Publish Year: 2014 Title: More of the Interesting and Unusual – Tucson 2014 Abstract: Figure 1. This emerald crystal, reportedly from Muzo, Colombia, is approximately 35 mm long and contains an eye-visible multi-phase inclusion. The gas bubble within the inclusion moves a few millimeters as the crystal is tilted. Photo by Duncan Pay, courtesy of William Johnson, Natural Formations.

Some of the most captivating Tucson exhibits were among the hardest to categorize, although many could be described as phenomenal. From asterism and opalescence to bold and bright patterns, Tucson attendees encountered an abundance of fascinating and unique finds this year.

	Gary SommerConsilio Designs, LLC

The array of bright colors seen in Taiwanese “seven-color jade” comes from serpentine and actinolite within the stone.
Gary Sommer of Consilio Designs, purveyor of “seven-color jade” out of Taiwan, says that each of his decorative pieces is different, and customers tend to get overwhelmed because they like every one they see. The tough and glossy pieces, from vases to tables, are splashed with bright color, a look Sommer says is caused by serpentine and actinolite in the mix. The one-of-a-kind items are manufactured in Taipei.

	Dmitriy BelakovskiyExotic Minerals of Russia

Key concepts of synthetic quartz growth include an understanding of crystallography and the use of seed crystals in an autoclave.
Trace elements like iron and cobalt, combined with high pressure and high temperature in an autoclave, produce brand-new crystals in vivid colors from Dmitriy Belakovskiy’s Exotic Minerals of Russia. The New Jersey company grows synthetic crystals from natural rough that are both beautiful and useful.

Belakovskiy is curator of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum in Moscow; Exotic Minerals of Russia, his side business, sells Russia-grown synthetic quartz, synthetic diamonds, and synthetic moissanite. His most interesting specimens show the result of synthetic quartz growth on natural quartzite: The regeneration of broken natural quartz crystals with synthetic tips produces a result that bears a strong resemblance to natural quartz.

However, Belakovskiy emphasizes that synthetic quartz can be distinguished from natural by its lack of horizontal striations perpendicular to the c-axis. These striations are always present in natural quartz.

In addition to sharing his unique creations and their genesis, Belakovskiy sheds light on the relationship of the seed plate used to initiate and control growth and the finished synthetic crystal. According to Belakovskiy, natural quartz seeds produce clear synthetic crystals with fewer defects.

	Jim BushnellPyramid Peaks Gems

A lapidary reveals how to spot star and cat’s-eye effects in rose quartz rough and orient the material to best display these phenomena.
Colorado Springs company Pyramid Peaks Gems brings asteriated rose quartz to market, which conceals its winking stars and eyes within cloudy rough. Cutting to reveal the hidden phenomenon to its best advantage takes a lot of practice, according to owner Jim Bushnell.

	Artur F. Silva Jr.AFS Gems

Through a combination of heat and irradiation, a Brazilian company is producing treated quartz with “kunzite” or “strawberry” colors that are completely stable.
Out of Minas Gerais, Brazil, come two types of treated quartz offered by Artur F. Silva Jr. of AFS Gems. A heated, irradiated quartz in a lilac hue reminiscent of kunzite holds its color well and shows either a milky quality or an opalescent effect when polished. Silva’s “strawberry” quartz of mottled pink and white is heat treated only, and at first blush looks nothing like the plain brownish-gray material it once was.

	Paul CoryITECO, Inc.

An initiative to raise market awareness of certified untreated U.S. gemstones such as turquoise from a mine near Kingman, Arizona, and benitoite from a single source in California.
Paul Cory of Iteco has the blues—from rare sky-blue turquoise specimens to all shades of blue benitoite, faceted and sparkling with dispersion. Find out how his Mountain Certified program informs consumers and learn more about a unique, rare gem whose supply is fast waning.

Benitoite is the true California gem; the mineral occurs only in the Golden State in only one mine in the world. According to Cory, benitoite’s high dispersion and refractive index make its lively blues more akin to diamond than to sapphire. Cory’s connection with benitoite began in 2001, when an associate of his asked him to find a use for the broken crystals associated with mining benitoite; over five years, Cory accumulated a considerable amount of rough benitoite suitable for cutting faceted stones, which he now offers for sale.

According to Cory, because the only commercial benitoite mine is now shuttered, except to collectors, the unique gem is becoming scarce indeed: “When it’s gone, it’s gone!” he asserts.

Cory’s enthusiasm for the blues extends to rare turquoise for collectors, in colors ranging from green to light blue to dark blue, from the Kingman mine in Arizona. The specimens, produced from botryoidal growth around a small quartz nucleus, have received no stabilization treatment.

Cory plays a central role in developing a stronger market awareness for gemstones originating in the United States, as well as for the value of untreated gemstones. To that end, he has initiated a program, “Mountain Certified,” for designating gems from the United States that are untreated and in whose mining he has been personally involved.

Figure 2. This spectacular 7,043 ct turquoise nugget was recovered from the Lavender Pit mine of Arizona in 1934. Lavender Pit was adjacent to the much larger Bisbee copper mine. Much of the turquoise from Arizona’s mines was reputedly smuggled out by copper miners, and thus referred to as “lunch bucket” turquoise. Photo by Eric Welch, courtesy of Studio GL.

Figure 3. These curious examples of “crazy quartz” are reportedly from basalt cavities in the Gobobos Mountains of Namibia. These well-formed colorless quartz crystals are capped by smaller amethyst-colored tips in a “reverse scepter” formation. The crystal cluster is approximately 6 cm wide. Photo by Eric Welch, courtesy of Stefan Reif, Reif Collection.

Figure 4. These slices of liddicoatite tourmaline display colorful growth zoning. The largest slice measures approximately 30 cm. Photo by Duncan Pay; courtesy of Frederic Gautier, Little Big Stone.
Among the other fascinating materials seen in Tucson were a Colombian emerald crystal with an eye-visible multi-phase inclusion (figure 1), a large nugget of turquoise (figure 2), some interesting quartz from Namibia (figure 3), and large colorful slices of liddicoatite tourmaline (figure 4). @topic:2


Publish Year: - Title: Dona Dirlam Abstract: Dona Dirlam’s playthings of choice growing up in Minnesota were a collection of Oregon agates. Pursuing this hobby led to a master’s degree in geology and geophysics and a position as a geology and earth science teacher in Madison, Wisconsin. Yet her interest in gems never wavered, and when she heard about GIA’s degree programs, she moved to Santa Monica to pursue her GG. Thus began a lifelong affiliation between Dirlam and GIA that has changed the face of the Institute’s library and research resources.

Upon completion of her GG in 1979, Dirlam was encouraged by Dr. Vincent Manson to work as a diamond grader until a position in research became available. While she waited, she made such use of the Institute’s library that she caught the attention of Richard Liddicoat, who was seeking someone with a background in gemology, geology and teaching to revamp the Institute’s library. He found a willing and able candidate in Dirlam, who assumed her new responsibilities as GIA’s librarian in July 1980. Since December 1995, she has been director of the Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library and Information Center, which under her leadership became the world’s largest and most prestigious library of its kind.

Among Dirlam’s successes during her tenure with the Institute were the 1987 acquisition of the 14,000-volume John & Marjorie Sinkankas Gemological Library, a negotiation that took four years to complete. She tirelessly lectured on gemological subjects and served as abstracts editor of Gems & Gemology from 1981 to 1994. She also serves as the secretary of the Geo-Literary Society. To date, Dirlam has also coauthored 11 articles for the journal, five of which received a G&G Most Valuable Article award. Her contributions to both GIA and the field of gemology led to widespread accolades, including the 1989 Outstanding Gemologist Award from the Association of Women Gemologists and GIA’s Staff of the Year in 1991. GIA selected her for its highest honor, the Richard T. Liddicoat Distinguished Achievement Award, in 2004.

Under Dirlam’s 34-year leadership, the library has expanded from a 2,000-book installation to a state-of-the-art facility. Over 16,000 books and 1,800 videos are in circulation, along with CD-ROMs, audio CDs, and subscriptions to over 230 periodicals in numerous languages, with access provided to students, staff, and the general public. The Cartier Archives and Rare Book Repository Collections, which houses the Sinkankas collection, has expanded from an initial 14,000 books to 41,000 resources. The Visual Resources Library, also maintained by the Carlsbad library, contains over 143,000 images and assets to enhance the Institute’s course and publication materials. Dona Dirlam’s groundbreaking efforts on behalf of the Institute’s research, education, and outreach capabilities have kept GIA at the forefront of gemological scholarship. @topic:11


Publish Year: 2018 Title: Large Faceted Afghanite Abstract: An exceptionally large and clean 1.91 ct faceted oval brilliant afghanite was recently submitted to GIA’s Carlsbad lab. Photo by Robison McMurtry.

Afghanite is a blue mineral named in 1968 after its discovery in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan. It is often found in association with lapis lazuli and sodalite (R.V. Gaines et al., Dana’s New Mineralogy, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1997, p. 1634). It has a chemical formula of (Na,Ca,K)8(Si,Al)12O24(SO4,Cl,CO3)3·H2O (Gaines et al., 1997). Since 2003, there have been only a few mentions in the literature of gem-quality afghanite (Winter 2003 GNI, pp. 326–327; Spring 2008 GNI, pp. 79–80; Fall 2011 GNI, p. 235; Spring 2015 GNI, p. 83), with no reports of finished faceted stones larger than 1.5 ct. Five gem-quality samples ranging in size from 2.87 to 7.25 ct have been reported; however, all five were cabochons and contained numerous inclusions of lazurite (Winter 2003 GNI, pp. 326–327).
For these reasons, the 1.91 ct transparent faceted oval brilliant afghanite recently submitted to the Carlsbad lab for an identification report was truly exceptional (see above). The only inclusions in the stone were minor fractures. To date, it is the largest facet-grade afghanite on record in the GIA gem identification department. Standard gemological testing revealed that the stone was doubly refractive and uniaxial, with a refractive index (RI) of 1.522 to 1.530 and a specific gravity (SG) of 2.52. These results are consistent with the published properties of afghanite (Gaines et al., 1997). Additionally, an early report on gem-quality afghanite notes that “an interesting feature of afghanite that should prove useful in its identification is its strong, bright orange fluorescence to long-wave UV radiation,” a property that this remarkable stone exhibited (Winter 2003 GNI, p. 326–327). Further confirmation of the stone’s identity was obtained by using Raman spectroscopy, which yielded a spectrum that matched that of known afghanite samples. @topic:1


Publish Year: 2017 Title: Celebrating 50 Years of Tsavorite Abstract: Figure 1. A selection from Campbell Bridges’s tsavorite collection, displayed at the 2017 AGTA Tucson Gem Fair. This collection includes some of the most important pieces found in the past half century. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy of the Bridges family.

