Gemstone treatment
Irradiation, Quartz
Irradiation can create or intensify smoky, yellow, greenish, or purple colors, often followed by controlled heating.
01
What to look for
Irradiation can create or intensify smoky, yellow, greenish, or purple colors, often followed by controlled heating.
02
What it means
Irradiation modifies quartz color centers. The result may imitate natural smoky quartz, citrine, or other commercial colors.
03
Expert move
Very dark smoky quartz or unusual saturated quartz colors should be treated as potentially irradiated unless documented.