Solo [The Shining Diamond] Treating Gemstones

Master Li teaches Kelski all about how to spot fakes, treatments and how to fix up gemstones themselves.

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The Diamond of Kalea is located on Kalea's extreme west coast and called as such because its completely made of a crystalline substance called Skyglass. Home of the Alvina of the Stars, cultural mecca of knowledge seekers, and rife with Ethaefal, this remote city shimmers with its own unique light.

[The Shining Diamond] Treating Gemstones

Postby Kelski on November 30th, 2014, 7:20 am

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Early Winter - 514 AV

Master LI had plans for Kelski. One of the things he wanted to teach her, along with her already growing skills of gem identification, was how to spot treatments on gemstones and how to treat them herself. If she could do some of the more labor intensive work around the workshop, then that freed him up for designing more unique pieces and cutting the more technical gemstone cuts that were required in their trade. And to that end, he started teaching Kelski about Gem Treatments. Her lessons began one fall morning when the threat of an early snow was in the air.

“Kelski, with your sharp eyes I want to train you to understand the differences between natural gemstones and those treated by jewelers. I also want you to learn these treatment techniques so we can take gems that are subpar and make them desirable to our customers. To that end, young lady, there are a multitude of techniques, some of which you are going to learn today and some of which we’ll save for another time. I’ll start with bleaching, work through surface coating, move on to dying, and then talk about fracturing or cavity filling and heat treatment.”
LI said, walking her to the philtering lab part of the workshop and getting her settled there.

“Bleaching? Is that turning a stone paler?” Kelski asked? She’d often been called ‘bleached’ in regards to her skinton because she was utterly pale. But she’d never heard of bleaching stones. That was an utterly new experience to her.

Master Li nodded.

“We make stone bleaches out of Vinegar, Lemon juice, and urine from strong sources of animals and birds. If you do not think it is too vulgar, I would ask that you start saving your urine for such things being kelvic.” Master Li said and walked to the back of the workshop, through another well secured doorway, and out to a small courtyard that had a discrete bucket off to the side. “Here is where we store it.” He said, gesturing to the bucket. “It’s a very destructive substance that can burn the skin just like lemon juice and strong vinegars.” He added, hoping she understood.

Kelski smiled, nodded her agreement, and tipped the lid on the bucket a bit to peek beneath. She was curious. She slammed the bucket back down again, groaning, because the acidic smell of the bucket burned at her nose. It was true they needed things and they had to do what they must to make sure the shop needs were met. This was indeed a small thing to ask.

Master Li continued, walking them back into the philtering section of the workshop.

“Now Kelski it’s important that you understand that while some of these processes can enhance a gemstones beauty and even improve its color or clarity, they can also really diminish the gemstone’s toughness and durability. I want to get your eye used to spotting these alterations so you can decide what’s legitimate to buy, sell, and disclose it to our customers if we decide too. Sometimes they don’t need to know. But sometimes treatments are short-lived rather than long-lasting and they will need to return the piece to us to get it retreated to maintain its appearance comparable to what it was when they purchased it.” Li said, looking thoughtful.
Last edited by Kelski on February 7th, 2016, 8:38 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


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Kelski
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[The Shining Diamond] Treating Gemstones

Postby Kelski on May 25th, 2015, 1:44 am

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Kelski was a bit lost. She didn’t see why people had to know what they did to something in order to buy it. She also didn’t understand why Li cared what happened to a stone after it was sold. Wasn’t the profit enough? It was what fed him and kept his shop open. But she didn’t ask any questions, instead she just stood there and nodded, trying to remember what he said.

“Okay… back to bleaching. We bleach and then often we dye gemstones especially in some of the more porous gems. Can you think of some stones that are porous, Kelski, that we might bleach to get better color?”
Kelski thought a moment then shrugged.

“Not exactly a stone, Master, but what about pearls? They come to us in such bad shape and usually fairly dark or ugly.” Kelski said, getting suspicious that this is why Master could always make something fanciful out of muddy looking pearls.

“Good good. You’re right. We bleach pearls to lighten and improve the overall look. We want them consistent and uniform in color. Thus, we bleach them. Almost every pearl is bleached. That goes for loose, strands, rings, and even earrings or brooches. If we don’t bleach, we don’t get consistent color.”
Master Li said.

Kelski nodded. She watched as Master LI took down from the shelf a strand of pearls that had been bleached and one that was untouched. The difference was remarkable.

He then gave her a small basket of pearls… a wire basket that gleamed particularly pale in color, and carefully showed her how to dip them in a mixture that smelled of apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and urine. Kelski then took the wire basket, dunked it into the vat of bleach, and waited. “How long do you leave them in?” Kelski asked, curious.

Li looked thoughtful. “I check them. I just keep checking every ten or fifteen chimes… until you get them the color you want them. It’s different from pearl to pearl and batch to batch. Also, our mixture loses its potency after a while and more lemon juice, vinegar or urine needs to be added. You will know by how well the pearls are bleaching and how the mixture smells so pay attention to how it does now. It’s just about perfect.” Li said, letting Kelski fuss with the particulars.

The batch took just under a half hour. After she was done, at Master Li’s instructions, she washed the pearls thoroughly and put them away carefully. He’d promised to show her how to drill and strand them the next day.

And as she was washing and storing the pearls, Li continued his bleaching lecture. “Jadeite is often bleached too, Kelski. It has a lot of unwanted brown in it and bleaching turns that brown white and the jade color bright green. The process makes the jadeite porous so we are carefully not to go to heavy on it. We then often dye the jade again greener than before and have a stunning piece to finish with.” He added, happy to be lecturing her.

“We also bleach tiger’s eye, chalcedony, and coral.” He added, giving her pieces of each to add to her bleaching soup. “Watch the coral, it bleaches fast and is very fragile because its so porous.” He said, bending over to check what she’d already done. He nodded when he was satisfied, watching over her fussing with the mixture and the stones already in it.
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They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
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Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
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[The Shining Diamond] Treating Gemstones

Postby Kelski on January 22nd, 2018, 2:14 am

Kelski

Experience: Jewelcrafting +2, Observation +1

Lore: JC: Difference between natural and artificial gemstones, JC: Bleaching Gemstones, JC: How To Make Bleach, JC: Gemstone Dyeing, JC: Treating Pearls, JC: Which Stones To bleack – Jadeite, Tiger’s Eye, chalcedony, and Coral
Image
They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
User avatar
Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (2)
Mizahar Grader (1) Trailblazer (1)
Overlored (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Sunberth Seasonal Challenge (1) Power Fork (1)


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