The year 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of Campbell Bridges’s discovery of tsavorite. At the 2017 AGTA Tucson Gem Fair, the Smithsonian Institution hosted a selection of historical pieces from Bridges’s personal collection to commemorate his life’s work (figure 1).

Starting in the front row and proceeding from left to right, we begin with two crystals that are some of the first tsavorites Bridges discovered, near Komolo, Tanzania, in 1967. These are among the first samples that were analyzed to identify this new gemstone.

Next, the tsavorite in matrix represents the 1970 discovery in Taita, Kenya, at Bridges’s GG3 mine. Also represented from this location is a lovely tsavorite “thumbnail” unearthed in 1971. Some years prior, Bridges was engaged by Tiffany & Co. as a consultant. He was the first to bring tanzanite to the United States, and was credited with the discovery of tsavorite in Tiffany ads introducing the gem to the public in 1974 (figure 2).

Figure 2. In this 1973 photo, Campbell Bridges (right) discusses tsavorite with Henry B. Platt, former president of Tiffany & Co. Photo courtesy of the Bridges family.
The three large tsavorite rough samples weighing more than 5 grams each were found in 1980 at a source Bridges christened the Scorpion mine. The vibrant yet rich pure green to bluish green hue became a well-known characteristic of material from this mine. Over the following four decades, the Scorpion mine would prove to be the world’s most prolific producer of fine tsavorite.

The next six rough pieces, weighing 5 to 25 grams, were recovered in 1992 from the famed Bonanza tunnel at the Scorpion mine. The Bonanza tunnel is the richest tsavorite-bearing reef zone at Scorpion and has yielded some of the finest pockets the world has seen. The “saddle reef structure,” a series of recumbent folds, is the characteristic geological feature identified by Bridges at the Scorpion mine. This distinctive structure has led to the mine’s rich and consistent production throughout its history.

Rounding out the Scorpion mine material in the top left corner is an extremely rare terminated euhedral tsavorite crystal in matrix. As tsavorite occurs under very high pressures and temperatures, it is often highly fractured in rough form, making such an unblemished and well-formed specimen a remarkable occurrence.

In the top right corner, we have a tsavorite nodule in matrix that opens a window into the gem’s formation and its associated minerals. This nodule was extracted in its entirety from the Bonanza reef three decades ago and kept intact.

On display (again, see figure 1) are tsavorite, surrounded in the matrix by tanzanite, calcite, pyrite, quartz, and graphite. Tsavorite and tanzanite can occasionally occur together, though their formation is separated by approximately 100 million years. Tsavorite forms under prograde metamorphism and tanzanite under retrograde metamorphism.

Keeping guard on this tsavorite bounty are the namesakes of the Scorpion mine. These pewter scorpions were directly cast from actual scorpions that patrolled the mine. Needless to say, it’s advisable to check your shoes in the morning… Also on display is one of Campbell Bridges’s earliest business cards, from 1967.

In the top row are four extraordinarily fine, loupe-clean faceted gemstones. None of these were ever on public display before the Tucson exhibit. The first is a lovely 25.10 ct “mint” green grossular garnet, unearthed in 1971 from Bridges’s GG2 mine in Taita, Kenya. Interestingly, this color of mint green garnet has been found at all of the Bridges mines in Tanzania and Kenya over the decades. A strike may yield both richly colored high-chromium and vanadium-colored saturated tsavorite, as well as the far lighter, mint green garnet within the same pocket. This variety is most prevalent in Merelani, Tanzania, but also occurs near Komolo, Tanzania, as well as in Taita. While such material came from all three locations in the early years, it simply was not marketable back then. It was not until the 2000s that a real market for these garnets developed.

Next is an exceptional 31.27 ct oval from Merelani with a vivid blue-green color. This tsavorite retains fantastic brilliance even in low lighting, while maintaining a sufficient level of saturation under strong lighting.

Last but certainly not least are two tsavorite cushions. As to their origin, the Bridges family wishes to preserve an element of mystery. The 33.55 ct square cushion on the right is a loupe-clean gem exhibiting an exceptional blue-green color that is well saturated yet extraordinarily vivid. After a lifetime of dealing with tsavorite, the author considers this one of the finest examples ever produced between 10 and 50 carats.

The largest of the four faceted gemstones in this display is a 58.52 ct cushion. It is another loupe-clean example representing the pinnacle of what is possible in tsavorite. It also exhibits a strong blue-green color that glows in any lighting environment. This is the finest tsavorite above 50 ct observed by this author. Given its one-of-a-kind nature, the Bridges family felt it most appropriate to name the gem the “Golden Jubilee” in honor of tsavorite’s 50th anniversary.

As tsavorite and the legacy of Campbell Bridges celebrate 50 years, the Bridges family wishes to thank the Smithsonian and the colored gemstone community for their support throughout the years. @topic:2


Publish Year: - Title: 30-Year Marine Corps Veteran Fulfills Dream of Becoming a Field Gemologist Abstract: Retired Master Gunnery Sergeant Manuel Diaz, GG, has found that his extensive experience in “jungle environments around the world” prepared him well for the rigors of field gemology. Here, Diaz traverses jungle-covered kharsts while climbing the Cung Truoi spinel mining cliff in Vietnam. Diaz, an independent gemologist, joined GIA's team from Bangkok on a field expedition there in the spring of 2015. Photo by Vincent Pardieu/GIA

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on Nov. 28, 2016 and has been updated.

Whether exploring jungles in Madagascar or riverbeds in San Diego County, Manuel “Manny” Diaz likes to say he’s “living the dream.”

And what a dream it is: after retiring from the United States Marine Corps with more than three decades of service and 20 deployments, Diaz finally pursued his decades-long goal of earning a Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA and began to work as an independent field gemologist.

For Diaz, the gem and jewelry trade is no mere industry, but a family that embraced and mentored him as an 18-year-old Marine.

“On my first overseas assignment, I was on ‘R&R’ and was introduced to a gem broker who worked with Australian opals,” Diaz says. “He was friendly and open to questions and gave me my first introduction to the ‘mine to market’ concept – then he introduced me to many others along that journey. I was befriended worldwide by brokers, miners, cutters, jewelers − even pearl divers for the Bahrain royal pearl beds.”

Manuel Diaz, third from left in the back row, served 20 deployments over three decades in the United States Marine Corps. Diaz, who earned his GIA Graduate Gemologist diploma immediately after his 2014 retirement from the Marine Corps, is pictured here on his final deployment, to Afghanistan. Courtesy of Manuel Diaz
The more Diaz traveled with the military, the more he met like-minded gem enthusiasts. In 1987, while stationed in the Philippines, he began to research how he could gain a formal education in gems and minerals.

“I came across GIA in a reference book, and promised myself that I would attend any and all courses they offered when I completed my Marine duties,” he says.

As Diaz gained a working knowledge of gems, minerals and the supply chain, his information proved useful for military operations. On one combat deployment, Diaz was required to investigate and advise how Marines might reduce conflict at a nearby marble quarry. Hostile forces there were taking over the deposits, stealing income and trade revenue from the rightful owners.

“Some personnel immediately recommended air and artillery bombardment to the quarry,” Diaz says. “But having an experienced knowledge of mining operations, I quelled those ideas for a more tactical approach. The quarry began operations that soon deterred the hostiles and kept them from taking advantage of the deposits. It reduced the income base for hostile forces and increased revenue for the indigenous people.”

Diaz also found that his fellow Marines wanted to tag along on his exploratory trips during their “R&R” breaks.

“There were times I would take 10-20 people on a trip and teach them about gems and participate in their personal trades,” he says.

Manuel Diaz, addressing the crowd at his 2014 retirement ceremony at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, says that no one in his family was surprised at his career change. He spent his off-time on international deployments exploring and learning about the local gem and jewelry industry. Courtesy of Manuel Diaz
Diaz was able to pursue his dream in 2014 when he retired as a Master Gunnery Sgt. from the First Marine Expeditionary Force at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton – just a 20-minute drive from GIA’s World Headquarters in Carlsbad. He used the G.I. Bill to begin his studies online and on campus immediately and by the end of the year, earned his AJP, Graduate Pearls and Graduate Gemologist diplomas.

As a student, Diaz attended a lecture by former GIA field gemologist Vincent Pardieu, and approached him to talk afterward. Soon after, Diaz was on his first expedition as an independent field gemologist, traveling along with a GIA team to Vietnam. It turned out that Diaz – who had extensive experience in expeditionary engineering, international security, emergency response management and military special operations (including serving the U.S. Department of State as a Security Guard Detachment Commander for consulates and embassies in Athens, Greece and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) – was well-equipped to handle the rigors and often-harrowing conditions of field expeditions.

“I had 30 years to hone my skills in packing and personal equipment preparation for long durations,” he says. “Nowhere else could a person gain the experience and knowledge given a Marine going through deployment preparation and execution. Our thought process is different – foreign for someone who has not had to survive a life-altering experience.

“It’s not that there are no new experiences for me, but I travel prepared, regardless of location and time on deck,” says Diaz, who is also certified as a master scuba diver. “With the ‘ruby rush’ expedition to Madagascar, for example, I was familiar with the conditions – it wasn’t the first time I visited Madagascar – and I have a huge amount of experience in jungle environments around the world.

“Know yourself and seek self-improvement – no one is going to do it for you,” says field gemologist Manuel Diaz, pictured in a morning gem market at Yên Thế, Lục Yên, Yên Bái, Vietnam. After a three-decade career in the military, Diaz followed a longtime dream to join the gem and jewelry industry. Photo by Vincent Pardieu/GIA
That preparedness − and not being unsettled by harsh terrain, aggressive people or even life-threatening experiences that could rattle those less-experienced – make it possible for Diaz to focus on the people involved.

“As a Marine, you find that it’s all about those people who are with and around you,” he says. “For me, the experience in field gemology is about the people I come in contact with. Finding the gem is key, but finding it with those around you – that’s the reason for me being there.”

The last year has been full and varied for Diaz, from working in Mozambique and conducting market research for a private mining company to teaching junior and senior high school students about the geological development of minerals.

Diaz, who lives in north San Diego County with his family and volunteers as a docent for the Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society, also enjoys helping individuals hunt for gems close to home.

“If a family wants a particular quartz variety, a collector wants to explore a show or market, or a young couple wants a lesson on gem and jewelry purchases, I’m their guy,” he says. “Nothing is more important than tending to the needs and passions of my clients.”

Diaz says his time at GIA – and the “dedicated” faculty and staff members who became like extended family to him – opened the doors to professional dreams that were decades in the making. He is also trying to help other veterans find what lies ahead for them after the military by encouraging them to consider the gem and jewelry industry.

