Treatments

Save E-mail Print Most Popular RSS Reprints

AGA giving retailers scoop on composite rubies

November 23, 2009

New York--In response to a recent Good Morning America news segment that revealed glass-filled "composite rubies" being sold without proper disclosure, the Accredited Gemologists Association (AGA) is offering retailers information on how to identify and care for the treated stones.  
 
The ABC News morning show aired an expose earlier this month in which department store salespeople appeared on camera selling "ruby" jewelry and saying the stones needed no special care.  Subsequent testing of the jewelry at a gemological lab revealed that the stones were actually "composite rubies," a composition of multiple pieces of poor-quality material fused together with red colored lead-glass, and that some stones contained more glass than ruby.  The news segment centered on the fact that consumers were not being told what they were really buying, but it did not advise buyers of the need for special care.

After receiving numerous questions after the segment aired, AGA has announced that it is adding a hands-on conference on the topic in Tucson this coming February, and has posted information on its Web site about composite rubies.

"Composite rubies put jewelers at unusually high risk for inadvertently misrepresenting what they are selling, for failing to disclose the need for special care, and perhaps even worse, for being held responsible by a consumer for damaging their stone while making a piece of jewelry or doing a routine resizing or repair job," the AGA said in a release. Handled improperly during repairs or resizing, the stones can deteriorate, or even crumble into pieces at the bench, and for those wearing jewelry made of the treated stones, even lemon juice splattered on a stone's surface can leave ugly etching, the organization said.
 
"In such cases, the [Federal Trade Commission] requires disclosure of the need for special care," the AGA release said.  

According to AGA, most retailers don't knowingly misrepresent what they are selling, but in some cases they are unwittingly buying the stones from dealers who do not properly disclose what the stones are, claiming that they are simply "treated ruby."

"These are an altogether different type of product," the AGA says.  "The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) defines composite stones as: 'artificial products composed of two or more, previously separate, parts or layers assembled by bonding or other artificial methods.'"

Some internationally respected labs are now identifying these stones as "composite ruby."

AGA has added a hands-on session during its annual conference in Tucson on Feb. 3, coinciding with the AGTA GemFair, to provide participants with an opportunity to see and examine composite rubies first-hand, so that they will be able to spot them and distinguish them from regular "treated" rubies.

For more information on composite rubies, or to register for the conference, go to AccreditedGemologists.org or call Jan Giamanco at (619) 501-5444.
Save E-mail Print Most Popular RSS Reprints
Post a Comment
* Required field
* Author:
* Comment:
 

MMore Colored Stone Treatment News

More Colored Stone Treatment News

More Like This

Design Portfolio

Daily News

Get breaking news from the industry's premier information source.
See Sample & Privacy Policy

advertisement

Video

Small multi video player located on right rail of NJN site

advertisement

Sponsored by:

Retailer Toolbar

America's Best Jewelers
Join the ONLY Social Network for Jewelry Retailers. Get access to expert content, peer best practices, and more.
Start networking today.
Newsletters
Newsletters
Topic-specific newsletters that deliver the latest news on jewelry, diamonds, wholesale operations and high-volume buying directly to your in-box.
Reader Connect
ReaderConnect
Supplier information presented with every article, bringing you related, actionable content on every topic.
Jewelry Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages
A comprehensive listing of associations, organizations, suppliers and services for the jewelry industry.
Classifieds
Classifieds
A comprehensive listing of job postings, product offerings and other materials for sale for the jewelry industry.
NJN Customer Connect
CustomerConnect
The most sophisticated suite of marketing services available for jewelry retailers, from Internet tools to data marketing.

advertisement