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Gems Colored by Irradiation:

Blue topaz is the most popular irradiated gemstone on the market currently. More recently, various types of high-intensity radiation, often followed by heat treatment, have been used to enhance the color of gemstones. Some of the colors produced by irradiation include:

· Green, blue, yellow, orange and pink in diamonds
· Blue and green in topaz,
· Red in tourmaline and zircon
· Yellow and blue in beryl,
· Orange and yellow in sapphire,
· Brown and purple in quartz,
· Gray and black in pearls,

The laboratory irradiation of gemstones is an accelerated version of a natural process. Radiation emitted by naturally radioactive elements located in the Earth's crust has also influenced the color of many gemstones.
In today's world, the use of any radiation can be controversial; the irradiation of gemstones is no exception. However, laboratory-irradiated gemstones which meet U.S.Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) guidelines are not considered a health risk.

Safety Norms & Regulations:
In 1960, the NRC established safety guidelines for distributing materials that have been irradiated in nuclear reactors. Present regulations affect the jewellery industry, specifically in regard to neutron-irradiated gemstones.
Generally three types of facilities irradiate gemstones: Gamma-ray facilities, linear accelerators, and nuclear reactors. When gemstones are irradiated,they may become radioactive depending on the type and energy of the radiation used for treatment.Whoelsale ammonite Jewellery Some types of radiation, like Gamma-rays, don't make gemstones radioactive. Others, such as electrons from linear accelerators, make some gemstones radioactive, depending on the kind of gemstone and the energy of the electrons. And finally, neutrons from nuclear reactors make all gemstones radioactive.
The NRC only regulates gemstones irradiated in nuclear reactors. Other radiation facilities are normally overseen by the states with NRC approval. Presently, there are no laws governing naturally radioactive gemstones. For example, zircons and ekanites, which contain uranium and thorium, are not regulated because their radioactivity is not man-made.
Although NRC regulations are complex, they basically state that neutron-irradiated gemstones cannot contain more than 0.09 to 1.0 nanocuries of radioactivity per gram of gemstone. Each level depends upon the type of radioactive nuclides present in the gemstone. At 'a rfldioactivity level of 0.4 nanocuries per gram, it would take almost three thousand carats of irradiated gemstones to equal the amount of radioactivity already present in the body of an average person. Wholesale druzy Jewellery

International standards for acceptable radioactivity levels for irradiated materials are set to a higher limit of two nanocuries per gram for all nuclides. Gemstones at this level cannot be sold in the U.S. until their radioactivity decreases to the limits defined by the NRC. Most radioactive nuclides found in irradiated gemstones have such short half-lives that the excess radioactivity will generally fall below NRC limits by radioactive decay within a year or two after irradiation. At these levels, gemstones are considered legally non- radioactive.

Mandatory Radiation Testing:
The NRC requires that neutron-irradiated gemstones be tested for radioactivity before they are sold in the U.S. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) offers radiation testing to both the jewellery industry and the general public. It launched the service officially on June 1, 1992.
Gemstones submitted to the GIA Gem Trade Laboratory for radiation testing will undergo five separate analyses to detect and identify possible radioactivity. The gem­stones are first checked for radioactive surface contamination. They are then washed to ensure they are free of any contamination. Next, the gemstones are surveyed with a Geiger Counter. Those that are easily identified as being radioactive are removed and stored for radioactive decay.
Even if a Geiger Counter does not register any radioactivity, a gemstone can still be slightly radioactive. Further testing is necessary to detect small quantities of radioactive material.
The gemstones are then analyzed with a high-purity germanium(HPGe) Gamma-ray spectroscopy system to identify the radioactive nuclides that may be present. Each gemstone is then individually analyzed with a sodium iodide (Nal) Gamma-ray detector system to establish the actual radionudide concentration levels. Finally, each gemstone is surveyed with a thin scintillation defector to check for radionuclides that only emit beta radiation.
Gemstones that pass these testing criteria are returned to the owner along with a Radiation Testing Report confirming that the radioactivity levels of the gemstones are below those set by the NRC.

Disclosure of Treatments & Enhancements: Wholesale dictoric Jewellery
Global organizations of the gems sector have been endeavoring to make disclosure of gems treatment mandatory, so that the buyer may not remain in the dark about the vital fact that the goods he is purchasing have been enhanced artificially.
Since we last met in print, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (W.F.D.B) has prescribed full disclosure of treatment which diamonds have been subjected to. Similarly, the latest global United Nations meeting on gemstones

held at Hong Kong has made full disclosure of gems enhancement compulsory. CIBJO has also ordained full and unambiguous disclosure.