continue to work on this as we continue with the second type of treatment we have identified. This first group is a minor treatment group compared to what we have yet to report. We now have available to us a Scanning Electron Microscope, as well as testing by LA-ICP-MS, XRF, and other testing. So we will get to the bottom of this even though it may take a while. Remember, the rest of the industry is not helping with this so we are all on our own here. We have also assembled a group of distinguished scientists to assist us with this project. They include some of our top people in the world of gemstone treatments, mineralogy, and geology. More on this in the next edition. But for now, here is a question for you: What do this cast iron skillet and this Mozambique “ Paraiba ” Tourmaline have in common? Answer: They share an exact match Raman Scan as seen below. Why? The answer may surprise you. Don’t miss the continuation of this report in next week’s edition. 
