Caustic oils used in treating rough sapphires

I received a heavily oiled rough sapphire specimen from an Ebay purchase I made recently. First I’m annoyed that the ad did not disclose the fact the specimen was oiled, Second, The amount of oil on the stone was ridiculous. It was literally dripping in oil. I mean enough so that the bubble wrap was dissolving and the tape used in the packaging process was too. Furthermore after handling the stone for just a short time my hands started to burn and after washing were left with visible welts and redness. I couldn’t put my finger on what scent it was that I was smelling coming off the stone either. What oiling treatment could this be attributed to? I can’t say I know much about gem oiling but I’m pretty sure this was not cedarwood oil. This was done to a 115 Ct, rough yellow sapphire from India and the certificate was from a GGL lab but the card is most definitely a fraud since the URL is an actual site and GGL has no record of the item number registered with their lab.My hands are still burning.What do you think was used? Should I seek medical attention?

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If you are asking if you should seek medical attention, the answer is, "YES! SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION. When in doubt go to ER or urgent care.

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Welcome here. This should be a lesson. DO NOT BUY GEMS ON EBAY.
Point.

We. Need to stop buying stones from Asia. Most are fakes and by law we cannot get refunds or replacements…sorry… The post will not accept stones, metals, jewelry. Etc.

Hope you got to see a doctor and your burns are gone. There is no reason to oil a sapphire with cedar oil, once reserved for Colombian emeralds. This oil has long been replaced by colored resins to strengthen the stone. I use oil for sapphires when I want to observe a rough by giving it transparency, it is quite effective to observe the presence of inclusions. Water also works. I use edible oil. In your case everything is suspect. more than 100 carats even in yellow, it is very rare, therefore very expensive. No need for the seller to go through Ebay. It is probably a synthesis. But the use of a corrosive product is very serious. Were you able to get him identified? I bought and sold a lot of stones gemstones and collector items on eBay. It’s not all scams, but you have to read the ads carefully. And personally I have very little confidence in Indian sellers when it comes to precious gemstones.
Good luck !

Something very disturbing going on with the seller, the sale looks to stink as much as the oil on the stone!

As Pierre said, you only use oil on sapphire as a visual aid, if I own the stone I would tend to polish a couple of windows and light from the side or end with a fine, narrow beam of light. Under a 10X you will see all you need to see. Side light also works well without polishing.

Surgical gloves from here and probably acetone to try and clean the stone so you can check that it is what it’s supposed to be, then if not, Paypal for a refund.

Horrendous IMDone, hope you’re OK.

well not sure what oil or compound you may have had on the gem, I am aware though that when they are going to glass fill ruby they usually treat the rough with Hydrofluoric acid to get rid of the rubbish out of the cracks and fissures in the gemstone before heating and glass filling. Not sure if this gem may have had this treatment??? and residue was left on the gem only guessing here but very strange.

Please seek help immediately! Good luck and be careful.

KW