Corundum Workshop

It was a busy week (my book party was last night...a few pics are up on my book blog), so much so that I haven't even had a chance to report on something kind of cool that I did LAST weekend. See, I recently learned that there's a local Ohio alumni chapter of my jewelry school. Obviously I haven't finished my degree yet, but even so much as completing one class gets you in. And so it is that I spent last Sunday at a workshop devoted to studying the treatments typically used on corundum as well as how to price treated stones.

Without boring you too much, I'll just clarify that corundum is the gem family that includes such A-listers as ruby and sapphire. And when we talk about any gemstone, the likelihood of a treatment of some kind (usually to improve color and/or clarity) is pretty high these days. The demand for gemstones is such that there simply aren't enough naturally good ones to go around. Treatments are pretty standard. But people are as clever as they are unethical, and it's important for jewelers to be up to speed on the latest kinds of treatments, so that they don't get fooled into thinking something is natural when it isn't. There's even a "hybrid" ruby out there now that's up to 80% glass. Man, how mad at yourself would you be if you bought one of those without knowing it???

I'm obviously a newbie when it comes to actually knowing my stuff when it comes to gemstones, but it felt so nice to be sitting at a luncheon with others who love the world of jewelry as much as I do. It felt like I was a real jeweler, just doing something that a real gemologist might do. Sigh. I don't really expect you to understand, but when I say I got to spend my Sunday afternoon looking at rubies and sapphires, I hope you can picture the smile I have on my face as I say it.

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