Publish Year: - Title: Demantiod from the Green Dragon Mine Abstract: Stephan ReifSales Executive, Green Dragon Mine

Interview with Stephan Reif, Sales Executive, Green Dragon Mine
Mr. Reif came to the Tucson Gem Show to promote his mine’s product: demantoid garnet, “one of the rarest stones alive.”

His excitement is obvious as he talks about the Green Dragon Mine, located in Central Namibia. It was discovered by accident when a Namibian goat-herder stumbled on some green crystals in the dirt.

The Green Dragon is an open-pit mine, with a crushing plant and sorting house on-site. Its desert location means they have to bring in water from outside, limiting their ability to put the ore through a density separation step, which instead is performed carefully by hand. They also have to live with the desert’s punishing temperature extremes.

With no clear indication where the “good stuff” is hiding, Green Dragon miners depend on a combination of instinct and geological knowledge to find the richest pockets. Mine yield—between 5,000 and 10,000 carats—is mostly melee, small gems measured in millimeters.  Half-carat finished stones are rare; over a carat, very rare.

Turning to his stones, he shows some samples of cut demantoids, including melee rounds and a selection of larger, square-shaped brilliants. He holds them to the light to show how their color and cut are just right for displaying a lot of fire. He also has a selection of what he calls “army-colored” demantoids—sort of a brownish green—that are very popular with his clients.

The mine’s social responsibility to its workers includes a housing program: Some of what the mine earns goes into a fund to help workers and their families find proper housing. The mine is visited periodically by government and environmental regulators to check on how they treat their employees, ensure blasting safety, maintain their mining claim status, etc.

Green Dragon markets its demantoids on US home-shopping TV stations, to high-end European and Swiss consumers, and to manufacturers in Asia. This beautiful stone appeals to jewelry designers, collectors, and others who love unusual stones. You can tell by Mr. Reif’s enthusiastic tone and delivery that he’s just as excited as everyone else about its beauty and potential. @topic:1


Publish Year: 2003 Title: Summer 2003 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Krystallos—Brazil: Gem-Crystals in Design”
By Sonia Fonseca and Norman M. Rodi, Eds., 178 pp., illus., publ. by Terra das Artes Editora, São Paolo, Brazil, 2002. US$120.00

“The Fabergé Menagerie”
Organized by the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, in cooperation with the Fabergé Arts Foundation, Washington, DC, 192 pp., illus., publ. by Philip Wilson Publishers, London, 2003. US$25.00

“The Great Book of Amber”
By Elz.bieta Mierzwin ́ ska, photos by Marek Zak, 160 pp., distrib. in the U.S., Canada, and Australia by Amber#1, San Francisco, CA, 2002. US$45.00

“The Rings Book”
By Jinks McGrath, 128 pp., illus., publ. by Krause Publications, Iola, WI, 2003. US$24.95

“The Ultimate Orient: Philippine South Sea Pearls”
Photography by Scott Tuason, 175 pp., publ. by Jewelmer International Corp., Makati City, Philippines, 2001, US$65.00

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:6


Publish Year: 1998 Title: Spring 1998 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Cultured Pearls: The First Hundred Years”
By Andy Müller for Golay Buchel, 142 pp., illus., publ. by The Golay Buchel Group, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1997. US$60.00

“Dana’s New Minerology, 8th Edition”
Rewritten by Richard V. Gaines, H. Catherine Skinner, Eugene E. Foord, Brian Mason, and Abraham Rosenzweig, 1,874 pp., illus., publ. by John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1997. US$250.00

“Mineral Collector’s Handbook”
By Barry Krause, 192 pp., illus., publ. by Sterling Publishing Company, New York, 1996. US$24.95

“Gemme del Vicentino (Gems of Vicenza)”
By Matteo Boscardin and Ottaviano Violati Tescari, 114 pp., illus., publ. by Zannato Civic Museum, Montecchio Maggiore, 1996, US$14.00 (in Italian, with English summary)

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:6


Publish Year: 1990 Title: Summer 1990 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Encyclopedia of Minerals, 2nd Edition, December 1989”
By Willard L. Roberts, Thomas J. Campbell, and George R. Rapp, Jr., 979 pp., illus., publ. by Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1989. US$99.95

“Black Pearls of Tahiti”
By Dr. Jean-Paul Lintilhac, photographs by Alain Durand, 116 pp., illus., publ., by Royal Tahitian Pearl Book, Papeete, Tahiti, 1987. US$39.95

“Gem Identification Made Easy: A Hands-On Guide to More Confident Buying and Selling”
By Antoinette L. Matlins and A. C. Bonanno, 270 pp., illus., publ. by Gemstone Press, South Woodstock, VT, 1989. US$29.95

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:2


Publish Year: 1988 Title: Spring 1988 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Famous Diamonds”
By Ian Balfour, 244 pp., illus., publ. by William Collins Sons and Co., Ltd., London, 1987. US$34.95

“How to Carve Jade and Gems”
By June Culp Zeitner with Hing Wu Lee, 130 pp., illus., publ. by Northern Gem Press, 1987. US$21.50

“Legendary Gems or Gems That Made History”
By Eric Brulon, 239 pp., illus., Chilton Book Co., Radnor, PA, 1986. US$35.00

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:6


Publish Year: - Title: Do Well By Doing Good: Best Business Practices As a Profit Motive Abstract: Andy Bone, director of the Responsible Jewellery Council, discusses three issues the gem and jewelry industry can address to improve business practices. Photo courtesy Responsible Jewellery Council

	Andy Bone readily admits that getting industry players − from local retailers to miners in far-flung gem source areas − to take an active interest in “best business practices” can be a real challenge; especially businesses dealing at a purely local level.

	Bone is the director of the Responsible Jewellery Council, an independent standards-setting organization that promulgates sustainable labor, environmental and trading practices within the gem and jewelry industry. He makes a strong case that these are bottom-line issues for every business, local or not, that his organization can help address.

	Bone comes from a business background – 17 years at De Beers, most recently as its director of international relations – rather than a standards organization like his predecessors, so he understands the bottom line.

	 He likens RJC membership to an insurance policy.

	“Insurance is really managing risk,” he says, in this case from damaging reputational issues instead of fire or theft. “RJC helps cover these risks,” he says, adding that the consequences of failing to address these issues can be very costly today.

	Bone describes the three major risks to the gem and jewelry industry.

	Risk 1: Regulation − Legislation can put costly burdens on legitimate businesses

	“Remember back to the late 1990s when the issue of conflict diamonds came to the fore? We saw a lot of politicians eager to make a name by going after the diamond industry,” he says. “Now, there may be many people in our industry who believe the Kimberley Process [launched in 2000] isn’t relevant to them, but it’s certain that it helped the industry dodge a bullet [of onerous regulation] that saved millions of dollars and thousands of jobs around the world.”

	More recently, he notes, the Conflict Mineral Compliance section of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act “would have included diamonds and gems without the industry’s investment in the KP, and the Responsible Jewellery Council, showing that we [the industry] are serious about best business practices.”

	Section 1502 of Dodd-Frank requires extensive reporting and tracking by U.S. businesses that use and trade minerals from areas of conflict, including tin, tungsten and titanium, in order to deter money laundering and financing of activities that can compromise U.S. security or financial institutions. The bill also promotes fair labor and sustainable environmental policies.

	Risk 2: Reputation − diamonds and gems under fire

	He acknowledges that there remains a strong undercurrent from the conflict diamond issue, particularly because synthetic diamond manufacturers are raising the issue and reruns of the “Blood Diamond” movie keep circulating.

	In addition, many think tanks and policy makers have bought into the notion that resources are a curse to many countries because they provide incentives for corruption, civil conflict and environmental damage.

	Finally, the notion that diamonds are a marketing invention without any innate value also continues to circulate.

	“Any of these attacks on our products are a serious business risk,” Bone says. “Particularly today, when it takes only seconds for information to travel around the world, thanks to social media.”

	The RJC helps manage the conversation on these issues, he points out.

	Addressing the so-called “resource curse,” Bone counters that resources are neutral.

	“It’s an issue of governance, not the resource. We can point to Botswana and the prosperity that the diamond industry has brought to what was one of the world’s poorest countries,” he says. “Or look what Norway’s oil reserves have done for that country, with the royalties being used to fund old-age care there.”

	There have been conflicting reports over whether or not the issue of conflict diamonds has dampened consumer demand for them in the U.S. and other Western consumer markets. While many surveys of diamond shoppers say they are not extremely concerned about the issue, Bone doesn’t believe such polls tell the whole story because such shoppers are a tiny minority of the greater population and no one is asking what they think.

	“There’s no sure way of really knowing, but why invite the risk?” he points out. The real point is that membership in the RJC gives companies a strong talking point that they are taking action in a very real way – we can certify the integrity of their supply chains and their own business practices. So, if the issue arises, they can point to the fact that their business operations are fully audited in an open and transparent manner.”

	Bone says that the “marketing invention” notion is something the entire industry needs to address, not just the RJC.

	“On the one hand, yes, diamonds are an invention. But the invention happened 4,000 years ago when people first began valuing them,” says Bone, who also worked in De Beers marketing department in his two decades with the firm. “Today, diamonds have a story − unique attributes that convey things we cannot articulate. And, yes, value is perception and luxury is perception of value. It is all interconnected.”

	Risk 3: Financing – banks obliged to avoid industries that do not practice full disclosure

	The diamond industry already has seen a significant number of lenders leave the industry. Some of this is because many companies do not operate to the degree of transparency required under a set of international regulations known as Basel III.

	Bone again points out that the transparency requirements for joining the RJC offers banks the assurance that their clients are pre-vetted in regard to their business practices, which should make obtaining and keeping financing much easier.

	Bone acknowledges that much of the talk about best practices has focused on “doing the right thing” for its own sake without taking business interests into account.

	“Yes, it’s doing the right thing,” he stresses. “But adhering to these practices makes good commercial sense in today’s environment where information (and misinformation) travels around the world in seconds and governments are growing ever more concerned about the dealings of international businesses large and small.” @topic:11


Publish Year: - Title: Designer Shares her Jewelry Inspirations Abstract: Paula CrevoshayJewelry Designer

	Interview with Paula Crevoshay, Jewelry Designer
Paula Crevoshay’s one-woman exhibit of her jewelry designs at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh speaks for her esteemed status in the jewelry world. In this GIA exclusive interview recorded at the 2013 Tucson Gem Show, she speaks for herself and her art in eloquent and compelling detail.

Her exhibit (and companion book), Garden of Light, puts her creations on full, colorful display, and here in the video she talks about her creative process. Holding a bedazzling jeweled butterfly in hand, she explains how she most often begins with a center stone—in this case a raw natural pearl. She meditates on it until a vision begins to take shape and form in her mind. Then she begins to incorporate stones that match in sheen and luster and maximize play of color. Crevoshay is proud to wear the crown of “Queen of Color” that admirers in the jewelry industry have placed on her. It fits, she says, because from the beginning of her career she saw herself as a painter who uses gemstones for her color pallet.

