Publication Year: - Title: Expedition to the Cruzeiro Tourmaline Mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil Abstract: This handful of crystals is just a small portion of the production we saw during our short visit to the Cruzeiro mine. These multicolored crystals range from rubellite to green, with black terminations. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy Cruzeiro mine.

                      In April 2014, a team from GIA visited major emerald and tourmaline sources in Brazil. One of the most exciting mines the team visited was the Cruzeiro tourmaline mine in the state of Minas Gerais, about two hours outside the city of Governador Valadares.

	Mining for Tourmaline in Brazil

Although the authors had been to many gemstone mines, the size of the mine’s gem-bearing pegmatites and veins and the quantity of tourmaline being produced made this one of the most prolific gemstone mines visited by GIA. You don’t often get a chance to see large, impressive crystals being constantly hauled out of a mine tunnel, with walls and pockets mined with picks and by hand. The tourmaline crystals seemed to be just laying embedded in the enormous pegmatites, waiting to be removed.

The Cruzeiro tourmaline mine is blessed with magnificent surroundings. Its owners work the mine in harmony with nature. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy Cruzeiro mine.
The other visually striking aspect of this mine was the beauty of the setting and surroundings. The Cruzeiro mine is on a mountain, with a lush green landscape lining the road leading up to it. The mine location itself offers a spectacular view of hills, mountains, sky, and greenery.

	History
The history of the Cruzeiro mine is intertwined with the rich mineral composition of the area, tourmalines mistaken for emeralds, mica mined for war efforts, unwavering belief in the richness of the deposit, tragedy, family unity, perseverance, and triumph.

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	The Cruzeiro mine is located about two hours outside of Governador Valadares in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

	An Area Rich in Minerals
As far back as the mid-sixteenth century, the Portuguese were searching for emeralds. They thought they had discovered them in Brazil, but what the so-called bandeirantes had actually found was green tourmaline. During the seventeenth century, a Portuguese explorer documented the gemstones found in the area where the Cruzeiro mine is now located.

By the 1800s, the government’s will was strong to discover more of Brazil’s mineral wealth, including gold and precious stone deposits. When explorations in the Minas Gerais area revealed the presence of green tourmalines, explorers again initially thought they were emeralds. This belief led to much interest in further exploration of the area.

The actual mine deposit in the Cruzeiro area is said to have been discovered in 1915, and the first mining lease was established in 1938. In the 1940s, the US government was greatly interested in exploiting the mica deposits of the area for the war effort. The American company mining the mica employed 800 men, producing an estimated twenty percent of global mica production. The closest significant city, Governador Valadares, experienced significant economic growth during the mica mining period.

Today, mica is used in a decorative display at the Cruzeiro mine. In the war-time 1940s, it was of major strategic importance. Photo by Duncan Pay/GIA, courtesy Cruzeiro mine.

	Mining for tourmaline began in the 1950s when Jose Neves and his brother Antonio De Assis Neves started what is now the Cruzeiro tourmaline mine. The brothers had been mining mica in the area and taking it to Governador Valadares to sell. They also bought and sold the production of other mica miners.

	Interest in Tourmaline Increases
As the market for mica softened, the brothers started mining and selling tourmalines. At first they were only interested in large, clean tourmaline crystals. As a result, much of the production that was disposed of in waste piles might contain useable material today. The brothers also began cutting and selling tourmalines, as they were interested in moving farther up the value chain.

Not long after they became tourmaline dealers, they caught the interest of Julius Sauer of the world-famous Amsterdam Sauer gemstone and jewelry company. Mr. Sauer bought a large portion of the mine’s tourmaline production, then also bought the mine. Mr. Sauer worked the mine for about 15 years during the late 1960s through early 1980s. He then offered it for sale to Jose Neves, who was working for Mr. Sauer, buying tourmaline in the area and in Teofilo Otoni. Jose Neves sold everything he owned and invited his brother Antonio De Assis Neves to partner with him in the mine, which they purchased in 1982.

	While the mine is rich in minerals, tourmaline is the main focus and its most commercially
	important product. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy Cruzeiro mine.
At the time, Julius Sauer advised Jose Neves not to take too many risks, as gemstone mining is a very uncertain business, and you never know for sure what you are going to get. But Jose Neves believed strongly that this would be an extremely rich mine and pursued mining it with all the energy and resources he could muster. One month after the warning by Mr. Sauer, Jose Neves hit a big deposit of pink tourmaline. Soon afterward, the mine began producing large amounts of red and pink, green, blue, and bicolor tourmaline, including 26 kilos of very clean rubellite.

	Tragedy, Perseverance, and Success
The family suffered a tremendous tragedy in January 1992, when both Neves brothers died in a plane crash in Brazil. At that time Beatrice Neves, the wife of Antonio De Assis Neves, her son Antonio de Neves Jr., and Douglas Williams Neves, the son of Jose Neves, took over the mine. Douglas was a teenager at the time, but had already spent a considerable amount of time at the mine with his father, where he would mine for tourmaline using a pick. He’d then wash and clean the stones he found and sell them directly to his father.

Adding to the event’s tragedy, Douglas’s mother and another aunt also died in the plane crash. Even at that young age, Douglas stepped up and took over running the business with his Aunt Beatrice and her son Antonio. In running the business, Douglas built upon what he learned from his father and followed his own instincts and intuition.

The Cruzeiro mine is truly a family business. It owes its success to the close ties of the Neves family and their will to overcome tremendous tragedy. Photo by Duncan Pay/GIA, courtesy Cruzeiro mine.

	Discovery, Tragedy, and Triumph

The mining operation today is very successful, with 150 employees. One hundred of them are miners, and the mine has produced an annual average of more than eight tons of tourmaline over the last five years. This was only possible because these resilient family members came together as a team. Along with the loyal employees of the mine, they came through their tragedy and built one of the most successful colored gemstone mining operations in the entire world.

	Regional and Local Geology of the Cruzeiro Mine
Cruzeiro is one of the world’s most important sources for gem and mineral specimens. The main mining area is located in the Safira pegmatite district within the Eastern Brazilian pegmatite province (EBPP). EBPP is one of three important pegmatite provinces, mainly situated in the state of Minas Gerais. The southern part of the state of Bahia and the western margin of the state of Rio de Janeiro are also part of EBPP. There are thousands of gem-bearing pegmatites in Minas Gerais, and they contain virtually every known pegmatitic gem mineral species.

