|
Equatorian Imports, Inc. |
 ® |
 |
|
|
|
All emeralds that are used for jewelry go through the same six part enhancement process to become the gemstones we know. The steps are sawing, preforming, cutting, polishing, cleaning, and clarity enhancing. Virtually all emeralds require the process of clarity enhancement. This process involves immersing the emerald into a colorless or near-colorless medium. An infinitesmally small amount of the clarity enhancing medium penetrates open fissures. The volume is so small that it is usually not measurable by weight (typically as little as 1/100,000 of a gram). It should be assumed that every emerald has been processed in this manner unless it has an accompanying laboratory report indicating that there is no evidence of a clarity enhancement medium. Such extraordinarily rare gems command a considerable premium. Agents used for clarity enhancement are colorless or near-colorless: oils (fair stability), prepolymers and uncatalyzed resins (fair to good stability), paraffins (good stability), and polymers (excellent stability). Using any of the above, except for polymers, to enhance an emerald produces good initial results, but there are some limitations to the effectiveness of these enhancements. Over time, the agents will escape the fissures in the emerald and again reveal the inclusions. Cleaning an emerald using traditional jewelry cleaning products and techniques will also serve to remove these agents from the fissures. The emerald will need to be enhanced, occasionally by “oiling”, to maintain its beauty. Using a colorless polymer to enhance an emerald yields the same initial results as “oiling“, but does not carry the same limitations. ExCel ®, the enhancement medium used by Equatorian Imports, is a colorless polymer. The stability of this enhancement medium is far superior to that of any other agents available in the market today. The creators of ExCel® say that their enhancement “is stable under the rigors of repolishing and ultrasonic cleaning, and can easily be removed (if so desired by the customer)”. The limited warranty on this enhancement is possible because of its exceptional stability. The "ES" designation means Stable Enhancement.At Equatorian Imports we have been in the Colombian emerald business (and only the emerald business) since 1968. We have used stable colorless polymers to finish our entire inventory for several years. Every emerald enhanced with ExCel ® carries a limited lifetime warranty covering any changes in the appearance of the stone due to failure of the enhancement medium. The emerald will be re-enhanced (by ExCel®), at no cost to the owner, if any change in the enhancement medium does occur. To date, we have never had to make use of the warranty we receive when having our emeralds processed. Owners of our merchandise enjoy the convenience of ultrasonic cleaning for their emeralds and the absence of need for “re-oiling”. Our goal is to share our confidence and understanding of this superior emerald enhancement to all in the trade and, ultimately, the consumer.(Please use the "back" button on your browser to return to your
previous page.)
|
|
Send mail to mail@Equatorianimports.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