Though much the self-described dreamer, Crevoshay is not without a practical side. She relies on such scientific gemological elements as refractive index and Mohs’ scale in making her fanciful choices. And she is not above substituting, say, a chrome oxide for an emerald in order to make an item more price-friendly for a client.

Still, in the end, Paula Crevoshay is an artist, and holds to the artist’s creed that the most important thing in pursuing a vision is to keep it true to yourself and distinctive from all others. @topic:6


Publish Year: - Title: Industry Experts Share Encouraging Advice with Job Seekers Abstract: Students plan their day before the start of “Job Success in Today's Market,” which kicked off the event. Photo by Eric Welch/GIA

                      Act with integrity. Adapt to change. Know what your next job will be. Don’t be afraid to fail.

These are just some of the words of advice offered to job seekers at GIA’s 20th annual Jewelry Career Fair on Oct. 22. The event, held at the Institute’s world headquarters in Carlsbad, is a free, one-day-only opportunity for attendees to connect with companies through panel discussions, one-on-one career coaching sessions and networking. It also included three panel sessions: “Job Success in Today’s Market,” “From Design to Finish” and “Creative Careers.”

Here is some of their best advice:

Alan Bell, managing director of The Bell Group, Inc., shared principles he learned from his father: “It’s not enough to conduct yourself with integrity in the jewelry industry. You must conduct yourself in a manner that leaves no doubt about your integrity. You must always do what you agree to do.”

Douglas Kazanjian, CEO of Kazanjian Bros. Inc., on how to get into the estate jewelry business: “(Look for) the company that has the most turnover of goods. You really want to go in looking for the experience first. Salary and compensation should be the last things you think about – it takes a long time to become valuable (because of your knowledge) in the estate business.”

David Pomije, chairman and CEO of Top Hat, Inc.: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Mark Smelzer, publisher of JCK magazine: “Take advantage of the slower economy to rethink, replan, reimagine. Think about what your core strengths are, do your homework, think about how you present yourself.”

Jewelry designer Erica Courtney: “You can’t get lucky if you don’t get out there. You can’t get lucky if you’re sitting at home waiting for someone to discover what a genius you are. You have to make them know you’re a genius.”

Steven A. Mindel, managing partner of Feinberg, Mindel, Brandt & Klein, LLP: “There are a million different opportunities for people coming into the jewelry industry. You’ve got to keep your eyes really open because there may be a strange path to get in.”

Steve Shonebarger, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Montres Corum USA, always had his next job in line: “I always had aspirations to work for the next big company, but you don’t want to have a resume that shows you’ve changed jobs every year or two. You want to have at least 4 to 5 years with every company.”

Debra Dolphin, director of fulfillment for Blue Nile: “Give yourself a break if you fail once in a while. You’re going to learn from it, pick yourself up and be better next time.”

George Blodwell, celebrity stylist: “We’re already successful just being human beings. We are gems; we are so special and priceless. Remember that when you’re waking up in the morning. Be happy, be yourself – people respond to that authenticity. Don’t try to be something you’re not, don’t try to be impressive. Just be a real person and say what comes from your heart.” @topic:12


Publish Year: 2003 Title: Spring 2003 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry”
By Elizabeth Taylor, 239 pp., illus., publ. by Simon & Schuster, New York, 2002. US$39.95

“Cameos: Old and New, 3rd Ed.”
By Anna M. Miller, 274 pp., illus., publ. by Gemstone Press, Woodstock, VT, 2002. $19.95

“Beryllium-Treated Rubies and Sapphires”
By Ted Themelis, 48 pp., illus., publ. by Gemlab Inc. (e-mail: ted@themelis.com), Bangkok, 2003. US$20.00

“Jewelry & Gems at Auction”
By Antoinette Matlins, 309 pp., illus., publ. by Gemstone Press, Woodstock, VT, 2002. US$19.95

“Gemstone Buying Guide, 2nd Ed.”
By Renee Newman, 156 pp., illus., publ. by International Jewelry Publications, Los Angeles, 2003 US$19.95

“Mogok, Myanmar”
By Roland Schlüssel, 280 pp., illus., publ. by Christian Weise Verlag, Munich, 2002 (in German). € 100.00

“Crystals: Their Growth, Morphology, and Imperfections”
By Ichiro Sunagawa, 304 pp., illus., publ. by Kyoritsu Publications Corp., Tokyo, 2003 (in Japanese). ¥7,500

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:6


Publish Year: 2024 Title: Out of Our Mines Abstract: Figure 1. Extremely rare Black Web Gem mine turquoise nuggets and cabochons from Nevada. These pieces are natural with no treatments except for the backings added to the cabochons. The center oval is approximately 16 × 12 mm. Photo by Richard Shull; courtesy of Out of Our Mines.
As noted in the overview turquoise was one of the most prolific gems in Tucson this year, found in a variety of jewelry, cut stones, and rough throughout the shows. Richard Shull and Helen Constantine-Shull of Out of Our Mines (Dyer, Nevada) reported strong sales at the AGTA show, where they had an impressive variety of mainly American stones, particularly turquoise and variscite from Nevada. They also offered other popular materials, including Oregon chalcedony, California tourmaline, Oregon sunstone, Nevada golden opal, and Arizona amethyst.
Childhood visits to trading posts during trips to the Southwest sparked Richard’s fascination with turquoise and jewelry. His family’s gold mining activities in California and Nevada inspired his own interest in mining. Helen similarly traveled throughout the Southwest as a child, developing a strong appreciation for the local rocks and plants. Both Shulls have extensive lapidary and jewelry-making experience. They began mining their own material in the late 1980s and became mine owners in the 1990s. Currently, they own and operate several turquoise and variscite claims in Nevada.

Figure 2. Natural Nevada turquoise from the Nevada Blue mine (stone farthest to the right, the pear shape on top, and the large center triangle); the Double Eagle mine (freeform triangular stone on center right and the geometric freeform below that); the Northern Lights mine (green stone); the Black Widow mine (two tight spiderweb stones on the left); and calibrated stones from the Supernova and Aztec mines at Royston (clear gem material without patterning). Sizes range from 2.12 ct to 24.62 ct. Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Out of Our Mines.
Helen attributed her passion for turquoise and variscite to their great variety of patterns and colors. Their highest-end turquoise is material with tight, distinct spiderweb patterning from their Black Widow and Black Web Gem mines. Only about two pounds of material has been recovered to date from the Black Web Gem mine, and it is some of the finest natural black web turquoise in the world (figure 1). Also popular are greens from the Northern Lights mine, bright greenish blue material with striking reddish brown matrix from the Double Eagle mine, blues with strongly contrasting matrix from the Nevada Blue mine, and pattern-free clear gem material from the Supernova and Aztec mines at Royston (figure 2).

Figure 3. Stabilized Nevada turquoise from the Supernova mine. Sizes range from 5.61 to 13.09 ct. Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Out of Our Mines.
Turquoise with distinct matrix patterning is a strong draw for those seeking one-of-a-kind pieces, a very popular trend in jewelry today. However, there is still solid demand for clear gem material, which the Shulls sell from both vintage sources (1950s Persian) and from their own Dyer Blue and Supernova mines in Nevada, which both produce webbed and clear turquoise (figure 3).

Figure 4. Variscite with matrix (left) and clear gem variscite without patterning (right). Photos by Jennifer Stone-Sundberg; courtesy of Out of Our Mines.
Variscite, a non-copper-containing aluminum phosphate mineral closely related to turquoise, is gaining popularity as consumers learn more about this mineral. Variscite comes in a range of greens and can exhibit the same fascinating matrix patterns found in turquoise (figure 4).
The Shulls described how some buyers form a personal connection with the material. For these customers, the stone they acquire is more than simply a piece of turquoise; it is a stone from a known location, uncovered by a known person, with a clear story of how it reached the final form in front of them. @topic:2


Publish Year: - Title: Colored Gem Market Update Abstract: Joshua SaltzmanNomad’s Lapidary Company

	Interview with Joshua Saltzman, Nomad’s Lapidary Company
Nomad’s specializes in a wide range of high-end colored stones such as spinel, tourmaline, peridot, garnet, and corundum, all untreated. Saltzman finds that trade shows are excellent places for educating consumers about the differences between treated and untreated stones. As he sees it, explaining to a potential buyer why a similar-sized stone at another booth costs half of what Nomad’s charges (treatment vs. no treatment) gives that customer more choices.  She can make her selection based on whether lower prices or a gem’s natural qualities are her priority.

The market for high-quality and larger pieces has tightened noticeably in the past couple of years due to much less mining and production and the resulting higher prices. Rubellite and bi-colored tourmalines were big sellers on the Chinese market, but less rough is now available and sales have slowed. Two years ago, there was a large supply of Afghani tourmaline in the bright blues that Nomad’s is known for, but now the supply has shifted to mint colors and the variety known as indicolite; Saltzman says they are selling well and “people love them.”

Saltzman shows stunning deep purple cuprian tourmaline from Mozambique, a big and beautiful aquamarine from Brazil, and lavender spinel from Vietnam. The latter demonstrates a color shift from lavender to pink in a fine specimen with a fiery, glittery radiance that Saltzman calls “sexy, feminine and soft; very popular.” Although Nomad’s also sells Tajik spinel in rose pink, and Tanzanian spinel in oranges and intense pinks and reds, their biggest seller is Vietnamese cobalt blue, which is now very hard to find in sizes over a carat.

Indeed, spinel appears to be increasingly appreciated as a gemstone in its own right, instead of as merely a lower-cost substitute for corundum. Vietnamese spinel in pastel colors is in demand and the prices are rising due to the fact that only small finds are being mined now. One reason for its popularity is that spinel tends not to be heated or treated the way rubies and sapphires often are, so customers can be confident that what they are buying is a truly natural gemstone. Nomad’s customer base is loyal because they know that the company’s combined choice of rough, cutting, and polishing produces a level of quality in untreated gemstones not found elsewhere. @topic:2


Publish Year: - Title: The Story Behind the Story:  China Revealed in 2013 Field Trip Abstract: The amount of .9999 fine gold jewelry at Batar Jewelry Company was beyond anything the team had ever seen before. Photo by Andrew Lucas, © GIA, courtesy of Batar Jewelry Company

The idea of a gem and jewelry exploratory trip to China was born ‒ as many industry ideas are ‒ from two colleagues walking a trade show.
Andrew Lucas, GIA manager of Field Gemology, and Dr. Tao Hsu, GIA technical editor of Gems & Gemology, attended the 2013 Tucson gem shows to gather up-to-date information on the colored stone industry for use as content for GIA’s Education courses. Hsu was relatively new to GIA at the time and Lucas learned she was born and raised in Beijing, China and graduated from the China University of Geosciences with a degree in gemology. She was soon sharing information about the Chinese gem and jewelry industry with him.
It wasn’t long before they realized that her connections and Mandarin language abilities would give GIA an excellent opportunity to document the Chinese industry. Several months later, a team that included Hsu, Lucas, GIA video producer Pedro Padua and GIA photographer Eric Welch, set off on a three-week journey to large and small gem and jewelry companies in China.
They were determined to learn as much about the Chinese industry as they could: What are they manufacturing? Who are they selling to? What’s in the domestic market? What are the trading and retail channels? They visited diamond cutting, colored stones (cutting and trading) and jade jewelry manufacturing facilities, as well as different forms of wholesaling and the retail aspects of the industry.