“I’ve lured a few of them to GIA,” he says. “Using the G.I. Bill for my GIA education was a great resource and a comfort for me – that is priceless.”

Manuel Diaz, here studying a blue spinel in Vietnam, says his GIA training equipped him to communicate with clients. “Being able to describe color in such a clear manner is helpful for not only grading, but in being able to explain it to clients looking for a particular hue or saturation in a gem,” he says. Photo by Lucie Martinez/GIA
One of those veterans is Diaz’s brother, Ramon – also a 30-year veteran of the Marine Corps and a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant. Ramon Diaz graduated in 2015 with a Graduate Jeweler diploma and in 2016 with a Jewelry Design and Technology diploma from the Institute.

The brothers are mulling how they might work together in the future, whether that is in the field or helping people learn about and buy gems. But Diaz knows one thing for sure.

“I’m in this for the find,” he says. “Not money, not fame. Simply the find.” @topic:11


Publish Year: 1996 Title: Opal from the Shewa Province, Ethiopia Abstract: Opal occurs as nodules in volcanic rocks at a new gem opal locality in the Menz Gishe district of Shewa Province, Ethiopia. The opal field, still in the early stages of exploration, extends over several square kilometers. Opals from Shewa Province have near-colorless to white, yellow, orange, gray, or brown body colors; some show face-up play-of-color, and many have contra luz play-of-color. The gemological properties are consistent with those of other natural opals, and small particles are common inclusions. Preliminary stability tests indicate that much of the material absorbs water and some crazes when exposed to light and heat. @topic:13


Publish Year: - Title: Pyrope Garnet and Montana Sapphires Highlight Winter 2015 G&G Abstract: The lead article in this issue analyzes the color-change phenomenon displayed by a pink pyrope garnet believed to be of Tanzanian origin. The cover photo shows two pieces of pyrope garnet from Morogoro, Tanzania, that exhibit the reported color-change characteristics. The round “Super Spiral cut” specimen, weighing 15.25 ct., comes from the same material as the 42.42 ct. rough nodule. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy of Meg Berry

The Winter 2015 issue of Gems & Gemology offers in-depth analysis of pink pyrope garnet and alluvial Montana sapphires, a new look at a legendary sapphire once owned by Louis XIV, a study of tarnish spots in high-purity gold, and a visit to Australia’s historic opal fields.
Vanadium- and Chromium-Bearing Pink Pyrope Garnet: Characterization and Quantitative Colorimetric Analysis
A new type of pyrope, which shows a noticeable color change from purplish pink under incandescent light to purple in daylight, contains vanadium and chromium and is believed to originate in Tanzania.

GIA researchers Ziyin Sun, Dr. Aaron Palke, and Nathan Renfro performed extensive colorimetric tests on samples to analyze the color change and the factors that influence it.

They determined the range of stone sizes that maximize the color change, although the difference is not significant enough, according to some definitions, to be classified as an actual “color change.”
Alluvial Sapphires from Montana: Inclusions, Geochemistry, and Indications of a Metasomatic Origin
Alluvial sapphires have been mined for more than a century in Montana, but the original source rocks for this material have never been located.

A team of researchers led by Dr. J.C. “Hanco” Zwaan, head of the Netherlands Gemmological Laboratory and a researcher at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, examined inclusions in sapphires taken from the Rock Creek area to determine their possible origin. Analysis of approximately 400 samples indicated a metasomatic origin. One specimen contained a topaz crystal, the first documented topaz inclusion in sapphire.

Montana sapphires occur at three commercial secondary deposits: Rock Creek, Dry Cottonwood Creek and the Missouri River area. These rough and faceted Rock Creek stones show the range of permanent colors after routine heat treatment without the addition of chemicals. The largest faceted gem weighs 0.43 ct., and the largest rough stone weighs 1.86 ct. Courtesy of Fine Gems International, Robert E. Kane
The Grand Sapphire of Louis XIV and the “Ruspoli” Sapphire: Historical and Gemological Discoveries
The 135.74 ct. Grand Sapphire, a legendary gemstone acquired by Louis XIV in 1669, is housed in the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris. Newly discovered documents about this six-sided “lozenge”-cut sapphire indicate that the king acquired the gemstone about the same time he obtained the Tavernier Blue diamond, and that he had both mounted into gold settings in 1672. The Grand Sapphire has often been mistakenly referred to as the “Ruspoli” sapphire, a completely different gem, and archival evidence reveals the story of this confusion.

The authors, led by Dr. François Farges, professor of mineralogy at the MNHN, also determined that the sapphire likely originated in Sri Lanka.
Characterization of Tarnish Spots in Chinese High-Purity Gold Jewelry
Part of gold’s appeal is that it generally does not tarnish − but there have been instances where red, brown, or black tarnish spots have appeared on jewelry pieces of extremely high purity (99.9% Au). A team of Chinese researchers, headed by Dr. Taijin Lu of the National Gems & Jewellery Technology Administrative Center (NGTC) in Beijing, determined that the spots were caused by silver deposited on the gold surface during the manufacturing process.
Splendor in the Outback: A Visit to Australia’s Opal Fields
A GIA field report from the opal mines of Australia rounds out the feature articles in this issue. Australia exports more than $85 million worth of opals annually, with some 200,000 tourists visiting the opal areas each year.
Lab Notes
In the Lab Notes column, two of the largest CVD synthetic diamonds ever submitted to GIA’s lab demonstrate the continual improvement in quality and size of this material. In addition, there are reports on a treated pink diamond with a growth structure usually associated with HPHT synthetics and large natural fossil blister pearls from giant clams found in southeastern Kenya.

The I-color 3.23 ct. round on the left and H-color 2.51 ct. round on the right are the largest CVD synthetic diamonds GIA has tested. Photo by GIA
Micro-World
The Micro-World section presents photomicrographs of a Mexican fire agate cabochon whose coloration and structure creates an unusual visual effect, a red heart-shaped pyrope garnet inclusion in a round brilliant diamond, a violetish blue spinel inclusion in a yellow sapphire, parasite inclusions in Colombian quartz, and four-ray stars in Paraíba tourmaline.

Upon close examination with a field of view of 8.12 millimeters, the polished botryoidal knob in this Mexican fire agate resembles a reptilian eye. Photomicrograph by John Koivula/GIA
Gem News International
Gem News International reports on a large fluid inclusion in a demantoid garnet from Madagascar that provides a strong clue into the source’s mineralization. Other entries include a possible new source of grandidierite in Madagascar; a bluish green chalcedony from Africa, marketed as “Aquaprase;” and a report on ruby mining in Zahamena National Park in Madagascar. @topic:2


Publish Year: - Title: Integrating G&G with GIA’s Gemology Education Abstract: One of the things I’ve always wanted to do is create synergy between GIA’s gemology courses and Gems & Gemology. Many of the student assignments incorporate research from the journal, and adding G&G articles as references would provide support and validation for the information in our coursework.

As we added video media to our eLearning courses, we featured interviews with many of GIA’s research scientists, some of whom were also G&G authors. Providing their articles to our students was a natural next step.

In the past, I had discussed this idea with Alice Keller when she was editor-in-chief of G&G. Although everyone was willing, we had no practical way to achieve it at the time. Now that every issue is available free of charge on the redesigned GIA website at www.gia.edu, we can realize this ambition.

Beginning with our Diamonds & Diamond Grading eLearning course, we’ll provide links at the end of every assignment to specially chosen G&G feature articles.

Besides illuminating some of the source material for our coursework, links to supporting articles will provide a truly meaningful pathway into the resources on our new website. Students with inquiring minds will find many avenues of interest.

For example, I believe a good number of students would choose to explore the important G&G articles on colored diamond, diamond treatment, or diamond synthesis. Others might also download articles focused on mining, production, and the diamond supply chain, or read about the many famous gems examined or graded by GIA’s laboratory.

This tie-in exposes the tremendous amount of important work that G&G authors—both internal and external to GIA—have done to enrich our collective knowledge on the many aspects of diamond, and makes it available to a wider, and younger, audience.

We’ll also provide a short student study guide that explains the structure of a typical feature article and explains how to navigate one. In time, we’ll add similar links to relevant G&G articles in our other gemology courses.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all our current G&G print subscribers and online users. I hope to welcome many more of you in the near future.

Duncan Pay  |  Editor-in-Chief @topic:11


Publish Year: 2014 Title: Supporting the Researchers of Tomorrow Abstract: In our recent print issues, you’ve likely noticed an ad on the journal’s inside cover promoting postdoctoral research opportunities. This is part of a GIA initiative to attract new research scientists. We recognize that sustaining future research is fundamental to all of GIA’s core gemological laboratory and education services that support the industry and our mission to safeguard consumers.

As part of this effort, we’re delighted to announce that GIA will be the principal sponsor of the International Diamond School (IDS), to be held January 27–31 in Brixen, Italy. The school will be led by three leading diamond geoscientists: Fabrizio Nestola of the University of Padova, Italy; Steven Shirey of the Carnegie Institution in Washington, DC; and Graham Pearson of the University of Alberta, Canada. The school brings together leading academics and practicing members of the diamond geoscience community—including our own Dr. Wuyi Wang—with the next generation of postdoctoral and masters-level researchers. It’s a fantastic opportunity for attendees to network with the leaders in diamond exploration, advanced research-level analysis, diamond morphology, inclusion chemistry, and geologic occurrences in a way that will inspire their future studies. GIA’s contribution will directly benefit these up-and-coming research scientists by reducing the attendance fees for the conference. The IDS website is at http://www.indimedea.eu/diamond_school_2015.htm

Our lead article in this edition, a collaboration between GIA and Sri Lankan authors, presents an illuminating survey of Sri Lanka’s gem and jewelry industry based on firsthand visits to mining, cutting, jewelry manufacturing, and retail centers. They document a revitalized industry that’s blending hard-won traditional skills with innovative strategies and technologies to gain a stronger presence in global markets.

Our second paper, by Nicholas Sturman and his colleagues from GIA’s Bangkok laboratory, provides a gemological characterization of 22 non-nacreous pen pearls. This study reveals not only the porcelaneous nature of these pearls, but also the unusual beauty of their surface textures and inner structures.

Next, noted author and corundum expert Richard Hughes delves into a basic gemological property: pleochroism. His intriguing paper—aimed at practicing gemologists as much as researchers—examines this property’s impact on the appearance of faceted gems and looks to demonstrate that pleochroism is always visible to some degree, even when viewing a gem along an optic axis.

In the final article, Dr. Zuowei Yin from the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan heads a study of pale-colored nephrite jade from a new deposit in Guangxi Province with interesting banded or dendritic patterns.

