Geohavens: World of Rocks, Minerals, Gems and Gemmology

Thread	Views	Replies	Last Post
Gold prices Jewellery and Design	45	1	agianto 02-06-2009 03:59
"Red Sapphires" Rubies and Sapphires	327	11	aloysiushan 20-05-2009 01:13
Absorption Spectra Other Coloured Stones	93	6	aloysiushan 08-05-2009 06:30
So-called aquamarine Gemstone Identification	165	6	aloysiushan 24-04-2009 15:22
Classification of gems. Other Coloured Stones	347	5	aloysiushan 24-04-2009 15:20
Chemical Composition of Ruby Rubies and Sapphires	496	2	agianto 23-04-2009 17:39
New Sub Forums! Gemstone Identification	154	0	aloysiushan 23-03-2009 16:39
Naming Dyed Corrundums. Rubies and Sapphires	150	3	aloysiushan 04-03-2009 06:59
Cempaka Diamonds Diamonds	275	14	aloysiushan 02-03-2009 12:08
A common aftersale Question... Jade	223	10	aloysiushan 25-02-2009 05:13

Gemmological Association of All Japan website has an article on lead-glass treatment of ruby with interesting pictures that give an idea of the remarkable clarity-enhancing effect of the treatment. One surprising feature of the research is the finding that treated rubies may gain up to around 10% in weight from being glass-filled. As one might expect, they advise against immersing glass-filled rubies in jewellery chemicals such as pickling solution. The second page of the article shows pictures of how appalling the degree of fracture filling can be. After dissolving away the lead glass, the opaque heavily fractured ruby is left. Ruby filled with lead-glass in various degrees is currently circulating heavily in the market and care should be taken when dealing with ruby.

PARIS - A CHINESE bidder Wednesday snapped up an 18th-century Qing Dynasty seal for $3.3 million (1.68 million euros) at a Paris auction held despite protests from Beijing.

The white jade imperial seal, which Beijing says was looted from the Summer Palace in 1860, was acquired by a Chinese national who refused to give his name, telling reporters he was acting on behalf of an art collector in France.

NAIROBI (Kenya) - TWO men pleaded guilty in a Kenyan court on Monday to illegally possessing 700 kilograms of elephant tusks in what was believed to be the largest seizure of illegal ivory in recent years, a Kenyan official said.

New York--EGL USA has discovered the first visual observational criteria for identifying high-pressure, high-temperature treated (HPHT) diamonds, the lab announced recently.

According to a press release, the indicator, the "fluorescence cage," is a specific luminous, intersecting pattern along the cut edges and vertices of facets on particular colored HPHT-treated Ia diamonds with less than strong fluorescence.

The effect can be seen with a fluorescence microscope, and early results indicate that the effect is the result of the movement of optically active impurities triggered by the HPHT process.

Dr. Inga Dobrinets of EGL USA, along with Professor Alexander Zaitsev of the College of Staten Island/CUNY, completed the research to identify the cage.

"The visual observation of a fluorescence cage appears to be the most reliable feature used so far for the reporting of HPHT treatment," Dobrinets said in a media release. "A significant advantage of the cage-based identification is its comprehensive fidelity and technical simplicity. While the 'cage effect' may not appear on all HPHT-treated stones when it is evident, a conclusive identification can be made on that basis alone."

EGL USA Director Mitch Jakubovic said that in the coming months, the lab plans to use this breakthrough to provide HPHT identification in a more efficient and cost-effective way.

"At EGL USA, we always combine the best in science and service. This discovery, particularly the observational aspect, is a key example of that," he said.

According to the release, EGL USA will continue to research the cage effect, with final findings set for inclusion in a formal paper.