Neoproterozoic collisions (~1000 to 540 million years ago) led to the final formation of the West Gondwana supercontinent and created the Brazilian orogens of South America and the Pan-African orogens of Africa. Orogens are formations resulting from large-scale continental collisions. Numerous economically important gem deposits have been discovered and mined along these so-called orogenic belts.

In South America, the São Francisco craton (an old and stable part of a continent), which forms eastern Brazil, is surrounded by a sequence of Brazilian orogenic belts. One of them is the Araçuaí belt, featuring west to northwest-extending thrusts and folds. The Araçuaí belt borders the eastern margin of the São Francisco craton and overlaps with EBPP.

During the post-collision stage (530 to 480 million years ago), bodies of intrusive igneous rocks, called plutons, penetrated the metamorphic rocks of the Araçuaí belt. One of these plutonic rocks is considered the source of many pegmatites containing gem tourmaline, spodumene, morganite, and other gems, plus industrial feldspar and muscovite. Although it is quite common to find large batholiths—emplacements of plutonic rock—in the immediate vicinity of gem-bearing pegmatites, in some areas the plutonic source rocks are not well exposed.

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	This schematic geological map of the Araçuaí and Governador Valadares regions shows the location of the Cruzeiro pegmatites. – Modified after Viana et al., 2007, Chemical zoning of muscovite megacrystal from Brazilian Pegmatite Province; and Federico et al., 1998, Compositional variation of tourmaline in the granitic pegmatite dykes of the Cruzeiro mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil
The current Cruzeiro main mining area consists of four parallel, largely unweathered granitic pegmatite bodies, identified as pegmatites 01, 02, 03, and 04, and another pegmatite between 01 and 02, identified as pegmatite 01½. There are many other pegmatite outcrops on this property, but the major operation is focused on these four veins. All four pegmatite bodies dip steeply to the southwest and intrude into quartzite (metamorphosed sandstone).

	In the Cruzeiro mine area, the contacts between the pegmatite bodies and the host
	quartzite are all sharply defined. The white clay minerals that define the pegmatites are
	the products of weathered feldspars, which are more vulnerable to weathering than
	quartzite. Below the surface, the width of the pegmatite can be quite different from the
	width seen in this partially exposed pegmatite body. Photo by Andy Lucas/GIA, courtesy
	Cruzeiro mine.
The contacts between the pegmatite bodies and the host quartzite are sharply defined. Pegmatite 01 is 1300 meters long and up to 60 m wide. Pegmatite 02 is 900 m long and about 20 m wide. Pegmatite 03 is about 700 m long, with a maximum outcrop width of 8 m. There are no exact dimensions of pegmatite 04 currently available. The maximum width of pegmatite 01½ is so far thought to be about 30 m.

	Whitish albite, purple lepidolite, and the yellowish to brownish iron-manganese coatings
	are indicators that lead miners to gem-quality tourmalines. A good quantity of nice
	rubellite crystals was recovered from the pocket in the upper left of this photo. Photo
	by Andy Lucas/GIA, courtesy Cruzeiro mine.
These pegmatitic veins have very similar internal zoning, symmetrically distributed around a quartz core. The zoning contains a very thin border zone, a muscovite-quartz-feldspar wall zone and a quartz-microcline-albite intermediate zone, where the economically important gemstones are found. In the Cruzeiro mine, gem-quality tourmaline is usually found right next to the quartz core and associated with albite rather than microcline feldspar. Massive non-gem garnet is also found in this mine.

	The Pegmatites

	The Thrill of Discovery
Speaking with unbridled enthusiasm, Douglas Neves and his Aunt Beatrice described for us the thrill of discovering major tourmaline pockets and crystals. They are ready to come to the mine at a moment’s notice 24 hours a day, and even though they have experienced such moments thousands of times, they feel the same sense of excitement, like a kid receiving his best present, or a parent giving birth to a child. Their first reaction is a desire to keep the tourmaline and never sell it, but the reality is that they must sell their stones to keep the business going. If an important pocket is found, they may work all night to remove the tourmaline crystals, which have become more and more valuable over the last several years, due primarily to the enormous demand in China.

For Beatrice and the other family members, the thrill of discovering tourmaline is as strong today as it ever was. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy Cruzeiro mine.

	Treasure Hunters

	Production
Of the eight tons of annual production, approximately 70 percent is carving and bead quality, 10 percent is clean facet grade, 10 percent is cabochon grade, and 10 percent is suitable for specimens. The Cruzeiro mine produces all tourmaline colors. Douglas estimates that green makes up the largest percentage of total production. Pink and rubellite colors make up about 30 percent, and blue about 10 percent. These color percentages are difficult to estimate because many of the crystals are bicolored or multicolored, with crystals commonly going from pink or rubellite colors to green, and terminating in black. The black tourmaline is often highly fractured and sold for industrial uses.

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	Mining Tourmaline

	Visiting the Mine
The mine is about 36 miles northwest of Governador Valadares and about six miles from the town of São José da Safira. The latter is named after sapphire, probably due to blue tourmalines found and mistaken for sapphires by early explorers. We drove to the top of the mountain Serra Resplendecente do Cruzeiro, where the mine is located at 4,593 feet. The mine and a small nearby village are both named Cruzeiro, meaning cross due to the presence of a local church.

The Cruzeiro mine has an extensive array of horizontal mining tunnels, called galleries, located at different depths. Some of the galleries are very long: One extends to 500 meters. This mine’s pegmatites are enormous. At the deepest mining area, the pegmatite is 32 meters wide and over one kilometer in length. The property itself is close to 3,000 hectares (a hectare is equal to 2.471 acres). The area that is actually being mined is only around 100 hectares, but much of the rest of the property shows promise for successful future production.

	Navigating the mine involved descending to different depths on vertical to near-vertical
	ladders, and then following horizontal galleries. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy
	Cruzeiro mine.

	Beatrice proved to be far more able to navigate the mine with less effort than any of our
	GIA team. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy Cruzeiro mine.

