The transition from the mine to the final polish is laborious and challenging. The majority of gemstone rough is not suitable for faceting and fashioning into exquisite jewelry. The miners and cutters must work together to utilize as much material as possible. Hundreds of years ago, techniques such as heating of rubies and sapphires, oiling of emeralds, and bleaching of pearls were developed to improve their appearance. Such practices are not harmful and are considered acceptable by the gemstone industry.

However, there are many unethical enhancements that exist in the marketplace and you should only deal with gemologically trained jewelers who can distinguish natural from altered gems. Glass filled, diffusion, and synthetics are readily offered undisclosed on the internet to the unsuspecting.