# Publication Year: 2017
# Title: Quarterly Crystal: Shattuckite in Quartz
# Abstract: Figure 1. Measuring 41.27 mm and weighing 164.63 ct, this quartz crystal cluster contains a phantom composed of an abundance of deep blue radial concretions of shattuckite, forming a rich blue felted mat. Photo by Kevin Schumacher.
For our “Quarterly Crystal” in the Micro-World column, we are always searching for unusual crystal specimens that contain interesting mineral inclusions and other micro-features worthy of description. This quarter’s offering is an intergrown cluster of quartz crystals that play host to a rich blue deposition of the orthorhombic copper silicate mineral shattuckite, which typically forms aggregates of spherulitic to circular masses composed of acicular crystals (figure 1). The 41.27 mm long quartz crystal grouping (figure 2) came from the Kandesei mine in the Kunene region of Namibia and was acquired from Jordi Fabre (Fabre Minerals, Barcelona).

Figure 2. As an inclusion in quartz, shattuckite typically forms aggregates of circular to spherulitic masses composed of acicular crystals. Photomicrograph by Nathan Renfro; field of view 3.55 mm.
The inclusions were situated in the quartz crystals in the form of phantoms that developed through the deposition of the shattuckite on the surface. Laser Raman microspectrometry identified the phantom layers as shattuckite. As the quartz continued to grow, the shattuckite was captured as inclusion phantom planes tracing the form of the original quartz host.

Named for the type locality—the Shattuck mine in Bisbee, Arizona—shattuckite is a medium to deep blue mineral with a silky luster. A secondary mineral in oxidized copper deposits, shattuckite is often found together with ajoite, chrysocolla, and malachite, in addition to quartz. @chapter:15 @chapter:0 @chapter:15


# Publication Year: 2016
# Title: Steam-Dyed Amber
# Abstract: Figure 1. Left: This “chicken-fat yellow beeswax” amber bead, approximately 15 mm in diameter, was treated by the steam dyeing method. Right: The unusually dark orange color of these pear-shaped samples comes from steam dyeing. Photos by Fen Liu.

	“Beeswax” amber, a common trade name used in the Chinese gem market, refers to yellow amber that has a semitranslucent, opalescent, milky appearance with greasy luster. Among the beeswax ambers, “chicken-fat yellow beeswax” is very popular for its bright color. Global production is limited, and the material is in high demand in the Chinese amber market. Therefore, many methods to enhance the color of beeswax amber have been attempted. In March 2016, the Guangzhou laboratory of the Gem Testing Center, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) received four pieces of chicken-fat yellow beeswax amber samples from two different clients (figure 1); two more pieces were received in May from an unrelated owner (figure 2).

Figure 2. The two bright yellow beads in the center, 8 mm and 9 mm in diameter, were treated by steam dyeing, while the bracelet contains natural-color amber. Photo by Jiewan Huang.

	Infrared spectroscopy showed all ambers with typical “Baltic shoulder” patterns in the 1100–1300 cm–1 range, with low and broad bands in higher frequencies and a high, sharp peak at 1160 cm–1. Instead of the whitish yellow of natural Baltic ambers, we saw either bright yellow or orange hues, both of which are unusual. Under strong transmitted light, the yellow color of the round bead in figure 1 (left) showed a mottled distribution, which was proof of uneven dyeing (figure 3); however, microscopic examination revealed small squashed bubbles caused by “steam treatment.” Further, red color filaments unrelated to the cracks among the bubbles near the surface were traces of residual dyes (figure 4, left).

Figure 3. The darker mottled color patches in this sample indicate that the bead was unevenly dyed. Photo by Fen Liu.

	Figure 4. Left: The squashed bubbles are induced by steam treatment, and the red filaments are possible traces of residual dye. Photomicrograph by Fen Liu; field of view 2.95 mm. Right: The dark orange color zone among the bubbles, unrelated to the cracks, indicates that the color zone was introduced by dyeing. Photomicrograph by Shufang Nie; field of view 2.95 mm.

	The color of the pear-shaped samples appeared to be darker than the yellow associated with chicken-fat amber (again, see figure 1, right). This darker color faded slightly when the surface was swabbed with alcohol. Under 40× magnification, the bubbles appear to have yellow meniscuses. The bubble-rich regions were darker than the portions with fewer bubbles. In some areas among the bubbles, an abnormal dark orange color zone appeared to be induced by residual color matter (figure 4, right). All these observations indicated the amber pieces underwent some artificial treatment. The clients admitted that these beeswax ambers were treated by a new treatment method, called “steam dyeing,” which delivers gas bubbles from colored water into the amber structure at pressure and temperature conditions close to those of saturated water vapors.

	Steam dyeing treatment is easy to miss. The rapid development in amber treatment methods means that consumers and laboratories must be cautious when dealing with these “chicken-fat yellow beeswax” ambers. @chapter:46 @chapter:0 @chapter:46


# Publication Year: 2000
# Title: Burmese Jade: The Inscrutable Gem
# Abstract: The jadeite mines of Upper Burma (now Myanmar) occupy a privileged place in the world of gems, as they are the principal source of top-grade material. This article, by the first foreign gemologists allowed into these important mines in over 30 years, discusses the history, location, and geology of the Myanmar jadeite deposits, and especially current mining activities in the Hpakan region. Also detailed are the cutting, grading, and trading of jadeite—in both Myanmar and China—as well as treatments. The intent is to remove some of the mystery surrounding the Orient’s most valued gem. @chapter:51 @chapter:0 @chapter:51


# Publication Year: -
# Title: Winter 1981 Gem News International
# Abstract: Exhibits
            The Wernher Collection-Luton Hoo
            National Museum of History
            Heimatmuseum
            Museu de Minerals e Rochas do DNPM

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @chapter:30 @chapter:0 @chapter:30


# Publication Year: 1998
# Title: Winter 1998 G&G Lab Notes
# Abstract: Faded and Fading Maxixe Beryl
Brown Diamond with Green-to-Blue Color Zones
Raman Analysis of Inclusions in Diamond
Diamond with Triangular “Void” Inclusions
Synthetic Diamond Showing Change of Color
Cultured Pearls with a Faceted Surface
Non-Nacreous “Pearls”
Spinel with a Darker Core

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @chapter:43 @chapter:1 @chapter:43


# Publication Year: 1982
# Title: Two Notable Color-Change Garnets
# Abstract: Two garnets exhibiting unusually strong changes of color are discussed. Changes in color appearance are observed to occur not only between different light sources but also between reflected and transmitted illumination from the same light source. The gemological properties and chemical compositions of these two stones are noted and compared. @chapter:13 @chapter:0 @chapter:13


# Publication Year: 2019
# Title: CIBJO Blue Book and “Do’s and Don’ts” Guide on Responsible Sourcing
# Abstract: The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) released the first edition of the Responsible Sourcing Book in January 2019. The latest in CIBJO’s series of Blue Books, it provides a framework and guidance for due diligence related to the responsible sourcing of gemstones and precious metals in the jewelry sector. In March, the organization also approved a simplified “Do’s and Don’ts” guide.
The new Blue Book is the result of a yearlong effort, during which a responsible sourcing commission was formed and a policy document introduced at CIBJO’s 2018 congress in Bogotá. The book, which was thoroughly reviewed by external members of the trade, advises all industry members to have a responsible sourcing policy in place and to perform due diligence on their supply chains “to the best of their ability.” It also recommends that industry members check for and mitigate risks related to human rights, labor practices, or criminal activity. The Blue Book aligns with the OECD’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, and it requires compliance with both the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The “Do’s and Don’ts” document, at 11 pages, does not replace the Blue Book released in January. It is intended as a reference tool for business owners and their staff to ensure best practices and promote consumer confidence. As of March 2019, the simplified guide can be downloaded in English, Arabic, Dutch, French, Hebrew, Italian, and Portuguese. Additional language versions are being prepared.
Both the Blue Book and the “Do’s and Don’ts” document are available, free of charge, at www.cibjo.org. @chapter:42 @chapter:3 @chapter:42


# Publication Year: 2017
# Title: Letters: Nacken Synthetic Emeralds: Additional Information
# Abstract: In a recently published study on synthetic emeralds grown by Prof. R. Nacken (K. Schmetzer et al., Winter 2016 G&G, pp. 368–392), three different types of flux-grown crystals and faceted samples were described. The vast majority of the synthetic emeralds, comprising several hundred samples, fell within two groups designated types 1 and 2. Most of these had been obtained either from a parcel donated by Nacken to the Deutsches Museum in Munich or from material that had remained in Nacken’s family and was now in the possession of his grandsons. Upon examination, all crystals and faceted samples of types 1 and 2 were found to contain irregularly shaped seeds of colorless beryl. In contrast, only a few synthetic emeralds of another type, designated type 3, were discovered. These lacked colorless seeds and had come from the collection of the late F.H Pough, who in turn had acquired the crystals from G.O. Wild. Existing documentation shows that Wild possessed a parcel of Nacken synthetic emeralds during the period after 1945 and donated various samples to friends and colleagues for research and related purposes.

	In 1936, the German government decided to affiliate the private Institute for Gemstone Research, located in Idar-Oberstein and directed by G.O. Wild, with the University of Frankfurt. Nacken was named director of the joint entity, with Wild remaining the local leader for activities in Idar-Oberstein. A close collaboration between Wild and Nacken during 1936 and 1937 has long been apparent from known writings, but no direct information about the synthetic emeralds in Wild’s possession has previously been available. Wild’s son, K.E. Wild, had seen the parcel with Nacken synthetic emeralds in the 1950s and 1960s, while working in his father’s office, but no further background about those samples was given to him at the time (K.E. Wild, pers. comms., 2016, 2017).

	A new development, however, serves to unveil further details. A document authored by Nacken and dated May 30, 1937, was recently found in the historical archive of the city of Idar-Oberstein (Stadtarchiv Idar-Oberstein, Department 2b, File I B, No. 94). The four-page summary, written to the head of the local administration for the District of Birkenfeld, reports goals and tasks of the Institute for Gemstone Research. In the section covering scientific research, the following is written (translated from German): “Examination of properties related to crystal growth and synthesis of gemstones. These experiments already resulted in the production of synthetic emeralds.”

	From this short statement, it becomes apparent that growth of synthetic gem materials was one of the specific research topics undertaken or at least planned at the Institute. Equally logical then is the corollary that Wild, being the local representative in Idar-Oberstein, would have had access to the synthetic materials grown in relation to the Institute’s research projects. Although no additional information is provided in Nacken’s report, the timing would support a conclusion that at least some experiments related to the growth of synthetic emeralds were performed in the 1930s, with Nacken attempting to improve the technique by which he had successfully synthesized emeralds in the 1920s. Presumably, he would have tried to avoid larger colorless zones within the synthetic crystals, as such areas are easily observable, especially in faceted samples. Thus, taking into account all known circumstances, current evidence would seem to suggest that Nacken’s type 3 flux-grown synthetic emeralds without colorless seeds were a result of experiments performed in the 1930s, subsequent to the growth of type 1 and type 2 synthetic emeralds with colorless seeds in the 1920s.

