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RAPAPORT... Arthur Groom and Fernando Garzon of Clarity Enhancement Laboratory (CEL) in New York developed a new process whereby fissures in tourmalines can be enhanced for better face-up appearance. CEL's “ExCel” product for emeralds already has been proven to be stable, so the filler doesn't leak and change color, is properly disclosed and brings out the natural beauty of the stones.  Using the same science from ExCel, Groom and Garzon developed a new ExCel enhancement for tourmalines to reduce the visibility of fissures and other open inclusions. ExCel for tourmalines (used on the stone pictured at the top) is already being applied to thousands of carats of tourmalines that will find their way into the retail jewelry business, the men stated. Groom will be speaking in Jaipur on August 23 at the Jaipur Jewellers’ Association event regarding the new enhancement.
“What most jewelers do not realize, is just how much tourmaline has already been enhanced -- not just by us, but by others in the trade. Yes, our new tourmaline enhancement does mask the fissures in tourmalines very well,” Groom said. “But what we are really selling here is the stability factor. All of the other enhancements out there are unstable. Those enhancements all leak out and they all discolor. I’m surprised that no one has really complained about it. I guess they feel that this is traditional too,” Groom said. “We enhance only finished polished goods. We enhance it once, and it’s done forever. It’s stable,” he said.
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