In addition to the four feature articles, you’ll find our regular Lab Notes and Gem News International sections, along with the winners of the 2014 G&G Challenge.

For all our print subscribers: You’ll notice that your copy of journal was delivered inside a new recyclable (polyhydroxyalkanoate, or PLA) wrapper. We’d like to thank Dr. George Rossman of G&G’s editorial review board for this suggestion.

Please enjoy the Fall 2014 edition! @topic:8


Publish Year: 2003 Title: Beryllium Diffusion of Ruby and Sapphire Abstract: Over the past two years, the heat treatment of corundum involving lattice diffusion of beryllium (Be) at temperatures over 1800°C has become a major issue in the gem trade. Although initially only orange to orangy pink (“padparadscha”-like) sapphires were seen, it is now known that a full range of corundum colors, including yellow and blue as well as ruby, have been produced or altered by this treatment. An extension of the current understanding of the causes of color in corundum is presented to help explain the color modifications induced by Be diffusion. Empirical support is provided by Be diffusion experiments conducted on corundum from various geographic sources. Examination of hundreds of rough and faceted Be-diffused sapphires revealed that standard gemological testing will identify many of these treated corundums, although in some instances costly chemical analysis by mass spectrometry is required. Potential new methods are being investigated to provide additional identification aids, as major laboratories develop special nomenclature for describing this treatment.

	DATA DEPOSITORY

Table 1: Samples Used for Gemological Characterization
Table 2: Trace-Element Compositions of Be-Diffused and Natural-Color Corundum Determined Using SIMS (ppma)
	Submitted by Wuyi Wang
	Prepared by Gems & Gemology staff
	July 30, 2003

Table 3: Durability and Stability of the Treatment in Be Lattice Diffusion–Treated Orange to Pinkish Orange Sapphires
	Submitted by Robert E. Kane
	Prepared by Gems & Gemology staff
	July 30, 2003

Supplementary Bibliography on Corundum Diffusion
	Prepared by Gems & Gemology staff
	July 30, 2003 @topic:3


Publish Year: - Title: A Visit to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Abstract: The Gems of California pedestal in the F.C. Hixon Gem Vault serves as the centerpiece of the museum’s gem and mineral gallery. Photo by Duncan Pay/GIA, courtesy Gem & Mineral Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

                      In 2014, a team from GIA visited the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) to document its gem and mineral collection. It’s thought to be the second-largest such collection in the United States, behind the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.

This report documents the museum’s remarkable reference collection as well as its active research programs. You’ll explore its Mineral Hall and get an insider’s view of its collections area, including the normally off-limits “goodie room” with its standout specimens. The museum’s expert curators will also explain their research into new minerals and the causes of diamond color.

Our group was guided by the Mineral Sciences staff: associate curator Eloïse Gaillou, collections manager Alyssa Morgan, and curator emeritus Anthony Kampf. All have advanced degrees in their fields. Eloïse has a master’s degree in geology and a Ph.D. in materials science. Alyssa has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geological sciences. And Anthony’s Ph.D. is in mineralogy and crystallography.

The NHMLAC’s Mineral Sciences staff consists of associate curator Eloïse Gaillou, curator emeritus Anthony Kampf, and collections manager Alyssa Morgan. Photo by Duncan Pay/GIA, courtesy Gem & Mineral Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

	Museum Origin and History
The site now occupied by the Natural History Museum was once known as Agricultural Park. Established in the 1870s, it is described by the museum’s website as “a lawless area with horse racing, gambling, and prostitution.” That all changed when the site was renamed Exposition Park in 1910 and construction of the museum began. The Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art opened its doors on November 5, 1913. Its first mineral collection consisted of just five boxes of specimens—a donation from Los Angeles capitalist General Charles Forman.

The collection grew steadily through a series of small donations. Then, in 1920, a major donation came from the Los Angeles Chamber of Mines and Oil. The collection was rich in fine specimens of copper-bearing minerals from Bisbee, Arizona.

In 1946, the museum established Mineralogy and Geology as a separate department. In 1952, the Mineral Hall was installed in the museum’s original rotunda. A series of donations over the next decade from Los Angeles jeweler William E. Phillips initiated the gem collection.

Many important donations followed, and in 1959, the museum began a campaign to build its mineral and gem collections through both donations and purchases. The source of many of the purchases was Martin Ehrmann, an important dealer in museum-quality minerals. He also sold many specimens to museum supporters, who later donated them.

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	The museum’s collection features crystal specimens from all over the world, with an emphasis on gems of California.
In 1971, the museum began construction on a new north wing to house its Hall of Gems and Minerals, which opened in 1978. The hall was enhanced by an important series of donations from San Antonio plutocrat Frederick C. Hixon, who donated his gem collection between 1971 and 1977, and from Jean Bandy, who donated a collection rich in Bolivian mineral specimens between 1977 and 1980. In 1985, the Ben Chromy mineral collection arrived, along with more than $100,000 for museum activities.

1985 marked the opening of additional gallery space known as the Deutsch Gallery: Gemstones and Their Origins. It was funded by Alex Deutsch, a pioneer in the aerospace industry, and by the Weingart Foundation. The gallery exhibits focused on explaining how gemstones form and where they are found.

Retired lawyer John Jago Trelawney donated his gem collection to the museum in 1988 and bequeathed around $450,000 to support research projects upon his death in 2001. In 2005, the exceptional Weber-Perloff collection was donated to the museum. Consisting of about 50,000 small specimens, called micromounts, it was one of the largest collections of its kind in the world. In 2010, NHMLAC received the extraordinary collection of Hyman and Beverly Savinar, which is especially rich in gem-quality crystals. In 2011, the museum received the collection of Mel and Lois Hindin, which consisted of many remarkable minerals and gems.

Today, the museum is a living, vibrant institution, filled with the chatter of schoolchildren as they press their noses against the display cases. But there’s much more to the museum than its public face. The off-display areas house one of the most significant mineral and gem collections in the United States.

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	Among its treasures, the museum boasts a dazzling collection of fashioned gems.

	An Overview
The museum’s gem and mineral collection consists of approximately 150,000 specimens representing about half of the world’s known mineral species. Of that number, there are about 143,000 minerals, 3,000 rocks (mineral aggregates), 3,000 gems, and 50 meteorites.

The specimens come from purchases, donations, and exchanges with other institutions. The museum has specimens from around the world, including the largest and most extensive collection of California gems and minerals.

There are more than 2,000 specimens on display in the 6,000-square-foot Gem and Mineral Hall. Yet this number is dwarfed by the total of specimens available behind the scenes for research or future display. One of the major storage areas is the Collections Room.

	The Collections Room
The vast majority of the museum’s mineral specimens are housed in the Collections Room. Most of them are not worthy of display, but they are invaluable to geologists and other scientists as research subjects.

As collections manager for the museum, Alyssa Morgan works among rows of mineral-filled cabinets, stacked almost floor to ceiling. Her job is to maintain the collection and the database and catalog.

Users of the collection—mostly geologists and material scientists in research institutions—can request specimens related to their studies of minerals from a certain area, or of rare or unusual minerals. Samples are broken off from larger specimens and mailed to the requesting parties.

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	The collections are carefully organized and catalogued to make searches easier.
The museum’s staff works to obtain rare or unusual items to make the collections complete. When a specimen comes in, it gets a catalog number. The number is glued to the mineral and recorded on the box it’s stored in for tracking purposes. The mineral is weighed and sometimes measured, and its information—source, how it was obtained, and other important details—is entered into the database.

Specimens in the Collections Room are organized into several sub-collections. The general reference minerals are arranged systematically by chemical class (elements, sulfides, oxides, etc.). California specimens are arranged by locality. Small micromounts and thumbnails are arranged alphabetically by species.

	Maintaining the Collection

	In this series of videos, Alyssa Morgan and Eloïse Gaillou discuss the mechanics of establishing and maintaining the main collection.

	Micromounts and Thumbnails
Micromounts and thumbnails are popular with an important segment of the mineral collecting world, and they are often excellent candidates for scientific research. Through large donations, especially the exceptional Weber-Perloff collection, the museum has amassed more than 100,000 micromounts—the largest such collection in the world. It includes many gold specimens, mostly from California, and more than 2,000 diamond crystals.

The thumbnail collection is also quite large, consisting of about 10,000 specimens that came mostly from a single donor, Jessie Hardman, in the year 2000. Because Mrs. Hardman was determined to have a piece of everything, the collection includes many rare minerals representing a variety of rarely represented localities.

Small plastic boxes provide some protection from the environment, humidity, and other factors. Although the specimens are small, they’re valuable because of their diversity. They also require little storage space and, because of their uniform sizes, are easily organized.

	Organizing by Size

	Minerals in the collection are organized in part by their size.
The micromounts and thumbnails come from sources around the world and are arranged alphabetically by location. The staff is working to catalog the entire micromount and thumbnail collections.

	The “Goodie Room”
The museum’s “goodie room” is the staging area for specimens in fine, unbroken condition. Of the approximately 4,500 mineral specimens and gemstones in this room, some are not quite worthy of display and some are simply duplicates of items already on display. Some have good enough color and transparency to be suitable for faceting. For the most part, these specimens are not available to researchers for sampling.

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	Some of the museum’s finest specimens not on display are stored in the goodie room.
Most of the goodie room’s collection comes from donors. One example is the extraordinary Savinar collection, which is full of fine-quality crystals from all over the world, along with many faceted gems.

	The Goodie Room

	Specimens in the museum’s goodie room are all fine quality. Most come from donors.

	Standout Specimens

	Anthony Kampf and Eloïse Gaillou introduce some of their favorite specimens and describe the characteristics that make them so special. Anthony then describes the museum’s acquisition process, which sometimes results in beautiful surprises.

	Researchers and Their Research
The core of any major natural history museum is the research that takes place behind the scenes. Current projects at NHMLAC include Anthony Kampf’s research into new minerals and Eloïse Gaillou’s studies on colored diamonds.

Curator emeritus Dr. Anthony (Tony) Kampf joined the museum in January 1977, and helped create the world-renowned Hall of Gems and Minerals. Tony played an important role in soliciting acquisitions and arranging the galleries. He has overseen the growth of the museum’s mineral and gem collection from about 20,000 to more than 150,000 specimens.

Dr. Kampf’s bulletin board is full of diagrams that show crystal structures of minerals he’s worked on. Photo by Duncan Pay/GIA, courtesy Gem & Mineral Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
Now retired, he still comes in every day to engage in research that focuses on discovering and characterizing new minerals. He uses sophisticated instrumentation to identify minerals and study their internal structure.