Karl Schmetzer
Petershausen, Germany @chapter:18 @chapter:0 @chapter:18


# Publication Year: 2019
# Title: Boulder Opal Mining with Rod Griffin
# Abstract: Figure 1. The Elusive mine in Koroit, Queensland, is known for boulder opal with the light pattern of color seen here. This stone fits in two hands (its weight is unknown). Photo by Kevin Schumacher, courtesy of Rod Griffin Boulder Opals.

At the AGTA show, Rod Griffin (Rod Griffin Boulder Opals, Silverado, California, and Queensland, Australia) told us that the world market for all types of opals continues to be strong, but Australia’s opal industry is shrinking due to the costs, challenges, and changing regulations of mining. He also cited recent flooding in Queensland as a challenge; opal mining in Australia has traditionally been difficult due to severe weather and rugged terrain. At the 2018 show, we heard that production of Australian boulder opal (figure 1) was low, with fewer than 30 people mining it in Queensland.
Griffin began mining opal in 1960 with a borrowed jackhammer and a lighting plant, in Andamooka, South Australia, 600 km (~372 miles) north of Adelaide. His methods have evolved considerably in the decades since. Along with standard equipment such as bulldozers, drills, and excavators, he recently began using gamma-ray logging for prospecting, and he will add drone magnetometer surveys and subsurface radar this year.
Mining is in Griffin’s blood. His great-great grandfather worked in South Australia’s Burra copper mines in the 1800s. Griffin’s own introduction to mining was at his uncle’s opal operation in northern South Australia. His uncle, who began with six camels and a scraper, eventually had one of the first bulldozers used in opal mining.
Griffin’s first find, at Andamooka, was black opal matrix in the bulldozer ramps. In 1970 he found more, in the 17 Mile Field in Coober Pedy. In 1976 he sold $400 (~$1,800 in 2019) worth of white Coober Pedy opal and boulder opal, bought a squareback Volkswagen, and traveled around the United States selling opal. He first exhibited in Tucson in 1977, at the Pueblo Inn (now the Riverpark Inn). “From that day on, I’ve been working all my life in opal,” he said.
Since then Griffin has mined in New South Wales—where he was the first to bring a tumbling machine to White Cliffs and to use a drill in the Sheepyard field at Lightning Ridge—and South West Queensland, where he and a friend found success using an excavator for the first time. His current operations are in South West Queensland, where he owns the 40-acre Elusive mine in Koroit and will be prospecting west of Quilpie this year.

Figure 2. This 245 ct boulder opal came from an open cut in the Elusive mine. The flame-like pattern is unique to Elusive. Photo by Kevin Schumacher, courtesy of Rod Griffin Boulder Opals.
People thought Griffin was crazy when he bought the Elusive mine in 2013–it was said to be depleted after more than a hundred years of mining. But he found opal 22 feet below ground and has been finding it at 22 to 25 feet for the last several years. The mine is known for boulder opal with the light pattern of color seen in figure 1. Elusive also produces boulder opals with a flame-like pattern (figure 2), which Griffin said is unique to this mine. He added that because the stones were found at a shallow depth and the area is dry, they are stable and will not craze or crack.

	Rod Griffin talks about his background in opal mining and his plans for mining in Quilpie this year.

In 2017 Griffin worked with two geologists to explore the Elusive mine using gamma-ray logging, which measures naturally occurring radiation in the ground to determine the potential presence of opal. According to Senior and Chadderton, microscopic lattices of silica spheres that produce precious opal’s play-of-color contain radioactive elements (“Natural gamma radioactivity and exploration for precious opal in Australia,” The Australian Gemmologist, No. 23, 2007, pp. 160–176). Gamma-ray logging of drill holes and open-cut mines has detected slightly higher radioactivity around opal deposits and led to new discoveries of opal in Queensland and New South Wales. At Elusive, it was determined that at the current rate of mining, at least seven years’ worth of reserves remains. Later in 2017, in several areas of the mine that had previously been explored without success, gamma-ray logging led to the detection of 1,230 opalized specimens, 30 of which were gem quality.
Griffin said this year he will use gamma-ray logging in prospecting 200 miles west of Quilpie; he will also use drones and subsurface radar for the first time. The drones will be fitted with magnetometers and flown a few feet above ground to measure magnetism and locate ironstone anomalies. Subsurface radar will determine the composition below the ground. Regulatory agency permitting has been secured for the property, and an indigenous land use agreement is in place. But Griffin said there has been a delay in the landowner acknowledging a standing agreement with the miners; he has seen more challenges in obtaining the agreement of all involved parties in recent years.
“There are easier ways to make money,” Griffin said. “But I actually feel that I’m in heaven at the moment, doing what I want to do, because I think I found my peace in life.” @chapter:51 @chapter:0 @chapter:51


# Publication Year: 2013
# Title: Unusual Faceted Massive Fuchsite
# Abstract: Figure 1. This massive Cr-muscovite, reportedly from southern Ethiopia, is better known in the trade as fuchsite. The longest rough piece measures 53 mm, and the faceted stone weighs 2.56 ct. The material was difficult to polish because of its low hardness, 3 or less on the Mohs scale. Photo by Thierry Pradat.

              French gem dealer Patrick de Koenigswarter (MinerK) recently showed us some interesting material he purchased in 2011 from an Ethiopian rough dealer. At the time of purchase, the green rough (figure 1) was presented to him as emerald from a new find near the Kenticha pegmatite zone in Ethiopia, well known for tantalite and superb amazonite crystals. However, beryl was ruled out due to the material’s waxy luster and low hardness of 3 or less on the Mohs scale—it was easily scratched with a copper coin.

Routine gemological testing was done on the four samples, which consisted of three rough pieces (17–138 ct) and a 2.56 ct emerald cut. The faceted stone (figure 1, bottom right) always remained lit under crossed polarizers, indicating a polycrystalline structure. The color was unevenly distributed, from light green to intense green, sometimes close to an emerald color. The refractive index, though difficult to measure, was around 1.60. The specific gravity values were 2.80 for two of the pieces and 2.90 for the others, a difference possibly due to the presence of mineral inclusions. All four pieces were inert under both long- and short-wave UV, and red to pink under a Chelsea filter. Additional analyses were required to properly identify this material.

Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed with a JEOL-5800LV scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with a PGT (Princeton Gamma Tech) energy dispersive IMIX-PTS detector. The following elements were found (in atomic %): Si = 16.1%, Al = 17.0%, K = 4.0%, and Na = 1.3%; O was calculated as 61.0%, plus traces of Ba (0.3%), Fe, and Cr. These last two elements were clearly detected on the spectrum but in concentrations too low to be measured (below 0.1%). This composition is consistent with muscovite, a member of the mica family. We observed platy brown polyhedral inclusions, identified by EDS and Raman as rutile due to telltale broad bands around 611 and 443 cm–1.

	Figure 2. The UV-visible spectrum of the Ethiopian fuchsite shows a large absorption band around 600 nm, a continuum of increasing absorption toward the UV, and a weak, sharp peak at 682 nm. These features are consistent with green color produced by trivalent chromium.
We also performed UV-visible absorption spectrometry using a 1 nm sampling and spectral bandwidth in the 350–800 nm range. The spectrum showed a large band centered at about 600 nm and a continuum of increasing absorption toward the UV region (figure 2). These features generated two transmission windows, one in the green around 530 nm and the other in the red to infrared. This explains both the green bodycolor and the red appearance in the Chelsea filter. The continuum is caused by the scattering of light at grain boundaries in this polycrystalline aggregate. We also observed a weak but sharp peak at 682 nm, which we attributed to “chromium lines” of the trivalent chromium (figure 2, inset).

Chemical and spectroscopic results identified Cr3+ as the main cause of the green color. Hence, this material was fuchsite, the chromian variety of muscovite. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such a massive, translucent polycrystalline fuchsite has been faceted. The gem’s low hardness makes it unsuitable for jewelry, but it is adequate for collectors. @chapter:7 @chapter:0 @chapter:7


# Publication Year: 2019
# Title: Jewelry Glossary Project Survey
# Abstract: Four members of the Glossary Initiative present at the 2019 Jewelry Industry Summit. From left: Jay Moncada and Jared Holstein of Perpetuum Jewels; Erin Daily of Brooklyn Metalworks; and Emily Phillippy of Emily Chelsea Jewelry. Not pictured are Olivia Suffern of Olivia Marie Handcrafted Adornment and Christina T. Miller of Christina T. Miller Consulting and co-founder of Ethical Metalsmiths. Photo by Mike Pace, courtesy of the Jewelry Industry Summit.

The 2019 Jewelry Industry Summit saw the announcement of the first 10 words of a glossary intended to define terminology relevant to the jewelry industry. These definitions were the result of almost three years of brainstorming and research. The first terms to be defined are: ethical, recycled, pre-consumer recycled, post-consumer recycled, sustainability, conflict-free diamond, Fairmined, Fairtrade/FAIRTRADE, Fair Trade Certified, and fair trade. The Glossary Initiative is now seeking input from gem and jewelry professionals on these definitions.
Emily Phillippy (Emily Chelsea Jewelry, Philadelphia), a member of the Glossary Initiative since its inception, explained that the committee’s work developed naturally out of the Education Initiative of the first summit. Phillippy noted that “we all saw such a serious need for shared understanding. Responsibly sourced jewelry is in such high demand, but there are so many different responses to what that actually means.” She, along with the other three initial members, recognized that it was not possible to educate people without clear-cut definitions of widely used (and frequently misused) terms. This evolved into creating a glossary for the industry.
The six-member committee’s positioning in distinct sectors of the industry brought into focus how frequently words were and sometime misused. For instance, the group found that “fair trade” and “Fairtrade” (the latter of which is trademarked) were often used interchangeably, with incorrect capitalization and spacing. A look at the word “recycled” led to the understanding that the group needed to define “pre-consumer recycled” and “post-consumer recycled1.”
The glossary is intended to be a living document, with the capacity to reevaluate terms over time as practices, technology, and situations change. Summit attendees were invited to suggest words to be defined in future rounds; proposed terms included “transparency,” “traceability,” and “values.” Future efforts will include a website to host the glossary to make it accessible to the entire industry.
Members of the gem and jewelry industry are invited to give feedback on each definition via this survey, which will close at the end of June.
FOOTNOTES
↩ Back to article
1As currently defined, pre-consumer recycled materials are byproducts of, or reclaimed from, uncirculated consumer goods to make new products, while post-consumer recycled materials have been recovered from used consumer products for reuse in new products. @chapter:42 @chapter:3 @chapter:42


# Publication Year: 2015
# Title: Dumortierite In Rock Crystal Quartz
# Abstract: Figure 1. This group of rock crystal quartz from Brazil shows vibrant blue dumortierite inclusions. The largest rough crystal weighs 139.79 ct, and the faceted stone weighs 15.47 ct. Photo by Kevin Schumacher.