Source: National Jeweler

An interesting read about the latest gem intrigue: The Gem of Tanzania

Friends have returned from Myanmar and Thailand and have reported severe slow down in the gem trade. For all stones, except Jadeite-Jade. Chinese traders in Myanmar continue to bid by the millions of Euros for jadeite boulders when the rest of the world is in the throes of recession. Jade continues in its jaw-dropping surge in prices and is sure to set more world records with the rising of China. Soon, Jade will be dominating the price of rubies at the rate Jade gains popularity with the larger Eastern population. Surprisingly, even the West has caught up in Jadeite appreciation!

Prices and demand for burmese rubies and sapphires seemed to have cooled down some what after the US sanctions and financial crisis.

The price of Gold has also taken a beating, after emergent roots of recovery excited the world's economy back into a massive 5-week long exuberant rally. Whether this exuberance will last? Your guess is as good as mine - whatever it is, it does affect our gold prices!

Gold is generally seen as a safe haven in times of political and economic chaos because it has no counter-party risk and the metal's value is independent of any sovereign power.

Commodities headed for the biggest weekly advance in two months as a record decline in the dollar bolstered demand for raw materials as a hedge against inflation.

The dollar was headed for a record weekly drop after the Federal Reserve said it may buy $300 billion of government debt and more mortgage bonds, increasing the supply of dollars.

Gold has little intrinsic value; if it had never been coined its price would probably rest around the $250 per ounce of the late 1990s. However because of its history it is regarded as an inflation hedge and store of value, and that psychological association becomes tighter as inflation worsens and the gold price rises. Hence arguments about the irrationality of gold investment are wrong: in an inflation-prone environment belief in gold becomes self-reinforcing.

When we’re talking about topaz, imperial is a descriptive term for golden orangey-yellow hues, and precious is usually reserved for the more pink-red hues. However, these terms can, and often are, used interchangeably by gem dealers. Exceptional colors like these are only found near the town of Ouro Preto within in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil.

New diamond grading courses are soon being offered by HRD Antwerp, in Hong Kong. The effort is in close cooperation with the Hong Kong Institute of Gemmology. Two intensive programmes - the Certified Diamond Grader course and the ‘Diamond Rough Sorting Basic’ course will be tutored by an experienced HRD Antwerp instructor. The Certified Diamond Grader course delivers training in the principles of diamond optics, grading, identification and imitation detection.It will also offer students with extensive hands-on experience with a microscope and a loupe. The loupe teaches students the basic methods to sort diamonds in the various categories.

Georges Brys, CEO of HRD Antwerp NV, said “ It gives me great pleasure to see HRD Antwerp’s education programmes being linked to the respected Hong Kong Institute of Gemmology. Both our organisations will benefit from this mutual cooperation.”

The Lab will promote this initiative at the HK International Jewellery Show, HK Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Collector's Universe is pulling out of diamond grading and gem testing.

The gem testing side (AGL) will close, diamond grading (GCAL) will be reacquired by Don Palmieri's Palmieri Group

GCAL (Gem Certification & Appraisal Lab, founded by Don Palmieri) was acquired by Collectors Universe in 2005, AGL (American Gemological Laboratories, founded C.R. "Cap" Beesley in 1977) was acquired by Collectors Universe in 2006.

The uncertain outlook for revenues in the light of the economic crisis is blamed.

Author: Peter G. Read
Manufacturer: Butterworth-Heinemann
Number Of Pages: 358

Since Gemmology was published, readers have used it to gain an in-depth appreciation of the science of gemmology, its history, and practice. This third edition has been completely revised to cover the latest methods of gem enhancement and identification, as well as the latest test instruments and laboratory techniques. Gemmology serves as an invaluable reference guide for gemmologists, professionals, and students, and is an invaluable text for anyone in the gemmological profession. Also included are details of the Gemmological Associations Foundation Course together with advice on examination techniques.

For once, an alternate perspective about investing in diamonds

Responding to the global recession, the De Beers diamond cartel has cut back production at its South African mines and reduced the price of its rough diamonds between 15 and 20 percent. Even so, industry sources in South Africa are now estimating that diamond prices could fall another "59-63 percent." But the real fear of the diamond cartel is not just that retail prices will decline - it has managed that problem before - but that the public will begin to sell its hoard of diamonds, or what is called at De Beers "the overhang."

