March 20, 2012 9:25 AM EDT
Trade Associations Issue Consumer Alert Warning of Glass-Filled Rubies
Several trade organizations, including MJSA, recently issued a consumer alert warning of increased supplies of glass-filled rubies being sold without the proper disclosure. The alert noted that although the stones have "significant fissures filled with relatively large quantities of lead glass," they are being sold as natural rubies in U.S. department stores and elsewhere.
In addition to MJSA, the other industry groups that signed on to the alert were the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), American Gemological Laboratories, Gem Research Swisslab, and the New York Gemstone Association.
Note: To read the MJSA Tech Sheet Tips for Handling Glass-Filled Rubies, click here.
The issue of glass-filled rubies has been an issue for several years. In the January 2008 MJSA Journal, Gem News columnist Deborah Yonick noted that the problem could be traced to the crackdown on Burmese gems in the early 2000s. Following the passage of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, which effectively banned the importation into the United States of any Burmese product (including rubies), buyers began turning to new ruby sources, primarily Madagascar. However, while some of the gem rough was attractive, much of it was riddled with cracks and fissures.
"To bring to market more affordable versions of higher-price goods that have no to mild treatment, " she wrote, "dealers in gem-cutting centers began enhancing poor-quality rubies by infusing high-lead-content glass into fractures-adapting a treatment from the emerald and diamond trades, [according to] Russ Shor, market analyst for GIA." The glass-filled rubies had flooded the market for three years, and buyers at that time were being cautioned to insist on full disclosure information-a warning being reiterated today.
For jewelers who have to work on pieces that contain glass-filled rubies, the challenges can be daunting. "Most glass-filled rubies on the market were probably too included or fragile to be faceted in the first place," says Arthur Skuratowicz, director of the Jewelry Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and author of the MJSA Tech Sheet noted earlier. "Although they may appear legitimate to the naked eye, they are heavily fracture-filled with a highly unstable material that does not hold up to even the most common jewelry practices."
Note: To read the MJSA Tech Sheet Tips for Handling Glass-Filled Rubies, click here.
According to the consumer alert, while the FTC Guides do not specify the exact wording to be used to identify these products or to disclose treatments, some leading international gemological laboratories are using classifications such as "composite lead glass filled ruby" or "hybrid lead glass filled ruby." For a vast majority of this material the Gemological Institute of America will not issue "ruby" reports, instead issuing identification reports containing the description "a manufactured product" with "special care required." The AGTA has determined to classify and describe this product as "composite lead glass filled corundum/red-special care required."
The alert also noted that, depending on the level of treatment and the lead-glass filling to which this material has been subject, and based on the definition of the "gemstone" contained in the FTC Guides, it may be improper to use the term "ruby" to describe these products.
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Trade Associations Issue Consumer Alert Warning of Glass-Filled Rubies
Several trade organizations, including MJSA, recently issued a consumer alert warning of increased supplies of glass-filled rubies being sold without the proper disclosure. The alert noted that although the stones have "significant fissures filled with relatively large quantities of lead glass," they are being sold as natural rubies in U.S. department stores and elsewhere.
In addition to MJSA, the other industry groups that signed on to the alert were the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), American Gemological Laboratories, Gem Research Swisslab, and the New York Gemstone Association.
Note: To read the MJSA Tech Sheet Tips for Handling Glass-Filled Rubies, click here.
The issue of glass-filled rubies has been an issue for several years. In the January 2008 MJSA Journal, Gem News columnist Deborah Yonick noted that the problem could be traced to the crackdown on Burmese gems in the early 2000s. Following the passage of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, which effectively banned the importation into the United States of any Burmese product (including rubies), buyers began turning to new ruby sources, primarily Madagascar. However, while some of the gem rough was attractive, much of it was riddled with cracks and fissures.
"To bring to market more affordable versions of higher-price goods that have no to mild treatment, " she wrote, "dealers in gem-cutting centers began enhancing poor-quality rubies by infusing high-lead-content glass into fractures-adapting a treatment from the emerald and diamond trades, [according to] Russ Shor, market analyst for GIA." The glass-filled rubies had flooded the market for three years, and buyers at that time were being cautioned to insist on full disclosure information-a warning being reiterated today.
For jewelers who have to work on pieces that contain glass-filled rubies, the challenges can be daunting. "Most glass-filled rubies on the market were probably too included or fragile to be faceted in the first place," says Arthur Skuratowicz, director of the Jewelry Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and author of the MJSA Tech Sheet noted earlier. "Although they may appear legitimate to the naked eye, they are heavily fracture-filled with a highly unstable material that does not hold up to even the most common jewelry practices."
Note: To read the MJSA Tech Sheet Tips for Handling Glass-Filled Rubies, click here.
According to the consumer alert, while the FTC Guides do not specify the exact wording to be used to identify these products or to disclose treatments, some leading international gemological laboratories are using classifications such as "composite lead glass filled ruby" or "hybrid lead glass filled ruby." For a vast majority of this material the Gemological Institute of America will not issue "ruby" reports, instead issuing identification reports containing the description "a manufactured product" with "special care required." The AGTA has determined to classify and describe this product as "composite lead glass filled corundum/red-special care required."
The alert also noted that, depending on the level of treatment and the lead-glass filling to which this material has been subject, and based on the definition of the "gemstone" contained in the FTC Guides, it may be improper to use the term "ruby" to describe these products.
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