Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality

Hebah Abdel-Wahab; Tamara Gund; Joseph Bozzelli

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12

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Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality

Hebah Abdel-Wahab^*, Tamara Gund, Joseph Bozzelli

Published in American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering (Volume 7, Issue 2)

Received: 30 November 2023 Accepted: 15 December 2023 Published: 26 December 2023

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Abstract

Corundum mineral species include rubies and sapphires. The mineral corundum is a natural gemstone mined from earth, and is colorless in its purest form. Variations of its color can be caused by trace elements that become part of the mineral crystal structure. Ruby is a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) in a closed packed hexagonal structure and is a well-known corundum. Ruby is pink-red to blood red colored gemstone, and its color arises from chromium impurities. The color is determined by three criteria, saturation, tone and hue. The price and quality of the rubies is determined by its clarity, color, size, with the color being the most important factor in determining its grade. The objective of this work is to increase the quality of the red ruby stones by reducing their deep red color after the chemical treatment of the ruby ores. The current treatment involves the usage of hydrofluoric acid, borax, and the heating of the ruby ores at temperatures that exceeded 1300°C. The lead glass treatment of the stones should involve the usage of a stronger lightening agent to minimize the lightening process time, the treatment should also involve the usage of a colorful and suitable metal oxide to increase the stones’ quality instead of the white borax, and the heating temperature of the stones should not exceed 900C to prevent the deepening of the color of the stones and to prevent the color from reverting to the original deep red color before the chemical lightening diffusion treatment.

Published in	American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12
Page(s)	20-23
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Chemical Treatment, Red Rubies, Increase Stone Quality, Lead Glass Treatment, Stone Color Lightening

References

[1]	GIA, “Ruby Description”, 2023, https://www.gia.edu/. Accessed 8 November 2023.
[2]	Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, “Ruby”, 5 October 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org. Accessed 8 November 2023.
[3]	With Clarity, “Baby Gemstone”, 26 May 2023, https://www.withclarity.com/. Accessed 8 November 2023.
[4]	Themelis, T., 1992, “The Heat Treatment of Ruby and Sapphire”, Bangkok, Thailand, Gemlab Publishing. ISBN 0940965100.
[5]	Vincent Pardieu Lead Glass Filled/Repaired Rubies Archived August 31, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences Gem Testing Laboratory. February 2005.
[6]	Richard W. Hughes (1997), Ruby & Sapphire, Boulder, CO, RWH Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9645097-6-4.
[7]	Milisenda, C C (2005). "Rubine mit bleihaltigen Glasern gefullt". Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gemmologischen Gesellschaft (in German). Deutschen Gemmologischen Gesellschaft. 54 (1): 35–41.
[8]	"Lead Glass-Filled Rubies". GIA Global Dispatch. Gemological Institute of America. February 16, 2012. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
[9]	IGS, International Gen Society, “Corundum Treatments”, 2023, https://www.gemsociety.org/. Accessed 8 November 2023.
[10]	Navratan, The Online Gem Bazar, “Different Types of Rubies and their Treatments”, 10 November 2021, https://www.navratan.com/. Accessed 8 November 2023.
[11]	Queensborough Community College, “Stone Enhancement”, 2023, https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/biologicalsciences/faculty/rscal/gems/enhance.html. Accessed 8 November 2023.
[12]	Lapigems, “Gemstone Treatments - Coating and Chemical Treatments”, 2023, https://www.theraregemstonecompany.com/. Accessed 8 November 2023.
[13]	Favre, Henri A.; Powell, Warren H., eds. (2014). Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry: IUPAC Recommendations and Preferred Names 2013. Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 131. ISBN 9781849733069.
[14]	Harris, Daniel C. (2010). Quantitative Chemical Analysis (8th international ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman. pp. AP14. ISBN 978-1429263092.
[15]	"Hydrofluoric Acid". PubChem. National Institute of Health. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
[16]	Aigueperse, Jean; Mollard, Paul; Devilliers, Didier; Chemla, Marius; Faron, Robert; Romano, René; Cuer, Jean Pierre (2000). "Fluorine Compounds, Inorganic". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi: 10.1002/14356007.a11_307.
[17]	"CDC – The Emergency Response Safety and Health Database: Systemic Agent: HYDROGEN FLUORIDE/ HYDROFLUORIC ACID – NIOSH". www.cdc.gov. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
[18]	CDC, “Facts About Hydrogen Fluoride (Hydrofluoric Acid)”, 4 April 2018, https://emergency.cdc.gov/. Accessed 8 November 2023.
[19]	PubChem. "Borax". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
[20]	"CompTox Chemicals Dashboard". comptox.epa.gov. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
[21]	Borax (Na₂B₄O₇•10H₂O) – Sodium Borate – Occurrence, Discovery and Applications". Amoz.com. August 16, 2004.
[22]	WebMD, “Borax”, 20 August, 2022, https://www.webmd.com/. Accessed 8 November 2023.
[23]	American Gem Society, “Fun Facts about Rubies”, 12 July 2021, https://www.americangemsociety.org/. Accessed 14 November, 2023.