World-famous jewelry designer Shirley Zhang gave a personally guided tour of her factory and discussed her designs and the Chinese market with us. Photo by Eric Welch, © GIA
Lucas said he was amazed by many things he saw and learned in China, but the growth, scale and talent in the industry – and most importantly, the hospitality of the people they visited – made the greatest impression.
“I have been around the world, received great hospitality, and made many close friendships, but nowhere more so than China,” Lucas said. “Everyone was incredibly open and candid about their work. I found myself constantly saying ‘I love this country.’”
The Journey of Discovery
The modern jewelry industry in China only began approximately 30 years ago, Hsu said, but the country has a long history in jewelry.
“We started to use gold to decorate people and clothing 3,000 years ago and you can track jade back even longer,” she said. “Before 1912, there were rock shops and studios on a small scale that only served the royal family, not really the ordinary people. It was a totally different model. After the 1930s, China experienced a long upheaval period of about 50 years with World War II and the Cultural Revolution in between. No development of the jewelry industry happened within these 50 years.”
“That all changed in 1978 after the country re-opened. Then we started to learn from the Western world how to run a jewelry business,” she said. “This is a new era for the Chinese industry.”
The Chinese gem and jewelry industry is supported by a large pool of people with bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in gemology, which is offered as a major course of study at many universities, Hsu said. And the opportunities for these graduates grow every year.
“When I graduated 10 years ago, very few of us had the ambition to open a jewelry business,” she said. “But now many have that dream and take action to make it a reality right away because they see the economy and the market is growing so fast and a lot of opportunities are achievable.”
“It’s not that hard for you to start something for yourself. The broad view and the personal vision work together,” Hsu said.

Dr. Tao Hsu, technical editor of Gems & Gemology, meets with a member of the Chinese gem and jewelry industry. Photo by Pedro Padua, © GIA
This network of gemology alums were one of the most important ingredients for the GIA’s team to travel the country learning about the industry, Lucas said.
“Tao brilliantly planned and executed this ambitious trip through her former classmates and industry contacts,” Lucas said. “They all wanted to help with anything – logistics, anything we needed. This was especially true when we went to do interviews – they would say ‘you must go see this person’ or ‘I can help you with this.’ It’s almost part of their hospitality.”
The team traveled to the Shenzen, Panyu, Pingzhou, the Guangdong province (what many believe to be the jewelry manufacturing center of the world), to Shanghai (to better understand the commerce aspect of the industry) and Beijing (to document retailers and the highest-end of manufacturing).

“From Shenzhen to Guangzhou, we witnessed massive manufacturing and trading in colored stones, jade, jewelry and diamonds.” Lucas said. “The sheer scale of the industry was overwhelming. All around us were factories, trading centers and organizations to promote trade and government agencies to facilitate trade and retailers.”
“China supplies the world with jewelry,” Lucas said. “Shenzen has the largest 24K gold jewelry manufacturer in the world (it sold 200 tons of finished 24K gold jewelry in China alone last year), the largest diamond setting manufacturer in the world and one of the largest colored stone manufacturers in the world.”
"The country surpassed India not long ago as the major consumer of gold; are the second largest economy; the second biggest gemstone and jewelry market, and the second biggest luxury market," Lucas said. One jewelry retailer could have thousands of stores in a chain.

The China Diamond Exchange Center is where all diamonds, rough and cut, enter China.
Photo courtesy of China Diamond Exchange Center
“All of this growth is in the past 30 years,” Hsu said.
That growth power was most clear in Shanghai, Lucas said.
“Everywhere in the city spoke economic superpower to us,” he said. “This was also true of the China Diamond Exchange where Mr. Li Mu, vice chairman of the Diamond Administration of China, explained in detail the history and workings of the diamond industry in China.”
He also arranged for the team to visit one of the leading diamond jewelry retailer and Internet business operators, Zbird, where Lucas said he learned a lot about the bridal market.
“I didn’t realize China consumes 68% of all of the platinum in the world because it symbolizes how they feel about the purity in relationships,” Lucas said. “Platinum fits a lot of the personality of the Chinese consumer, so it caught on very quickly and is a tremendous seller.”

The brother and sister team of Zbird introduced the team to the bridal and internet diamond jewelry market in China. Image courtesy of Zbird
The People’s Perspective
The team was able to meet with business owners, designers and manufacturers throughout their journey who were very open to sharing information about their companies, their products and their lives.
“People were proud of their industry and they wanted to show us their industry,” Lucas said. “They wanted us to see as much as we could see. They wanted to share ideas. Most of the people were very curious about life in the U.S. compared to life there. They wanted to know what we thought of them and how we felt about our government.”
“Once they realized you have respect for their society and culture,” he said, “it was very easy to make very close friendships very quickly.”
Another strong trait Lucas noticed in the people he met, especially those in their mid-20’s, was a strong desire to gain education and knowledge.
“They had such a tremendous amount of focus and ambition, not just ambition to do well in business, but to do extremely well in whatever they do,” he said. “I saw that in the factories, too. The focus was amazing: they have a vision of where they want to be and they work hard at it and they have the patience for it. I found a tremendous amount of confidence in people for their future in China.”

An example of the vast jewelry manufacturing capability in China. Photo by Eric Welch, © GIA
A Clear Sense of Innovation
Lucas said that China for years had the bad rap of being “the knock-off country,” but he saw a lot of innovation and attention to quality and detail in the manufacturing facilities they visited.
“They would adapt some tried and true models of manufacturing that had been done in the West, but they would also implement different modifications and improvements so they could become more efficient,” he said. “A lot of the industry has moved away from massive amounts of workers ‒ though there’s still a lot of employment ‒ to more state-of-the-art technology in manufacturing.”
That sense of innovation was obvious with the designers they met, too.
“They are not just copying the West, which I think is the perception here,” Lucas said. “One jadeite designer I spoke to takes her inspiration from nature, from her culture and what she learns outside, and puts her own design element to it, blending them all.”
“I saw a lot of innovation in their designs and styles, including elements of individuality and originality in their artistic vision and techniques,” he said.
Reflections of Jade

The artistic talent and workmanship of the jadeite carvings in Pingzhou made a strong impression with the entire team. Photo by Eric Welch, © GIA, courtesy of Mazu
One of the most unforgettable experiences for the team was the two days they spent documenting the jade industry in Pingzhou and Sihui in Guangdong Province.
“The jade industry was extremely fascinating ‒ it’s just not something Westerners have a glimpse of very often,” said Lucas, who was surprised by the emotional and cultural connection people have to jade.

Hsu said there are two major materials of jade: Nephrite, which goes back thousands of years ago, and jadeite, which was first imported in about 1870. She said people first used jade to make tools because it was easy to shape, but then started to use it as worship vessels in different ceremonies since it was pretty compared to other stones.
“They used it to worship their ancestors in different ceremonies. Then it gradually became a decoration and people carved it to give it more meaning,” she said. The patterns gradually evolved; traditional patterns or shapes have different meanings, such as peace or good luck.
“We play with it – it’s not like a piece of jewelry that you wear when you go out – we have it in our hand, we play with it every day,” she said. “People think they are a part of the jade piece and it is a part of them. It’s totally mingled.”

Chinese people enjoy the texture and color of jade, Hsu said, but can like it for any reason, like the feeling you get when you touch it. “We worship how nature can make it look that way,” she said.

Hsu said that jade is also a reflection of the Chinese people.

“Chinese are very conservative and the jade is the same – it matches with our personality,” she said. “It’s not sparkling or transparent, so you cannot see through it easily. That’s also like a lot of Chinese people – they are conservative, too, and you cannot see through them right away. We prefer to be like that based on our culture and tradition.”

“When you look at the nephrite, you want yourself to be like that,” she said.

The GIA team spent endless hours documenting the Chinese gem and jewelry industry. Photo by Eric Welch, © GIA
Consumer Market
The team not only got an insider’s look at the creators of Chinese jewelry, but also a clear understanding of the Chinese consumer.
“The really fascinating part of our trip was seeing the explosion and growth in the domestic consumption,” Lucas said. “The Chinese consumer is interested in everything.”
That’s because they have had the opportunity to travel the world to see all of the different types of gemstones and materials others are wearing, Hsu said. “So people brought them back and more people got to know these materials.”
“Just in the past 5-10 years, people started to realize how beautiful colored stones are,” she said. “Once they saw that, the market started to explode.”
Lucas sees tremendous opportunity for these sales to keep growing as the number of people born in China in the 1980s is three times the size of the Baby Boomer market in the U.S.
“That’s why it was so important for us to go on this exploratory trip,” he said. “Not only are the Chinese a gracious and hospitable people, but they have the power to help the gem and jewelry industry continue to thrive.” @topic:12


Publish Year: - Title: Update on Ametrine from the Yuruty Mine, Bolivia Abstract: This ametrine (6.46–35.59 ct) was recently mined from the Yuruty deposit in Bolivia. Photo by Robert Weldon.

              During the Tucson gem shows, Hugo Marancenbau (Steinmar Ltd., Santa Cruz, Bolivia) provided an update on ametrine from the Yuruty mine in Bolivia (see Summer 2000 Gem News, p. 163). This deposit was initially claimed in the mid-1990s and is located ~50 km north of the famous Anahí ametrine mine. Mining at Yuruty has been intermittent, although commercial production was resumed during the past two years. The deposit is exploited by ~100 people in underground workings consisting of a 90 m shaft and four horizontal tunnels up to 200 m long. The mine produces an average of ~40 tonnes/month of mixed-grade material, approximately 3% of which is facetable. Although Mr. Marancenbau’s company plans to sell the ametrine in the rough form only, they have test faceted a few thousand carats (weighing 3–30 ct each) that were sold at the JOGS show. He indicated that it was the first time ametrine from this mine was sold in Tucson.