              Dumortierite, which commonly occurs as a blue borosilicate mineral, is of gemological interest when present in quartzite, making an attractive blue ornamental material. Recently examined by GIA’s Carlsbad laboratory were several examples of dumortierite inclusions in rock crystal quartz (figure 1) provided by Luciana Barbosa (Asheville, North Carolina). According to Mrs. Barbosa, the material is reported to be from the Brazilian state of Bahia, in the Serra do Espinhaço Range near the Vaca Morta quarry.

Figure 2. Clusters of vibrant blue acicular dumortierite were observed in this rock crystal quartz. Note that some dumortierite crystals are brownish due to epigenetic mineral staining along the interface of the quartz host and the dumortierite inclusions. Photomicrograph by Nathan Renfro; horizontal field of view 7.38 mm.
Much of the material examined by the authors showed phantom planes and clusters of acicular needles with a vibrant blue coloration (figure 2). Polarized light revealed very strong blue to colorless pleochroism in the blue mineral inclusions. Raman analysis confirmed the identity of the needles as dumortierite. Also observed in one sample were colorless acicular crystals on a phantom plane, which were also identified by Raman as dumortierite (figure 3).

Figure 3. Unusual pale blue to colorless needles of dumortierite were also observed in the rock crystal quartz. Photomicrograph by Nathan Renfro; horizontal field of view 2.24 mm.
Blue color in dumortierite has previously been reported to be caused mainly by Fe2+-Ti4+ charge-transfer (see http://minerals.gps.caltech.edu/FILES/Visible/dumortierite/Index.htm). The chemical composition of the blue and colorless dumortierite inclusions was analyzed by LA-ICP-MS to look for any prominent differences that might explain the variance in observed color. The most significant difference was in the magnesium content, which was almost 10 times higher in the colorless dumortierite inclusions (1070 ppma, compared to 127 ppma Mg in the blue dumortierite). While more research is needed to fully understand the role this higher magnesium content has on color, the authors speculate that the titanium preferentially charge-compensates with magnesium instead of iron. If there is not enough excess titanium relative to magnesium, it may not be possible for titanium to pair with divalent iron, and this would prevent the formation of blue color.

These are the first examples of prismatic blue and colorless dumortierite inclusions in rock crystal quartz we have encountered. @chapter:15 @chapter:0 @chapter:15


# Publication Year: -
# Title: Alum Leads Family Store to ‘Luxury Retailer of the Year’ Accolades
# Abstract: “Don’t be afraid to try new things and keep tabs on other small business success stories, whether they are in your industry or not,” says Sean Dunn, GG. Dunn helped lead his family’s store to increased growth – and industry acclaim – by embracing e-commerce at a time when few independent retailer jewelers were doing so. Photo courtesy J.R. Dunn Jewelers

	Sean Dunn could have played it safe in the early 2000s, when his family’s luxury retail jewelry store was struggling with online strategy just “like everyone else.” Instead, he launched into relatively unknown territory for an independent store at the time: e-commerce.

	Dunn, vice president of Florida’s J.R. Dunn Jewelers, watched the store’s website flounder even though he was hearing industry murmurs of department stores finding success with online jewelry sales.

	“It dawned on me that I needed to hire somebody with actual experience to run our website,” he says. Numerous interviews brought “polite” candidates who praised the company’s website and said they could do “more of the same.”

	Dunn says that, finally, one applicant was direct: “She said, ‘You have a pretty website – what but does it do?’”

	He hired her, and in just over a month, J.R. Dunn released a fully functional e-commerce site: jrdunn.com.

	“One of our first sales within weeks of launch was a $4,000 pair of Roberto Coin diamond hoop earrings to a new client in North Carolina,” he says. “That’s when my love of e-commerce was born.”

	The industry began taking notice of the company’s success, and in 2015, JCK named J.R. Dunn its “Luxury Retailer of the Year” for “redesigning retail.”

	“We were one of the very first independents to go full speed ahead deploying our e-commerce site,” says Dunn, a GIA Graduate Gemologist (GG). “But we could never have imagined receiving an award for it more than a decade later!”

 When J.R. Dunn founders James Robert and Ann Marie Dunn (center) found out that their new jewelry store was burglarized while the couple was in between insurance policy coverage in the early 1970s, the couple went door-to-door explaining the situation and paid for each customer’s lost items out of their own pockets. “It was a tough but valuable lesson to always face the music, make good on your word and treat people how you would want to be treated,” says Sean Dunn, pictured (second from left) with his family. “My parents did just that, and their business blossomed from their misfortune – it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.” Photo courtesy J.R. Dunn Jewelers

	The “we” is Dunn’s family – including his parents and J.R. Dunn founders, James Robert and Ann Marie Dunn, and his maternal uncle, award-winning designer Robert Pelliccia – all of whom work for the store.

	“We all have areas of the business we are passionate about, and that energy is contagious,” he says.

	The family gets “really excited” when Pelliccia (who has won 16 design awards, including three De Beers Diamonds Today awards, one Buyer’s Choice Award from Modern Jeweler, and 12 American Gem Trade Association Spectrum awards) previews a new design.

	James Robert and Ann Marie Dunn, who founded the company in Hanover, Massachusetts in 1969 before moving to southeast Florida a few years later, always had zeal for the jewelry industry. James Robert Dunn even took gemology classes at GIA in New York during his time off from a job at IBM, learning under the tutelage of GIA legends, such as Bert Krashes and Robert Crowningshield.

	But for their son, jewelry wasn’t a given.

	“Mom and Dad really eased me into it,” says Dunn, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from the University of Florida. “After college, I saw my buddies going to career fairs and not finding many jobs they loved, and my dad said, ‘Why don’t you take your surfboard and drive across the country to California and learn about diamonds and gemstones and see how you like it?’”

 “There are always challenges and opportunities,” says Sean Dunn, a GIA GG and avid surfer. “The sooner you jump on both, usually the better the outcome.” Photo courtesy J.R. Dunn Jewelers

	Dunn agreed, and “ended up loving the entire experience” as a GG student at GIA’s former Santa Monica campus and headquarters.

	“It was amazing to meet so many interesting people from all over the world, and learn not only about gems, but other cultures as well,” he says. “The instructors were very passionate about the curriculum, and that helped inspire me.”

	Dunn heard GIA was having a Jewelry Career Fair right about the time he was graduating in 1996 and called his father for advice on what to do.

	“He quipped, ‘Get yourself a job!’” Dunn says.

	Dunn took his directive and interviewed with companies from Sotheby’s to Robbins Bros. He accepted an offer from Ben Bridge Jewelers to work for the South Coast Plaza store in Costa Mesa, California.

	Dunn calls his time at GIA and Ben Bridge as “terrific” and essential.

	“GIA provided a great foundation,” he says. “Not only does a GIA education give you the confidence and knowledge necessary to believe in yourself, it gives you tremendous credibility with clients and industry peers.”

 J.R. Dunn Jewelers’ brick-and-mortar location is an 8,000-sq. ft. luxury retail store in Lighthouse Point, Florida. Photo courtesy J.R. Dunn Jewelers

	Dunn returned to South Florida in 1997 and has served as vice president of J.R. Dunn ever since. He touches aspects of the business from marketing to management, but says no day is typical.

	“My single most important responsibility is to make sure our clients are happy and to address any areas where we may fall short in a swift and meaningful way,” Dunn says. “And I love being surrounded by a passionate team that’s pulling for the same goals. I thrive on new ideas, whether they’re mine or not, and I love the opportunity to put them into play.” @chapter:32 @chapter:3 @chapter:32


# Publication Year: -
# Title: Summer 2015 G&G: Dual-Stars, Photomicrography Guide, Rubies from Tajikistan, New Micro-World Section
# Abstract: Nathan Renfro’s article in this issue explores the role of image-processing software and lighting techniques in modern digital photomicrography. The cover image shows modified trigons on the surface of a diamond crystal from the Kelsey Lake mine on the Colorado-Wyoming border. This Nomarski differential interference contrast image was taken using a Nikon Eclipse LV100 microscope equipped with a 20× objective and a Canon 6D camera. Helicon Focus stacking software was used for extended depth-of-field image processing of 70 photomicrographs into a single image. Vertical field of view: 0.49 mm. Image by Nathan Renfro.

	Stars are one of the most fascinating phenomena in the gem world, and the summer issue of Gems & Gemology (G&G) takes an extensive look at the cause of dual-color double stars in both corundum and quartz. The issue also offers gemologists a how-to on taking photomicrographs of gemstone inclusions and a view of the rarely visited ruby source at Snezhnoe, Tajikistan. In addition, G&G debuts a new section called Micro-World, which offers a deep look inside gemstones to examine inclusions and the gems’ “inner-space.”

Dual-Color Double Stars in Ruby, Sapphire, and Quartz: Cause and Historical Account

Dual-color double star ruby and sapphire are best known from a line of synthetics mainly produced by the Linde Air Products Co. for the fashion jewelry market for nearly 30 years. Such stones are also occasionally found in nature in different sources around the world. The dual color refers to the double stars, one of them white and the other matching the host stone’s body color.

This pink synthetic sapphire showing a white six-rayed star and a pink star was purchased by one of the authors in Bangkok in 2010. The cabochon measures 14.4 × 11.2 mm and weighs 12.37 ct. Photo courtesy of M.P. Steinbach.

	In addition to the synthetics by Linde, the authors (Karl Schmetzer, Martin Steinbach, H. Albert Gilg and Andrea Blake) examined natural purple-pink sapphires from Myanmar, recently manufactured synthetics from various sources, and natural quartz from India and Brazil that also displayed the phenomena.

	The researchers noted that the customary white star is caused by minute rutile needles that reflect and scatter light at the surface of the curved dome of the cabochon. The body color star is also caused by these rutile inclusions, which reflect and scatter the light emanating from deeper within the stone.

	In quartz, needle-like rutile inclusions also are responsible for both of these stars.

	The researchers repolished some of the synthetics and found that when the dome was repolished, the white star disappeared; when the base was repolished, the body colored star disappeared. This indicated that the material was diffusion treated because the needle inclusions were confined to the surface.

Digital Photomicrography for Gemologists

	Photomicrography – photographing tiny gemstone inclusions with the use of a microscope – serves both research and artistic purposes.

	Until recently, the practitioners of this art used film instead of digital methods because of the superior color rendition and resolution that film once offered. But digital photomicrography has advanced to the point where it is in many ways superior to film, with the added benefit that the photographer can instantly see the results and easily make adjustments to the image.