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APA Style

Abdel-Wahab, H., Gund, T., Bozzelli, J. (2023). Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality. American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, 7(2), 20-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12

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ACS Style

Abdel-Wahab, H.; Gund, T.; Bozzelli, J. Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality. Am. J. Chem. Biochem. Eng. 2023, 7(2), 20-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12

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AMA Style

Abdel-Wahab H, Gund T, Bozzelli J. Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality. Am J Chem Biochem Eng. 2023;7(2):20-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12,
  author = {Hebah Abdel-Wahab and Tamara Gund and Joseph Bozzelli},
  title = {Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality},
  journal = {American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {20-23},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajcbe.20230702.12},
  abstract = {Corundum mineral species include rubies and sapphires. The mineral corundum is a natural gemstone mined from earth, and is colorless in its purest form. Variations of its color can be caused by trace elements that become part of the mineral crystal structure. Ruby is a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) in a closed packed hexagonal structure and is a well-known corundum. Ruby is pink-red to blood red colored gemstone, and its color arises from chromium impurities. The color is determined by three criteria, saturation, tone and hue. The price and quality of the rubies is determined by its clarity, color, size, with the color being the most important factor in determining its grade. The objective of this work is to increase the quality of the red ruby stones by reducing their deep red color after the chemical treatment of the ruby ores. The current treatment involves the usage of hydrofluoric acid, borax, and the heating of the ruby ores at temperatures that exceeded 1300°C. The lead glass treatment of the stones should involve the usage of a stronger lightening agent to minimize the lightening process time, the treatment should also involve the usage of a colorful and suitable metal oxide to increase the stones’ quality instead of the white borax, and the heating temperature of the stones should not exceed 900C to prevent the deepening of the color of the stones and to prevent the color from reverting to the original deep red color before the chemical lightening diffusion treatment.
},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality
AU  - Hebah Abdel-Wahab
AU  - Tamara Gund
AU  - Joseph Bozzelli
Y1  - 2023/12/26
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12
T2  - American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
JF  - American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
JO  - American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
SP  - 20
EP  - 23
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2639-9989
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12
AB  - Corundum mineral species include rubies and sapphires. The mineral corundum is a natural gemstone mined from earth, and is colorless in its purest form. Variations of its color can be caused by trace elements that become part of the mineral crystal structure. Ruby is a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) in a closed packed hexagonal structure and is a well-known corundum. Ruby is pink-red to blood red colored gemstone, and its color arises from chromium impurities. The color is determined by three criteria, saturation, tone and hue. The price and quality of the rubies is determined by its clarity, color, size, with the color being the most important factor in determining its grade. The objective of this work is to increase the quality of the red ruby stones by reducing their deep red color after the chemical treatment of the ruby ores. The current treatment involves the usage of hydrofluoric acid, borax, and the heating of the ruby ores at temperatures that exceeded 1300°C. The lead glass treatment of the stones should involve the usage of a stronger lightening agent to minimize the lightening process time, the treatment should also involve the usage of a colorful and suitable metal oxide to increase the stones’ quality instead of the white borax, and the heating temperature of the stones should not exceed 900C to prevent the deepening of the color of the stones and to prevent the color from reverting to the original deep red color before the chemical lightening diffusion treatment.