Mr. Marancenbau kindly donated several rough and cut pieces of ametrine to the GIA Collection. The faceted stones (figure 2) contained varying amounts of purple and yellow, with a sharp color boundary visible face-up in one of the samples. None of them had the distinctive smoky layers seen previously in Yuruty material (see the Summer 2000 Gem News entry).

With several tonnes of rough material stockpiled and good reserves that are inferred to remain underground, the Yuruty deposit appears poised to become an important supplier of ametrine. @topic:2


Publish Year: 1998 Title: Summer 1998 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “The Pearl Book: The Definitive Buying Guide—How to Select, Buy, Care for & Enjoy Pearls”
By Antoinette L. Matlins, 198 pp., illus., publ. by GemStone Press, Woodstock, VT, 1996. US$19.95

“Gemstones of Brazil: Geology and Occurrences”
By Patrick J. V. Delaney, 125 pp., illus., publ. by Revista Escola de Minas, Ouro Preto, Brazil, 1996. US$23.80

“Encyclopedia of Mineral Names”
By William H. Blackburn and William H. Dennen, illus., edited by Robert F. Martin, 360 pp., illus., publ. by the Mineralogical Association of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 1997. US$40.00

“Proceedings of the Sixth International Kimberlite Conference”
Edited by N. V. Sobolev and R. H. Mitchell, 619 pp. in two volumes, illus., publ. by Allerton Press, New York, 1997. US$95.00 (individuals), US$225.00 (institutions)

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:2


Publish Year: 1998 Title: Winter 1998 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Bulgari”
By Daniela Mascetti and Amanda Triossi, 225 pp., illus., publ. by Abbeville Press, New York, NY, 1996. US$75.00

“Collecting and Classifying Colored Diamonds: An Illustrated Study of the Aurora Collection”
By Stephen C. Hofer, 742 pp., illus., publ. by Ashland Press, New York, NY, 1998. US$300.00

“The Nature of Diamonds”
Edited by George E. Harlow, 278 pp., illus., publ. by Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 1998. US$29.95 (softbound)

“Glossary of Geology, 4th Edition”
Edited by Julia A. Jackson, 769 pp., publ. by the American Geological Institute, Alexandria, VA, 1997. US$110.00

“Gem and Jewellry Year Book 1997–98”
Edited by V. V. Kala and A. Kala, 697 pp., illus., publ. by International Journal House, Jaipur, India [diaworld@jpl.vsnl.net.in], 1998. US$35.00 (surface), US$50.00 (air)

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:8


Publish Year: 2008 Title: Spring 2008 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Rings: Jewelry of Power, Love and Loyalty”
By Diana Scarisbrick, 384 pp., illus., publ. by Thames & Hudson Ltd. [www.thamesandhudsonusa.com], London, 2007. US$50.00

“The Emerald Book”
By Yogi Durlabhji, Shyamala Fernandes, and Ruchi Durlabhji, Eds., 143 pp., illus., publ. on behalf of the Jaipur Jewellery Show [info@jaipurjewelleryshow.org], Jaipur, India, 2007. Free

“Jewelry Savvy: What Every Jewelry Wearer Should Know”
By Cynthia A. Sliwa and Caroline Stanley, 224 pp., illus., publ. by Jewels on Jewels, Los Angeles, [www.jewelrysavvybook.com], 2007. US$19.99

“In Gold We Trust: Social Capital and Economic Change in the Italian Jewelry Towns”
By Dario Gaggio, 352 pp., publ. by Princeton University Press [www.press.princeton.edu], Princeton, NJ, 2007. US$39.50

“Safety Solutions”
63 pp., illus. with DVD, publ. by MJSA Press [www.mjsa.org/info_press.php], Providence, RI, 2007. $49.95 ($29.95 for DVD alone)

“Diamonds Are Waiting for You”
By James R. Holland, 63 pp., illus., publ. by A Bit of Boston Books [www.bitofboston.com], Boston, MA, 2007, $12.00

“Late Antique and Early Christian Gems”
By Jeffery Spier, 221 pp. with 154 black-and-white plates, publ. by Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden, Germany, 2007, $297.00

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:6


Publish Year: 2001 Title: Fall 2001 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Gemstones—Quality and Value, Vol. 3: Jewelry”
By Yasukazu Suwa, 144 pp., illus., publ. by Sekai Bunka Publishing, Tokyo, 2001. US$95.00

“Mogôk: Valley of Rubies & Sapphires”
By Ted Themelis, 270 pp., illus., publ. by A & T Publishing, Los Angeles, 2000. US$89.00

“Southwest Silver Jewelry”
By Paula A. Baxter, 212 pp., illus., publ. by Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA, 2001. US$49.95

“Jewelry Wax Modeling— A Practical Guide for the Jewelry Model Maker”
By Adolfo Mattiello, 161 pp., illus., publ. by Du-Matt Corp., Guttenberg, NJ, 1999. US$38.95

“Western Queensland Opals— Exploration and Geoscience Data Sets”
CD-ROM, Queensland Government Department of Mines and Energy, 2000, free of charge [e-mail: lcranfield@dme.qld.gov.au]

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:6


Publish Year: - Title: Fancy Colors, History Ruled 2018 Auctions Abstract: Demand for top fancy colored diamonds was strong in 2018. This 8.08 ct cushion cut Fancy Vivid blue diamond ring by Bulgari sold for $18.3 million ($2.27 million per carat) at Christie’s December Hong Kong auction. Photo courtesy of Christie’s.

World-class fancy colored diamonds and truly historic jewels highlighted the 2018 auctions, but behind the headlines, total jewelry sales at auction were down an estimated 15% from 2017.

The total of fine jewelry sales from all Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions in 2018 was an estimated $900 million, down from about $1.1 billion the year before.

Christie’s announced 2018 jewelry sales of $492.3 million; $484.5 million from in-room sales and $7.8 million from online auctions. In 2017, its jewelry sales were $565.6 million, including $9 million from online sales.

Sotheby’s does not announce its fine jewelry sales, but estimates were about $420 million as several large buy-ins reduced the total.

The GIA-graded 18.96 ct Pink Legacy, renamed the Winston Pink, achieved a record per-carat price for a pink diamond when it sold for $50.4 million ($2.65 million per carat) at Christie’s November Geneva auction. Photo courtesy of Christie’s.
The year’s highlights came in mid-November.

Sotheby’s Geneva auction of Royal Jewels from the Bourbon-Parma Family included 10 pieces that belonged to ill-fated French queen Marie Antoinette. The collection brought $53 million against a pre-sale estimate of $7 million.

This monogrammed diamond ring contains a woven lock of Marie Antoinette’s hair and brought more than $447,000. Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s
The day before, Christie’s Geneva auction achieved a record per-carat price for a pink diamond, selling the GIA-graded 18.96 ct Pink Legacy for $50.4 million ($2.65 million per carat). The buyer, Harry Winston, Inc., renamed the diamond the Winston Pink. That same sale saw an anonymous buyer pay a record price of $15 million for the Peacock Necklace, which contains 23 Kashmir sapphires totaling 109.08 carats and 21 cushion cut diamonds.

Historic gems and jewelry like the Moon of Baroda, a 24.04 ct Fancy yellow diamond, achieved top prices at auction in 2018. The diamond, found in India centuries ago and part of the collection of Marie Therese of Vienna, sold for $1.3 million at Christie’s November Hong Kong auction. Photo courtesy of Christie’s.
Other auction highlights from 2018 include:

A 24.7 ct Burmese ruby for $11 million, Sotheby’s April Hong Kong
A 3.47 ct Fancy Vivid blue diamond for $6.7 million; nearly $2 million per carat at Sotheby’s April New York
A 3.09 ct Fancy Intense blue diamond for $5.38 million at Christie’s April New York
An 8.01 ct Fancy Vivid blue diamond by Moussaieff for $20.5 million ($2.55 million per carat) at Christie’s May Hong Kong
A 5 ct Fancy Vivid blue diamond for $13.8 million ($2.8 million per carat) at Sotheby’s October Hong Kong
The 24.04 ct Fancy Yellow Moon of Baroda, owned by empress Marie Therese of Austria and worn by Marilyn Monroe in the 1950s to promote her film, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which sold for $1.3 million at Christie’s November Hong Kong
A 10.04 ct Burmese ruby for $7.23 million ($720,481 per carat) at Christie’s November Hong Kong
A 21.19 ct Fancy Light pink diamond for $7.4 million at Sotheby’s November Geneva
An 8.08 ct Fancy Vivid blue diamond by Bulgari for $18.3 million at Christie’s December Hong Kong
A 15.56 ct Fancy Intense pink diamond pendant for $9.37 million at Christie’s December New York

Christie’s November Hong Kong auction included a 10.04 ct Burmese ruby and diamond ring that sold for $7.23 million ($720,481 per carat). Photo courtesy of Christie’s
While demand for historic jewels and most top fancy colored diamonds was strong, buyers were more cautious in their bidding for other high value pieces, especially in Hong Kong, where only 65% to 70% of the lots offered found buyers.

Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction totals were set back by the failure of several major pieces to find buyers. These include a 10.62 Fancy Vivid blue diamond that failed to achieve the $20 million to $30 million pre-sale estimate in November; a jadeite bangle that fell short of its $12.8 million estimate in April; and a 14.18 ct Fancy blue diamond that did not reach its $7 million estimate. Several other million-dollar-plus jadeite pieces also did not find buyers at that Hong Kong auction.

Exceptional diamonds and colored gems, however, still lag behind fine art. The year’s highlight was a Modigliani work that sold for more than $157 million – a price considered lackluster by some art experts.

Updated on Jan. 4, 2019 to reflect auction sales estimates. @topic:7


Publish Year: - Title: De Beers’ Synthetic Shock Draws Mixed Reactions at 2018 JCK Abstract: De Beers is pricing its Lightbox synthetic colorless and fancy colors to what it claims are its costs of production, not in relation to natural diamonds. The products are due to reach the market this fall. Photo courtesy De Beers

The De Beers announcement that the company would offer a low-priced line of synthetic diamond jewelry, called Lightbox, set off a torrent of commentary at the JCK show in Las Vegas – some positive, some negative.

The announcement, made two days before the show, said the De Beers company would sell lab-grown diamonds for $800 per carat or the total weight set in earrings and pendants – $200 for a quarter carat, $400 for half carat and $800 for a one-carat, plus the cost of the settings. Each lab grown diamond will have a laser identification mark inside that can’t be polished off. De Beers also said it is producing pink and blue fancy colors offered at the same prices.

The company, which is keeping the De Beers name off the Lightbox line, kept this project under tight secrecy during its 18-month development. It is building its own production facility near Portland, Oregon, which will begin full operation in 2020 and will manufacture up to 500,000 carats yearly. Lightbox will have a separate management team, much like De Beers’ retail division.

