Age Dating
In 2017, SSEF became the first gem laboratory worldwide to introduce, as an additional service to clients, age dating of pearls using carbon-14 (14C). This scientific method can provide the pearl industry with new valuable information about the age of loose pearls and pearls in jewellery.
Contact us for more information on this service.
Age determination can support evidence of historic provenance in the case of antique jewellery and iconic natural pearls. It can also be used to identify fraud in cases where, for example, younger pearls are mounted in historical jewellery items, or have been treated so that they appear older than having been farmed during the 20th century. 14C age dating can be used to obtain evidence to support a decision whether a pearl is of natural or cultured formation. This is because methods to commercially cultivate pearls from certain mollusc species began only during the 20th century. The oldest natural pearls examined using this method by SSEF were recovered in the famous Cirebon shipwreck off Java in Indonesia and were dated back to the turn of the first millennium (11th century).
For more information about this method also see our presentation :
Age dating of gemstones, pearls and corals: Fascinating insights in their formation, origin and historic provenenance
Presentation by Dr. Michael S. Krzemnicki, November 2024
Age dating of burmese jadeite
Recently, the SSEF received a strand of Burmese jadeite jade beads for testing. The beads were slightly graduated with a diameter ranging from 8 to 11 mm and exhibited a beautifully saturated and homogeneous green colour.
Age dating quality control
Knowing the age of a gemstone can be valuable when determining its origins. Unfortunately, most gemstones cannot be dated directly. However, it is possible to determine the age of certain inclusions commonly found in gemstones.
The age of gems (2025)
Presentation by Dr. Michael S. Krzemnicki at the 2025 AGA conference in Tucson in February 2025.