	Research Projects

	In these videos, Drs. Kampf and Gaillou discuss their research projects on behalf of the museum.
Associate curator Dr. Eloïse Gaillou came to the museum in 2012 after holding a combined postdoctoral research fellowship with the Smithsonian and Carnegie Institutions. Eloïse’s work at NHMLAC focuses on diamonds, especially colored ones in the pink and purple ranges. Her goal is to determine the elusive cause of the pink color. Another of her research interests is the geology of diamond formation.

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	This slideshow takes you on a tour of the Gem and Mineral Hall, where the public can view a portion of the museum’s massive collection.
For more information about the museum and its mineral exhibits, visit the NHMLAC Mineral Sciences website at http://www.nhm.org/site/research-collections/mineral-sciences. @topic:8


Publish Year: - Title: A Sunstone Odyssey, Part 2: The Dust Devil Abstract: The setting sun casts orange rays above basalt boulders at the edge of the Dust Devil mine in southeast Oregon’s high desert. The mine is one of the region’s more important commercial sunstone sources. Photo by Robert Weldon.

INTO THE VALLEY
For the last couple of days we’ve been surrounded by the Ponderosa mine’s towering pines. Today, we’re a hundred miles farther south—and a thousand feet lower—on the road to the Plush sunstone mining area. Our next stop is Don Buford and Terry Clarke’s Dust Devil Mine in the heart of the Rabbit Basin. This is expansive country: forbidding volcanic hills form steep ridges that loom above flat, open valleys dotted with sagebrush. The high desert has its own unique beauty.

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	Take a journey to Oregon’s Dust Devil mine. Set in the state’s remote southeast corner, the location produces some fabulous large sunstones, many of which have been carved into award winning gems.
We make the turn off Highway 395’s smooth pavement and head east on Hogback Road’s gravel surface. “Call from there to let us know you are on Hogback Road,” Don’s email said. Everyone has the same cell-phone carrier—there’s no signal, so we can’t oblige.

Don’s email also told us that any car with decent tires would do, and after thirty bumpy miles, we arrive at the mine. As Don assured us: “You can’t miss us, lots of trailers and shakers and conveyors.”

	Terry Clarke and Don Buford have been mining sunstone in the Oregon desert for 21 years. Photo by Robert Weldon.

	This view of the Dust Devil Mine shows Dudeck Ridge in the background. This is likely the local source of the sunstone-bearing lavas. Photo by Robert Weldon.
We ask Don about the history of sunstone in the area known by the miners as the “valley.” He tells us, “Native Americans traded sunstones as far as British Columbia, the Mississippi Delta…and they’ve been found in Viking burial grounds in the northeast.”

Don mentions that Tiffany & Co. of New York mined clear feldspar here as a diamond substitute as recently as the 1950s. Their endeavors led to the gems’ local name: “Plush diamonds.” He adds that they only mined close to the surface and “didn’t get deep enough to get the really nice colored stones.”

MASTERS OF MECHANICAL IMPROVISATION
We ask how Dust Devil got its start, and Don tells us it began as an Explorer Post for the Boy Scouts of America. “We were just looking for something for our scouts to do,” he continues. “We came down here to find some mining claims, and once I started digging, I was very fascinated with the beauty of the stones and how totally different they are from anything else.”

That was the catalyst. Terry and Don started digging for sunstones on weekends and vacations. “We started off with shovels, sixteen-pound sledgehammers, and hand screens, and eventually bought an ancient backhoe.”

	The pit is worked the old-fashioned way. In this image, fee-paying diggers are using screens and shovels to mine the basalt. They only pay for the material they want to keep. Photo by Duncan Pay.
From there on, they obtained any used parts and any scrap steel they could find, and built it into mining machines. “Our first machine was an old school bus that we made into a flatbed.” He adds, “We’ve been out here 21 years, and we’ve seen sunstone go from a stone that nobody had any idea what it was, to now being on the threshold of being an important international stone.”

	The Dust Devil's Origins

	Mine owner Don Buford outlines the mine’s history and explains its origin as a Boy Scout Explorer Post.

THE MINING PROCESS
Don explains that the mine’s location is very favorable. “We’re on the edge of what was a great inland sea, and a river flowed right past our camp, so we have a lot of decomposition of the basalt that holds the sunstone.” This makes the rocks that contain the gems softer and easier to mine.

	This view shows the Dust Devil pit with the mine’s processing plant in the background. Photo by Robert Weldon.
Dust Devil miners use backhoes to work the pit and big loaders to transport the ore to a processing plant. There’s a “grizzly”—mining parlance for a grille that keeps bigger boulders out of the processing plant—and conveyor belts that lead to a shaker and a trommel.

The shaker removes material that’s less than two inches and more than five-sixteenths of an inch in size, Don explains. The trommel washes the concentrate, which then goes to either a one-cubic-yard hopper, where people can pick it off a belt, or to a sophisticated optical sorting machine.

	In this view of the mine’s processing plant, the shaker at top left is feeding ore into the yellow cylindrical trommel. Concentrate can either be directed to the hopper and belt in the foreground or to the optical sorting machine via the conveyor running diagonally to the left. Photo by Duncan Pay.
During our visit, an electrical fault prevented us from documenting the optical sorter. We hope to return at a later date to see the machine in action.

	Mining the Dust Devil

	Don Buford explains the advantages of the mine’s location and how the miners separate the gems from the surrounding ore.

DESERT WISDOM: SHARP-EDGED STONES, TALL SAGEBRUSH, AND BIG ANTHILLS
After a lifetime of working the desert for sunstone, Don turns his miner’s eye to the landscape for clues. The first things he looks for on the surface are stones with sharp edges, which indicate they’ve been recently deposited and there’s probably more underground. He tells us that worn stones with sand-blasted edges might have come from some distance away, or might even have been on the surface for 100,000 years.

Next, he seeks out the tallest sagebrush because it can indicate easier mining conditions. Much of the rock covering the sunstone-bearing basalt is heavy, requiring drilling and blasting, but tall sagebrush—above five or six feet—is a good indication that the plant’s roots are able to reach water, and that means, as Don explains, “the rock is fractured…we can get through it.”

Finally, he advises not to forget the ants. The desert supports vast populations of them. Don indicates that they require a little respect: “These are red ants that have a really nasty bite.”

Around a big ants’ nest, he says, they’ll completely clear a circle ten feet in diameter, then use little pebbles and sunstones to build their mound. They even arrange them close together so when it rains, the water runs off. There’s another benefit: sunstones reflect the light, so in the summer they help regulate the anthill’s heat.

	People aren’t the only ones to mine the desert for gems. Ants collect tiny fragments of feldspar around their nests. Photo by Robert Weldon.
Just like tall sagebrush, a bigger anthill indicates possible penetration into the ground. It’s a strong signal that the rocks underneath are weathered and easier to mine. All these clues tell miners that it’s a good idea to dig adjacent to the anthills.

	Prospecting for Sunstone

	Miner Don Buford shares some of the desert-prospecting wisdom he’s acquired over the years.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES
Unlike the Ponderosa, which has several natural springs on the property, there’s absolutely no water at the Dust Devil Mine. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)—the federal agency that administers public lands—prohibits any kind of permanent development in the Rabbit Basin and insists the land be restored to its pre-mining state.

Don explains the location’s challenges: “We’re 21 miles from the nearest electrical power, so we make our own power…We haul our drinking water in from 30 miles away. Our mining water comes from a well that’s six miles away.”

All the water used in mining is extensively recycled. A series of six holding tanks recirculates the 10,000 gallons of water used for washing the concentrate. They allow progressively finer material to separate out before the water is used again. As Don says, “This is the desert, and water is hard to come by…so we don’t use more than we have to.”

When mining ceases, the miners will have to re-contour and replant the area with native species. On his own initiative, Don is planting the native bunch grasses that grew in the valley before extensive sheep farming eradicated them. “We’re putting it back to the way it was before the white man came here and had an effect on the land,” he says.

The desert is hard on men and machines. The gritty attrition of dust and the ringing impact of metal on rock take their toll. You have to be tough and mechanically minded to make it here. “We’re pretty self-sufficient,” he says. “We have a lot of equipment. It’s old equipment and it breaks down a lot, but we have the tools and technology to repair almost anything.”

	When we asked mine employee Mark Shore what it might take to fix this backhoe, he replied “about five sticks” (of dynamite!). Photo by Duncan Pay.
This led us to question the cost of mining in such a challenging environment. With a wry smile, Don admits: “We actually pay every month for the privilege of coming out here and digging these beautiful stones…and getting to hang out with some of the best people in the world.”

	The mine’s harsh, dusty desert environment and its distance from service centers require a fully-equipped machine shop to keep heavy equipment running at Dust Devil. Photo by Robert Weldon.
The act of mining—of recovering beautiful sunstone—outweighs the simple financial rewards for Don and Terry. We get the sense that their best possible legacy for half a lifetime of work would be widespread recognition of Oregon sunstone as a mainstream gem.

Don’s next answer reinforces the fact that he has already done more than anyone to raise this gem’s profile among jewelry designers: “When we got into the very, very large stones in this pit, which at that time were the largest that anyone had ever found, we took our best material to the Tucson International Gem Show.”

He explains how they met with artists that they enjoyed working with and gave them the stones so they could carve or cut them and enter them into prestigious competitions run by the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA). “Over the years,” he continues, “we’ve won sixteen Cutting Edge awards with our stones. We try to be real humble about it, but several of those artists have said that a lot of their fame has come from cutting our stones. Had we not given them those stones, they wouldn’t be where they are today.”

	Challenges of Desert Mining

	Don Buford outlines many of the challenges of operating in a harsh desert environment.

BEAUTIFUL SUNSTONE
For Don, red gems with the glitter of native copper are the most fascinating: “I like the red stones with the copper schiller bars running through them.” Although bicolor gems and stones displaying red to green dichroism might be more rare, he prizes these gems the most. “The reds with the schiller are just very, very dynamic, and there’s nothing else in the world that looks like it.”

	This is what it’s all about: Kilos of gem-quality rough remain after a Dust Devil production run. Photo by Duncan Pay.
Just like John Woodmark of the Ponderosa, Don emphasizes the individual nature of this product. “Every stone is unique, like opal.” He acknowledges that “matching stones up is very difficult.” However, there’s a benefit to this downside, as consumers seek gems that help convey their own individuality: “We’ve always believed that no two women want to look exactly alike.”

	This 101.63-ct. rough sunstone has a deep red core with schiller. It’s likely to be fashioned into a fabulous carving. Photo by Robert Weldon.
Don’s next statement encapsulates his view of Oregon sunstone’s place in the international jewelry marketplace: “Sunstone should be in high-end jewelry stores in all the major cities in this country, and in Europe and Asia—it’s a beautiful, beautiful, brilliant stone.”

