Fullmoon Magic Crystals

Yellow Quartz- Known commercially as "Oro Verde Quartz", this is irradiated clear quartz and is available in colors ranging from gold to yellow/green. See illustration on right. The resulting color is not always stable and may be reversed by heating the stones to high temperatures

Citrine Quartz- Much of this in the brighter, yellow-gold colors such as that on the right is heated amethyst, not citrine. It naturally ranges in color from orange to orange/red, yellow, gold, brown/orange. The treated material is not citrine magically or for healing purposes, it is still amethyst.

Aqua aura quartz- This is not a natural quartz, it is a clear quartz crystal coated with gold which is then subject to electrical current in a vacuum chamber. As the crystal is heated to a high temperature, the gold bonds to the surface of the quartz to create a transparent aquamarine color. The coating is permanent.

Black onyx- This stone is almost always agate that has been impregnated with sugar, which is then carbonized by acid to turn the stone black. This treatment results in a stone that is uniformly black with no evident layering of the color. Onyx naturally tends to have banded layers of color. Agate and onyx are both microcrystaline quartz. The treatment is stable and durable, it is not affected by water or wear. The method is to soak the stone in a sugar solution, then in concentrated sulfuric acid. This treatment produces a dyed black chalcedony, sold as black onyx. This treatment cannot presently be detected but because natural gem-quality black chalcedony is extremely rare, this dye treatment is the norm (Hurlbut and Kammerling, 1991, p. 177).

Emerald- You can assume every cut emerald on the market is treated unless it is specifically stated otherwise. Nearly every emerald is oiled to improve it's appearance and hide flaws. Emeralds are naturally subject to inclusions which may be severe, impregnating them with oil tends to minimise the inclusions and improve the color saturation. Emerald has the longest history of fracture filling, due to its popularity and its tendency to be highly included and fractured. Natural oils have traditionally been used for fillings, such as Canada balsam, cedarwood oil, mineral oil, cooking oil, and even motor oil! Cleaning the stone and heat can remove these oils. Recently synthetic resins have been used, such as Opticon, which is more permanent than the natural oils. Treated surfaces are best detected with magnification, in reflected light; dark-field illumination is best for internal break fillings. A flash effect, blue (indicates epoxy resin), orange-yellow (probably epoxy resin), or yellow (sometimes the residue left after the filling has come out), can confirm the presence of resin. Flattened gas bubbles can be trapped in the filling material, slight colored outline of the fracture, and/or areas of low relief can be clues to fracture filling.

Topaz- The blue is almost always irradiated and heated. Naturally smoky in color, the material is treated and the color changes to various shades of bright blue. The original stone was topaz, and the resulting stone is still topaz, only the color is changed. Brown to orange topaz is colored in part because of chromium, and also because of crystal structure damage. Heating this topaz repairs the structural damage, reducing the yellow component, and turning the brown to orange topaz pink. The material has stronger dichroism than untreated pink topaz. Topaz that is irradiated produces a crystal structural damage, creating a yellow and blue color; heating follows irradiation, reducing the yellow component, and leaving blue as a final color. Blue topaz is the most commercially produced irradiated gemstone in today's market. Natural blue topaz is pale but radiated material creates a deep blue, referred to as Electra Blue, Swiss Blue, and Max Blue, among other names. Irradiating topaz may produce a secondary yellow to brown color that is converted to blue with heat treatments. "Linear accelerator (linac) treatment is a preferred enhancement method for topaz today (Hurlbut and Kammerling, 1991, p. 171). Darker blues are attained, called sky blues, and the process must be followed by heating. The "London Blue" coloration is created using irradiation from nuclear research reactors, which produces residual radioactivity causing the material to be stored until the induced radioactivity decays to acceptable levels.

Turquoise- Natural turquoise of lower quality is often very crumbly and porous so it is often sealed with wax or plastic resin to stabilize it, minimise staining, to protect it from acidic skin oils and improve the color. Sometimes turquoise is completely created from ground up turquoise scrap that is impregnated with plastic and heated under pressure to rebond it into a solid mass of material which is then cut as if it were a natural material. These treatments are not disclosed to the buyer generally.

Aquamarine- Aquamarine is often heat treated to reduce the green/blue color and improve the blue color. It is safe to assume most have been heated. Heating turns the originally blue-green stones to light blue. The natural color is on the right in the photo, the heated result on the left. This change in color doesn't affect the stone magically or for healing purposes.

Hiddenite- The more common variety of spodumene, Kunzite, pink spodumene, can be irradiated to produce the green variety, known as hiddenite, but it is not a stable color.

Heliodor- Ionizing radiation creates crystal structure defects, which can take common, inexpensive, colorless beryl and turn it to golden beryl or heliodor.

Zircon- Reddish-brown zircons can be heated to 900-1000 degrees C, in a reducing atmosphere, to produce blue, colorless, or some undesirable color. The undesirables are then heated in an oxidizing environment, converting them to colorless or yellow, red, or orange colors.