Retailers had mixed reactions. Some thought it would ruin their diamond business, while others saw a new opportunity for lower price-point jewelry. No one was pleased that the initial offerings would be online only. De Beers said it would make the line available to retailers within two years.

Diamond dealers, particularly those specializing in lower-priced goods, were unhappy with the De Beers’ announcement, saying the Lightbox line would kill the market for cheaper, lower quality natural stones because the prices were 20% to 30% of comparable weight goods in that category. Dealers of higher-end diamonds complained that De Beers was “throwing its weight around” and “no longer cared” about the diamond industry.

Surprisingly, most of the 30 synthetic diamond companies exhibiting at the show were in favor of De Beers’ new line. They offered three reasons:

De Beers’ entry into this market “legitimizes” their product
the resulting publicity will also drive demand for their products
the pricing is not a threat because they are marketing their products differently

They said the De Beers’ announcement drove many potential customers to the lab-grown diamond section of the show.

At a standing room-only presentation, David Prager, De Beers vice president for corporate affairs, said the pricing and the market positioning all came out of extensive consumer research in the U.S.

“Consumers want fun and fashion from lab-grown diamonds,” he said. “They also want transparent, accessible pricing. And we found that women would buy a lab-grown diamond for themselves,” even if they did not want it as a gift from a spouse or partner.

Prager stressed that De Beers is pegging prices of its products to the cost of production, not as a percentage discount from natural diamonds, as many other synthetic diamond producers do.

The marketing will be geared toward “lighter emotional moments” said Sally Morrison, who is heading that department, “and priced for women to be able to treat themselves.”

All of the executives stressed the “light emotional occasion” to draw a distinct line from De Beers’ traditional marketing of giving natural diamonds for engagements, anniversaries and other very significant life occasions. @topic:7


Publish Year: - Title: JCK Las Vegas 2018: Demand Improves, But Attendance Declines Abstract: Business at the JCK Las Vegas show met expectations this year, though buyers remained somewhat cautious. Photo courtesy of JCK.

Demand at the June 1-4 JCK Las Vegas show met the expectations of the trade, despite declining attendance.

Jewelry designers, manufacturers and diamond dealers, who comprise the majority of exhibitors at the show, generally saw steady, if still somewhat cautious, business. But most of the show talk concerned De Beers’ newly announced synthetic diamond jewelry collection, Lightbox.

Finished jewelry exhibitors at the Mandalay Bay venue reported good orders – slightly better than last year for a number of them – but added that the show is always more about meeting, greeting and making new contacts than it is about writing business.

“Buyers looking for important pieces don’t usually place their orders here, but they come by and we talk with them,” said a designer in the Luxury Pavilion. “All the business is done later.”

Manufacturers with more commercial lines said all of their products are available for order online, so the show has become more of a place to listen to client concerns and take suggestions.

More and more jewelry manufacturers have been producing designs at multiple price points in the past few years. That trend accelerated this year, to the point where some lines offer a combination of rock crystal and manufactured crystal glass with gemstones set in vermeil and sterling silver, instead of 14k and 18k gold or platinum. Jewelry designs seen at the show trended toward thin swirling lines and many mixed precious and non-precious materials to maintain attractive prices.

Female self-purchase has become a very important niche for jewelry makers, so many are creating lines in the $500-$1,000 price range to appeal to women who might buy jewelry on an impulse or put fine jewelry in a category competitive with other accessories.

“Women have no problem spending $750 or $1,000 for a designer handbag,” said one exhibitor. “We need to have a lot of fashion-oriented fine jewelry to compete in that space.”

Attendance at the JCK Show was reportedly down from recent years. Photo courtesy of JCK
The story was similar at the Couture Show, which ran concurrently with the JCK show, where the emphasis is on designer jewelry shown by many of the best-known names. Diamond dealers at the show reported steady demand, but found cautious retailers.

“The major chains were here, and independents. Most were just buying what they needed in the short term and larger goods (generally 3 carats-plus) only against customer calls,” said one exhibitor.

There was interest in higher-end fancy pink and blue colored diamonds, but supplies were few and calls were limited to stones under a half carat.

Colored stone demand at the American Gem Trade Association show was generally slow throughout the week. Dealers reported that buyers were looking for unheated ruby and sapphire, fancy color sapphire and some smaller stones for color accents.

While the official buyer count was not released by the end of the shows, most exhibitors believed it was significantly down from past Vegas shows. The number of U.S. retail jewelers has declined by some 2,000 in the past three years, according to Jewelers Board of Trade figures, and international buyers, who used to comprise a significant portion of the show’s attendance, have other choices, including a greatly expanded Hong Kong show.

In addition, exhibitors noted that many clients order online, skipping the shows altogether. @topic:7


Publish Year: - Title: ‘Perfect Storms’ Cloud BaselWorld Business Abstract: The BaselWorld show attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year to see the new offerings from leading watch, jewelry and gem companies. Photo by Russell Shor/GIA

                      The world’s turmoil has begun to catch up with the superrich, who comprise most of the demand for the top gemstones, diamonds and designer jewelry pieces offered at BaselWorld 2015.

On display in the gemstone hall: several 200 carat (ct.) plus Sri Lankan sapphires; a stunning necklace fashioned from 30 fancy Vivid Pink diamonds and 23 fancy Vivid Blue diamonds, all ranging from 0.75 ct. to 0.90 ct.; a collection of nine D color Type IIa diamonds ranging from 16 ct. to 41 cts.; and many designer collections featuring top Burmese rubies, Colombian emeralds and collection color diamonds.

In the past, many of these rarified goods would find buyers at BaselWorld, typically a crossroads for the global wealthy, many from Russia, the Middle East and China. However, the Russian ruble has lost 40% of its value since last year’s show; oil prices have nosedived; the Chinese economy is showing signs of strain; and the Euro has weakened about 30% against the Swiss Franc and U.S. Dollar, raising the prices of already costly items even higher.

“This ‘perfect storm’ has conspired to reduce demand, especially for the buyers who are looking to acquire gems for investment,” said one exhibitor. “Their buying power is down by a considerable percentage, while their costs have gone up just as much.”

Few dealers were willing to make concessions on these high-end items because they believe demand will return once these issues stabilize and prices will resume rising.

The market for “normal” pieces, especially diamonds, was beset with problems of its own. Dealers at this show, and the nearby Diamond Show run by Martin Rapaport, noted that credit to the diamond industry continues to tighten − by some estimates there is a $3 billion shortfall in the amount of funds available to the industry from what it currently owes to banks.

Banks also have forced diamond manufacturers to sharply curtail or end the memo programs, which they traditionally used to conduct a majority of their business with retailers, especially in the U.S. With rough prices still higher than comparable polished for many sizes and qualities of goods, manufacturers are unable to build up cash reserves to compensate for the diminished credit.  And, finally, the banks themselves are under strong regulatory pressure to restrict credit to clients who, in their opinion, cannot meet transparent dealing standards.

Another dealer also used the phrase “perfect storm” to describe this confluence of events.

There is some good news: colored gemstones. Bold colors are coming into fashion and demand for emerald, peridot, sapphire and tanzanite pieces, as well as tutti-fruitti styles, was quite strong.

BaselWorld is traditionally the showcase for the world’s luxury watch industry and, as usual, tourist crowds flocked to see the new offerings from brands like Hublot, Breitling, Tissot and jewelers like Graff and Winston, but demand also slowed from last year. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported that sales of luxury watches made in that country increased only 1.9% last year to CHF 22.2 billion, with declines in all major markets except the U.S. and Japan. @topic:7


Publish Year: - Title: First Look at 2014 Season: Uneven Demand Abstract: The world is watching the U.S. retail market as the economy rebounds and the U.S. dollar gets stronger. Photo by GIA

                      Diamond and jewelry demand in the U.S. rose an estimated 3% to 4% this past holiday season, but business was uneven.

Upscale jewelers did well in general, but large chain stores reported slower than expected sales. Business at high-end, well-established independents was strong, according to a Centurion survey. Ninety percent of the stores surveyed reported that sales were up for the year, with nearly half noting increases of 10% or more. For the season, 41% saw double digit increases, while another 20.6% found business up between 6% and 10%. Nearly 11% reported that sales were down for Christmas.

Anecdotally, business among middle market retailers seemed mixed, with many reporting down-trading in quality and a lot of demand shifting to silver and bead-type merchandise.

Among the chains that reported, Tiffany & Co.’s U.S. same store sales declined by 1%. The company’s European operations saw a 4% increase in same store sales (most likely from an increase in Asian tourists, because the local economies are not doing well), while Japan plunged 8% (13% in Yen terms). Sales in China and Singapore increased 7%.

Tiffany chairman Michael Kowalski called the results “disappointing” in a press release and noted that the rising U.S. dollar will cause “headwinds” for the company’s international business.

Signet Group/Zales was the first major retail jeweler to post seasonal figures, noting that same-store seasonal U.S. sales were up 2.5%, about half of the previous years’ growth. Zales, acquired by Sterling in 2014, posted a 3.5% increase in same store sales, which had been treading water for some years before the acquisition. Reading the statement, it appears that Zales’ holiday business was buoyed significantly through expanding its online channels. Signet Group/Zales noted that its combined ecommerce sales increased 90% for the season, but only by 20% when excluding the Zales division.

In China, business is reported very cautious heading into the Chinese New Year, when many workers receive substantial bonuses. Retail inventories of diamonds and gold jewelry remain high, while sales, though increasing, have continued to taper off from the heady growth years.

Chow Tai Fook reported that its same store sales fell 18% compared to the final quarter of 2013, and gem-set jewelry sales fell 12%. While the declines were most pronounced in Hong Kong and Macau, the company noted that high-end jewelry sales were weak overall. The company also noted that comparisons with 2013 were “difficult” because that year was marked by a rush for gold products after the metal price crashed.

Diamond demand was apparently not sufficient enough this past holiday season to cause a restocking rush that would enable the world’s diamond industry to escape the profit and credit squeeze that plagued it last year. Polished prices continue to soften while rough remains expensive.

Accordingly, De Beers will reportedly reinstate the provision to allow its sight clients to defer purchase of up to 25% of their allocations. In addition, the Jan. 19-23 sight may see small price reductions (De Beers calls them “adjustments”) for categories of rough diamonds.

Prices at De Beers’ sights, which still comprise the single largest source of rough diamonds, have not declined. And Alrosa, which produces about one-third of the world’s diamonds by volume, is under severe pressure to raise prices after the collapse of the rouble and the extremely significant loss in oil revenues for Russia’s treasury.

Because their own costs are rising, producers have resisted reducing prices that have left diamond manufacturers in an extreme profit squeeze at a time when the leading industry banks have severely cut their credit facilities. This has been well-reported for more than a year and the situation shows no sign of improving in 2015.

