GEMSWORLD | 28 | 2024 INNOVATION 创新科技 Heated sapphire from Madagascar with a discoid fracture around a solid inclusion 图中产自马达加斯加的蓝宝石经过加热处 理，固体内含物周围呈现圆盘状断口 Provenance continues to be a key consideration in the coloured gemstone trade, with prices and demand hinging largely on origins, colour classifications and treatments, according to the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS), Southeast Asia’s first professional gem testing laboratory and educational facility. Business at the Bangkok-headquartered gemmological laboratory has been robust post-pandemic, with demand strongest for reports that indicate origin of gemstones and heat treatment detection, noted AIGS Chairman Kennedy Ho. He shared, “Provenance determination remains an uncertain ‘science,’ and gem owners are always seeking the most desired Country of Origins to obtain the highest market prices for their gems.” The market generally prefers unheated rubies and sapphires, but substantial price differences have led to greater acceptance of treated coloured gemstones, particularly among Western clients, Ho revealed, adding that nice, unheated stones are increasingly difficult to source. Colour classifications likewise impact price levels. To establish rigorous standards on trade name usage and reduce ambiguity in the market, AIGS developed clear colour descriptions for its coloured gemstone classification reports. It introduced its colour code for Santa Maria aquamarines in June 2022 and launched Jedi spinel grading reports in October 2021. Ho said, “Our new colour descriptions and trade name usage have been very favourably received by the market. AIGS’ reports enable traders to communicate colour clearly, resulting in a better understanding and appreciation of the gemstone's most important attribute.” Trade expertise AIGS' access to all major gem mining and trading sources enables it to collect and report on the latest gemstone discoveries and determine firsthand advanced techniques of enhancement and treatment processes of coloured gemstones. Aside from examining most of the major rubies and sapphires in recent international auctions, the gemmological laboratory has encountered lesser known and less prevalent gemstone treatments in the oiling of spinels, radiation, high-pressure heat treatment of corundum as well as hybrid treatment of different processes, which include glass filling and diffusion. Its recent findings include an intact crystal of apatite in an unheated ruby from Mogok, Myanmar. AIGS also reported on a heated sapphire from Madagascar with a discoid fracture around a solid inclusion, where the thinness of the fracture induced light diffraction. Research and development are a strategic priority at AIGS, which was established in 1978. Bangkok-headquartered gemmological laboratory AIGS sets its sights on organic growth while meeting greater market demand for transparency and clarity in matters of origins, treatments and colour standards. 总部位于曼谷的亚洲宝石研究院 (AIGS) 致力促进 业务有机增长，同时满足市场对宝石原产地、加工处理和颜色标准的透明度方面的更大需求。 facilitates provenance requirements AIGS AIGS积极优化宝石溯源准则
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