A pair of emerald earrings with six round brilliant-cut emeralds (t.w. 63.96 cts.) recently sold at Christie’s Auction for $410,700. Significantly, they were accompanied by an American Gemological Laboratory (AGL) report stating that the Colombian emeralds had been enhanced by the organic polymer ExCel.

Arthur Groom, a retail jeweler and emerald wholesaler whose company co-developed the ExCel enhancement, believes the sale might signify the turning point at which the industry finally accepts ExCel as a legitimate treatment.

Fernando Garzon of the Clarity Enhancement Laboratory (CEL) in New York, Groom’s partner and the developer of the ExCel enhancement process, says, “The biggest hurdle is the word ‘polymer.’ It’s usually the kiss of death.”

He believes ExCel’s lifetime guarantee was the reason why the earrings made a positive showing at auction.