De Beers CEO Philippe Mellier, addressing U.S. jewelers in New York last week, said the rough/polished price squeeze will improve when polished and rough supplies move into balance.

Moving into 2015, much of the diamond and gemstone world will refocus on the U.S. market because of the gathering economic rebound, and the strengthening U.S. dollar, which raises the cost of most gemstones (except cultured pearls and jade) in other markets.

Goods priced in dollars will grow more expensive outside the U.S. (Hong Kong and China base their currencies, in part, on the dollar, so they fluctuate less), but the Euro and Yen have lost 20% in value, thus raising prices for diamonds and gold by that much in those markets. In addition, the high U.S. dollar may attract more overseas gemstone sellers to the Tucson shows as U.S. buying power grows. @topic:7


Publish Year: - Title: Industry Analysis: Confidence Returns to Early Shows Abstract: Signs of confidence in the world diamond and jewelry markets have sprung at key trade shows, despite the continued uncertainty in the world economy.

The late January Vicenza show saw strong international buying as Italian designers, who previously mainly focused on high-end pieces, tried to broaden their appeal with colorful, fashionable pieces made with attractive, but lower cost, gemstones set in low-karat gold or alternate metals. This move from high-karat gold coincided with a renewed influx of buyers from around the world.

In the U.S., the Centurion Show in Scottsdale, Arizona, which focused primarily on high-end independent jewelers, saw strong buying across the board, especially for distinctive designer pieces and higher quality diamonds and gemstones. Buying at the various Tucson gem shows was also much stronger than expected, especially because traffic appeared to be down from previous years. Prices for top gems – such as unheated ruby and sapphire, and Colombian emerald – were still extremely strong. Even attractive lower-cost stones saw substantial increases from the previous year. According to attendee reports, dealers attributed the higher prices to the strong increase in demand from Asia.

This renewed confidence coincides with a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that noted firming economic growth in key markets such as the U.S. and Japan. The OECD forecasts, however, that China and India may see “growth below [the] trend” of past years. Growth in gem and jewelry sales in China has been spotty, largely confined to so-called “third-tier” cities (medium-sized inland cities underserved by retailers) in the past year.

Blue Nile’s numbers also give reason for optimism. The company’s engagement ring sales jumped 31% during the final quarter of 2012 compared to the previous year. Its quarterly sales of $136.1 million were the highest since 2007, before the world economic crisis hit. The company reported that its non-bridal diamond sales were below expectations because of a decline in discretionary spending this past season. To address this, CEO Harvey Kanter noted that the company would offer more classically designed pieces in place of very trendy ones.

Richemont, parent company of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, cited the China slowdown as the reason for its slow sales in Asia for the final quarter of 2012. The company said fourth quarter sales in that region were flat compared to a 5% increase in North America. Richemont also noted that the uncertain economy of China made it difficult to forecast the state of business this year.

DIAMONDS: The diamond industry is awaiting De Beers’ February sight (Feb. 25-28). The general sentiment is for a relatively small sight because, while the firming world economy may help in the long run, diamond manufacturers still face liquidity issues as banks continue to tighten credit lines. The January sight of $450 million was smaller than expected, and the trade welcomed the stable prices. De Beers, and indeed other diamond producers, however, are under enormous pressure to increase revenues by raising prices.

Anglo American Corp., De Beers’ parent company, is seeking to raise revenue after several of its acquisitions ran into difficulty (primarily the Minas Rio project in Brazil) and in the face of more aggressive wage and benefit demands from labor unions. De Beers also encountered costly production problems at its largest mine, Jwaneng, last year.

Alrosa, the world’s second largest diamond producer by value, is engaged in costly mine redevelopment projects and appears to be moving to fill the supply gaps left by De Beers’ production problems. Reports from Antwerp say Alrosa has begun to sell rough in large quantities at prices comparable to De Beers.

Other producers, including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, are trying to boost revenues for the possible sale of their diamond operations. @topic:7


Publish Year: 1994 Title: Summer 1994 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “The Professional's Guide to Jewelry Insurance Appraising”
By Patti J. Geolat, C. Van Northrup, and David Federman, 167 pp., illus., Vance Publishing Corp., Lincolnshire, IL, 1994. US$95.00

“Metalwork in the Arts And Crafts Tradition”
By Elyse Zorn Karlin, 272 pp., illus., publ. by Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA, 1993. US$69.95

“The Last Empire: De Beers, Diamonds, and the World”
By Stefan Kanfer, 409 pp., illus., publ. by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1993. US$25.00

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:6


Publish Year: 1994 Title: Spring 1994 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Gemstone and Chemicals: How to Create Color and Inclusions”
By George W. Fischer, Ph.D., 74 pp., illus., publ. by the author, Shelton, WA, 1991. US$24.00

“The Properties of Natural and Synthetic Diamond”
Edited by John E. Field, 710 pp., illus., publ. by Academic Press, London, England, 1992. US$195.00

“Mineral Reference Manual”
By Ernest H. Nickel and Monte C. Nichols, 250 pp., illus., publ. by Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1991. US$18.95

“A Special Report from JPR on the Bold Retro 1940s Jewelry”
Edited by Nina Woolford, introduction by Lael Hagan, 117 pp., illus., publ. by JPR, Nina Woolford, and Gail Levine, Rockville, VA, 1992, US$35.00.

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:8


Publish Year: - Title: Spring 2012 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels”
By Sarah D. Coffin, with contributions by Suzy Menkes and Ruth Peltason, 288 pp., illus., publ. by the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum [www.cooperhewitt.org],
New York, 2011. $55.00

“Paul Flato: Jeweler to the Stars”
By Elizabeth Irvine Bray, 223 pp.,illus., publ. by the Antique Collectors’ Club [www.antique collectorsclub.com], Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK, 2010. US$85.00

“Collector’s Guide to the Beryl Group”
By Robert J. Lauf, 93 pp., illus., publ. by Schiffer Publishing Ltd. [www.schifferbooks.com], Atglen, PA, 2011. $19.99

“Diamond Inclusions”
By Nizam Peters, 208 pp., illus., publ. by American Institute of Diamond Cutting Inc. [diamondschool.com], Deerfield Beach, FL, 2011. $135.00

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:6


Publish Year: - Title: Fall 2011 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Living Jewels: Masterpieces from Nature”
By Ruth Peltason, 224 pp., illus., publ. by The Vendome Press [www.vendomepress.com], New York, 2010. US$50.00

“The Extraordinary World of Diamonds”
By Nick Norman, 302 pp., illus., publ. by Janaca Media [janaca.co.za], Auckland Park, South Africa, 2010. R199.96

“The Workbench Guide to Jewelry Techniques”
By Anastasia Young, 320 pp., illus., publ. by Interweave Books [www.interweave.com], Loveland, CO, 2010. $34.95

“World Hallmarks, Volume I: Europe, 19th to 21st Centuries, 2nd ed.”
By William Whetstone, Danusia Niklewicz, and Lindy Matula, illus., publ. by Hallmark Research Institute [www.hallmarkresearch.com], San Francisco, 2010. $228

“Mineral Treasures of the World”
By The Geological Museum of China and The Collector’s Edge Minerals Inc., 125 pp., illus., publ. by Geological Publishing House [www.gph.com.cn], Beijing, 2010. ¥286

“Collectors Guide to Granite Pegmatites”
By Vandall T. King, 96 pp., illus., publ. by Schiffer Publishing [www.schifferbooks.com], Atglen, PA, 2010, US$19.95

“Collectors Guide to Silicate Crystal Structures”
By Robert J. Lauf, 96 pp., illus., publ. by Schiffer Publishing [www.schifferbooks.com], Atglen, PA, 2010, US$19.95

“Gems and Gemology in Pakistan”
By Tahseenullah Khan and Allah Bakhsh Kausar, 231 pp., illus., publ. by Geological Survey of Pakistan (www.gsp.gov.pk), Quetta, 2010, Rs. 3000

“Diamond Math”
By Kenneth A. Glasser, 451 pp., illus., publ. by Kenneth A. Glasser Co. [www.diamondmath. com], Las Vegas, 2010, US$75.00

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:6


Publish Year: - Title: Spring 2010 G&G Book Reviews Abstract: “Modern Jewellery Design: Past and Present”
By Reinhold Ludwig, 399 pp., hard-cover, illus., publ. by Arnoldsche Art Publishers [www.arnoldsche.com], Stuttgart, Germany, 2008. US$85.00

“Genuine Diamonds Found in Arkansas, 3rd Ed.”
By Glenn W. Worthington, 182 pp. with DVD supplement, illus., publ. by Mid-America Prospecting [www.diamondsinar.com], Murfreesboro, AR, 2009. US$35.00

“Cartier: Innovation Through the 20th Century”
By François Chaille, 271 pp., illus., publ. by Flammarion [www.editions.flammarion.com], Hoboken, NJ, 2007. US$65.00

“The Most Fabulous Jewels in the World: Graff”
By Meredith Etherington-Smith, 196 pp., illus., publ. by Cultureshock Media [www. cultureshockmedia.co.uk], London, 2007. £75.00

“Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald Buying Guide, 3rd Ed.”
By Renee Newman, 187 pp., illus., publ. by International Jewelry Publications [www.reneenewman.com], Los Angeles, 2009, US$19.95

“Tables of Gemstone Identification”
By Birgit Günther, 256 pp., illus., publ. by Verlagsbuchhandlung Birgit Günther, Idar-Oberstein, Germany, 2009, €87.50

“Archaeomineralogy, 2nd Ed.”
By George (Rip) Rapp, 348 pp., illus., publ. by Springer-Verlag [www.springer.com], Berlin, 2009, €139.05

“Imperishable Beauty: Art Nouveau Jewelry”
By Yvonne Markowitz and Elyse Z. Karlin, 168 pp., illus., publ. by MFA Publications [www.mfapublications.org], Boston, MA, 2008, $45.00

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:6


Publish Year: 1991 Title: Spring 1991 G&G Lab Notes Abstract: Inscribed Alexandrite
Chalcedony "Turquoise" Color
Highly Conductive Blue Diamond
"Emerald" with Unusual Color Zoning
More Banded Lapis Lazuli
Moonstone and Iolite Beads
Pearls from Baja California
Uncommon Cultured Pearls
Period Jewelry
Synthetic Ruby "Manufactured" Mineral Specimen
Flux Grown Ruby
Diffused Star Sapphire Update
Synthetic Sapphire with Triangular Inclusions

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @topic:8


Publish Year: 2021 Title: Honey Brown and Light Yellow Hydrogrossular: An Uncommon Jade Imitation Abstract: Figure 1. This light yellow carving (36 × 21 mm) and honey brown cabochon (15 × 12 mm) were identified as hydrogrossular. Photo by C. Kamemakanon; courtesy of Pachara Chonlakit.