We also asked mine employee Mark Shore what brings him to the desert, what drives him to come out here to spend his summers at the mine, what makes him pause to pick a feldspar crystal off the ground. I think my question stings him a little: “Why pick them up? Because they’re beautiful!”

To Mark, a sunstone in your hand is a very special thing: “It’s like holding air or water in your hand…” And his favorite type? “There’s no other stone like a schiller…it dances inside: it’s alive!”

	Why Oregon Sunstone is Unique

	Don Buford describes Oregon sunstone’s unique appeal. He also mentions some care considerations for the gem’s use in jewelry.

THE BEAUTY OF THE DESERT
After just a few days in the high desert, I think we are becoming attuned to its beauty: the clarity of the air, the lure of a red glint of hidden sun in the rock. There’s a lightning storm on our last evening that shocks the sky with blasts of sudden light. We all stay up to watch the hills light up like daytime.

The next morning we leave to visit the last mine on our trip, a distinctly different one where the miners dig into the flank of a small volcanic hill—Sunstone Butte. As we drive off, some of Don’s words ring in my ears: “These stones are mined by hardworking Americans…there’s nothing like it in the world…and Americans should want to buy our stones.”

So, if your car breaks down on Hogback or you get a puncture on Nasty Flat Road, pray you run into Don or Terry. They will fix your flat and set you right.

	The orange glory of the setting sun hovers above a rich high-desert landscape. Photo by Robert Weldon. @topic:2


Publish Year: - Title: A Sunstone Odyssey, Part 3: Sunstone Butte Abstract: This  is what Sunstone Butte is famous for: beautiful gems with a winning blend of red and green bodycolor. The larger stone is a significant 23.40 ct, while the smaller example weighs 7.50 ct. Photo by Robert Weldon.

CRYSTALS FROM A CINDER CONE

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	Click to view a slideshow of photos from our visit to Oregon’s Sunstone Butte mine.
David Wheatley’s tan is almost a match for the cinder that’s the source of his sunstone. With his partner, Tammy Moreau, Dave is co-owner of the Sunstone Butte mine.

We’ve come out here on the last day of our quest for Oregon sunstone. It’s about a dozen miles or so away from Dust Devil. We’ve already met both owners, as they visited Don and Terry at their mine during our stay. We’ve heard about Sunstone Butte’s large, fabulous sunstones from the other miners and we’re very eager to see them for ourselves.

When we first arrive, Dave is away, helping recover a truck that a mining acquaintance rolled over on one of the nearby dirt roads.

The mine’s camp is a clutch of trailers halfway up the slope of a hill. Blue five-gallon buckets full of feldspar concentrate surround the end of one of the trailers. Another dog—a bigger one called Sheba—barks a welcome.

	David Wheatley is a co-owner of the Sunstone Butte Mine. Photo by Duncan Pay.
Tammy invites us under a shade cover, where she shows us some of the mine’s production. A member of our party picks up a spectacular large rough sunstone with a deep green core. “This changes everything,” he says. There are many similar examples in the tray below: big clean reds, greens, and bicolors. We saw nothing like these at the other mines we visited.

There’s a crunch of gravel as a truck pulls up. Dave is back after helping right the vehicle that rolled over: The driver is OK, but the truck is a wreck.

Pretty soon, we’re standing in a manmade crater under a pure blue sky—the main pit of the Sunstone Butte mine. “It’s a vent, a volcanic vent…much more cinder dome than lava flow,” Dave explains, telling us why his operation is unique compared to other mines in the Rabbit Basin. Rather than mining a relatively thin basalt flow, the operation is excavating the center of a miniature volcano—a cinder cone: “Our pit has four different, distinct layers in it…Geologists have been to all the sunstone mines…I’ve had three or four swing by and they’re in heaven…”

Dave points to the reddish brown rocks exposed in the pit wall and tells us, “The whole side of this hill is just full of sunstones.” He bends down and picks up a bright yellow feldspar from the ground. “The amount of crystal in this pit is just incredible…every rock, just about, has a crystal in it!”

	This large yellow feldspar phenocryst is embedded in a matrix of volcanic cinder. Photo by Robert Weldon.
“What was nice about this area,” he continues, “…I’ve got a little bit of cap rock in this area…A lot of the mines in the valley, you’ve got to go through 10 to 15 or 20 feet of hard rock to get to the ore-bearing flow; this, I could dig with my backhoe.”

Dave mines the core of the hill using a backhoe. He runs the ore through a grizzly—a metal grille—to remove rocks larger than eight inches, which he stores for a later crushing process. The ore smaller than eight inches runs through a small processing plant that removes the loose dirt. Next, they hand-screen the ore on four-by-eight-foot metal-topped tables. Dave and Tammy chose metal surfaces rather than conventional mesh because the rocks roll more easily across the top and the metal reflects the light back up through the feldspar crystals and makes them much easier to spot.

Dave estimates that changing to metal allowed them to recover sunstone at four times the previous rate. Dave does admit that it’s hard work. “Tammy sits here and she does most of the screening…She’ll do this for about eight hours a day.”

Two days of running ore through the grizzly and two days of running the processing plant provides enough material for both to screen for a month. “We’ve put a lot of work and effort into this mine…When we’re up here, we’re mining, pure and simple,” he tells us.

We ask him to tell us what’s so unusual about his mine. “The most unusual thing is the size of our Oregon sunstones,” he responds. “We produce a lot between 100 and 400 to 500 carats.”

It’s not just the size though, he explains, it’s the color too: “About seventy-five percent of our sunstone has green in it, which is one of our rarest colors, and we get a lot of the teal—which is bluish green—very, very rare for sunstone.”

	This large rough sunstone displays a deep green core. Photo by Duncan Pay.
Like the other Rabbit Basin mines, the mining season typically runs from mid-May until early October. “You can push it,” Dave adds. “Last year we stayed until the middle of December…We were digging in the snow for two months, which makes it quite interesting.”

In spite of this mine’s advantages over others in the area, Dave still comes up against the universal character of his profession: “We’ll hit an area, as always with any kind of mining, that’s kind of dead…We don’t get a lot of color, get a lot of clears…But then, just a couple of feet farther, wham! Right back in the color!”

	A Cinder Cone Full of Crystals

	David Wheatley, Sunstone Butte co-owner, introduces us to the heart of the Sunstone Butte mine: an ancient volcanic vent that’s rich in large feldspar crystals.

SUNSTONE BUTTE HISTORY
Dave and Tammy aren’t the only miners who have tried their luck on this hill. Others dug, but found mainly large, clear feldspars, and few colors. They gave up, Dave tells us, “…decided it wasn’t worth it and let go.”

Dave was walking the desert looking for prospects when he found this place. He saw plenty of stones on the surface and noticed that the anthills were full of feldspar. He staked out nine claims in the area. However, because Sunstone Butte is outside the established mining area, he had to wait for a year and a half while the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) undertook a full environmental impact study.

	This view looks down into the main pit. You can judge the scale by comparing it to the trailers in the distance. Photo by Robert Weldon.
Once they started digging, they quickly found some large greens and reds, up to 800 carats, but not in any great quantity. Their luck changed when they switched to the other side of the hill: “We went down five feet and we were starting to hit greens, just green, green, green, green, green, green…of course this is where we’ve been digging since!”

	Sunstone Butte had been open to fee diggers in the past. As Dave and Tammy’s business grew, they cut down on fee digging to concentrate their efforts on more serious mining. Photo by Duncan Pay.

	Why We Dig at Sunstone Butte

	David Wheatley explains why he chose to mine at the Sunstone Butte site.

WHAT DRIVES YOU TO MINE SUNSTONE?
We eventually get to the questions of why mine here, and why this particular gem? “A friend of mine,” Dave answers, “…his dad’s been coming down here for 50 years, and he was coming down to visit him…He was a co-owner in a co-op down in the sunstone valley and I came down with him on a weekend.” Dave was lucky and found a nice red, so his friend’s father faceted it for him.

	This fine 7.70-ct. red sunstone displays broad bars of aventurescent copper particles. Photo by Robert Weldon.
That was the beginning of his fascination with sunstone. He was intrigued by the gem’s varied appearances and visited many of the mines in the area, often paying to be a fee digger.

This experience gave him the intelligence he needed to look for his own claims as well as the confidence to leave his high-paying job at a major corporation and stake it all on sunstone.

	Why I Mine Sunstone

	Miner David Wheatley expresses his passion for sunstone and his love of mining.

PRESENT AND FUTURE SUCCESS
What’s the secret of the operation’s success, we ask? Dave pauses for a moment: “When I was doing fee digging, I analyzed the other miners.” He explains that, while he agrees the mine’s high-quality output is one factor, he wanted to differentiate his gems from everyone else’s: “Most of the miners were doing more basic cutting…As we started getting our volume out here, I decided I wanted to go more high end…We do a lot of concave…linear cuts…we have a designer that’s making new cuts for us…it’s really taken very well out in the marketplace.”

	Working with talented cut designers has paid dividends for Sunstone Butte’s owners by getting their gems noticed in the trade. This innovative cut blends red and green bodycolors. Photo by Robert Weldon.
To bring attention to the mine, Dave adds, he and Tammy participated in a lot of gem and mineral shows—up to 30 a year. Initially, they mounted their stones in simple sterling silver basket settings, but it wasn’t long before they started to work on higher-end products in gold. Eventually, they focused on selling fashioned stones and rough rather than finished jewelry.

Dave sums up the couple’s current approach: “Once you get into jewelry, it takes so much of your time, and we love mining…We’d rather just mine, come out in this beautiful desert and enjoy ourselves mining and take three or four months off!”

	Dave and Tammy work with a number of gemstone cutters and carvers, so they have a wide range of finished gems for sale. Photo by Duncan Pay.
While Dave notes that other sunstone mines—like the Ponderosa—might produce greater volumes of rough, he’s sure that the large sizes and unique green colors his operation produces have made an impact on the market: “We’ve brought the greens and the teals into the market…And all of a sudden it’s a new buzzword, because they’re seeing a different color of sunstone…Instead of one here and one there, they’re seeing a large volume.”

And the couple’s focus on contemporary cutting and carving? “When somebody sees an absolutely breathtaking piece of jewelry, or a carving, it’s a buzz again…word gets out there,” Dave explains. “We’re pretty proud of how we’ve impacted the sunstone industry in the last three years,” he finishes with a smile.

	This fabulous fluted carving displays swathes of the teal-green color that Sunstone Butte is justly known for. Photo by Robert Weldon.