The black manganese oxide “plumes” in this Australian opal serve as a good example of art and science merging in gemology. Photomicrograph by Nathan Renfro, field of view 5.85 mm. Note: Field of view is horizontal throughout this paper unless otherwise specified.

This article by GIA researcher Nathan Renfro details basic aspects of photomicrography, including selecting the proper gemological microscope and digital camera. It is important to make sure the camera has remote control capabilities, vibration control and the ability to take very high-resolution images.

	The author leads the reader through the steps of mounting the camera to the microscope, cleaning the gemstone and setting up the proper lighting. Darkfield illumination, generally the norm for gemological examination, is not always best for photomicrography because of the strong contrast between inclusions and background. Dust particles and scratches become very conspicuous. As a result, photographers should be able to employ a variety of lighting techniques, such as brightfield, diffused, fiber-optic, polarized, ultraviolet and the lesser-known differential interference contrast system (sometimes in combination).

	As in any photographic pursuit, capturing the image is only the first step. Processing to render the image as close as the actual subject as possible, beyond standard Photoshop, is the second step. This requires processing software that can improve focus – extending depth-of-field is a must because of the high magnification and extremely tight focal lengths. High dynamic range (HDR) software is also critical to combat overly bright or dark areas and to enhance detail. Some cameras, including phones, have HDR capability built in. Finally, it helps to include a scale bar that indicates the magnification in use and the size of the view field to give context to the final image.

Rubies and Sapphires from Snezhnoe, Tajikistan

	Ruby is one of the world’s most-desired gemstones. In this article a team of mineralogists and educators from Russia, Germany and Tajikistan report on a little-known deposit in Snezhnoe, Tajikistan, located very close to that country’s border with western China.

Left: Brown prismatic rutile inclusions within ruby from Snezhnoe. Photomicrograph by Elena S. Sorokina, magnified 35×. Right: A backscattered electron image of zircon (Zr) and rutile (Rt) inclusions in pink sapphire from the deposit (Cal = calcite, Mrg = margarite). From Sorokina (2011).

	This deposit was discovered in 1980, when the country was still part the Soviet Union. Soviet authorities estimated reserves of “hundreds of thousands of carats of gem corundum,” but kept actual production figures secret while mining between then and 1990. Mining resumed in the past decade, though the state-run enterprise still does not disclose production amounts.

	The Snezhnoe ruby deposit lies about 20 to 25 feet below the surface between layers of marble. The authors analyzed several dozen ruby-bearing rocks mined earlier and found the gems’ color ranged from pink sapphire, purple-red to bright red, with chromium levels similar to the well-known Mogok rubies. The researchers (Elena Sorokina and coauthors) found that Snezhnoe material has distinctive inclusions not found in ruby from any other locale: allanite, fuchsite and muscovite. These features can be used to help gemologists identify the source of these stones.

Micro-World

	The debut of the Micro-World section includes a look at a 30-million-year-old polished Dominican amber containing a long-legged mite, as well as a dark green apatite that, when broken, yielded a fascinating orange calcite inclusion. Upon magnification, the spherical inclusion had the appearance of a round orange mask with purple fluorite “eyes.” The Micro-World team (Nathan Renfro, Elise Skalwold and John Koivula) also examined a bi-color double-eye cabochon tourmaline that showed a pink band on one side and a colorless band on the other, despite the fact that the chatoyancy-causing growth tubes − shown clearly in the photomicrograph − were only in the colorless portion.

Lab-Notes

Diamonds

	The GIA lab in Bangkok examined six melee-sized colorless HPHT synthetic diamonds, ranging in size from .005 ct. to .01 ct. These synthetics, which were disclosed samples sent for research, showed no tell-tale inclusions or distinct absorption lines. The DiamondView device revealed blue or green fluorescence and characteristic growth patterns of synthetics.

Three LPHT-annealed CVD synthetic diamonds: Fancy Deep brownish orangy pink 0.37 ct (top left), Fancy Deep brown-pink 0.31 ct (top middle), and Fancy brown-pink 0.25 ct (top right). Their DiamondView images (bottom row) show orange fluorescence with linear growth striations.

	In addition, the New York lab examined three pink-to-brown CVD-grown diamonds that were further treated by a process known as low-pressure, high-temperature (LPHT). The diamonds, which weighed 0.37, 0.31 and 0.25 ct., were heated and subjected to low pressure to enhance their color. DiamondView imaging showed these diamonds had the orange fluorescence and linear growth striations typical of CVD synthetics.

This 1.18 ct Fancy Intense blue diamond was recently seen in the New York lab.

	The New York lab examined a 1.18 ct. natural type IIb Fancy Intense blue diamond that showed an extremely high concentration of boron – 5.84 parts per million. Most blue diamonds, like the type IIb Hope Diamond, have boron concentrations between 0.24 ppm and 0.36 ppm. This was the highest boron concentration GIA researchers have ever seen in a natural diamond.

	Another extraordinary type IIb was a natural 1.42 ct. Fancy gray-purple diamond submitted to the Carlsbad lab. The diamond was unusual for its color, but also for its extremely strong photoluminescence.

Pearls

	GIA researchers examined several unusual cultured pearls, one a large cream and white colored baroque shaped piece with an unusual translucent ring on one side. Upon examination, the pearl was found to be assembled, with a new section of nacre applied to an area that had broken off. The second was a necklace of Chinese cultured pearls with a strong pinkish-purple color. Tests showed these to be cultivated in fresh water, demonstrating that Chinese producers are growing ever larger and higher-quality pearls.

Sapphire

	Beryllium diffusion and lead-glass filling treatments have been well-publicized in the past decade. The GIA lab in Carlsbad recently examined a 4.25 ct. orange sapphire that had undergone both treatments. Magnification revealed numerous fractures filled with glass. Further testing revealed that it was treated with beryllium (Be). Because the Be treatment requires much higher temperatures (1800 to 1850 degrees C) than the glass filling process (900 to 1400 C), it was certainly done first. It was the first time GIA had encountered a gemstone with both treatments. @chapter:18 @chapter:0 @chapter:18


# Publication Year: -
# Title: Modern Men's Jewelry
# Abstract: With the cultural conversation of today’s well groomed, sophisticated, and cosmopolitan man – it’s no wonder that men’s jewelry is approaching center stage in the fashion world.

Jewelry design experts at the world renowned GIA (Gemological Institute of America) say men’s jewelry is not just a passing fad. In fact, designers and retailers are devoting more time, attention, and store space to men’s jewelry than ever before.

“Men today are demonstrating increasing fashion sophistication among themselves. They are undoubtedly more comfortable wearing jewelry – non-wedding rings, necklaces, and bracelets, for instance – than their fathers were,” says Stephen Roehl, product manager for GIA’s jewelry manufacturing arts department where students from all over the world learn to design and manufacture jewelry.

According to historians in GIA’s library, the emergence of men’s jewelry is not a recent phenomenon. Early monarchs and noblemen wore extravagantly bejeweled items—clothes lavished with diamonds, pearls, and gold buttons; fashionable pearl stickpins; ornamental timepieces; ornate diamond necklaces; and swords set with decorative gemstones.

Men today are showing the same desire to want to show their identity to the world, and they’re at ease and confident enough to complement a watch with a bracelet, necklace, or ring. But what kind of jewelry do modern men want? What catches their eye? What do they think catches the ladies’ eyes?

Roehl says old and new styles are merging. Recognizably masculine pieces are being paired with a fresh, feminine twist, and designers are taking advantage of the growing trend of genderless fashions. Soft and lustrous Tahitian pearls – a tradition in women’s pieces – are being incorporated with leather for a sensuous male touch. White gold and rubber is an emerging combination seen in bracelets and necklaces for men.

Cufflinks are more popular than ever. Classic designs in gold, silver or platinum are always a big hit for the conservative businessman. Integrating diamonds, black pearls, black onyx, malachite, garnets, rubies or sapphires represents a novel departure for the sophisticated man who likes to match accessories with his attire.

And, men don’t have to be professional athletes or rock stars to wear earrings these days. Handcrafted designer pieces in silver or platinum can create an elegant blend of contemporary masculinity. A diamond stud is perfect for a night out on the town.

The attractiveness of stainless steel, most prominently seen in the watch segment, has found its way into fine jewelry for men. It has the same high-polish appearance and durability of platinum – but is much more affordable. Stainless steel and other metals, such as silver and titanium, are gaining popularity in rings. Chain necklaces are designed for an industrial, manly look. Steel pendants can also be combined with a leather cord for a nouveau bracelet or necklace. Some designers are even setting diamonds into stainless steel pieces.

Any diamond purchased should come with a GIA grading report, which gives details of the quality of the diamond based on the 4Cs (Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat Weight). @chapter:20 @chapter:2 @chapter:20


# Publication Year: -
# Title: Opal Description
# Abstract: "The Path of Enlightenment" necklace contains 180 magnificent opals from Lightning Ridge, Australia, a famous opal producing area. - Courtesy Cody Opal

                      Opal is the product of seasonal rains that drenched dry ground in regions such as Australia’s semi-desert “outback.” The showers soaked deep into ancient underground rock, carrying dissolved silica (a compound of silicon and oxygen) downward.

During dry periods, much of the water evaporated, leaving solid deposits of silica in the cracks and between the layers of underground sedimentary rock. The silica deposits formed opal.

How Opal Forms
Opal is known for its unique display of flashing rainbow colors called play-of-color. There are two broad classes of opal: precious and common. Precious opal displays play-of-color, common opal does not.

Play-of-color occurs in precious opal because it’s made up of sub-microscopic spheres stacked in a grid-like pattern—like layers of Ping-Pong balls in a box. As the lightwaves travel between the spheres, the waves diffract, or bend. As they bend, they break up into the colors of the rainbow, called spectral colors. Play-of-color is the result.

	This black opal exhibits exceptional play-of-color. - Courtesy Cody Opal
The color you see varies with the sizes of the spheres. Spheres that are approximately 0.1 micron (one ten-millionth of a meter) in diameter produce violet. Spheres about 0.2 microns in size produce red.  Sizes in between produce the remaining rainbow colors.

	This fine-quality light opal is from Mintabie, South Australia. Almost all of its spectral colors are visible from a variety of viewing angles. - Courtesy Cody Opal
Although experts divide gem opals into many different categories, five of the main types are:

		White or light opal: Translucent to semitranslucent, with play-of-color against a white or light gray background color, called bodycolor.

		Black opal: Translucent to opaque, with play-of-color against a black or other dark background.

		Fire opal: Transparent to translucent, with brown, yellow, orange, or red bodycolor. This material—which often doesn’t show play-of-color—is also known as “Mexican opal.”

		Boulder opal: Translucent to opaque, with play-of-color against a light to dark background. Fragments of the surrounding rock, called matrix, become part of the finished gem.

		Crystal or water opal: Transparent to semitransparent, with a clear background. This type shows exceptional play-of-color.

