Question:Does anyone have any advice on how to re-oil emeralds? I recently had the misfortune of dopping an oiled emerald. The oil seeped out of the stone after being heated. I would really like to re-oil this gem. It looked great with the oil treatment. Can anyone help me?
Answer: Before you re-oil emeralds, make sure you have actually removed all the old oil. You can do this by slowly simmering — not boiling — the stone in soapy water. Soaking it in a solvent like alcohol will also do the trick.
Emeralds almost always have inclusions. Some oil treatments try to make an emerald's jardin (or "garden") of inclusions more visually pleasing. Oil treatments are also used to enhance color. Emerald ring, photo by Mauro Cateb. Licensed under CC By 2.0
To re-oil emeralds, all you need to do is submerge the stone in an appropriate solution (oil, epoxy, etc). Next, place the stone and the solution somewhere warm. The back of a stove or a sunny window in summer are great locations. Keep it at about 100° F for a day or two. That is all there is to it!
Interested in this topic?
This article is also a part of our Emerald Specialist Mini Course, in the unit Emerald Care and Repair.
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Question:Does anyone have any advice on how to re-oil emeralds? I recently had the misfortune of dopping an oiled emerald. The oil seeped out of the stone after being heated. I would really like to re-oil this gem. It looked great with the oil treatment. Can anyone help me?
Answer: Before you re-oil emeralds, make sure you have actually removed all the old oil. You can do this by slowly simmering — not boiling — the stone in soapy water. Soaking it in a solvent like alcohol will also do the trick.
Emeralds almost always have inclusions. Some oil treatments try to make an emerald's jardin (or "garden") of inclusions more visually pleasing. Oil treatments are also used to enhance color. Emerald ring, photo by Mauro Cateb. Licensed under CC By 2.0
To re-oil emeralds, all you need to do is submerge the stone in an appropriate solution (oil, epoxy, etc). Next, place the stone and the solution somewhere warm. The back of a stove or a sunny window in summer are great locations. Keep it at about 100° F for a day or two. That is all there is to it!
Interested in this topic?
This article is also a part of our Emerald Specialist Mini Course, in the unit Emerald Care and Repair.