	Marketing Oregon Sunstone

	Sunstone Butte co-owner David Wheatley explains how he and his partner Tammy Moreau went about marketing their mine’s production. @topic:2


Publish Year: - Title: Jade Report: Increased Mining Creates Large Stockpiles Abstract: The Hutton-Mdivani Jade Necklace, containing 27 translucent green jadeite beads sold for $27.4 million – more than $1 million per bead – at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Sale on April 7, 2014 in Hong Kong. The beads graduate in size from 15.4 mm to 19.2 mm.   Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s

	The Chinese retail market has been cooling off, but jade mining in the Kachin province of Myanmar has been on the increase, causing a massive inventory buildup, according to a report by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation of Harvard University.

	The report is based on information from government sources and traders in Hpakant, Kachin province, the 30-square-mile source for nearly all jadeite. The authors noted that production began to expand in 2015 and jade dealers in Hong Kong corroborated the report’s observation of large and growing stockpiles of the gem in warehouses near the Myanmar border and dealers’ safes. It does not estimate the size of jade stocks, but interviews with others involved in or monitoring the jade trade agree it is extremely large.

	“If China wanted to whittle down their stockpiles, they probably could do without (newly produced) jade for five to 10 years,” said one Myanmar-based official with close connections to dealers and the government.

	Jade stocks are accumulating because production has far exceeded the market’s ability to absorb it. Some goods are locked in customs over ongoing valuation disputes and, more recently, there is a reluctance to sell better quality materials because prices have been softening. Producers and dealers can sit on large stocks because capital costs of mining are low and they do not rely on bank financing and don’t accumulate additional costs by holding inventory.

	The report shows that jade production for the first nine months of 2015 (the latest available figures) totaled 24,000 metric tons, or 2.5 times the same period in 2014.

	Myanmar’s central government cannot control illegal mining, according to the report, because it is involved with the rebel Kachin Independence Army, which has ratcheted up campaigns against it. The government has tried to limit access to the Hpakant region, by restricting new mining licenses and attempting to suspend mining after a series of deadly rock falls.

	But mining for jade continues and as many as 200,000 unlicensed diggers continue to work the extensive waste piles, which has created enormous social problems and unsafe conditions. Nine diggers were killed on Feb. 10 when a slag pile collapsed onto them, according to a report in Radio Free Asia.

Dealers and buyers at a 2012 jade market at Amarapura, now a suburb of Mandalay, in Myanmar. Photo courtesy of Maxine Hesse

	Retail Demand for Jade is Decreasing

	The Ash Center estimated jade production at Hpakant to be worth $7.9 billion in 2011, possibly increasing to $15 billion in 2015 because of the rise in mining activity. A 2015 Global Witness report estimated the jade trade at $31 billion, a figure most analysts agree is excessive. To put that number in perspective, worldwide rough diamond production in 2015 was valued at just under $14 billion, with the worldwide polished wholesale market valued at $22 billion.

	Chinese jewelry retailers report that jade sales slowed by 20% or more in 2016. Jade dealers at the September 2016 Hong Kong Watch and Jewellery Show noted that prices for the gem, even top quality “A” material, had fallen substantially − 20% to 40% in the past two years − as the Chinese government began to crack down on large cash purchases as a way to curtail corruption. In addition, the Chinese government also enacted an excise tax on jade imports to discourage demand.

	China’s top retailers do not break down sales by gemstone categories, but the country’s largest chain, Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook’s 2,057 stores logged sales of $7.2 billion in 2016, down from a 2014 peak of $9.9 billion. Gem-set pieces (including jade) account for 27% of the company’s sales.

	Sales at Chow Sang Sang, another prominent Chinese jewelry retail chain, fell 16% in fiscal 2016, to just over $1 billion and Luk Fook Holding’s, also a large jewelry chain, saw its sales decline 21% in fiscal 2016 to $700 million.

	The majority of jade is worked on in China with an estimated 500,000 people employed in various stages of processing, according to dealers. It is mostly sold through specialized retailers or traditional marketplaces that don’t disclose their sales activity. An increasing amount of medium quality “B” and lower quality “C” jade, however, is being sold via Chinese internet sites such as Weibo and WeChat. These internet sales are hurting traditional jade retailers, according to reports in China.

Pieces of mined boulders show ribbons of jade running through them. This one was found in Mandalay, Myanmar. Photo by Robert C. Kammerling/GIA

	The Future of Myanmar Jade Mining

	Regaining sufficient control over Myanmar’s jade production to regulate production, enforce environmental and safety standards, and restore government revenues would be a very difficult task, according to the Ash Center report.

	The conflict in Kachin, a large province in the north central portion of the country, has been raging for years. Some officials of the Kachin Independence Army earn money trafficking in illicitly mined jade, in addition to “tolls” collected from individuals and companies traveling through the area, according to the report. Any settlement must take these factors into account.

	Complicating matters, mine concession owners, many of whom are Chinese, need to be willing to pay sufficient taxes to support government health and education programs, particularly because drug addiction remains rampant, especially among miners, who require these social services.

	The Ash Center has proposed a revenue sharing structure that will enable mine owners to keep their concessions, while paying royalties of 50% on the full wholesale value of jade exported, plus business taxes. An elected government in Kachin, supported by both the military and separatists groups, would enforce environmental policies and provide health and education services to the populace. Non-Governmental Organizations could serve as monitors to ensure those standards are upheld.

	The report also maintains that an equitable power-sharing arrangement would make it possible to develop hydroelectric power operations and the ability to responsibly mine other resources in the area, including amber and gold. @topic:9


Publish Year: 2003 Title: G. Robert Crowningshield: A Legendary Gemologist Abstract: During his more than 50 years of involvement with the GIA Gem Laboratory, G. Robert (Bob) Crowningshield has made many significant contributions to the study of gems and the science of gemology. These include fundamental advances in the understanding and identification of treated and synthetic diamonds; of colored stones such as tanzanite, amethyst, “padparadscha” sapphire, and heat-treated corundum; and of natural and cultured pearls. In the early 1950s, Crowningshield demonstrated the value of new equipment in gem testing, in particular the spectroscope. He also helped develop and teach the GIA diamond grading system, now the standard worldwide. Along the way, he shared his wealth of practical experience in hundreds of articles, lectures, and industry presentations. All of these achievements helped lay the foundation of modern gemological research.

	DATA DEPOSITORY

Presentations at AGS Conclaves by G. Robert Crowningshield
	Submitted by Thomas M. Moses and James E. Shigley
	October 30, 2003 @topic:8


Publish Year: 2016 Title: Emeralds and the Power of the Pink City Abstract: The theme of emerald unites three of our Winter issue’s papers. First, lead authors Andrew Lucas and Nirupa Bhatt profile Jaipur’s gem and jewelry industry. Renowned as a modern emerald cutting center, Jaipur has been a hub of jewelry craftsmanship since Jai Singh II founded the Rajasthani capital in 1727. Now the maharaja’s city is a global powerhouse of jewelry design, manufacture, and retail, fusing traditional Indian design with a Western aesthetic to reach the market through innovative online retail and television shopping networks.

		A global powerhouse of jewelry design, manufacture, and retail....

	Our second paper, by Karl Schmetzer, H. Albert Gilg, and Elisabeth Vaupel, explores an early frontier of gem synthesis. The authors detail Prof. Richard Nacken’s pioneering work and describe a previously unknown type of flux-grown synthetic emerald from the 1920s. Their paper is a valuable addition to the literature and a fascinating detective story, too.

	Until recently, danburite was an underappreciated gem, but new sources are bringing this attractive yellow stone a larger audience. In our third paper, Le Thi-Thu Huong and her coauthors characterize a promising find of gem-quality danburite from Yen Bai Province, Vietnam.

	Our fourth article returns to the emerald theme. We are proud to present a new wall chart illustrating some of the internal features of natural, treated, and synthetic emeralds. The chart, with contributions by inclusion specialists Nathan Renfro, John Koivula, Jonathan Muyal, and Shane McClure, provides a tantalizing look into the micro-world of emeralds.

	Next, GIA field gemologists Wim Vertriest and Vincent Pardieu report on the latest developments in northern Mozambique, including the Montepuez ruby deposit and new discoveries of high-quality tourmaline and pink spinel.

	I’d like to draw your attention to our three regular sections. Lab Notes includes entries on the largest near-colorless CVD-grown and HPHT-grown synthetic diamonds seen to date.

G&G Micro-World features a chalcedony containing more than a dozen clear hexagonal quartz windows, an iridescent ferropericlase inclusion in a diamond that might indicate a “superdeep” origin for its host, and a synthetic quartz crystal intentionally seeded with garnet inclusions.

	Gem News International has something for everyone, including unusual tourmaline from Afghanistan, a new sapphire rush in Madagascar, and trapiche-type sapphire from Tasmania.

	This issue also includes voting instructions for the Dr. Edward J. Gübelin Most Valuable Article Award. We had the best response ever to our 2015 reader ballot, so please do vote for your favorite 2016 articles. And don’t forget to check out our additional online media content for the Jaipur article and this issue’s Micro-World column.

	Finally, we’d like to congratulate GIA postdoctoral research associate Evan Smith and his coauthors on their recent publication in Science—one of the world’s top academic journals. Their paper on large type IIa diamonds suggests that these rare gems grew within liquid metal deep in the earth’s mantle. It’s a valuable contribution to understanding the origin of these big stones, which we hope to tell in a future issue.

	Thank you for all your support through 2016. We look forward to the upcoming year in gemology! @topic:2


Publish Year: 2016 Title: Fred Ward (1935–2016) Abstract: Gems & Gemology mourns the loss of acclaimed photographer and gemologist Fred Ward, who died July 19 at the age of 81. Mr. Ward was known for capturing iconic images of celebrities and for his work with National Geographic magazine, which sparked his gemological pursuits.

	Mr. Ward was born in Huntsville, Alabama, and grew up in Miami. His passion for photography blossomed in high school, when he decided to turn his extracurricular activity into a career. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida in 1959.

	Well known for his shots of President John F. Kennedy’s funeral in November 1963 and the Beatles’ first American performance (1964), he photographed Gerald Ford for Portrait of a President (1975). Mr. Ward’s work can be found in collections owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Library of Congress, among others. Mr. Ward became interested in gemology as a freelance photographer for National Geographic, where he worked on several assignments related to gems. He went on to publish the highly influential nine-volume Fred Ward Gem Book Series. He earned his Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA in 1990 and was a member of the Washington, DC chapter of the GIA Alumni Association. He was a coauthor of G&G’s Spring 2000 article “Burmese Jade: The Inscrutable Gem.”