	This exceptional light opal is from South Australia’s Coober Pedy opal fields. - Courtesy Cody Opal

	The rough specimen is a thin seam of boulder opal on sandstone host rock. The 3.47-carat boulder opal tablet was cut from a similar piece of rough. @chapter:48 @chapter:0 @chapter:48


# Publication Year: -
# Title: Synthetic Diamonds: From Dark Industrials to Bright Gems
# Abstract: This is a representative selection of colored and colorless synthetic diamonds grown by the General Electric Company in the 1970s. The largest faceted stone in the center weighs 0.78 carats. Photo by Robert Weldon

                      Man has been trying to mimic nature by creating synthetic diamonds for centuries.

After Antoine Lavoisier discovered that diamond is a crystalline form of carbon in 1772, several 1800s-era scientists attempted to grow diamond material and made unconfirmed claims that they were successful. British writer H.G. Wells described the basic process for using high pressure and temperature (HPHT) in a 1911 story called, appropriately, “The Diamond Maker.”

It was not until the 1950s, however, that the HPHT process was used to create the first commercially viable synthetic diamonds. Today, nearly 60 years after that achievement, synthetic diamonds are making an impact in both the jewelry market and for technological applications.

In 1952, William Eversole at Union Carbide created tiny synthetic diamonds using the low pressure, comparatively low temperature, method of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). A Swedish company, ASEA, successfully grew HPHT synthetic diamond in 1953, but kept their accomplishment secret. In contrast, Tracy Hall and other General Electric (GE) scientists announced in 1954 that they had discovered the correct mix of heat, pressure and carbon flux to reliably grow diamond in a laboratory.

Interestingly, these two very different methods of producing synthetic diamond were first successful within a few years of each other.

GE’s first HPHT synthetics were tiny brown diamonds that were applied to a broad range of industrial uses. Indeed, industrial diamonds were deemed so critical to the U.S. and other governments for use in manufacturing, that they amassed strategic stockpiles of them, eventually storing significant quantities of this important material.

The HPHT process essentially recreated the forces in nature that create natural diamonds – intense heat and pressure – in a growth chamber. A few years after the GE breakthrough, De Beers began to offer industrial synthetics and Russian scientists developed a diamond synthesis process all based on the same basic HPHT growth process.

While these producers manufactured millions of carats of industrial synthetic diamonds each year, none were large enough or of good enough quality for the gem industry until 1971.That’s when GE announced it had created several gem-quality synthetics and sent them to Robert Crowningshield at the GIA Laboratory for examination. The diamonds, polished by a New York diamond firm, weighed between 0.26 and 0.30 carats and ranged from J to F color. GE also created several fancy colored yellows and blues that GIA also analyzed. In all cases, the diamonds carried distinctive metallic flux inclusions that could be seen with an optical microscope, making them easily identifiable as synthetics.

The announcement sent shock waves around the diamond world, but the concern was premature. These gem-quality synthetic diamond crystals required a giant press and vast amounts of heat and pressure to produce, so they weren’t economically feasible for jewelry use.

It would be another 14 years before synthetics would become a potential issue in the diamond market. In 1985, Sumitomo Electric Industries in Japan announced that it had begun to produce gem-quality synthetic diamonds on a large scale for industrial use with updated technology from the GE process. The Sumitomo synthetics had a distinctively orange-brown or orange-yellow color resulting from the large amounts of nitrogen used to facilitate the process to grow high-quality crystals.

Sumitomo expressly denied that these synthetic diamonds were produced for the gem market, explaining that they were sold as heat conductors for electrical components. Accordingly, the company made them available only in very thin slices, unsuitable for polishing into gem-quality synthetic diamonds.

The introduction of the Sumitomo synthetics prompted GIA and De Beers into action. GIA researchers examined three Sumitomo “rough” crystals and four finished stones. They discovered that these synthetics had distinctive metal inclusions and internal growth patterns, and ultraviolet fluorescence reactions, which helped create a base of knowledge to draw on when examining future generations of HPHT synthetics.

The De Beers Research Centre outside of London began to develop a device that would enable gemological labs – and even jewelry retailers – to quickly distinguish between synthetic and natural diamond. In the mid-1990s, it reported that it had created not one, but two synthetic detection units. The smaller DiamondSure™can quickly filter the synthetics from naturals, although a small percentage require further testing. The DiamondView™, a more sophisticated unit, can detect synthetics though detailed imaging of ultraviolet fluorescence patterns using ultra-shortwave illumination.

As the technology of producing gem-quality synthetics became known, a small number of manufacturers in the U.S., China and Russia, and the Ukraine began to market them to the jewelry industry.

In the last decade, with the adaptation of the much less costly CVD growth process, synthetic diamonds much closer in appearance and quality to natural stones appeared in the gem market. This method not only functions at much lower temperatures and pressures, but also creates colorless diamonds more easily than HPHT. Most producers of large synthetic diamond crystals have been shifting to the CVD process in the past two to three years because of its lower cost. The DiamondSure flags potential synthetics while the larger DiamondView can distinguish CVD and HPHT synthetics from natural.

Despite the difference in production methods, GIA researchers using specialized equipment and methods, are able to distinguish all synthetics from natural diamonds.

Updated March 20, 2013 @chapter:36 @chapter:1 @chapter:36


# Publication Year: 1994
# Title: Update on Mining Rubies and Fancy Sapphires in Northern Vietnam
# Abstract: Northern Vietnam began producing significant quantities of rubies and fancy sapphires in the late 1980s. Since then, mining has evolved at the two major producing areas: Luc Yen and Quy Chau. Heavy machinery is now used in both of these remote areas, but small-scale manual mining is ongoing. Efforts continue to establish organized cutting and distribution centers. @chapter:30 @chapter:0 @chapter:30


# Publication Year: -
# Title: Conference Report: 2013 China Mineral & Gem Show in Changsha
# Abstract: On display at the China Mineral & Gem Show in Changsha was the "Empress of China," one of the world's largest rhodochrosite specimens. Photo by Tao Hsu.

                      The inaugural China Mineral & Gem Show (CMGS) took place in the Hunan city of Changsha May 16–20, immediately after the 15th International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) Congress. This was the first international mineral and gem show in China’s history. With the vision of making this the “Asian Tucson show,” the Chinese government worked closely with the National Gem Testing Center (NGTC), ICA, and the Gemological Association of China (GAC) to attract more than 1,200 exhibitors from some 54 countries and more than 150,000 buyers and visitors.

The exhibition center was divided into several sections, with themes such as mineral specimens, fossils, museum procurement, the mineral resources of Hunan province, and gems and jewelry. Numerous mineral, fossil, and gemstone dealers brought their rarest collections to the show.

Wayne C. Leicht from Kristella and Crystal Classics debuted the largest known natural gold specimen, a 77 oz. piece found in California in 2012. Also on display was the “Empress of China,” discovered in Guangxi province in 2009, one of the world’s largest crystallized rhodochrosite specimens. The owner, Collector’s Edge Minerals, Inc., brought it back to China for a reunion with its companion piece, the “Emperor of China.” Numerous other Chinese and international mineral dealers presented their best-quality specimens, including tanzanite crystals, various colors of fluorite, calcite in exotic shapes, the world’s largest gypsum specimen, ruby in calcite, watermelon tourmaline, and aquamarine.

In a fossil pavilion covering more than 3,000 square meters, some 50 international dealers displayed their large specimens to professional buyers and the public, with the Chinese debut of the Archaeopteryx bird fossil as the hub. The exhibitors supplied extremely detailed descriptions of the important displays, which effectively connected three realms: the fossil market, science, and education.

	The Changsha show featured a large fossil pavilion. Photo by Tao Hsu.
In the gem and jewelry section, Cody Opal organized a special exhibition featuring more than 20 Australian dealers. One of their highlights was an 11,340.95 ct black opal, the world’s largest. Damien Cody showed the contributors one of the finest black opals from the collection. The piece had a very homogeneous black background with breathtaking play of color spanning the entire spectrum. Jadeite and nephrite dealers from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Myanmar exhibited goods of different qualities. Some of them showed these contributors how to evaluate the quality and value of Asia’s two most popular gems by looking at their color, transparency, and texture. Buyers and the public could even play the “gamble stone” game onsite. Overall, colored stone wholesalers and high-end retailers from mainland China showed their resolve to develop the Chinese colored stone industry.

The main show was accompanied by other events intended to spark interest in minerals and jewelry and Earth sciences in general. The theme of the CMGS International Summit Forum was “Mineral & Fossil and Scientific Civilization.” Government delegates and industry experts from the United Nations, China, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, Tanzania, the United States, and Sri Lanka joined this event. GIA’s distinguished research fellow, Dr. James Shigley, spoke about the institute’s mission, and educational and laboratory services.

Encouraged by the success of this inaugural show, the Hunan government plans to hold the second CMGS May 15–19, 2014. @chapter:30 @chapter:0 @chapter:30


# Publication Year: 2024
# Title: Pearls from the Placunidae Family (Windowpane Oysters)
# Abstract: Figure 1. Two loose pearls from windowpane oysters submitted to the Bangkok laboratory and a mixed strand containing mostly windowpane and Pteria species pearls submitted to the New York laboratory. Photo by Jian Xin (Jae) Liao.
Nacreous pearls are commonly constructed from layers of stacked aragonite platelets. In recent years, however, GIA laboratories in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mumbai, and New York have reported unusual pearls with a “nacreous-looking” surface caused by the presence of calcite instead of aragonite (figure 1) (Winter 2022 Lab Notes, pp. 477–478). These findings piqued curiosity and prompted a more comprehensive study involving research samples and mollusk shells. The study indicated that these calcite “nacreous-looking” pearls were likely produced by mollusks belonging to the Placuna genus in the Placunidae family.
These marine bivalve mollusks, commonly known as “windowpane oysters,” are found along the coasts of India, Malaysia, China, and the Philippines (C.M. Yonge, “Form and evolution in the Anomiacea (Mollusca: Bivalvia)-Pododesmus, Anomia, Patro, Enigmonia (Anomiidae): Placunanomia, Placuna (Placunidae, fam. Nov.),” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 276, No. 950, 1977, pp. 502–503). Placuna mollusks are widely valued for their thin, durable mica-like translucent flat shells, called capiz or kapis shells, which were once a popular alternative to glass and often used as windowpanes and decorations. Although the mollusks were also known to produce small pearls, these were not commercially available until recent decades (C.T. Achuthankutty et al., “Pearls of the windowpane oysters, Placuna placenta,” Mahasagar, Vol. 12, No. 3, 1979, pp. 187–189).

