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CSI TUCSON: Is Robert James Furnishing Ocular Proof of Tourmaline Tampering?

Ph.D. Joel Arem reports on Mr. James’ Show-and-Tell Session,
Feb. 6th, 2009.

A natural Paraiba Tourmaline from Paraiba, Brazil.

A diffusion- treated Mozambique tourmaline from Thailand.

It was billed as a seminar. But it felt more like a press conference at which a man who has made sensational accusations must defend his charges and himself. Robert James showed evidence of something irregular inside tourmaline, topaz, and garnet processed in Bangkok. But because he called what he saw “grain-boundary diffusion,” critics and even those sympathetic to him found semantic grounds to dispute his findings. A word to the wise: it reminded me of the joke about a man whose wife catches him in bed with another woman. After denying adultery, he asks his wife huffily, “What are you going to believe? Your own eyes or the words of your husband?” Joel Arem decided to pay attention to Mr. James photographs and not his terminology. Convinced James has seen something momentous, Arem prepared a preliminary report which is to be followed by a major article in the May-June issue of Colored Stone on the latest advances in what he calls “color introduction into gems.”

Joel Arem's report begins here:

ISG MEETING TUCSON 2009

Of all the seminars and special events at the Tucson Gem Show this year, one of the most significant, and yet perhaps least publicized, took place at the Hotel Arizona on Feb. 6 at 3 PM. Robert James, Director of the ISG (International School of Gemology) presented to a standing-room only audience the results of months of careful investigation of possible new treatments of a variety of gem materials.

James had been asked some months ago by students and jewelers to look into the possibility that so-called “andesine” appearing in large quantities in the marketplace might have been treated and marketed without proper disclosure. Though not equipped scientifically or instrumentally to handle such an assignment, James took it on because, as he said, “nobody else seemed to be doing it.” The results of his work were laid out in a series of newsletters and reports in late 2008 and early 2009 and clearly indicated that the “andesine” sold in huge quantities was copper-diffused to produce strong red and green colors. The lack of disclosure, and consequent legal action against a TV shopping channel, was widely publicized in the trade press. The existence of this treatment process is now an accepted reality. Robert James is to be credited with bringing this vital issue into public awareness and focus.

From Feldspar to Tourmaline

A natural tricolor tourmaline crystal from California, USA.

At considerable personal expense, James contracted with several independent laboratories to perform detailed spectroscopic analyses of the “crud,” as well as chemical scans of the interiors of a number of cut gemstones. The results indicate abnormally high levels of calcium, iron, and manganese. James also discovered that the crud is strongly magnetic. These findings are intriguing and may result in magnetism becoming an important property to consider in gemstone analysis.

Tourmaline samples obtained directly from Nigerian and Mozambique sources did not show any unusual features. All the observed anomalies were restricted to gemstones obtained from Thailand. Similar patterns of treatment were observed on samples of tsavorite garnet and precious topaz.

The View from the Back of the Room

A diffusion- treated Mozambique tourmaline crystal from Thailand.

It seems possible that treatments are being carried out by Thai dealers and the resulting gems are being sold without proper disclosure. If this is true, the Thais are not likely to be forthcoming about the details of their process. An understanding of the nature of these treatments is therefore a matter of analysis and deduction. Laboratories around the world are being alerted to the existence of these anomalous gemstones, and research on them is expanding. However, at this point all we have is a collection of observations by Robert James.

Science moves forward by testing theories. “Knowledge” is merely the most current theory that has yet to be disproved by new information. It is therefore critical to develop a working model that accounts for the current observations. This model can then be tested against new experimental results and modified (or discarded) accordingly. The writer will shortly be suggesting a model that seems to account for all the current observations. This model will be described in the May/June 2009 issue of Colored Stone.

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