Shakespeare, speaking through Marc Anthony at the funeral of Julius Caesar, observed, “. . . the evil mean do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.” But perhaps that doesn’t always apply to that simulated individual, the modern business and its brand name. A brand, once established, seems to have a life of its own. People purchase it because they have confidence in its reliable quality; and even when the brand falls on hard times, it has its adherents. This residuum of good will and confidence, of course, must have been part of Fiat’s calculation when it opted to take its current role in Chrysler; and ultra high end jewelry operations seem to have been equally charmed. Many have become parts of large jewelry/luxury conglomerates in the recent past with old sins forgotten; but while the names of these changed corporate entities are probably irrelevant, some of their stories are not. This is a small one.

A dozen years ago or so, one of the world’s very best known jewelers offered a magnificent ruby and diamond necklace to its well healed clientele; indeed, calling it magnificent may be understatement. It was set with more than a dozen very large rubies of seemingly fine clarity and color; and each, of course, was accented with diamonds. The operant word here is “seemingly”. Very soon after it was offered for sale questions about the origins and treatments to which the rubies had been subjected were raised; as in the opinion of many the most gem-savvy gem dealers and gemologists there were more large, fine rubies in the necklace than had been available, world-wide, at the time it was conceived and fabricated. In the ensuing controversy the necklace was submitted for evaluation to an authoritative gem laboratory known for its probity. Its examination of the rubies indicated that they had been subjected to heating, (to improve their color) and had, as well, been subjected to some process that had “healed” many of the internal fractures that had previously marked the gems. The jeweler, supported by many in the business, replied that heating rubies to enhance their color was so customary a treatment that it could be presumed and did not need to be revealed. As for the fracture filling, well that was not deliberate and merely coincident to the heating process; and therein lies the core of the question. Was the fracture filling by design or was it coincidental to the medium in which the gems had been heated? Naturally, in a business so dominated by geologic time, things have moved slowly to a conclusion, but last week a major lab produced a delicate wording to describe the process, “Heating residues are deposited along healed fractures during the heating process.”

When rubies are heated, it has long been customary to coat them in some sort of “fluxing agent or agents”; that is as defined by Merriam-Webster, “a substance used to promote fusion (as of metals or minerals).” While this most certainly must have had its origin in the desire to create a flux of color from the gem’s “skin” inward; some fluxing does more than that. With the right science, the flux melts into all of the fissures in the gem that reach its surface; and as the gem and its new friend cool, a little magic takes place. Small amounts of ruby are grown within the fissure and lie layered between solidified, morphed bits flux and some inescapable voids. It may sound like a small change, but the effect of such treatment can, and usually does, greatly enhance the gem’s appearance of clarity and so its beauty. Clarity enhancement by design or as a coincidence? You be the judge.

While there are also clarity and color enhancements that can be made to diamonds, responsible jewelers reveal and market them as enhanced. As an extra guarantee of quality, one might want to have a gem lab’s report establishing that the diamond you’ve purchased has not been clarity or color enhanced – or you can just be prudent and smart to begin with. That is, you can buy Hearts On Fire. It is the world’s most perfectly cut diamond; so naturally, each significant Hearts On Fire has been submitted to a laboratory for evaluation and has a serial number laser etched on its edge (don’t worry, you can only see it under strong magnification) to verify its connection to that report. Reports aside, let’s consider why you want to buy a diamond. If you’re a man, you usually buy it to say “I love you”; and you want that statement to ring with authority and conviction. A cheap diamond, and there are so many ways to cut corners when cutting a diamond, won’t have the blinding brilliance and fire that is the birthright of each and every Hearts On Fire. Only Hearts On Fire will reliably tell her just how important she is to you; so with your “due diligence” it is the only diamond you should buy. Check out our Hearts On Fire collection on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select the very best Hearts On Fire for you. We’re Hursts Berwyn Jewelers and we have the stuff of dreams waiting for you.