Figure 2. Characteristic surface features of mosaic pattern (A) and botryoidal structure (B) were observed on a pearl from the necklace in figure 1, compared to the typical nacreous-looking surface of fingerprint-like platy structure (C) on a loose pearl. Photomicrographs by Joyce Wing Yan Ho (A and B) and Artitaya Homkrajae (C); fields of view 7.19 mm, 9.61 mm, and 2.90 mm, respectively.
The studied pearls were variously shaped, measuring 3 to 8 mm and weighing 1 to 3 ct. Their bodycolors ranged from silver to brown or gray, with varying degrees of tone and saturation. Viewed under 40× magnification, they exhibited diagnostic surface features of distinctive mosaic or cellular patterns, and some appeared similar to a botryoidal structure. While these features are unique and have not been observed in typical nacreous pearls, a few of the samples also showed overlapping platelets typically found in nacreous pearls (figure 2).

Figure 3. Three variously colored windowpane shells and a brown windowpane pearl, shown in daylight (left) and long-wave UV light (right). Joyce Wing Yan Ho (top) and Kwanreun Lawanwong (bottom); shells courtesy of Robin Willis.
Under long-wave ultraviolet radiation, the pearls displayed a striking reddish fluorescence, particularly from the darker areas, which is comparable to the reactions observed on the windowpane oyster shells (figure 3). Similar reddish fluorescence has been observed in dark pearls from the Pteria species (L. Kiefert et al., “Cultured pearls from the Gulf of California, Mexico,” Spring 2004 G&G, pp. 26–38; Winter 2014 Lab Notes, pp. 295–296). However, it is important to note that the composition of calcite in windowpane pearls and aragonite in Pteria species can be distinguished using Raman spectroscopy.
Ultraviolet/visible (UV-Vis) reflectance and photoluminescence (PL) spectra from a laser excitation at 514 nm collected on the darker areas unveiled features similar to those typically observed in natural dark nacre of Pteria species, as well as Pinctada margaritifera and Pinctada maxima. The UV-Vis spectra exhibited absorption features at 405 and 495 nm. The 405 nm feature is related to uroporphyrin, a type of pigment responsible for gray to black tones in some pearl oyster species (Y. Iwahashi and S. Akamatsu, “Porphyrin pigment in black-lip pearls and its application to pearl identification,” Fisheries Science, Vol. 60, No. 1, 1994, pp. 69–71). All the samples showed bands at approximately 620, 650, and 680 nm in their PL spectra. These three PL bands have been commonly recorded in darker-colored pearls from the species mentioned above.
The saltwater origin was confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, which revealed very low or below detection limit manganese content and high levels of strontium ranging from 1000 to 1500 ppm.

Figure 4. RTX images revealed concentric growth rings typical of the internal structure commonly observed in windowpane oyster pearls.
Intriguingly, real-time X-ray microradiography (RTX) uncovered a distinct, evenly spaced fine concentric ring structure throughout most of the inner area of the pearls (figure 4). This structure was identified in most of the submitted pearls as well as the research samples studied. With these combined unique characteristic features, we were able to confidently conclude that the mollusks producing these pearls were from the Placunidae family. The first GIA Pearl Identification report for a pearl from this mollusk was issued in May 2023.
While most shelled mollusks have the potential to produce pearls, identifying the exact species remains a challenge, particularly with less commonly encountered species. Conducting continuous research studies with known samples from reliable sources is crucial and greatly assists in identification. As a continuation of this lab note, a comprehensive article featuring detailed studies will be prepared. @chapter:11 @chapter:4 @chapter:11


# Publication Year: 2016
# Title: Synthetic Moissanite Imitations of Synthetic Colored Diamonds
# Abstract: Figure 1. Submitted as synthetic diamonds, the 0.99 ct blue-green emerald step cut (left), 0.85 ct brown-yellow standard round brilliant (center), and 1.90 ct deep green standard round brilliant (right) were all identified as synthetic moissanite. Photo by Yanjun Song.

Three faceted specimens were recently submitted to the Earth Science and Resources College of Chang’an University by a client who acquired them as synthetic colored diamonds (figure 1). All three specimens were relatively clean to the unaided eye. The RI of the specimens was over the limit of the gem refractometer. The average hydrostatic SG value was 3.21, and all samples were inert under long-wave and short-wave UV radiation. Microscopic examination revealed clear doubling of numerous stringers and some needle-like inclusions (figure 2). All of these features were consistent with synthetic moissanite (K. Nassau et al., “Synthetic moissanite: A new diamond substitute,” Winter 1997 G&G, pp. 260–275). Raman spectra of the samples were obtained using 785 nm laser excitation from three different orientations: parallel to the c-axis, perpendicular to the c-axis, and random orientation (one specimen’s spectra is shown in figure 3). Results for all three samples indicated synthetic moissanite, with the peaks at 149, 767, 789, and 967 cm–1 obtained from the random orientation (see rruff.info).

Figure 2. Needle-like inclusions (left) and doubling of numerous stringers (right) are shown here in the emerald step cut. Photomicrographs by Yanjun Song; field of view 4.22 mm (left) and 2.26 mm (right).

Figure 3. Raman analysis of the emerald step cut from three different optical orientations,
using a near-infrared wavelength of 785 nm, confirmed its identity as synthetic moissanite.
Moissanite (silicon carbide, or SiC) has many polytype structures, including cubic (C), hexagonal (H), and rhombohedral (R). Hexagonal structure 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC (space group P63mc) are the most common polytypes used as gem material. In this study, the characteristic peaks at 149, 767, 789, and 966 cm–1, obtained from the orientation parallel to the c-axis, were consistent with those previously reported for 6H-SiC (S. Nakashima and H. Harima, “Raman investigation of SiC polytypes,” Physica Status Solidi A, Vol. 162, No. 1, 1997, pp. 39–64).

High-quality colorless and black synthetic moissanites are common diamond imitations in the jewelry trade. As the growth techniques of synthetic moissanite continue to improve and the popularity of fancy-color diamonds increases in the Chinese market, we anticipate that high-quality synthetic colored moissanite will become more prevalent. @chapter:43 @chapter:1 @chapter:43


# Publication Year: -
# Title: Alexandrite Quality Factors
# Abstract: While Russia is the most famous alexandrite source, this stone from Brazil shows beautiful color change from daylight (left) to incandescent light (right). - © GIA & Tino Hammid, courtesy Mayer & Watt

Color
Fine alexandrite is green to bluish green in daylight and red to purplish red in incandescent light. Its color saturation is moderately strong to strong. Stones that are too light do not reach the quality of color intensity seen in fine-quality gems. Stones that are too dark lack brightness and appear almost black.

Production from Russian mines is very limited today, which means the intense, fine-colored gems they produced in quantity less than 200 years ago are much harder to come by.

Sri Lankan alexandrites are generally larger than their Russian counterparts, but their colors tend to be less desirable. The greens tend to be yellowish compared to the blue-green of the Russian stones, and the reds of Sri Lankan alexandrite are typically brownish red rather than purplish red.

	This color-change alexandrite has low saturation in both its green and red colors, making it slightly brownish and less desirable. - Alan Jobbins

	The color change displayed by this alexandrite from Sri Lanka lacks strength, and its colors are brownish.
Alexandrites from Brazil have been found in colors that rival the Russian material, but production from Brazil has decreased.
Currently, alexandrite supply is low, and fine-color material is extremely rare.

Clarity
Alexandrite tends to contain few inclusions. There’s a dramatic rise in value for clean material with good color change and strong colors.

	A high clarity rating raises the value of alexandrite, especially one with nice color change like this green to red-purple example.
When certain types of long, thin inclusions are oriented parallel to each other, they can create an additional phenomenon called chatoyancy, or the cat’s-eye effect, increasing the alexandrite’s value.

	Cat’s-eye alexandrite, with beautiful chatoyancy along with color change, is extremely rare.
Cut
Alexandrites are most commonly fashioned into what are called mixed cuts, which have brilliant-cut crowns and step-cut pavilions. Brilliant cuts have kite-shaped and triangular facets, while step cuts have concentric rows of parallel facets.

	This alexandrite has stunning color change with intense colors, and very clean clarity. It’s an oval mixed cut, which is common for alexandrite. - Courtesy Evan Caplan Fine Gemstones
Alexandrite’s pleochroism makes it a challenge for cutters. When fashioning alexandrite, cutters orient the gem to show the strongest color change through the crown. It’s crucial to position the rough so the fashioned stone shows both purplish red and green pleochroic colors face-up.
Carat Weight
Most fashioned alexandrites are small, weighing less than one carat. Larger sizes and better qualities rise in price dramatically.

	This 8.82-carat cushion-shaped alexandrite shows nice color change. Its large size is rare for this stone.

	Attractive alexandrites used in jewelry are usually under a carat. This stone is a 0.65-carat triangular-shaped. @chapter:5 @chapter:0 @chapter:5


# Publication Year: 2022
# Title: Exceptional Natural-Color Fancy Red Diamond
# Abstract: This 1.21 ct round brilliant diamond is notable for its size and natural Fancy orangy red color. Photo by Diego Sanchez.
The Carlsbad laboratory recently received a 1.21 ct Fancy orangy red round brilliant cut diamond (6.62–6.84 × 4.14 mm; see above) for a colored diamond grading and identification report. Results of standard gemological testing and microscopic observation confirmed it had a natural color and no color treatment or clarity enhancement. The stone displayed faint fluorescence under long-wave UV and none under short-wave UV. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy indicated a type IaB diamond, while ultraviolet/visible (550 nm band and H3 [503.2 nm] center) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy indicated natural color without any treatment. The 550 nm absorption band is closely linked to plastic deformation, which is clearly reflected in the broad emission features in the PL results. Due to the extensive plastic deformation, some fractures could have developed.
The rarity and high value of red diamonds has resulted in many attempts to reproduce this color through treatment or even laboratory growth procedures with post-growth treatment (S. Eaton-Magaña and J.E. Shigley, “Observations on CVD-grown synthetic diamonds: A review,” Fall 2016 G&G, pp. 222–245; S. Eaton-Magaña and J.E. Shigley, “Observations on HPHT-grown synthetic diamonds: A review,” Fall 2017 G&G, pp. 262–284). However, treated red diamonds are often accompanied by purplish or brownish color components that are not desirable and are different from the purer hues of naturally red diamonds (W. Wang et al., “Treated-color pink-to-red diamonds from Lucent Diamonds Inc.,” Spring G&G 2005, pp. 6–19). Natural-color red diamonds are so rare that only around a couple dozen true red diamonds are known to exist, and most of these are under half a carat.
The exceptional natural-color 1.21 ct Fancy orangy red diamond examined here is a fine example of natural-color red diamond. It has yet to be named. @chapter:36 @chapter:1 @chapter:36


# Publication Year: -
# Title: Diamond Polish and Symmetry: Guide to GIA Terminology and Abbreviations
# Abstract: Every GIA diamond grading report contains an assessment of a diamond’s polish and symmetry, which are contributing factors in determining the overall quality of a diamond’s finish. In evaluating polish and symmetry, GIA considers their specific features and visibility under 10x magnification. Polish and symmetry are then rated on a scale ranging from Excellent to Poor.

