More misleading?

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OrangeLady

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Apr 10, 2024
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I watched the "gold under £100" hour with Hattie at 5pm. Followed by the hot pick at six, a silver pendant with champagne quartz.

Hattie was extolling the virtues of it being a natural quartz, unlike citrine or smoky quartz which are usually dyed.
This was repeated a few minutes later.

From my knowledge, citrines are natural or heated. And smoky quartz is natural or irradiated.

Is our accredited presenter correct?
I'd hate for the viewers to be misled.

(As an aside, in the gold hour, I nearly choked on my coffee when she pronounced Minas Gerais as mee-nass zjheh-r-arse).
 
You're right. Citrine and Smokey Quartz are not dyed. Neither is Champagne Quartz.

Champagne Quartz is usually natural but can be heat treated.

Citrine is usually natural or heat treated (heat treated Citrine started out as Amethyst - heat treatment changes its colour to yellow / orange).

Smokey Quartz is usually natural (brown) or irradiated (a very dark brown / blackish-brown that stands out like a sore thumb from untreated 'proper' Smokey quartz).

It really baffles me how these presenters get GIA AJG accreditation when they don't even appear to know the very basics of gemstones.
 
Thanks. Nice to know it's yet more bluff and fluster spouted. I feel sorry for the viewers who will take what's said at face value.

To be fair, anyone flicking over to Gem Collector later in the evening will have seen Foxy waxing lyrical about Zambian amethysts and their formation, saying that higher heat conditions create citrines. So it is still possible to get accurate information.
 
More confusing was Emily's description of the diamond clarity scale the previous evening. She included SI3 when running up the scale. As far as I know, the GIA scale (the organisation from which they get their accreditation...) does not have this grading. (I believe it's one introduced by EGL to bump up some of their I1 stones and is generally discredited. Might be wrong.)
 
TheManWithNoName said:
You're right. Citrine and Smokey Quartz are not dyed. Neither is Champagne Quartz.

Champagne Quartz is usually natural but can be heat treated.

Citrine is usually natural or heat treated (heat treated Citrine started out as Amethyst - heat treatment changes its colour to yellow / orange).

Smokey Quartz is usually natural (brown) or irradiated (a very dark brown / blackish-brown that stands out like a sore thumb from untreated 'proper' Smokey quartz).

It really baffles me how these presenters get GIA AJG accreditation when they don't even appear to know the very basics of gemstones.
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She specialises in diamonds, not the 'cheap' common stuff like quartz :p

And that aside, I always get confused which 'came first', in terms of amethyst and citrine. I know one is derived from t'other, but now I know in what order, thanks. And can't you get smokey quartz by heating another coloured quartz? Or am I imagining it?

OrangeLady said:
I've seen the SI3 grade mentioned, very recently. Confused me a little as I'd seen SI1-2 and I3.
Maybe we should ask Hattie to explain 🤣
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She could probably tell you that, as I mentioned 'just now' in my previous comment. ;)
 
OrangeLady said:
To be fair, anyone flicking over to Gem Collector later in the evening will have seen Foxy waxing lyrical about Zambian amethysts and their formation, saying that higher heat conditions create citrines. So it is still possible to get accurate information.
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Make a note of that date. It happens less frequently than a sighting of Halley's Comet.
 
Ant7t said:
And can't you get smokey quartz by heating another coloured quartz?
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I don't believe so because Smokey Quartz is the only variety of Quartz that requires irradiation to achieve its colour. It can be coloured by natural irradiation underground when it forms near to radioactive minerals - or it can have irradiation treatment after it's been mined.

Some varieties of Citrine can have a brownish hue - but those are much lighter in colour and generally not considered deep enough to be called 'smokey quartz'. Those are generally referred to as 'Cognac Quartz' or 'Beer Quartz' instead.

Heat AND irradiation would likely create a very dark smokey quartz - but heat alone wouldn't be sufficient.

OrangeLady said:
I've seen the SI3 grade mentioned, very recently. Confused me a little as I'd seen SI1-2 and I3.
Maybe we should ask Hattie to explain 🤣
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Forget SI3 - with all the misleading that goes on on Gemporia, they need investigating by MI5 and the FBI.
 
Ant7t said:
I've been into stones since before I went on a school trip to Castleton, and still I learn stuff. And as I'm here, as Madiera citrine is a darker colour? Natural or heated?
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Madeira Citrine can be natural or heated - but it's usually heated and has more of a darker orange to orangish-red hue.

The lighter, yellow material is usually natural.
 
AndyW said:
More confusing was Emily's description of the diamond clarity scale the previous evening. She included SI3 when running up the scale. As far as I know, the GIA scale (the organisation from which they get their accreditation...) does not have this grading. (I believe it's one introduced by EGL to bump up some of their I1 stones and is generally discredited. Might be wrong.)
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I think I'll apply for GIA accreditation myself! Come to think of it, why don't we all do it? Most people on here are far more knowledgeable than the current Presenters!
 
This is an untreated Smokey Quartz (Top):
Untreated.jpg



And this is a Smokey Quartz that has been achieved though irradiation (Bottom):
Irradiated.jpg
 
Rose de France said:
So it's impossible to make irradiated smokey quartz lighter?

And natural smokey quartz... Can we heat it to make it less dark?
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I believe so. All of the irradiated Smokey Quartz I've seen has always been almost black. Heating it too just makes it cloudier.

Heating natural Smokey quartz, from memory, I believe gives it a more golden brown / yellowish-brown colour, which they then refer to as Cognac Quartz, Beer Quartz or Champagne Quartz, depending on the saturation of colour.
 

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