	Pegmatite 01½ has its name because they discovered it while attempting to tunnel into vein number 01 from a different direction. They soon realized they were in a new vein that connected with veins 01 and 02. Vein 01½ is currently their most productive vein. They refer to it as Umbezão, which means “the big one.”

	The Mining Operation
In 1996, the mining operation was re-structured to incorporate modern mining methods. Currently, Cruzeiro is working three veins. The current mining plan includes a new entrance and new ramp as well as further assessment of all the pegmatites. They evaluate a pegmatite by looking at its central quartz core zone, where they find green tourmaline at the side contact areas. Next to the green zones are pink and rubellite colors, and then mica. Drilling near the quartz core veins, they look for lines of black tourmaline and indicator minerals of lithium, lepidolite, albite, and mica. Besides tourmaline, they also find colorless, white, and rose quartz, aquamarine, morganite, and red garnets. However, tourmaline is the focus as it’s the most economically important gemstone mined here.

These tourmaline crystals are attached to a section of the quartz core vein. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy Cruzeiro mine.
In some areas of the mine, the tourmalines are scattered throughout the walls of the pegmatites in a pattern they call staining. In other areas, the tourmaline crystals are in pockets, some of them massive. The crystals are extracted from the walls and pockets with a pick, often followed just by hand tools.

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	The Cruzerio Production

	Inside the Mine

The processing stage is simple and uses classic methods. The rough is washed by hand in wire baskets submerged in large drums of water. Manipulating the baskets in a circular motion allows the water to wash away the smaller pieces of lighter overburden, leaving larger crystals behind. While we watched, several large tourmaline crystals were recovered. Many of them were multicolored, with red-to-pink rubellite transitioning to green, and with black terminations. Some of the crystals were quite large. There were also large blue and green crystals. After washing, the crystals were cleaned further and some were rolled in newspaper for protection, a common technique that’s used especially for specimens.

While the washing equipment and procedures were very basic, they accomplished the task of removing the overburden, leaving behind the easily seen tourmaline crystals. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy Cruzeiro mine.

	Describing the Mine

	The Business Model
The mine owners are rejoicing at the current demand for tourmaline in the global market. The mine produces all colors of tourmaline, so they can take advantage of the fact that all colors are in demand. Demand is especially strong for rubellite and bicolor varieties, with strong demand for greens, followed by blues. One of the main tourmaline consuming countries is China. This has been especially true with rubellite and now is also true for bicolors, greens, and blues.

These faceted rubellites were cut at the Miranda Group Co. Ltd. factory in Shenzhen, China. They are being sorted in the Group’s Hong Kong office. The rough came from the Cruzeiro mine. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy Miranda Group Co. Ltd.
The Cruzeiro mine works with Miranda Group Co. Ltd., which cuts their rubellite tourmaline and markets it through KGK, a global diamond, colored stone, and jewelry wholesaler. KGK markets the majority of the rubellite in China. The Miranda Group saws the rough at their Hong Kong office and then sends the sawn rough for finishing at their factory in Shenzhen. KGK then handles the sale of the finished rubellites. The company also sells rubellite jewelry in China.

The Miranda Group Co. Ltd. cuts the rubellite from the Cruzeiro mine at their factory in Shenzhen, China. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy Miranda Group Co. Ltd.
The majority of Cruzeiro production goes to China. Cruzeiro itself cuts the green and blue facet-grade material in Governador Valadares and sells the finished stones in the wholesale market. Cruzeiro sells carving, bead, and cabochon-grade rough into the China market for manufacturing.

Describing the changes in the price of tourmaline over the last five years, Douglas says, “When I think about the prices I sold tourmaline for five years ago, I did not sell it, I gave it away.” Five years ago it would have been difficult to get $1,000 a kilo for carving and bead-grade rough tourmaline, while today he can easily get $7,000 a kilo. Facet-grade green tourmaline that was selling for ten to twenty dollars a gram five years ago, now sells for $150 a gram.

All colors and grades of tourmaline have risen significantly in demand and price. This is especially true for large, clean, fine-color rubellite. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy Miranda Group Co. Ltd.
These increases in the selling price are offset by increased production costs. Costs of labor, fuel, equipment, environmental regulations, etc., have risen significantly over the last five years. Also, the value of the Brazilian currency—the Real—has risen significantly against the dollar. This was difficult for the entire Brazilian gemstone and jewelry industry since their costs are in Reals and their sales on the international market are in dollars. This reversed a bit in the last two years, with the Real going from approximately 1.5 to 1 dollar in value. During our visit, there was a drop in value to 2.4 Reals to the dollar. The massive production from the Cruzeiro mine also helps it to compensate for increasing production costs.

While the price of and demand for tourmaline has been rising, mining costs in Brazil have also been going up. Photo by Andrew Lucas/GIA, courtesy Cruzeiro mine.

	The Market

	Business Costs

	The Environment

	The Future
When describing the mine’s future, Douglas informed us that they are planning to turn it into a ramp-style mine. The ramp will start at the surface and cut across all five main pegmatite veins currently being mined, plus one more they are planning on mining. Shafts will extend upward from the ramp so they can bring the material down to the ramp and haul it out by truck.

With over 95 percent of the property not being mined and large areas showing strong production potential, the future yield of the mine looks strong. Douglas told us that his father always said that his grandchildren would be mining tourmaline at Cruzeiro. @chapter:18


Publication Year: 1998 Title: Estimating Weights of Mounted Colored Stones Abstract: Updated formulas are presented for estimating the weights of mounted colored gemstones. These formulas are derived from measurements and weights of thousands of German-cut calibrated amethysts and citrines, representing most commercially available shapes and sizes. As with the formulas taught by GIA, the dimensions of a stone are multiplied by its specific gravity and by a “shape factor” that is determined by the stone’s face-up outline. This article also illustrates how the shape factor changes over a continuum of common face-up outlines. As in previous formulas, a separate weight correction factor is applied to stones that show proportion variations in profile view. @chapter:20


Publication Year: 2020 Title: Russian Emerald Abstract: Figure 1. The Malysheva emerald mine outside of Ekaterinburg, Russia. The giant open pit was originally mined for emerald and then beryllium. Now the mine operation is underground below the processing facility (the green building on the other side of the pit). Photo by Tao Hsu.