Hydrogrossular or hydrogarnet is a translucent to opaque, water‐bearing calcium aluminum silicate garnet that commonly shows microcrystalline texture. It has a range of colors: brown, colorless, green, gray, pink, and yellow. The most popular is the shade of green known in the trade as “Transvaal jade” or “African jade.” Recently, the GIT-Gem Testing Laboratory (GIT-GTL) received two samples of hydrogrossular garnet for identification: the light yellow carved pendant (~70 ct, 36 × 21 mm) and the honey brown oval cabochon (8 ct, 15 × 12 mm) shown in figure 1. These are not typical colors used for jade imitations.

Figure 2. The microscopic observation of the honey brown hydrogrossular sample (left) revealed a fine-grained aggregate structure and color patches (white arrow), as compared with the coarse-grained aggregate structure of the brown jadeite sample (right). Oblique fiber-optic light. Photomicrographs by S. Promwongnan; field of view ~14 mm.
Standard gemological testing of the honey brown cabochon showed a specific gravity of ~3.66 and a refractive index of ~1.71, while those of the light yellow piece were undeterminable due to the nature of the mounting and carving. Nonetheless, both stones exhibited weak red fluorescence to long-wave UV and were inert to short-wave UV radiation, and displayed massive fine-grained aggregate structures with a translucent glassy appearance (figure 2, left), which was quite different from the coarse-grained aggregate structure of jadeite (figure 2, right).

Figure 3. Raman spectra of the honey brown and light yellow samples (blue and red lines, respectively) as compared to the reference spectrum of grossularite from the RRUFF database (green).
The identity was also confirmed by advanced testing. The Raman spectra of both samples showed dominant peaks at 374, 415, 548, 825, and 879 cm–1 and other smaller peaks at 246, 278, 508, 627, and 1005 cm–1 (figure 3) that matched perfectly with the spectrum of grossularite in the RRUFF reference database (R040065). Semi-quantitative chemical analyses of both stones revealed enriched contents of silica, calcium, and aluminum, which are closely consistent with grossularite, a calcium-aluminum garnet.

Figure 4. The infrared spectrum in reflection mode of the honey brown sample (blue line) exhibits characteristic reflectance peaks of hydrogrossular garnet at 616, 843, 866, and 954 cm–1, as compared with the spectrum of the hydrogrossular reference sample (purple line). The spectrum of the light yellow sample was not measured due to the nature of the carving.
The infrared spectrum of the honey brown cabochon sample, measured in reflection mode between 580–1400 cm–1, showed characteristic reflectance peaks at 616, 843, 866, and 954 cm–1 that are similar to the spectra of the hydrogrossular reference sample (figure 4) as well as green hydrogrossular (see Fall 2015 GNI, pp. 342–343). Note that the reflectance spectrum should be almost identical to the transmission spectrum of the sample, and the same features should be observed in both cases.

Figure 5. Infrared spectra by transmission mode of the honey brown and light yellow samples (blue and red lines, respectively) show very strong broad (water-related) absorption bands between ~3000–4000 cm–1 as compared with the spectra of a hydrogrossular reference sample (purple line) and grossular (tsavorite and hessonite) samples (green and black lines, respectively). The vertical dashed lines at 3598 and 3662 cm–1 mark water-related absorption bands of hydrogrossular (>5 wt.% H2O) based on Rossman and Aines (1991).
The infrared spectra of both samples, measured in transmission mode between 1000 and 5000 cm–1 and displayed in % transmittance, showed very strong broad absorption bands between ~3000–4000 cm–1 that are somewhat similar to the spectrum of our hydrogrossular reference sample (figure 5), and coincide with water-related absorption bands of hydrogrossular (>5 wt.% H2O) centered at 3598 and 3662 cm–1 (see G.R. Rossman and R.D. Aines, “The hydrous components in garnets: Grossular-hydrogrossular,” American Mineralogist, Vol. 76, No. 7-8, 1991, pp. 1153–1164). In comparison, our grossular (tsavorite and hessonite) samples reveal much narrower absorption bands between 3500–3700 cm–1 (figure 5). Thus, the presence of very strong broad (water-related) absorption bands has confirmed that both stones submitted for investigation were indeed hydrogrossular.
In summary, the gemological properties, Raman spectra, and chemical compositions of the light yellow and honey brown samples are consistent with those of grossular garnet. However, the infrared spectra showing characteristic transmission peaks of hydrogrossular at 616, 843, 866, and 954 cm–1 and very strong occurrence of structural water (i.e., significant OH replacing Si in tetrahedral sites) have confirmed that these two stones are indeed hydrogrossular rather than grossular garnet. It is worth noting that one of the materials commonly used to imitate jade is fine-grained aggregate hydrogrossular garnet, not single-crystal garnet. @topic:9


Publish Year: 2022 Title: The Big Find: Celebrating 50 Years of Maine Tourmaline Abstract: Figure 1. These 12 tourmalines from The Big Find will be featured in one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces. Photos courtesy of the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum.
October 2022 will mark 50 years since North America’s largest and most significant unearthing of gem-quality tourmaline. The astounding 1972 discovery, known as “The Big Find,” unveiled vast pockets of tourmaline of every color at an abandoned mine near the top of Plumbago Mountain in Newry, Maine. Yielding more than a ton of tourmaline rough from 1972 to 1974, The Big Find reawakened gem mining in the state of Maine. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this historic discovery, the newly opened Maine Mineral & Gem Museum has big plans underway.
The Big Find: A Legend Continues began last year when the museum sought jewelry designers from across the country to create jewelry using 12 stones from the 1972 find, ranging in weight from 9.78 to 49.30 ct (figure 1). Twelve designers selected by jury are now at work crafting one-of-a-kind pieces to be presented on October 8, 2022, at a runway extravaganza in Newry. Event and ticket information can be found at https://mainemineralmuseum.org/the-big-find/.

Figure 2. Tourmaline bears on a frosted quartz base, carved by Gerhard Becker using tourmaline from The Big Find in Newry, Maine. Gifted to GIA by John Staver and currently on loan to the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum. (See more tourmaline carvings from GIA’s collection at www.gia.edu/gia-museum-tourmaline-carvings.) Photo by Orasa Weldon.
The museum is also commemorating the anniversary with special tourmaline exhibits and guest lectures all year, including various Maine tourmaline carvings on loan from the GIA Museum (figure 2). After the event, all 12 pieces of tourmaline jewelry will be on display at the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum and then at the 2023 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show before being auctioned off to raise money for the museum. @topic:11


Publish Year: 2022 Title: GIA Alumni Collective Abstract: The new GIA Alumni Collective offers a robust educational and networking platform for GIA graduates worldwide.
GIA’s alumni association has a new name, a fresh look, and up-to-date features. With a mission to connect GIA graduates around the world, provide opportunities for continuing education, and foster networking throughout the gem and jewelry industry, the GIA Alumni Collective (see above) builds on the association’s long history with updates that better reflect the creativity, technical savvy, entrepreneurship, and vitality of GIA’s alumni.
After successfully completing a GIA program or course, alumni can register for the Collective and stay informed about all the resources available to them by visiting the new GIA Alumni Collective website. The new online community, collective.gia.edu, serves as a “central hub” where members can add their profile to the directory, engage and connect directly with other members and global chapters, join “virtual” chapters, register to attend professional events, access more than 20 Continuing Education seminars at a 10% discount, and more.
“The new GIA Alumni Collective website and online community is a reflection of our diverse alumni network. The collaboration with chapter leaders and other members brings new energy and a modern look that connects our global network and provides a space to experience the future of gems and jewelry,” says Cathryn Ramirez, executive director of alumni development and continuing education at GIA.
GIA has more than 155,000 active alumni in 58 chapters spanning the globe—33 in the Americas, 16 in Asia, and three apiece in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. While chapters host their own meetings and events, chapters often co-host to provide additional networking opportunities. The GIA Alumni Collective hosts annual events at the AGTA Tucson and JCK Las Vegas trade shows where hundreds of alumni from all over the world meet up with longtime friends and colleagues and foster new relationships. @topic:12


Publish Year: 2021 Title: Virtual Report on the Industry in 2021 Abstract: Snapshots of an industry dealing with a global pandemic. A starkly quiet Jewelry Trade Center in Bangkok (top row) and Chan Gems Building in Chanthaburi (middle right); temperature screening outside a Pranda facility on the outskirts of Bangkok (bottom left); and two glimpses of activity at the Hainan Expo in China. Photos by Jinting Yu, Shen Chen, and Sunny Jiang.

              As the major Tucson gem and mineral shows were all canceled in 2021 due to the pandemic, we decided to use our annual Tucson report space a bit differently this year. We wanted to capture how some of the vendors we normally visit have been weathering the situation and their thoughts about the impact on the trade along the entire supply chain. We wanted to find out how the pandemic has shaped their businesses over the past year and if they foresee permanent changes to the way business will be conducted in the future.

From our understanding going into these interviews, fine jewelry has actually been doing quite well during this time, as consumers who would normally spend money on travel have opted to spend those discretionary funds on luxury items, including jewelry. With the initial onset of the pandemic creating a full disruption to in-person sales, retail jewelry was hit hard in the spring. By summertime, however, sales had increased for many compared to the same period in 2019. This trend reemerged during the end-of-the-year holiday season. As discretionary travel is a strong competitor to fine jewelry, having people stuck at home benefited retail jewelry sales. Online jewelry sales appear to have benefited the most, increasing by about 50% over pre-pandemic times. To what extent these patterns will hold is uncertain. Another trend was the popularity of “Zoom-worthy” jewelry such as earrings and necklaces as online interactions with colleagues, friends, and family increased. To read more about some of the pandemic-related retail jewelry trends, see Victoria Gomelsky, “Even in a pandemic, fine jewelry is selling,” New York Times, December 3, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/fashion/jewelry-rising-sales-pandemic-.html.

Starting at the mines, activity was clearly affected by work stoppages and the inability of foreign buyers and traders to travel internationally. These situations were highly dependent on local restrictions, which were often different in neighboring countries. In East Africa and Asia, many mines temporarily stopped production to comply with regulations to avoid gatherings of people, while others produced plenty of material but initially had no foreign buyers to sell it to. Much rough trading went online, allowing the continued flow of some materials between miners and buyers with established relationships. This online presence also brought forth completely new relationships for miners and local traders who started dealing directly with downstream buyers, such as cutters and jewelers, who normally would have made purchases through other channels.

In many instances, cutting and jewelry manufacturing workshops were significantly impacted by the pandemic on three fronts: the disruption in the supply of new raw materials, the inability to work together in factories in light of social distancing policies, and (in some cases) difficulty in shipping goods across borders. However, some rough dealers and jewelers have been opening the vaults to work with gems saved for a rainy day such as this.

