Toronto’s HKD Diamond Lab is warning the trade to be on the lookout for six large synthetic and diffusion-treated sapphires that are being misrepresented as natural.
The stones range in size from approximately four carats to 10 carats and some carried appraisals.
The largest stone was an oval cut and did not have an appraisal. HKD examined the stone and found distinct curved bindings, which are indicative of a synthetic. A seven-carat oval stone was found to be diffusion-treated, which its appraisal did not indicate, although it was valued as such. Most of the other stones were determined to be synthetic.