Gold rose last Friday to the highest point since July (2008), now approaching its all time high near $1,030 (based on nearest future at the time) which it hit in March, 2008 (almost a year ago). A rise above that price would likely be extremely positive. The volume and the number of open contracts is suggesting more activity by speculators and not physical demand.

RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) carried out its second resource action in three months yesterday. Laura Simanton, GIA's spokesperson, told Rapaport News that GIA management had hoped its 11 percent workforce reduction in December 2008 would prove deep enough to avoid additional layoffs in the U.S. "But the economy has been so bad, and it is not improving, so the business necessity drove us to take another step," she said.

A new page has been created in response to a forum query on jade jewellery maintainance. Read more.

All visitors are encouraged to participate in the forums so that all us enthusiasts can learn from each other!

OMAHA (Nebraska) - TIFFANY & Co says it sold US$250 million (S$376 million) of debt to billionaire Warren Buffett's company, and the jeweller plans to use the proceeds to refinance existing debt.

A set of regulations for ruby and jadeite importers has been issued by US Customs according to which companies must obtain exporter certification and evidence of tracking in order to ensure compliance with a law banning the importation of Burmese rubies and jadeite into the US.

The American Gem Trade Association said attendance was down at the 2009 AGTA GemFair Tucson, held Feb. 4-9, compared to last year and buying was conservative. Although buying activity was slower, many companies were still in Tucson to restock their inventory with gemstones, pearls, and finished jewelry.

“In this economy, we were extremely pleased to have 81 percent of our buyers attend this year’s GemFair,” said Douglas K. Hucker, AGTA CEO. “We had a lot of positive feedback from our exhibitors about the quality and quantity of the traffic on the show floor. Many buyers see a great opportunity in colored gemstones and pearls in 2009 and were on hand to diversify their merchandise mix.”

The GemFair saw a 19 percent drop in attending buyers; 7,640 this year versus 9,402 in 2008, AGTA said. Purchases were being made on the show floor, but at reduced levels compared to previous years. Several retailers reported having higher stock levels in their inventory and were primarily looking for special order and key stock pieces.

An interesting trend reported on the floor was an influx of new buyers with many exhibitors sharing that they had opened more new accounts this year relative to previous years, AGTA said. Exhibitors in the Spectrum of Design Pavilion at GemFair were also pleased with the level of business that was done this year. AGTA also enlisted 50 new members at the GemFair.

“Membership in AGTA is more valuable now than ever, especially for retailers and smaller businesses,” Hucker said. “By using the economies of scale of our membership, we can now offer many programs and sales tools with little or no cost to our member companies. Every savings that we offer our members helps reduce overall expenses and attending companies took advantage by joining the association at the show.”

Recent news over the diffusion of tourmalines especially those claiming to be Paraiba-type tourmalines have gripped the recent Tuscon Show and international markets worldwide.

The GIA Laboratory staff members John I. Koivula, Kevin Nagle, Andy Shen and Philip Owens claims that no diffusion in tourmalines has occurred, and the pink colour change/zoning around growth tubes in copper-bearing tourmalines is due to natural irradiation.

Another group lead by Robert James is insistent that these copper-bearing tourmalines have undergone surface diffusion in Thailand.

FRANCE is the birthplace of luxury fashion, and here the recession biting the world has the feel of a morality play.

As high-end consumers everywhere have suddenly suppressed their appetite for luxury goods, what was once considered a recession-proof industry has been hit hard.

High-end stores in the United States watched in horror as holiday sales tanked, while in Tokyo, Louis Vuitton canceled plans for what would have been its largest and most glittery store anywhere.

· Cempaka Diamonds	[14]
· "Red Sapphires"	[11]
· A common aftersal...	[10]
· Absorption Spectra	[6]
· So-called aquamarine	[6]