Gem markets have been significantly impacted, as here too social distancing policies and travel restrictions greatly reduced or eliminated the ability to gather and kept the international buyers who supply the cash necessary to keep trade moving away from these sites. Similarly, virtually all of the major trade shows globally were forced to cancel for the same reasons. Political unrest has also been impacting the movement of goods across borders, something we heard from several sources.

Stone dealers and jewelers in general reported a challenging time last spring, but reasonable to good sales from summer 2020 on. Many of them had to adapt to virtual interactions with suppliers and clients, some for the first time. However, several had already started building online presences, which were put to the test and rapidly expanded to accommodate this unusual year. Communication through WhatsApp and Zoom proved essential for many in continuing business both upstream and downstream. Vendors reported using social media such as Facebook and Instagram to keep clients updated on their activities. Even though it was clear that these vendors look forward to the return to big trade shows, they believe that the way business is conducted along the supply chain has likely been changed in some permanent ways by the recent forced reliance on doing business virtually.

We hope you enjoy our report showing the mixture of positive and negative trends over this unprecedented past year. We look forward to seeing everyone in person in Tucson next year. The 2022 Tucson shows will also bring us the opportunity to visit the Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum, scheduled to reopen in 2021, and its Somewhere in the Rainbow collection. These are also featured in our report. @topic:7


Publish Year: 2002 Title: Portable Instruments and Tips on Practical Gemology in the Field Abstract: Buying gems or jewelry can be challenging even when one has access to a fully equipped lab. However, most purchases are actually made in environments that make it difficult to carry anything more than a loupe, a flashlight, and a pair of tweezers. Practice with these and the additional portable gem instruments described in this article will enable the buyer to develop the keen senses needed to better ascertain the identity and quality of the material being considered. Practical tips that may be applied in the field are also included in each section. Common sense must dictate how a clue is applied, and some tests will merely help narrow down the possibilities. @topic:8


Publish Year: - Title: GIA’s Knowledge Sessions: A New Way to Share Gemological Information Abstract: Robert Weldon talked about this photo during the “Behind the Scenes: Untold Stories from GIA Field Gemology Expeditions” webinar. The photograph shows a model of Campbell Bridges famous tree-house — glowing with light at night — in Kenya. The original tree house, near Tsavo National Park, is the place where he discovered green garnet or tsavorite. Photo by Robert Weldon

Video calls and webinars have taken the world by storm ever since the coronavirus sent everyone home for safety. They are an easy way to stay connected with family and friends and many — including GIA — are using them to share knowledge.

GIA’s Knowledge Sessions began in early April and since then, they have covered a variety of gemological research topics, including pearls, laboratory-grown diamonds, field gemology and jade auctions. The hour-long sessions provide an opportunity for researchers and subject matter experts to stay connected with the other researchers, retailers, designers and other people who are excited to learn more about the world of gems and the jewelry industry, in a friendly, more casual format.

“Our researchers normally speak at seminars and conferences, but now that we can’t travel as a result of the pandemic, we saw there was another way to connect with the research community to share our information,” says Kellie Giordano, GIA senior manager of content marketing and the moderator of the web sessions. “Our researchers are so talented and great at communicating all of this complex research in an accessible way. The webinars evolved into a resource for the entire gem and jewelry industry to understand how they might apply the research GIA is doing every single day into their work — as a retailer, wholesaler or whatever stage of the supply chain they are in.”

Dr. Mike Breeding, who presented “Laboratory-Grown Diamonds: Updates and Identification,” says the webinars speak to GIA’s mission to protect the public and giving them the information they need to thrive in their area of interest.

“Many trade members can’t afford the time or money to attend conferences or pay for on-campus seminars, so this is a fantastic mechanism for us to get important information to them to help in their daily challenges in the gem industry,” he says. “People are already excited about gems, but these types of informative webinars really give them even more to be excited about and empowers them with knowledge.”

The number of people who sign up and attend each session is surprising, but gratifying, to the presenters. To-date, there have been more than 48,000 registrants and more than 21,000 attendees in 21 presentations and more than 65,000 views (with a total of more than 10,000 hours watched) on YouTube, where all of the sessions are posted.

“The webinars are a fantastic way to reach all corners of the globe, even if someone has to get up super-early, or stay up super-late to see it,” said Robert Weldon, director of the Richard T. Liddicoat Library and Information Center, who presented “Behind the Scenes: Untold Stories from GIA Field Gemology Expeditions,” with Wim Vertriest, supervisor of field gemology and Dr. Aaron Palke, senior manager of research. “As evidenced on several of the talks, thousands of people have tuned in at one time.”

The webinars are held weekly in English, but several have been presented in Mandarin, such as “An Exclusive View of the World’s Biggest Jade Auction,” by Dr. Tao Hsu, director of global development, “The Fascinating World of Pearls and Shells,” by Dr. Chunhui Zhou, manager of pearl identification, “Laboratory-Grown Diamonds from China,” by Dr. Wuyi Wang, vice president of research and development, and “Advanced Analytical Techniques,” by Ziyin Sun, research associate.

Wang said the webinars are an effective way to share gemological research findings with a large number of people at a time. “It is impossible to attract this many people to attend any on-site presentation,” he says. “We should sustain this platform.”

A New Format for a New Gem and Jewelry World
GIA Knowledge Sessions cover a broad spectrum of topics, from some of the more popular gemstones — diamonds, pearls and rubies — to lesser-known aspects of gem exploration and research tools.
“We’re really looking to provide a wide range of topics. We have this wealth of knowledge and we want to use these webinars to deliver as much of it as we can,” Giordano says.

Presenting the information in a webinar format, as opposed to a conference setting, was a little strange for the researchers at first, but they quickly adjusted.
“I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to present the webinar,” Breeding says. “At first it was a bit weird to not see the people as I talked, but as it went on, it was very relaxed and easy to discuss the slides and information.”
Dr. Zhou says that as he sat alone in a room talking in front of the screen, he wondered what the audiences were doing at the moment in different parts of the world, but that it was less stressful than presenting in person at a conference.
“It is a great way to share information and connect with the trade and public during this extraordinary period of time,” he says. “The technology advances make it easy for anybody to join from all over the world and they can even watch a recording after the talk.”
The benefits of an online presentation — no need to travel, watching from anywhere in the world and on-demand viewing — also include an easy-to-follow format for the presenter and the viewer.
“I enjoy the 45-50 minute talking time slot we get. This allows you to really tell a story, but at the same time forces you to bring structure to it. It’s always easier to see or listen to someone explain it thoroughly,” says Vertriest, who also presented “Rubies: Connecting Sources, Treatment and Science” and “Geology 101 for Gemologists: The Natural Processes that Form Colored Gemstones.”
“A good presentation takes you by the hand and leads you through all the challenging science that might appear overwhelming in written format,” he says. “Since presentations are very visual, the information can also be presented in a more intuitive way.”
It also enables the audience to ask questions through a chat feature during the presentation and at the end of it.
“I could see the questions pop up on the side as I went and it was difficult to not try to answer them immediately,” Breeding says. “I found myself remembering to include small details that I might have otherwise skipped because I knew someone was wondering about it.”
The questions also indicated that there were both insiders in the gem trade and general public listening to our talks, Chunhui says.
“It was also surprising to see the range of questions. Everyone has a different perspective and it is interesting to see what details people pick up on,” Smith says.
Nick Sturman, senior manager of identification, who presented the “Fascinating World of Pearls and Shells,” suggested that extra dialogue specific points can be raised on GIA's Gems & Gemology Facebook page. “So far that hasn't happened much but a few people have taken the opportunity to raise a point,” he says.
“I have been so pleasantly surprised by the participation,” Giordano says. “We get so many great, high-quality questions and there is so much curiosity around each topic.”
She said that post-webinar surveys indicate that 95% of participants agree or strongly agree that the topic was valuable, 95% rate the session as excellent or good, and 100% want to attend another GIA Knowledge Session.
Some of the anonymous comments from the survey:

 “I really appreciate GIA producing these webinars during the pandemic times, they’re interesting and keep us connected.

“It is truly amazing how the webinars help to connect the theoretical knowledge [that] is acquired during the self-study to a more practical approach. Already looking for the next one!”
“What really impressed me, along with the expertise, was the friendly, informal presentation. Fun!”

GIA’s Digital Transformation is Underway
“Knowledge Sessions are a great example of how we are using modern technology to connect with our GIA community,” says Mark Buntz, senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “We want to make it easy for researchers, students and alumni to access our expertise and spark an even greater interest in gems and jewelry around the world.”

Dr. Hsu agrees that webinars and other digital tools are an effective way to share many different type of information - not just that limited to gemological research. “Educational information and even retailer support type of information can all be shared this way,” she says.
She presented “GIA Research - Not Just for Scientists,” a behind-the-scenes look on how GIA designs its world-respected curriculum.

GIA is also making other outreach efforts online, including a GemFest on the “Geographic Origin Determination of Ruby,” which was presented in Japanese from Tokyo and the 115th Gemstone Gathering, a popular event in Thailand, on “Precision Cut: How, Why and When?” by Victor Tuzlukov, a well-known master lapidary artist.

Above all, says Dr. Evan Smith, who presented the first GIA Knowledge Session – “The Unique Story of Natural Diamond” — in early April, the webinars help showcase some of the things that distinguish GIA from other gem labs.

Dr. Evan Smith showed this image of a super-large faceted diamond in “The Unique Story of Natural Diamond” webinar. Photo by Ulrika D’Haenens-Johansson
“Some people may know GIA best as an issuer of certificates and accreditations, but its mission is much broader,” he says. “The Knowledge Sessions shed light on the diverse nature of work that goes on behind the scenes at GIA, and our commitment to re-investing into research and education.”
Go to GIA Knowledge Sessions to register for an upcoming webinar or watch one that has already been presented. @topic:11


Publish Year: 2020 Title: G&G Launches Facebook Group Abstract: The G&G Facebook group is a new community for all gem and jewelry enthusiasts.
On February 5, 2020, Gems & Gemology  launched a Facebook group dedicated to gemology and research published in the journal. The group has attracted jewelry professionals, researchers, students, and those with a general interest in gemology who want to share and expand their knowledge. With several dozen posts (see above), the G&G  Facebook group has become a dedicated forum for the discussion of inclusions, treatments, field gemology and gemstone mining, and identification of laboratory-grown or cultured gemstones, including identification challenge quizzes. Some of the most popular posts to date have featured stunning photomicrographs of gersdorffite inclusions in quartz, diamonds with octahedral stellate cloud inclusions, mysterious sapphires from the Andes Mountains in South America, and the use of Google Earth for research in field gemology. The enthusiastic base of more than 7,000 members hails from all parts of the globe.
To join, visit www.facebook.com/groups/giagemsgemology. @topic:6