If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
emerald care
I have purchased a cabochon emerald and understand that they need to be
oiled periodically.Can anyone expand on this and tell me what kind of oil I need to use. est.x |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Yes. Oil of citron.
And don't put an emerald in a ultrasonic cleaner (it lose the treatment). Marco "Esther Pilcher" ha scritto nel messaggio ... I have purchased a cabochon emerald and understand that they need to be oiled periodically.Can anyone expand on this and tell me what kind of oil I need to use. est.x |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
On Fri, 05 Mar 2004 07:35:29 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry "Esther Pilcher"
wrote: I have purchased a cabochon emerald and understand that they need to be oiled periodically.Can anyone expand on this and tell me what kind of oil I need to use. est.x Emeralds do not need to be periodically oiled, though for a cabochon cut, you won't be harming it (or helping it). Emerald is one of those types of stone which usually forms with LOTS of inclusions, meaning both inclusions of other minerals and materials, but also cracks and fissures, which can be partially healed, or open to the surface. This means that many emerald look rather cloudy and "flawed". This is especially true of the lower clarity grades, which are what are usually used to cut cabochon stones. Better ones are usually facetted, though one can find fine cabochons too, if one wishes. Anyway, it's long been known and practiced that certain treatments can take stones like this, (not just emeralds), and fill any of these fractures or fissures that reach the surface, with a material that makes them a LOT less visible, thus making the stone appear cleaner and brighter. Most of the time, with emeralds, this means one or another type of oil, though in recent years, there are also some other materials (epoxy based resins in particular) which have proven useful. So unless you buy an emerald which is specifically stated to not have been treated or oiled, it's safe to assume that it was oiled in this manner, to fill surface reaching fractures, long before it was made into your jewelry. Often, the stones are treated while still rough and uncut, and other times, they are treated after cutting, but in the end, the majority of emeralds on the market have been treated, and this is usually referred to as having been oiled, even when the actual material may have been something else. Normally, with proper care and only gentle cleaning, the oiling is fairly permanent, and most customers will never notice any degredation in the appearance of their stones, even after years of wear, at least not due to drying of the oil or it's removal. So for you to add more oil will not generally do anything. oiling or fracture filling will only affect those fissure and breaks which make it to the surface of the stone, since none of these materials can actually penetrate solid emerald. Most of the types of breaks and fissures that CAN be filled are very tiny and thin, and it usually takes more than just dipping or brushing to get the oil to penetrate these things. Commonly, some combination of gentle heating, vacuuming (to remove any air in the fissures that may already be there) and sometimes pressure, to force the oil in, are used, and as I've said, once done, it's usually pretty premanent. But as another poster has also mentioned, you CAN damage the oiling with cleaning methods that are too aggressive. Some very strong cleaning agents, or solvents, can remove some of the oil closest to the surface, and ultrasonic cleaners in particular, can also remove the fracture filling materials in some stones. So rather than worrying about oiling your stone, it's more important to just be gentle in how you treat it and clean it. That will do a lot more to give the stone a long life than any oiling you might give it. If the ring needs cleaning, stick to gentle detergents like dishwashing soap or things like that, and don't let the ring soak in such things for long periods of time. If in doubt, let a professional clean it, though if you're unsure about the experience level of the jeweler it might be prudent to ask that they not use the ultrasonic cleaner. (as with any profession, everyone was a beginner once, and this includes jewelers. And in many stores, it may be a sales person, not a trained jeweler, who does the cleaning, and some of them don't realize the proper care needed with emeralds. Now, in a practical world, most of us still use ultrasonics with most emeralds. But we're cautious with them, and usually only put the ring in briefly, long enough to just loosen the dirt and grime, instead of putting the ring in and coming back in a half hour knowing that by then it must surely be clean... This latter is not a good idea with most emeralds (and a number of other stones that can be sensative to such cleaning). Anyway, after all that typing, the short answer is, again, you don't need to oil your emeralds. If it would help it, it's already been done long before you got it, and your additional oiling will only make your ring oily. Cheers Peter Rowe graduate gemologist, goldsmith, etc, and someone who's made enough of the mistakes and messed up enough emeralds over the last 30 years (hey, not all THAT many, now...) to have a pretty good idea by now how to treat emeralds... :-) |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
thanks for that information...very interesting!
"Esther Pilcher" wrote in message ... I have purchased a cabochon emerald and understand that they need to be oiled periodically.Can anyone expand on this and tell me what kind of oil I need to use. est.x |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
OT Went to Urgent Care this morning. | ~Candace~ | Beads | 68 | October 29th 04 06:56 AM |
Taking care of ADD | Dr. Sooz | Beads | 5 | October 28th 04 08:24 PM |
Trunk Shows: Care to share info? | Tinkster | Beads | 0 | April 6th 04 10:30 PM |
New website - anyone care to critique it? | Pam | Beads | 48 | February 5th 04 03:43 AM |
toni, budgets are cut in education and health care | Bruce Reilly (a.k.a Bruha) | Beads | 0 | November 28th 03 12:12 AM |