	The guide below explains each polish and symmetry feature, along with their abbreviations and the possible locations of polish features on the diamond.

	Laboratory clients can view the detailed polish and symmetry assessment for each diamond they submit, by going to the Item Details in My Laboratory.

	Polish Features
Polish is graded on a scale from Excellent to Poor based on the presence and visibility of polish features at 10x magnification. The following features are considered in the polish assessment.

				Polish Feature

				Abbreviation

				Definition

				Example

				Abrasion

				Abr

				An area of minute scratches or pits along a facet edge producing a fuzzy white line instead of a sharp facet junction

				Burn

				Brn
				Dop

				Whitish haze caused by excessive heat during polishing or, occasionally, by a jeweler’s torch is listed as “Brn.”

				A burn mark caused by excessive heat at the location where the dop touched the diamond is referred to more specifically as “Dop.”

				Laser Manufacturing Remnant

				LMR

				A remnant of laser manufacturing that remains on the surface of the polished diamond; typically appears as a transparent or white groove; only considered polish when it does not penetrate into the diamond at 10x magnification.

				Lizard Skin

				LS

				A transparent, uneven texture confined to one facet caused by polishing a facet off-grain

				Nick

				Nck

				A small notch on a facet junction, usually along the girdle or at the culet

				Pit

				Pit

				A tiny opening appearing as a white dot

				Rough Girdle

				RG

				An irregular pitted or granular surface of a bruted girdle due to pits and nicks

				Scratch

				Scr

				A surface mark, normally seen as a fine white line that may be curved or straight

				Polish Lines

				Wht
				TP
				Drag line
				Polish mark

				Parallel lines left by the polishing process; may appear white (Wht) or transparent (TP). A heavy transparent polish line off a surface-reaching feature is referred to more specifically as a "drag line".

				A surface feature made during the polishing process that resembles an extra facet without a distinct or straight facet junction is referred to as a "polish mark".

 A surface feature made during the polishing process that resembles an extra facet without a distinct or straight facet junction is referred to as a "polish mark"." title="Parallel lines left by the polishing process; may appear white (Wht) or transparent (TP). A heavy transparent polish line off a surface-reaching feature is referred to more specifically as a "drag line".  A surface feature made during the polishing process that resembles an extra facet without a distinct or straight facet junction is referred to as a "polish mark"." />

	Polish Feature Locations
The location of each polish feature is specified using the following terms.

				Location

				Abbreviation

				Bezel Facet

				bez

				Chevron Facet

				chevron

				Crown Corner Step Facet

				crown corner step

				Crown

				crown

				Crown Facet

				crown facet

				Crown Step Facet

				crown step

				Culet

				culet

				Girdle

				girdle

				Half-Moon Facet

				half-moon

				Lower Half Facet

				l.h.

				Pavilion Main Facet

				main

				Pavilion

				pav

				Pavilion Corner Step Facet

				pav corner step

				Pavilion Facet

				pav facet

				Pavilion Step Facet

				pav step

				Star Facet

				star

				Table Facet

				table

				Upper Half Facet

				u.h.

Examples:

View Gallery

Symmetry Features
Symmetry is graded on a scale from Excellent to Poor based on the presence and visibility of symmetry deviations at 10x magnification. The following features are considered in the symmetry assessment.

				Symmetry Feature

				Abbreviation

				Definition

				Example

				Crown Angle Variation

				CV

				Unequal crown angles

				Crown Height Variation

				CHV

				Girdle plane not parallel to the table causing uneven crown height

				Culet Off-Center

				C/oc

				Deviation of the culet from the central position on the pavilion

				Extra Facet

				EF

				Additional facet placed without regard for symmetry and not required by the cutting style

				Girdle Thickness Variation

				GTV

				Variation of the girdle thickness at the bezel-main positions

				Lower Half Percentage
				Variation

				LPV

				Variation of lower half facet length percentages

				Lower Half Variation

				LHV

				Unequal lower half facet angles

				Misalignment

				Aln

				Displacement of the crown and pavilion facets in relation to each other

				Misshapen Facet

				Fac
				MB
				MS
				MM

				Difference in shape or size between one facet and another of the same type, or distortion of a given facet; bezel, star and main facets that are misshapen are listed more specifically as misshapen bezel (MB), misshapen star (MS) and misshapen main (MM)

				Missing Facet

				MF

				Asymmetrically missing facet

				Natural

				N

				Part of the original rough diamond’s surface that remains on the polished diamond

				Non-Octagonal Table

				T/oct
				TEV

				The table of a Round Brilliant is not a regular octagon, showing differences among the four table sizes (T/oct) or among the eight table edges (TEV)

				Non-Pointing

				Ptg
				SM
				SB
				OM
				OB

				Fully formed facet that does not reach its prescribed location (short facet) or is incompletely finished (open facet), resulting in adjoining facets not meeting at precise points; non-pointing of bezel and main facets are listed more specifically as short main (SM), short bezel (SB), open main (OM) and open bezel (OB)

				Out-of-Round

				OR

				Deviation from the circular shape of a round diamond

				Pavilion Depth Variation

				PDV

				Variation of pavilion depth

				Pavilion Angle Variation

				PV

				Unequal pavilion angles

				Star Percentage Variation

				SPV

				Variation of star facet length percentages

				Star Angle Variation

				SV

				Unequal star facet angles

				Table Off-Center

				T/oc

				Deviation of the table from the central position on the crown

				Table/Culet Alignment

				T/C

				Displacement of the table facet and culet in different directions

				Upper Half Variation

				UHV

				Unequal upper half facet angles

				Uneven Outline

				UO

				Asymmetrical shape outline; also refers to bumps and flattened areas created by a natural, extra facet or uneven girdle faceting on round diamonds

	Cumulative

	Cumulative is listed under symmetry features when the symmetry grade is based on the combined effect of symmetry features instead of individual deviations. For example, a diamond with pavilion depth variation (PDV) and crown angle variation (CV) that measures on the border of Very Good and Good may receive a lower symmetry grade based on their combined appearance and be represented as “Cumulative: PDV, CV.”

Abbreviations

				Polish Features

Abbreviation

Polish Feature

				Abr

				Abrasion

				Brn

				Burn

				Dop

				Dop Burn

				LMR

				Laser Manufacturing Remnant

				LS

				Lizard Skin

				Nck

				Nick

				Pit

				Pit

				RG

				Rough Girdle

				Scr

				Scratch

				Wht

				White Polish lines

				TP

				Transparent Polish Lines

				Drag line

				Polish mark

				Symmetry Features

Abbreviation

Symmetry Feature

				Aln

				Misalignment

				C/oc

				Culet Off-Center

				CV

				Crown Angle Variation

				CHV

				Crown Height Variation

				EF

				Extra Facet

				Fac

				Misshapen Facet

				GTV

				Girdle Thickness Variation

				LHV

				Lower Half Angle Variation

				LPV

				Lower Half Percentage Variation

				MB

				Misshapen Bezel

				MF

				Missing Facet

				MM

				Misshapen Main

				MS

				Misshapen Star

				N

				Natural

				OB

				Open Bezel

				OM

				Open Main

				OR

				Out-of-Round

				PDV

				Pavilion Depth Variation

				Ptg

				Non-Pointing

				PV

				Pavilion Angle Variation

				SB

				Short Bezel

				SM

				Short Main

				SPV

				Start Percentage Variation

				SV

				Star Angle Variation

				T/C

				Table/Culet Alignment

				T/oc

				Table Off-Center

				T/oct

				Non-Octagonal Table

				TEV

				Table Edge Variation

				UHV

				Upper Half Angle Variation

				UO

				Uneven Outline

				Polish Locations

Abbreviation

Polish Location

				bez

				Bezel Facet

				chevron

				Chevron Facet

				crown corner step

				Crown Corner Step Facet

				crown

				Crown

				crown facet

				Crown Facet

				crown step

				Crown Step Facet

				culet

				Culet

				girdle

				Girdle

				half-moon

				Half-Moon Facet

				l.h.

				Lower Half Facet

				main

				Pavilion Main Facet

				pav

				Pavilion

				pav corner step

				Pavilion Corner Step Facet

				pav facet

				Pavilion Facet

				pav step

				Pavilion Step Facet

				star

				Star Facet

				table

				Table Facet

				u.h.

				Upper Half Facet

				Modifiers*

Abbreviation

Modifier

				sl

				slight

				fnt

				faint

				hvy

				heavy

				+

				multiple

	*Reports for all diamonds graded later than January 30th, 2012 should include only the terminology and abbreviations listed in this document. You may come across non-standardized information on diamonds graded prior to January 30th, 2012 including the use of the modifiers listed in the table above.

	“Sl” and “+” were typically applied to both Polish features and Symmetry deviations, while “fnt” and “hvy” were applied exclusively to Polish features. The modifier “+” referred to multiple facets of the same type with a given polish feature, or multiple facets of the same type with a given symmetry deviation (Ex. TP: l.h.+; MM+). @chapter:41 @chapter:1 @chapter:41


# Publication Year: -
# Title: Une Découverte Exceptionnelle de Béryls Gemmes à Chaves, District de Vila Real, Portugal [An Exceptional Find of Gemmy Beryls at Chaves, District of Vila Real, Portugal]
# Abstract: The numerous pegmatites in Northern Portugal are known as sources of fine mineral specimens for mineral collectors. In this article, a passionate rockhound couple describes how, in 2011, after hard work and in constant bad weather, they hit upon a pocket with gemmy aquamarines and heliodors. The crystals measured 2.1–14.2 cm (0.8–5.7 inches). Their surfaces were slightly to moderately etched. Considering that there are relatively few gemstone occurrences in Western Europe, this find can be regarded as outstanding. The most beautiful crystals are shown in color photos.

Abstracted by Rolf Tatje @chapter:14 @chapter:0 @chapter:14


# Publication Year: 2013
# Title: Blue Cat's-Eye Apatite
# Abstract: Figure 1. This 12.50 ct neon blue cat’s-eye apatite is from Brazil. Courtesy of Duarte & Bastos Ltd. Photo by Eric Welch.

              Apatite is a group of minerals belonging to the hexagonal crystal system with the chemical formula of Ca5(PO4)3(F,Cl,OH). It has a variety of colors and is usually transparent to translucent. The most common apatite is the fluorine-rich type, known as fluorapatite. Blue apatite is particularly rare and popular. Previous research indicates that due to the similarity between the optical absorption and emission spectra of natural blue apatite and synthetic compounds containing MnO43–, the blue color results from the substitution of PO43– with MnO43– (P.D. Johnson et al., “Apatite: Origin of blue color,” Science, Vol. 141, No. 3586, pp.1179–1180). Chatoyancy is a very common phenomenon in apatite crystals with green or yellow bodycolors. Deep blue apatite with a cat’s-eye effect, however, is very rare.