On the long list of emerald-producing countries, Russia is one of the more mysterious to the trade and consumers. Emerald was found in the Ural Mountains in the early nineteenth century. Malysheva was the most famous of these deposits and the world’s largest emerald producer at the start of World War I. During the Soviet era, this deposit was nationalized and mined for beryllium instead of emerald. Today, underground mining is going strong and actively producing emeralds (figure 1).

Figure 2. A collection of Russian emerald offered by Dudley Blauwet Gems. These stones range from about 0.1 to 3 ct. Photo by Tao Hsu.
At this year’s show, the authors found two exhibitors with Russian emerald ranging in quality from commercial to fine without any treatment. Dudley Blauwet Gems offered Russian emeralds from 0.1 to about 3 ct at the AGTA show. The light to slightly dark green stones were offered as singles, pairs, and sets (see figure 2 and figure 5 in the Tucson Overview). Worth noting is that most of the Russian stones the authors saw showed bright colors and high clarity.

Figure 3. A selection of fine Russian emerald from Tsarina Jewels ranging from 1.27 to 8.38 ct. All stones are natural with no filling. Photo by Kevin Schumacher.
At the GJX show, Tsarina Jewels offered Russian emeralds of larger sizes and fine quality. This exhibitor carried stones as large as 8 ct or more (figure 3). These stones also displayed a wide range of various shades of green colors. The authors noticed that Russian emeralds are still quite rare to find on the market, while emeralds from Colombia and Zambia dominate the market. @chapter:23


Publication Year: 1997 Title: Spring 1997 Gem News International Abstract: TUCSON ‘97
Diamonds
            "Opalescent" and other Unusual Diamonds
            Diamond "Pearls"
Colored Stones
            Andradite from Arizona
            Carved Aquamarine with Natural Crystal Faces
            Cat's-Eye Chrysoberyl
            Unusual Trapiche Emerald
            The Return of Jet
            "Bicolor" Labradorite
            "Rainbow" Obsidian Hearts
            Botryoidal White Opal from Milford, Utah
            Petrified Palm Wood as an Ornamental Material
            Drusy Iridescent Pyrite from Russia
            "Wasp-Tail" Citrine/Smoky Quartz
            Quartz with "Rainbow" Hematite Inclusions
            And with Pyrite Inclusions
            Orange Sapphire and other Gems from the Tundura Region
            Tanzanite in Abundance: Gem Carvings and "Enhydro" Crystal Section
            Tourmaline from the Neu Schwaben Region, Namibia: a Major New Player
Treatments
            Gold-Electroplated Jade and Silver Ore
Synthetics and Simulants
            Assembled Stones Using Inset Gem Material
            Red and Purple Hydrothermal Synthetic Beryl
            Dichroic Glass as an Opal Imitation
            Aventurescent Synthetic Quartz
            Synthetic Opal in Glass
Miscellaneous
            "Amphoragems"
Announcements
Gems & Gemology Wins Three Out of Five

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


Publication Year: 2018 Title: Green Crystals in Yellow Sapphires Abstract: Figure 1. A bluish green spinel crystal found in a Sri Lankan yellow sapphire. Photomicrograph by Tyler Smith; field of view 1.76 mm.

Two yellow sapphires recently examined by the authors each contained a green crystal inclusion. Upon analysis, however, the two inclusions turned out to be very different minerals.

A yellow sapphire of Sri Lankan origin hosted a saturated bluish green crystal inclusion. Optically it was singly refractive, and Raman spectroscopy proved it to be a spinel crystal (figure 1). Spinel inclusions of this color have been documented in yellow sapphires before (E.J. Gübelin and J.I. Koivula, Photoatlas of Inclusions in Gemstones, Vol. 1, ABC Edition, Zurich, 1986, pp. 353–354), but this crystal was remarkably large and completely enclosed in the stone.

Figure 2. A beautiful euhedral pargasite crystal displaying its monoclinic nature in yellow sapphire. Photomicrograph by Nathan Renfro; field of view 1.43 mm.
The second yellow sapphire contained a green semitransparent crystal that, unlike the previous inclusion, was doubly refractive and more rectangular in shape (figure 2), with sublinear striations and a smaller secondary crystal on the opposite side. With the aid of Raman spectroscopy, the brownish green crystal was identified as pargasite, a metamorphic calcium-dominated amphibole mineral associated with spinel and corundum deposits (J.W. Anthony et al., Handbook of Mineralogy, Vol. 2, Mineral Data Publishing, Tucson, Arizona, 1995). As an inclusion, pargasite has been previously documented in corundum—more frequently in rubies from Myanmar, Pakistan, and Tanzania, and in blue sapphires from Kashmir (E.J. Gübelin and J.I. Koivula, Photoatlas of Inclusions in Gemstones, Vol. 3, Opinio Verlag, Basel, Switzerland, 2008). The fact that the host sapphire was yellow makes this inclusion a fascinating discovery for the authors. @chapter:19


Publication Year: 2015 Title: Gemstones and Jewelry Inspired By Nature Abstract: Figure 1. A carved agate and leaf pendant featuring diamond and tsavorite accents. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA; courtesy of Jeff Bilgore, LLC.

Jeff Bilgore has 18 AGTA Spectrum Awards to his credit in both the cutting and design categories. His booth in the AGTA GemFair featured two pieces that departed from the norm of colored stones: an exquisitely carved leaf brooch of moss agate, highlighted with diamonds (figure 1), and a platinum pendant panel and chain featuring natural-color fancy diamonds that appeared to float within the frame (figure 2). The cut-corner rectangular panel, reminiscent of a classic Cartier design, featured 11 natural colored diamonds (5.68 carats total, all with GIA reports confirming Fancy, Fancy Vivid, or Fancy Intense hue), paired with a chain featuring 36 additional oval fancy colored diamonds (4.23 carats total).

Figure 2. A platinum pendant featuring 13 natural colored diamonds (6.31 carats total) with an 18K yellow gold and platinum chain featuring 36 oval fancy color diamonds (4.23 carats total). Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA; courtesy of Jeff Bilgore, LLC.
After viewing the selection of carefully curated gemstones, one becomes aware of the entwined themes of art and nature. Bilgore espouses the principle of biophilia, the belief that humans intuitively respond positively to nature. Rather than viewing gemstones as inanimate objects, Bilgore sees them as part of nature, and he displays many of the gemstones and jewelry pieces with a tiny easel featuring an associated image (figure 3). A 5.69 ct Australian crystal opal, exhibiting play-of-color in all hues, was displayed with an image of the aurora borealis. Some of the other images are Bilgore’s own photos, taken in his garden or while hiking. In a further nod to nature, the design of the colored diamond panel pendant was inspired by the Golden Mean and the Fibonacci series, mathematical relationships often found in nature and incorporated into manmade creations as diverse as music and architecture.