VL  - 7
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Hebah Abdel-Wahab

Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics, Middlesex County College, Edison, United States

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Tamara Gund

Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, United States

Contact Email
Joseph Bozzelli

Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, United States

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APA Style

Abdel-Wahab, H., Gund, T., Bozzelli, J. (2023). Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality. American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, 7(2), 20-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12

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ACS Style

Abdel-Wahab, H.; Gund, T.; Bozzelli, J. Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality. Am. J. Chem. Biochem. Eng. 2023, 7(2), 20-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12

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AMA Style

Abdel-Wahab H, Gund T, Bozzelli J. Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality. Am J Chem Biochem Eng. 2023;7(2):20-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12,
  author = {Hebah Abdel-Wahab and Tamara Gund and Joseph Bozzelli},
  title = {Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality},
  journal = {American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {20-23},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajcbe.20230702.12},
  abstract = {Corundum mineral species include rubies and sapphires. The mineral corundum is a natural gemstone mined from earth, and is colorless in its purest form. Variations of its color can be caused by trace elements that become part of the mineral crystal structure. Ruby is a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) in a closed packed hexagonal structure and is a well-known corundum. Ruby is pink-red to blood red colored gemstone, and its color arises from chromium impurities. The color is determined by three criteria, saturation, tone and hue. The price and quality of the rubies is determined by its clarity, color, size, with the color being the most important factor in determining its grade. The objective of this work is to increase the quality of the red ruby stones by reducing their deep red color after the chemical treatment of the ruby ores. The current treatment involves the usage of hydrofluoric acid, borax, and the heating of the ruby ores at temperatures that exceeded 1300°C. The lead glass treatment of the stones should involve the usage of a stronger lightening agent to minimize the lightening process time, the treatment should also involve the usage of a colorful and suitable metal oxide to increase the stones’ quality instead of the white borax, and the heating temperature of the stones should not exceed 900C to prevent the deepening of the color of the stones and to prevent the color from reverting to the original deep red color before the chemical lightening diffusion treatment.
},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Color Lightening Chemical Treatments for the Improvement of the Deep Red Colored Ruby Stones’ Quality
AU  - Hebah Abdel-Wahab
AU  - Tamara Gund
AU  - Joseph Bozzelli
Y1  - 2023/12/26
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12
T2  - American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
JF  - American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
JO  - American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
SP  - 20
EP  - 23
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2639-9989
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcbe.20230702.12
AB  - Corundum mineral species include rubies and sapphires. The mineral corundum is a natural gemstone mined from earth, and is colorless in its purest form. Variations of its color can be caused by trace elements that become part of the mineral crystal structure. Ruby is a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) in a closed packed hexagonal structure and is a well-known corundum. Ruby is pink-red to blood red colored gemstone, and its color arises from chromium impurities. The color is determined by three criteria, saturation, tone and hue. The price and quality of the rubies is determined by its clarity, color, size, with the color being the most important factor in determining its grade. The objective of this work is to increase the quality of the red ruby stones by reducing their deep red color after the chemical treatment of the ruby ores. The current treatment involves the usage of hydrofluoric acid, borax, and the heating of the ruby ores at temperatures that exceeded 1300°C. The lead glass treatment of the stones should involve the usage of a stronger lightening agent to minimize the lightening process time, the treatment should also involve the usage of a colorful and suitable metal oxide to increase the stones’ quality instead of the white borax, and the heating temperature of the stones should not exceed 900C to prevent the deepening of the color of the stones and to prevent the color from reverting to the original deep red color before the chemical lightening diffusion treatment.

VL  - 7
IS  - 2
ER  -

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