At this year’s GJX show in Tucson, Duarte & Bastos Ltd. from Teófilo Otoni, Brazil, exhibited a 12.50 ct intense blue cat’s-eye apatite cabochon (figure 1). The stone was said to be from Brazil. It had a neon blue bodycolor and a very sharp eye seen with a spot light source. Further research is needed to verify the color origin of this stone. @chapter:15 @chapter:0 @chapter:15


# Publication Year: -
# Title: Alum’s Lifelong Quest: Searching for Jewelry Unicorns
# Abstract: Alan Nacht shows off some of his latest finds. The sapphire ring is 40+ carats and comes from Sri Lanka. Photo courtesy of Under the Crown

Alan Nacht is on a never-ending quest to find the “jewelry unicorn” – a piece of great beauty and value that has somehow gone unnoticed.
This quest motivates Nacht as he starts every workday – and if his enthusiasm ever wanes, all he has to do is remember the jewelry unicorns he’s found in the past.
Take the modern bangle bracelet studded with 10 cushion-shaped sapphires and small round diamonds Nacht saw on a buying trip several years ago. Looking more closely at the piece, he noticed that the cut of the sapphires was far older than the bracelet. So he bought it and later learned that his hunch was right: the sapphires were from the legendary locale of Kashmir.

This Edwardian diamond crown once owned by English royalty is another special find of Nacht’s (top). When not worn as a headdress, the crown comes apart and turns into a pair of bracelets, dress clips and brooches (bottom). Its presentation box is so large it took up almost one shelf of a large safe, Nacht said. Photo courtesy of Under the Crown
Another time, Nacht was having lunch with the owner of a well-known antique jewelry store in London who showed him a French tutti fruitti bracelet glittering with a large Asscher cut diamond set in the clasp and asked, “Alan, do you think that the diamond is pink?”
“Yes, and please give me an invoice,” Nacht said, later finding out that the 1.12 carat diamond was a Fancy Pink.
“Luck and longevity in the business go hand-in-hand to find the elusive jewelry unicorn,” Nacht said. “There are items that have intrinsic value and little material value. Others have material value and little intrinsic value. The unicorn is the piece that wakes up all that you have experienced, talked and learned about and dreamed of seeing. And there it is right in front of you!”

Born in Austria, Bernard Nacht (1884-1969) came to the United States when he was 4 years old. In his late teens, he started working with a cousin who was already in the jewelry business, and by age 22, saved enough money to open his own shop. As the business grew, he moved from a small store on the Bowery to Flushing, Queens and eventually to the diamond district. Photo courtesy of Under the Crown
All quests have their beginnings. This one started in 1906, when Nacht’s grandfather founded Bernard Nacht & Co. in lower Manhattan. The elder Nacht was one of the pioneers in the second-hand diamond and jewelry market in New York City. Nacht’s father eventually took over and taught his son the business from the time he was a young boy, resulting in an informal apprenticeship in the diamond trade.
At the end of his school day and during vacations, Nacht ran errands for the family business. Stops included visits to diamond setters, polishers, manufacturers, lapidaries and diamond cutters. He asked questions and soaked up the answers.

Another one of Nacht’s unicorns: An Edwardian era brooch pendant with a no-heat, reverse intaglio sapphire, 22 old mine cut diamonds in the bezel, and 196 more framing the center stone. Photo courtesy of Under the Crown
After earning a B.S. in finance and insurance from Syracuse University, Nacht started working at the family business, knowing a GIA education figured in his future. Nacht’s father was friendly with Robert Crowningshield, one of the towering figures in GIA’s history, and encouraged his son to take classes at the Institute.
“I knew I needed to learn the educational side of the gem business, and I also knew that the best place to study was at GIA. Courses were offered at night, so I was able to work during the day and learn in the evening,” Nacht said.
Nacht studied Graduate Diamonds and Gem Identification and said that learning how to identify gems is an invaluable skill in his line of work, one he uses daily.
“Gem identification is essential in the estate jewelry world,” Nacht said. “What I learned at GIA, plus my years of experience, makes it possible for me to create a mental checklist when I evaluate a piece.”
GIA gave Nacht more than an education. He formed a lifelong friendship with Doug Parker, one of his now-retired instructors. In fact, Parker and his wife attended Nacht’s wedding and are still friends and business associates.
“I always say, ‘It is not what you know, but who you know.’ Meeting others who share your common passion creates tremendous opportunity,” Nacht said.

A proud father and fourth-generation jeweler, Alan Nacht sits between two of his children, who help him with sales, purchasing and brand development, but who also have specific areas of interest. Ross, left, specializes public relations and marketing and has developed the company’s social media platforms and Bari, right, focuses on fashion and accessorizing and is an expert in antique Tiffany jewelry. Photo courtesy of Under the Crown
Bernard Nacht & Co. is now a fourth-generation business. Nacht, the president and CEO, works alongside two of his adult children Ross and Bari, who help with sales, purchasing, brand and product development, inventory, the web/internet and social media. The company’s primary focus is estate jewelry, but they have extended the brand in several creative ways.
Their newest venture is the Crown Jubilee diamond – a trademarked proprietary cut used to recut old mine and old European Cut diamonds. The cut has no table and a unique facet arrangement. Another offering, Under the Crown Jewelry, is a branded, trademarked collection that features a large range of estate jewelry, reclaimed diamonds and vintage engagement rings.

Nacht with some of his inventory, including a pair of Castellani earrings circa 1870. The earrings are in the fashion of the "Melos" necklace that Castellani and Carlo GiulIiano both replicated from a necklace produced in 330-300 BCE. The original "Melos" necklace is at the British Museum and the one created by Castellani is in a collection at The Cooper Hewitt Museum. The earrings have Amphora pendants hanging from fine handmade chain. Several sections are enameled, but they are very subtle. “I have never seen another pair of these Castellani earrings! So they are very rare,” Nacht said. Photo courtesy of Under the Crown
Bernard Nacht & Co. has also purchased the trademarks of other jewelry houses, such as Castellani Jewellers and Carlo Giuliano, two well-known jewelry houses of the Victorian era. Nacht purchased both companies and trademarked both brands, and they continue to manufacture Etruscan-style jewelry.
Nacht always comes prepared. He carries a loupe in the field and has a refractometer, polariscope, long and short wave blacklight and microscope in his office. He is fascinated with inclusions and uses them to make an educated guess about a gemstone’s geographical origin. In fact, gemstone dealers often ask Nacht to identify their gemstones.
Nacht is steadfast in his goal to nurture his family’s legacy, a business that has been in operation in Manhattan, one of the world’s most competitive gem and jewelry capitals, for 113 years. He attributes the company’s success to staying true to its mission while looking for innovative opportunities that complement it.
And Nacht is still on the quest for jewelry unicorns – hoping to find that unforgettable piece in search of a new home. @chapter:25 @chapter:2 @chapter:25


# Publication Year: 2016
# Title: Gem Materials at the Second European Mineralogical Conference (emc2016)
# Abstract: The European Mineralogical Conference, organized by the Italian Society of Mineralogy and Petrology (SIMP) and the Universities of Ferrara and Padova, was held in Rimini, Italy, September 11–15. Among the event’s 28 sessions was “Gem Materials,” chaired by this contributor, Lee Groat (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada), Federico Pezzotta (Museum of Natural History, Milan), and David Turner (University of British Columbia). “Gem Materials” yielded both an oral and a poster session.

	The poster session, held September 13, covered topics such as worldwide emerald sources; red beryl; demantoid from Madagascar; turquoise from the collections of the Royal Mineralogical Museum of Naples; epidote from Val Malenco, Italy; and rhodonite from the Swiss Alps. There was also a review of colored gems in art and gemology, as well as experimental work applied to gems from miarolitic pegmatites.

	The September 15 oral session featured 14 presentations. Dan Marshall (Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada) opened with a keynote address on a reclassification of emerald deposit formation models based on tectonic and metamorphic conditions. Emmanuel Fritsch (Institut des Matériaux, Jean Rouxel, University of Nantes, France) posed the question of why some minerals are gem quality, using crystal growth as a consideration.

Peter Bačik (Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia) began the presentations on Cr- and V-bearing minerals with spectrometric characterizations of ruby, spinel, chrysoberyl, diopside, garnet, zoisite, emerald, and tourmaline. Isabella Pignatelli (French National Center of Research, Vandœuvre) studied the Cr- and V-bearing euclase from the Gachala mining district of Colombia, focusing on atypical texture formed by solid inclusions trapped along crystallographic axes. Her presentation opened a discussion of trapiche vs. trapiche-like textures. Dan Marshall spoke again, this time on fluid inclusions and stable isotope data from emerald in Western Australia’s Poona deposit, showing multiple generations of emerald combined with metamorphic and magmatic fluid circulations. This contributor demonstrated that it was possible to decipher the geographic origin of pink and red spinel through oxygen isotopes and trace-element data on pink and red spinels in marble, with a special focus on the Kul-i-Lal mine in Tajikistan. Stefanos Karampelas (GemResearch Swisslab, Adligenswil, Switzerland) offered new insights on detection of heat treatment of tanzanite, indicating that this form of treatment can only be identified under very specific circumstances.

Aaron C. Palke (University of Queensland and Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Australia) presented on melt inclusions in sapphires from Montana’s Yogo deposit, which are similar in composition and mineralogy to the ocelli observed in the Yogo lamprophyres. David Turner offered new mineralogical insights from near-field hyperspectral imaging of sapphire-bearing marble at Baffin Island, Canada.

	The silica family was covered in three presentations. Benjamin Rondeau (University of Nantes) related the presence of numerous minerals (including an unknown type) from the lazulite-bearing blue quartzite from Itremo, Madagascar. Ilaria Adamo (Italian Gemological Institute, Milan) characterized blue and white banded chalcedony (agate) from Yozgat Province in Turkey. The agate formed from mixture of quartz and moganite, but the origin of the blue color is unknown, since iron content at approximately 10 ppm is constant in all the banding. Boris Chauviré (University of Nantes) explained a model for the formation of precious opal from Wegel Tena, Ethiopia. The model suggests a paleotopographic control on the location of the deposits and the repetition of the soil formation process in space and time.

	Special topics related to gem museums and historical writings were also covered. William B. “Skip” Simmons (Maine Mineral and Gem Museum, Bethel) retraced the state’s recent and historical gem production and the museum’s acquisitions from Maine pegmatites. Ann C. Pizzorusso (Naples, Italy) tackled the gems of Dante’s Divine Comedy, discussing the gemological knowledge of the late Middle Ages and the meanings associated with precious metals, pearls, rubies, diamonds, and other gems.

	Details from the European Mineralogical Conference are available at http://emc2016.socminpet.it.The next conference will take place in 2020 at a site to be determined. @chapter:0 @chapter:0 @chapter:0