	Fred Ward is survived by his wife of 58 years and frequent collaborator Charlotte Mayes Ward, four children, and four grandchildren. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. @topic:6


Publish Year: 2010 Title: Gemstone Enhancement and its Detection in the 2000s Abstract: Advances in technology and increased demand for lower-priced gem materials contributed to the proliferation of new treatments throughout the first decade of the 2000s. The developments that made the most difference were the diffusion treatment of corundum with beryllium, diffusion of copper into feldspar, clarity enhancement of ruby and diamond, and heat treatment of diamond, ruby, and sapphire. Gemological laboratories and researchers have done their best to keep up with these treatments, and the jewelry trade has struggled with how to disclose them. This article summarizes these developments and the methods used to identify the various enhancements. @topic:8


Publish Year: 2012 Title: Gemstones from Vietnam: An Update Abstract: This article describes the major gem materials of Vietnam, together with their new finds and recent production. The gemological properties and chemical composition of ruby, sapphire, spinel, tourmaline, garnet, and peridot from the most important Vietnamese sources are updated. Other gems such as aquamarine, green orthoclase, topaz, zircon, quartz, and pearls are briefly discussed. Commercially significant deposits of ruby, blue and fancy sapphire, and spinel are located in two northern provinces: Yen Bai (Luc Yen and Yen Binh Districts) and Nghe An (Quy Chau and Quy Hop Districts). Large volumes of blue, green, and yellow sapphire come from the Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak and Lam Dong, as well as the southern provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Thuan. Of secondary commercial importance are the tourmaline and garnet from Yen Bai and the peridot and zircon from the Central Highlands. @topic:9


Publish Year: - Title: Venture into Chanthaburi’s Sapphire Mines and Markets with GIA’s Field Gemologists Abstract: A Visit to Chanthaburi, Thailand

	Visit Thailand’s resurgent mines and gem markets with GIA field gemologists.

	This video takes you to a sapphire mine in eastern Thailand and to Chanthaburi’s bustling gem market, with a team led by GIA Field Gemologist Vincent Pardieu.

	Only a few hours from Bangkok, the area provides easy access for collecting reference samples and witnessing the evolution of the area’s mining and trading activity. It’s also an ideal expedition for training and evaluating young gemologists seeking to join GIA’s Field Gemology department.

	In this video, you’ll travel to the Khao Ploy Waen volcano, which is at the center of the sapphire-producing area. Its name literally means “hill of gems.” The volcano is about four miles (6.5 km) west of Chanthaburi, a gem-trading center a little over three-hours’ drive—some 155 miles (250 km)—southeast of Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok.

	Eastern Thailand was the world’s major ruby source between the early 1960s and the 1990s, when political issues in Myanmar (then Burma) shut down supply from that country. This spurred big, mechanized mining operations in eastern Thailand.

	Although the rubies are mostly gone, this area has lately seen a resurgence in sapphire mining, and Khao Ploy Waen still resounds to the rush of water and the clatter of concentrate through alluvial miners’ sluices, jigs, and trommels. The area produces some big dark blue silky stones—which require treatment to be marketable—along with green material and the locally prized yellow color sapphires locally called "Butsarakam". Top-quality yellow, green and blue gems sometimes have excellent transparency but strong dichroism, Pardieu explains.

	Decades at the center of corundum supply helped cement Chanthaburi’s status as a premier gem trading and treatment center. A cosmopolitan place, Chanthaburi blends Chinese, Vietnamese, and French influences. The town also hosts Thailand’s largest Christian church, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

	The town’s weekend gem market has an international flavor. Every Friday and Saturday, traders from all over the world come to buy and sell rough and cut gems. This is important because local merchants have come to depend on their merchandise. Traders from Guinea, Africa, are especially evident, with their selections of gems from African sources including Mozambique, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Madagascar.  This mix is demonstrated by a Buddha carving fashioned from African ruby that, Pardieu explains, required heating with borax to close fractures before it could be fashioned: Truly a blend of local treatment and fashioning knowhow with raw material sourced a continent away.

	Chanthaburi’s market would be much less active without this influx of traders and their stones. Indeed, in one ironic twist, a trader from Kabul, Afghanistan, was seen purchasing Nigerian rhodolite garnet, treated ruby, and synthetic gems for sale to US servicemen in military bases like Bagram and Kabul.

	This GIA Field Expedition (FE53) took place in June 2014. Besides Pardieu, the participants were cameramen Didier Gruel and Philippe Brunot, and expedition members Victoria Raynaud, Stanislas Detroyat, and Marie Daufresne. @topic:9


Publish Year: - Title: Fall 2011 G&G Lab Notes Abstract: Unusually Large Clinohumite
	Black Diamond Colored by Strong Plastic Deformation
	Coated Black Diamond
	Coated Diamond with Spectroscopic Features of a Natural-Color Pink
	Colorless Untreated Diamonds with High Levels of Strain
	HPHT Treatment for Subtle Color Enhancement of Diamond
	An Interesting Luminescent Cleavage in Diamond
	A Large HPHT-Annealed Pink Diamond
	Gem-Quality CVD Synthetic Diamonds from Gemesis
	Treated Synthetic Diamonds with Pink Color Intensified by Fluorescence
	Cultured Pearls from Pteria Sterna with Plastic Bead Nuclei
	Large Conch Pearl
	Natural and Synthetic Green Sapphires with Similar Color but Remarkably Different Chromophores
	Unusual Be-Diffused Pink Sapphire . . . A Cautionary Note
	Unusually High Beryllium in Three Blue Sapphires

To view the full section, download the PDF above.

	DATA DEPOSITORY

Unusually Large Clinohumite - Additional Spectra
	October 24, 2011 @topic:10


Publish Year: - Title: Winter 2011 G&G Lab Notes Abstract: A Rare Fancy Vivid Purple Diamond
	A Strongly Purple-Colored Black Diamond
	HPHT-Treated Diamond with Fluorescence Pattern of an HPHT-Grown Synthetic
	Type IIb Diamond with Long Phosphorescence
	Clarity-Enhanced Opal with Artificial Matrix
	Ethiopian Black Opal
	Coated Bead-Cultured Freshwater Pearls
	Tenebrescent Zircon

To view the full section, download the PDF above.

	DATA DEPOSITORY

	Type IIb Diamond with Long Phosphorescence - Videos (see below)
	January 18, 2012

	Type IIb DiamondPhosphorescence

	Type IIb DiamondPhosphorescence & Thermoluminescence @topic:10


Publish Year: 2008 Title: Characterization of Emeralds from a Historical Deposit: Byrud (Eidsvoll), Norway Abstract: An emerald deposit at Byrud, in southern Norway, yielded significant quantities of crystals and gem rough in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Complex multiphase inclusions in the emeralds consist of water, gaseous methane, halite, sylvite, calcite, and a sulfide assemblage (pyrrhotite, galena, and sphalerite). This sulfide assemblage makes it easy to distinguish Byrud emeralds from those from other localities with a binocular microscope. The chemical composition of Byrud emeralds is also characteristic: They are colored mostly by vanadium (up to 1 wt.% V2O3), and contain low sodium and magnesium (0.1 wt.% oxide or less). Moreover, the relative amounts of iron, magnesium, chromium, rubidium, and cesium appear to be diagnostic. Infrared absorption spectra show that they contain little water. Emeralds from the Byrud deposit are still occasionally recovered by hobbyist collectors from the mine dumps.

	DATA DEPOSITORY

Table 1: Minerals Associated with Byrud Emerald and Their Relative Abundance
Table 2: Details of the LA-ICP-MS Analyses of Three Byrud Emeralds
Table 3: Chemical Composition of Norwegian Emeralds by Electron Microprobe
	Submitted by Benjamin Rondeau
	Summer, 2008 @topic:1


Publish Year: - Title: Summer 2009 G&G Lab Notes Abstract: Bicolored Diamond
	“Black” Diamond with Deep Violet Color
	Carved Diamond Crucifix
	Rare Type IIb Gray-Green Diamond
	Unconventional Diamond Cuts
	Pink CVD Synthetic Diamond
	Rare Star Peridot
	Tourmaline with Silver and Gold Chatoyancy
	Eljen Treated Turquoise

To view the full section, download the PDF above.

	DATA DEPOSITORY

'Black' Diamond with Deep Violet Color - Supplementary Figure
	Submitted by Christopher M. Breeding and Kimberly M. Rockwell
	Summer, 2009
UV-Visible–Near Infrared Spectrum
	Submitted by Paul Johnson and Jason Darley
	Summer, 2009 @topic:10


Publish Year: 2007 Title: Yellow Mn-rich Tourmaline from the Canary Mining Area, Zambia Abstract: The most important source of yellow gem elbaite is the Canary mining area in the Lundazi District of eastern Zambia. The tourmaline has been mined since 1983 from both pegmatite and eluvial/alluvial deposits, in colors typically ranging from yellow-green to yellow to orange and brown; much of the orange-to-brown material is heated to attain a “golden” or “canary” yellow color. The tourmaline is Mn-rich (up to 9.18 wt.% MnO documented in the literature) and contains traces of Ti and little or no Fe. The distinctive composition of this tourmaline is probably the result of the crystallization of abundant schorl from an unusual B-rich, Li-poor pegmatite magma, which depleted Fe while conserving Mn until the late-stage crystallization of gem pockets.

	DATA DEPOSITORY

Table: Electron-Microprobe Analyses of Tourmaline from the Canary Mining Area, Zambia
	Submitted by Brendan Laurs
	Winter, 2007 @topic:13


Publish Year: 2016 Title: African Rhodochrosite and Colombian Quartz with Trapiche Patterns Abstract: Left: A 6.0 cm tall rhodochrosite specimen from the N’Chwaning mining area in South Africa. Right: These domed hexagonal quartz slices from Colombia, measuring 3.5–4.5 cm across, exhibit inclusions reminiscent of trapiche emerald. The pattern becomes more distinct when viewed through cross-polarized filters. Photos by Donna Beaton.

	At Tucson's Pueblo show, Germán Salazar (Idar-Oberstein and Bogotá) and Gaetano Lacagnina (L.G. Gemme, Milan) shared a booth that featured an eclectic assortment of gems and minerals. Mr. Lacagnina, who also operates a lab and cutting factory, specializes in unusual and fine mineral specimens. Of particular note were high-quality rhodochrosites, as seen in the image on the left, from the N’Chwaning mining area in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. N’Chwaning, noted for having Africa’s largest manganese reserves, also produces manganite, ettringite, and other Mn-bearing minerals. Noteworthy on Mr. Salazar’s side of the booth were polished hexagonal quartz slices bearing a spoked trapiche-like pattern, shown in the right-hand image. Coincidentally, the quartz was from the Boyacá region of Colombia, which regularly produces trapiche emerald. The patterned areas are found at the core of larger quartz crystals. Viewed in a polariscope, the growth directions and fibrous inclusions are very distinct. Although Mr. Salazar has marketed the slices as “trapiche quartz,” he is considering branding this unique find as “Salazarite.” @topic:1