Treated Sapphire Inclusions

First Published: 7 September 2026

Treated Sapphire Inclusions

Explore treated sapphire inclusions in Hyperion, the Lotus Gemology inclusion database. Hyperion contains photomicrographs of inclusions and internal features in natural sapphires that have undergone treatment, documented with information on geographic origin, treatment, lighting conditions, field of view, photographer and published references.

Frosty melted “snowball” crystals provide evidence that this Madagascar sapphire was heat treated.
Orange crystals seem to float against a midnight blue sky, with angular growth zoning visible in the background, in this sapphire from New South Wales, Australia. Specimen courtesy of Terrence Coldham.
Small spotted platelets spread across the blue skies of this Madagascar sapphire.
This heated sapphire shows signs of treatment with these shallow, heat-altered fingerprints.
This elongated cavity is starting to show the signs of melting as a result of heat treatment as the edge become rounded.
A melted crystal with a frozen gas bubble inside is suspended over a backdrop of partially dissolved silk which displays “inkspot” internal diffusion.
Tiny melted crystals and heat-altered fingerprints suggest that this sapphire has undergone heat treatment.
“Ink spot internal diffusion” surrounding partially resorbed rutile silk indicates that this stone has been heated. During treatment, the rutile dissolves, sending titanium into solution, thus coloring the stone blue around the silk.
A glassy discoid around this mica crystals suggests that its pink sapphire host was heat treated.
Triangular growth zoning in a Madagascar sapphire. Milky regions contrasting with deep blue zones are common in Madagascar sapphire.
During heat treatment, primary rutile crystals leech titanium into the surrounding corundum, coloring it blue. This process is termed “internal diffusion.”
Melted crystals surrounded by heat-altered fingerprints in a heat-treated Madagascar sapphire.

Search the Complete Hyperion Database

Treatment can alter existing inclusions and produce new microscopic features in sapphire. These may include changes to mineral inclusions, altered rutile silk, tension fractures, healed fissures, residues and other features associated with heating, diffusion, fissure filling and other treatment processes.

Treated Sapphire Inclusion Photomicrographs

The Hyperion treated sapphire gallery includes microscopic features documented in natural sapphires subjected to treatment. Each entry identifies the recorded treatment and is accompanied by descriptive information and, where available, references to the gemological literature.

What Inclusions Can Reveal About Sapphire Treatment

Microscopic examination is an important part of detecting treatment in sapphire. The appearance and alteration of inclusions, fractures and growth features can provide evidence of treatment and, in some cases, information about the processes to which a sapphire has been subjected.

Hyperion combines inclusion photomicrography with supporting gemological information so that treatment-related features can be compared with documented examples in natural sapphire.

About Hyperion

Hyperion is the Lotus Gemology searchable inclusion database. It allows users to browse gemstone inclusions by gem type, geographic origin, treatment and keyword.