A 5.69 ct Australian crystal opal is accompanied by an image of the aurora borealis on a tiny easel. Photo by Towfiq Ahmed; courtesy of Jeff Bilgore, LLC. @chapter:26


Publication Year: 2020 Title: Rhodium-Plated Iron Meteorites Abstract: Figure 1. The meteorite pendant (left) measured 27.02 × 12.75 × 2.59 mm and weighed 28.53 ct. The meteorite slab (right) measured 27.67 × 28.06 × 1.71 mm and weighed 36.69 ct. The intricate banding seen in these plated meteorites would both be categorized as Widmanstätten patterns, features of octahedrite iron meteorites. Photo by Angelica Sanchez.
The annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show has been a reliable source for the niche and the unusual, as seen with the rhodium-plated iron meteorites (figure 1) acquired by author BL at the 22nd Street Show in February 2020. The 28.53 ct mounted pendant and 36.69 ct loose slab were initially suspected to be imitations due to the abnormally high metallic luster and bright white color compared to typical polished and etched iron meteorites. However, chemical analysis of elements in the mounted sample using laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) identified the specimens as authentic etched iron meteorites with layers of plated metals including nickel, copper, and rhodium.
Meteorites can be classified into three broad categories: stone, iron, and stony iron. The latter two groups are utilized within the gem and jewelry industry. The iron group consists of metallic meteorites composed primarily of iron with varying nickel content, a mineral intergrowth of low-nickel kamacite and high-nickel taenite. The iron group can be further categorized as hexahedrites (containing less than 6% nickel), octahedrites (6–13% nickel), and ataxites (more than 13% nickel) (O.R. Norton, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Meteorites, 2002, pp. 184–198). When cut, polished, and etched with nital (a mixture of nitric acid and ethanol), the acid dissolves the isometric kamacite and taenite crystals at different rates, revealing a unique pattern dependent on the crystal’s grain size. Octahedrites reveal a coarse pattern with a range of crystal widths known as a Widmanstätten structure (again, see figure 1). These lines and structures act like a fingerprint, as no two etched meteorites reveal the exact same pattern. Etched iron meteorites can also be easily classified by the size of their kamacite bands. Octahedrites show a width of banding ranging from 50 mm to < 0.2 mm. The pendant and slab showed an average band width of 0.50 mm and 2.68 mm, respectively, both well within the octahedrite threshold.
The pendant sample was analyzed with LA-ICP-MS spectrometry, and results were plotted and compared to a confirmed natural, non-plated octahedrite meteorite (figure 2). The x-axis shows time lapsed as the laser began drilling from the surface (starting at 40 seconds), therefore also representing depth. The y-axis shows the weight percent of the elements present. These include iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), and rhodium (Rh) and represent the multiple layers of plating. The non-plated meteorite showed a steady amount of Fe (approximately 93 wt.%) and Ni (approximately 6 wt.%) throughout the total elapsed time from the beginning of analysis. The plated meteorite showed an initial thin peak of rhodium, quickly followed by a slightly wider peak of nickel. As these peaks began to flatten, a broad band of copper became visible. Near the 96 second mark, the graph of the plated meteorite began to resemble the non-plated meteorite, with approximately 92 wt.% Fe and 8 wt.% Ni. This analysis proved the material to be a genuine octahedrite meteorite with platings of Cu, Ni, and Rh. In order to achieve a final surface plating of rhodium to a metal, various under-platings are usually required. Through this technique of measuring the chemistry of the plated layers by LA-ICP-MS, gemologists were able to determine the identity of the subsurface material, as well as the composition of the various platings through a minimally destructive process. The pits or craters created by the laser are generally small (50 μm in diameter) and therefore impossible to visibly detect without magnification (L.A. Groat et al., “A review of analytical methods used in geographic origin determination of gemstones,” Winter 2019 G&G, pp. 512–535). Utilizing LA-ICP-MS to analyze metallic platings and subsurface materials is a method not previously explored by the authors. This study could offer insight into using LA-ICP-MS technology in new ways in the gem and jewelry industry.

Figure 2. The profile of the plated meteorite (top) shows initial peaks of rhodium and nickel followed by a broad band of copper. Near the 96-second mark, the graph begins to resemble the profile of the non-plated meteorite (bottom) with >90 wt.% Fe and <10 wt.% Ni. This proves the material to be a genuine octahedrite meteorite with platings of Cu, Ni, and Rh.
Iron meteorites are prone to rusting due to their high iron content, as even slight humidity within air causes rapid corrosion. To slow this process, the stones are commonly kept in humidity-controlled environments, moisture absorbent silica gel, or coated with oil or hard clear lacquer. Rhodium plating offers an attractive luster and color to the surface; however, its essential function in this instance is to prevent moisture from altering the iron. Unfortunately, rust spots can be seen on the edges of both samples where the plating failed to adhere. Rhodium is a member of the platinum metal group, which is characterized by high stability, good resistance to corrosion, and a high melting point. While it is too brittle to be used for solid jewelry, rhodium has become a popular plating material, as it has a brighter color than silver or platinum.
Meteorites are popular collectibles with wide usage as jewelry. Etched iron meteorites can be found as watch dials and bezels, beads, hololith rings, and pendants. As this specialized material becomes more common, consumers should be aware of potential imitations or treatments such as these rhodium-plated examples. @chapter:2


Publication Year: 2017 Title: Astrophyllite in Bastnäsite-(Ce) Abstract: Figure 1. This 6.92 mm bastnäsite-(Ce) from Pakistan contains numerous straight and curving acicular inclusions of astrophyllite. Photo by Kevin Schumacher.

