Table of ContentsDye TreatmentSmoke TreatmentSugar/Acid TreatmentEthiopian Opals, many of them are sold in their natural state. Others are treated, for example by dye, smoke and sugar/acid treatments. All these treatments make the opal cheaper, and when the opal is natural, it is much more expensive than the treated ones. Treated opals can cost less or more than natural opals, it depends on the cost of the process that opal goes through. The first treatment I will discuss is the tincture treatment, then the smoke treatment and finally the sugar/acid treatment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayDyeing TreatmentHydrophane opals, like those found in Ethiopia, are easy to dye because their millions of tiny holes naturally absorb liquids. As it dies, the opal seems to suck out all the color, due to the pores inside. People who are familiar with opals can identify dyed opal by sight when an abnormal color is used. For example, a neon blue color is easy to say that the color is fake, but other people feel that it is natural. However, the practice of slightly enhancing an opal's natural color with dye can be much less obvious. In these cases, dye treatments can often be detected by microscopic examination or by cutting the opal to see if the color is concentrated near the surface. Some large buyers of cut opal or finished jewelry require the seller to provide samples of the raw opal when making large purchases. The samples are used for testing and comparison purposes to ensure that the finished stones and jewelry they are purchasing have not been treated. Color enhancements can increase the market value and price of the opal if this is not obvious. For this reason, if a buyer desires a naturally colored opal, it is important to test to confirm that the color is not caused by a dye. Smoke treatmentSmoke is a suspension of very fine particles in the air or gas. Fine particles of smoke can enter the pores of an opal and change its natural color. Smoke treatment can be done by wrapping the opal in paper and heating the paper to a temperature producing combustion. Burning paper releases fine particles of black soot; a black substance that enters the pores of the opal and darkens its color. The darker color contrasts with the color scheme of the opal, making it stronger and more obvious. Smoke treatment can sometimes be detected by looking for black soot particles during microscopic examination. These can often be seen individually or in concentrations along cracks in the opal. Laboratory tests, such as Raman microscopy, have the ability to detect smoke processing because they can detect carbon, which is normally absent in opals of volcanic origin. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper now from our expert writers. .Get a Custom EssaySugar/Acid TreatmentThe sugar/acid treatment is done by soaking the opal for a few days in a warm solution of sugar water, then immersing the opal in concentrated sulfuric acid. The acid melts the sugar in the pores of the opal, producing dark-colored carbon particles and spots. This imparts or darkens a gray, black or brown color to the opal. Like smoke treatment, these can be detected by..