	Pakistan’s Zagi Mountains are known as a source for both astrophyllite and bastnäsite-(Ce). The two minerals often grow together, with bastnäsite-(Ce) overgrowing stalks and fibers of astrophyllite; the latter is then sometimes incorporated as inclusions in the bastnäsite-(Ce). We refer to these types of inclusions as “protogenetic.”

	The author recently had the opportunity to examine the brownish orange bastnäsite-(Ce) seen in figure 1. The 1.40 ct oval modified brilliant, provided by Luciana Barbosa (Gemological Center, Asheville, North Carolina), hosted an abundance of eye-visible inclusions of astrophyllite (figure 2), both straight and curved, that were identified by Raman analysis. Some of the included fibers and stalks appear to have been partially altered or coated with iron compounds.

	Figure 2. Magnification affords a more detailed view of the bastnäsite-(Ce) inclusions. Photomicrograph by Nathan Renfro; field of view 2.85 mm. @chapter:13


Publication Year: 2023 Title: Microscopic Shells in Natural Pearls from Pinctada radiata Abstract: Figure 1. Two natural pearls recovered from Pinctada radiata mollusks by Bahraini divers, weighing 0.06 ct (pearl A, left) and 0.25 ct (pearl B, right). Photo by Gaurav Bera.
For centuries, natural pearl diving was Bahrain’s main industry. The vast majority of natural pearls fished around the islands of Bahrain are found in the Pinctada radiata bivalve (known in Arabic as mahar). These pearl beds have been known to produce the finest-quality natural pearls in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf region. Given the Gulf’s strategic trading location and the richness of its pearling industry, the pearls from this region are coveted by traders and collectors alike (R. Carter, “The history and prehistory of pearling in the Persian Gulf,” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 48, No. 2, 2005, pp. 139–209). GIA’s Mumbai laboratory recently examined a quantity of these pearls obtained from two local Bahraini divers who claimed they were recovered from wild mollusks living in the nutrient-rich shallow waters off the coast of Sitra, one of Bahrain’s 33 islands.
Natural pearls from Pinctada radiata fished from Bahrain and the Gulf region in general have a wide range of shapes and colors. While most of the pearls examined showed a variety of interesting internal structures, two of them had a noteworthy feature: a minute shell contained within. Natural pearls are very rare and form inside mollusk shells, and a shell within a pearl within a shell is like nature’s version of a nesting doll. Such structures have been encountered by GIA on rare occasion (see Winter 2015 Lab Notes, pp. 434–436).
Both pearls were very small (figure 1). The smaller one (A) had a strong yellow bodycolor and an oval shape, weighing 0.06 ct and measuring 2.07 × 1.93 mm. The larger round one (B) had a light cream color, weighing 0.25 ct and measuring 3.30 mm in diameter. When viewed under 40× magnification, both exhibited typical nacreous overlapping aragonite platelets. Real-time microradiography (RTX) and X-ray computed microtomography (μ-CT) analyses were carried out to examine the internal structures in greater detail.

Figure 2. The gastropod shell, measuring approximately 0.50 × 0.30 mm, observed in pearl A. A: RTX image of the shell. B–D: μ-CT scans of the shell in the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively. (The weak white rings on the lower right image are artifacts and not pearl-related structures.)
A minute gastropod shell measuring approximately 0.50 × 0.30 mm was observed in pearl A. The shell walls were very thin, and minimal growth arcs were present in the nacre surrounding it (figure 2). Marine gastropods are known to range in size from a few millimeters to more than a meter, so the size of the shell inside this pearl suggests it was from a juvenile gastropod just beginning to form its shell. The juvenile shell later forms the protoconch or first whorls of an adult gastropod (A. Nutzel, “Larval ecology and morphology in fossil gastropods,” Paleontology, Vol. 57, Part 3, 2014, pp. 479–503).

Figure 3. The foraminifera test, measuring approximately 0.45 × 0.35 mm, observed in pearl B. A: RTX image of the foraminifera test. B–D: μ-CT scans of the foraminifera test in the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively. (Again, the weak white rings on the lower right image are artifacts.)

Figure 4. 3D images constructed from μ-CT scans of pearl B illustrate the morphology of the foraminifera test. Images by Emiko Yazawa.
RTX imaging of pearl B revealed a minute shell that appeared to be a foraminifera test (shell), measuring approximately 0.45 × 0.35 mm. Foraminifera are small unicellular marine organisms found on the sea floor. A thin layer of organic matter that appeared darker in the RTX and μ-CT images seemed to envelop the foraminifera test, and a few growth arcs were observed within the surrounding nacre (figure 3). The μ-CT scan was also rendered using specialized software (C. Zhou et al., “New 3-D software expands GIA’s pearl identification capabilities,” GIA Research News, May 13, 2016) to create a three-dimensional image that made it easier to see the external morphology of the shell within the pearl (figure 4). The foraminifera test appeared multilocular, or multichambered, with tubular chambers arranged around a growth axis to form a beautiful milioline arrangement of chambers (A.R. Loeblich and H. Tappan, Foraminiferal Genera and Their Classification, Springer, New York, 1988). The minute size of the shells within these tiny pearls is a good indicator of their natural origin.
Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry on pearls A and B revealed low manganese levels of 39.0 ppm and 17.8 ppm and high strontium levels of 1768 ppm and 1497 ppm, respectively, which is characteristic of formation in a saltwater environment. Raman analysis was also carried out using 514 nm laser excitation on the surface of each pearl. A doublet at 702 and 705 cm–1 as well as a peak at 1085 cm–1 indicative of aragonite were observed, along with minor polyenic pigment peaks at 1130 and 1530 cm–1. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra were also collected on both pearls. Pearl A revealed three broad peaks at 620, 650, and 680 nm, characteristic of many naturally colored pearls, while pearl B showed clear aragonite peaks and low fluorescence. An ultraviolet/visible reflectance spectrum was collected only for pearl B within the 220–850 nm range, as pearl A’s size prevented the detector from obtaining a clear result. Faint features at 420 and 495 nm were, like the PL results, consistent with natural coloration. Similar spectral observations have previously been documented in natural Pinctada radiata pearls (A. Al-Alawi et al., “Saltwater cultured pearls from Pinctada radiata in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates),” Journal of Gemmology, Vol. 37, No. 2, 2020, pp. 164–179).
The gemological examination of these Pinctada radiata pearls proved very rewarding, especially with regard to their internal structures. Research into what causes the formation of a pearl in the wild is ongoing. Hence, finding these minute shells that may be the initiation of growth in these two natural pearls is a truly rare circumstance. @chapter:14


Publication Year: - Title: Fall 2022 G&G Available Now Abstract: Get ready to uncover a wide range of topics in the Fall issue, from the challenges of determining the geographic origin of diamond to the use of gem materials as pigments in works of art. In addition to the four feature articles and our quarterly sections, we see the return of Diamond Reflections and the 2022 Gems & Gemology Challenge results.
METHODS AND CHALLENGES OF ESTABLISHING THE GEOGRAPHIC ORIGIN OF DIAMONDS
Diamond origin is a trending topic among consumers and the trade, as consumers seek to know the origin and the impact of purchased goods. The mounting push toward global sustainability has prompted direct efforts to use measurable characteristics to compare diamonds from different localities. The lead article by Evan Smith and coauthors discusses the recent methods and challenges associated with determining the geographic origin of diamonds and concludes that retaining origin information from the time of mining is the only definitive means of establishing provenance.
SAPPHIRE BENEATH THE RICH BLACK SOIL OF MULING, NORTHEASTERN CHINA
Yimiao Liu and Ren Lu characterize the gemological properties, chemical composition, and provenance-related features of sapphire found in Muling, northeastern China, comparing them against samples from other well-known corundum sources worldwide. Their research provides preliminary data to aid in the origin determination of this underexplored sapphire resource.
GEMS ON CANVAS: PIGMENTS HISTORICALLY SOURCED FROM GEM MATERIALS
Pigments derived from gem materials have been utilized for centuries, from ancient cave drawings to classical and modern works of art. These artistic creations reveal the evolution of the human experience and the progression of anthropological and chemical studies. In this article, Britni LeCroy examines the correlation between the evolution of gem pigment technology and historical art movements.
COLOR MECHANISM AND SPECTROSCOPIC THERMAL VARIATION OF PINK SPINEL REPORTEDLY FROM KUH-I-LAL, TAJIKISTAN
A team led by Yicen Liu uses spectroscopy and chemical analysis to study the color mechanism of pink spinel reportedly from the Kuh-i-Lal deposit in Tajikistan. When heated to a series of temperatures, the spinel samples showed that a combination of spectroscopic thermal variation characteristics causes their pink color.
LAB NOTES
GIA’s global laboratory staff present their latest findings in the Lab Notes section, including an exceptionally rare 1.21 ct Fancy orangy red diamond, a star sapphire from the legendary Kashmir deposit, and a synthetic moissanite carved to resemble a natural rough diamond.
MICRO-WORLD
The Micro-World section, dedicated to the inner world of gemstones, features an unusual bright purple fluid in rock crystal quartz, a partially exposed orange rutile crystal in a color-change diamond, and an eye-catching cluster of zircon needles in a stellate formation in Paraíba tourmaline.
DIAMOND REFLECTIONS
Diamond Reflections returns to examine the fluid droplets trapped within diamond during growth in the earth’s mantle. These liquids reflect the various natural processes that occur during diamond formation and provide scientists with a window into the great depths of our planet.
GEM NEWS INTERNATIONAL
Finally, GNI contributors report on saltwater cultured pearls containing non-traditional “box bead” nuclei fashioned from shell, a type of quartz featuring multiple color zones with oriented inclusions, an update on the current state of Mozambique’s ruby mines, and the first-ever Turquoise United conference. @chapter:7


Publication Year: - Title: De Beers Sees Growing Diamond Demand Abstract: The Summer 2017 issue of G&G has several Lab Notes about synthetic diamonds that were identified and analyzed in GIA laboratories this year, including a parcel of melee diamonds, like the ones shown above, submitted to the Mumbai laboratory. Photo by Roxane Bhot.

The second half of 2017 will see slow but steady growth in diamond demand, according to De Beers’ forecast.  The company said that fall diamond jewelry sales in the U.S. are expected to rise modestly, while demand from India and China, which had been depressed, is likely to increase.
Company executives noted that rough prices have begun to rise as demand improves, even as the company has increased its rough sales some 7% by volume this year. The average price of rough sold at its five sights (cycles) was down an average of 12% through the first half of the year. That decline, according to De Beers, was caused by a shift toward smaller and lower quality goods, not a decline in the actual price of rough diamonds, which actually rose 4% on average.
The company said it is on track to produce and sell 32 to 33 million carats of diamonds this year, compared to 30 million carats in 2016.
The figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce support De Beers’ optimism. An uptick in consumer spending helped the U.S. economy pick up speed in the second quarter, to double its growth rate to 2.6%. Consumer spending had been slow for the first several months of the year, as retail figures attest.
Forecasts from the Federal Reserve have the U.S. economy and consumer spending continuing to grow at a modest 2% rate through the remainder of the year. Weak business investment and stagnant wages, however, remain a drag on higher growth.
At the same time, U.S. consumer confidence made a strong jump in July, according to the Conference Board, a research firm that developed the Consumer Confidence Index. The index rose 5 percentage points as consumers grew more optimistic about the economy. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months increased from 20.1% to 22.9%, while those expecting business conditions to worsen declined from 10% to 8.2%.

The GIA iD100 gem screening device, prototype shown above, was introduced earlier this year. GIA staff in Hong Kong used the device to screen for synthetics in a diamond ring set with melee and  a marquise-cut diamond center stone. Photo by GIA

IDENTIFYING SYNTHETIC DIAMONDS
The Summer 2017 issue of Gems & Gemology has several articles in the Lab Notes section about synthetic diamonds identified and analyzed in GIA laboratories this year.
Staff in GIA’s Hong Kong lab recognized that a stone submitted for an update service had very different properties from the original report. The color grade H was found to be far below the D noted on the original report, while the clarity grade IF did not agree with the earlier VVS1 grade. In addition, the diamond’s carat weight did not match the original report. The graders checked the report number inscription and found it had been faked. Further testing revealed the stone to be CVD synthetic with subsequent HPHT treatment.
Two other Lab Notes describe how new GIA instrumentation was used to separate natural diamonds from potentially synthetic stones. Examination using GIA’s Melee Analysis Service of a parcel of 323 colorless to near-colorless melee diamonds confirmed that 219 were natural. Detailed further analysis determined that the parcel contained 101 CVD-produced synthetics. The average weight of the diamonds was .015 carat (ct).
Staff at GIA’s Hong Kong lab used a prototype of the GIA iD100 gem screening device to examine a ring containing 70 melee in addition to a marquise-cut diamond center stone. All but one of the melee passed the test for natural diamond, the other was referred as possible synthetic diamond. Further testing determined that it was an HPHT synthetic diamond.
In the final note, a 0.33 “Fancy blue” diamond was found to have an 80-micron thick CVD coating doped with boron over a near colorless natural diamond. This was the first such CVD overgrowth GIA has encountered.
TRADE
The Russia sanctions bill that was enacted by U.S. Congress recently is unlikely to have a direct effect on Alrosa or Russia’s diamond industry – at the outset at least. The bill targets the country’s natural gas and weapons export industries.
Alrosa executives said the bill would have little effect on its operations because the company does not borrow from European or U.S. banks or source a significant amount of its mining equipment and technology from U.S. companies.
Because the bill allows sanctions to be extended beyond their current scope, however, Alrosa is keeping a wary eye.
“The potential difficulties this (potential sanctions on diamonds from Russia) may cause in our company will be incomparable with the global consequences for the entire international diamond market, including diamond exchanges in Europe and other countries,” Alrosa president Sergey Ivanov said in a press statement.
Alrosa is the world’s largest diamond producer of rough diamonds by volume, accounting for 29%, versus De Beers’ 24%.
Sanctions targeted at specific diamond producing nations in the past – South Africa in the 1980s and recently Zimbabwe – have never been very effective. In addition, the 17% tariffs on polished diamonds entering the U.S. from the then-Soviet Union during the 1960s through the 1980s were largely ignored or circumvented.
A potentially tragic flood at Russia’s Mir diamond mine has left eight miners missing and put the mine on indefinite shutdown while rescue and pumping operations are proceeding.  About 150 miners were rescued after ground water began rushing into the mine’s underground operation.
AUCTIONS
The 1,109 ct Lesedi la Rona diamond is back on the sales block. A year after its owner Lucara Diamond Corp. attempted to auction the stone – the second largest gem quality diamond ever found – through Sotheby’s, the company says it may seek a partner to cut and polish the rough, then divide the sales proceeds according to a pre-agreed percentage.
Lucara values the diamond at $70 million or $63,200 per carat before cutting. At a 40% yield – the average for a very large diamond – the per-carat cost would rise to $105,200, without factoring in labor costs.
No color or clarity estimates have been publicly stated for the Lesedi La Rona, but very large (50 carats and higher) polished D Flawless diamonds have fetched $160,000 to $180,000 per carat, while some with extraordinary provenance, such as Elizabeth Taylor’s stone, have brought a lot more. @chapter:30


Publication Year: 1996 Title: Summer 1996 G&G Lab Notes Abstract: Some Unusual Diamond Cuts
Natural Color Jadeite Jade
Imitation Jade
A Pearl Mystery
Pyrope Garnet
Quench-Crackled Synthetic Ruby
A Natural Sapphire Mistaken for a Doublet
Sapphire with an Unusual Star

To view the full section, download the PDF above. @chapter:17


Publication Year: 1994 Title: Synthetic Forsterite and Synthetic Peridot Abstract: Large crystals of chromium-containing synthetic forsterite are being commercially manufactured for use as a laser material. Considerable color variation is possible, and some of this material resembles peridot, with which it could be confused. Synthetic peridot has been grown, but only experimentally. This material closely resembles natural peridot and might be difficult to distinguish if it were to appear in the gem market. @chapter:8


Publication Year: 2013 Title: A Useful Technique to Confirm the Hydrophane Nature of Opal Abstract: With the emergence of opal production in Wollo, Ethiopia, the supply of hydrophane opal has increased significantly. This deposit offers beautiful material at a fraction of the price of similar-looking opal from several other sources, including Australia and Brazil. However, most of the opal from Wollo is hydrophane, which simply means it is porous enough to readily absorb water, much like a sponge. This property can occasionally cause durability issues that may lead to significant cracking, depending on the porosity of the material and how included it is. In general, it is difficult to predict if this material will crack when immersed, but the potential is certainly higher in hydrophane opal than in nonporous material. In hydrophane opal with a bodycolor other than white, there is the distinct possibility of artificial coloration, since stones that absorb water also absorb dye (N. Renfro and S.F. McClure, “Dyed purple hydrophane opal,” Winter 2011 G&G, pp. 260–270). While this ability to absorb water is not proof of dye, it calls for extra caution when examining an opal for color modification, especially if it has a bodycolor that can exist naturally, such as orange.

With white or colorless opals, checking for dye is not necessary, but the gemologist may find it valuable to determine if they are hydrophane so the client can be warned to avoid immersing them in liquid. Micro inclusions often present in these stones are sometimes the source of minute internal cracks. When these opals are saturated with water, the cracks often enlarge due to the strain and propagate through the entire stone. In these cases, the only option is to recut several small stones from the broken fragments.

	This Ethiopian hydrophane opal with a small crack was examined at 15× magnification in reflected light (A). The lighting environment has been changed to direct transmitted light or brightfield illumination by opening the baffle in the microscope well (B). A drop of water placed on the surface (C) and absorbed by the stone creates an optical aberration (D) that confirms the opal’s hydrophane nature. Note that the water has also produced a more pronounced optical aberration in the crack. Photos by Nathan Renfro.
To safely determine if an opal is hydrophane and avoid further propagation of existing cracks, the stone should be examined using a standard gemological microscope and direct transmitted light (with the microscope in brightfield mode). Simply place a single drop of water on the surface and observe how the water drop interacts with the opal. After a few seconds of allowing the water to either evaporate or soak into the stone, reexamine the appearance. If the water is absorbed into the stone, that area’s refractive index will be slightly different, creating an optical aberration where the drop is placed and confirming that the stone is hydrophane. This method poses less risk of breakage than complete immersion. @chapter:39


Publication Year: - Title: Summer 2021 G&G Available Now Abstract: The Summer issue bursts with exciting topics. We open with an important question in the diamond industry—how fluorescence intensity impacts diamond appearance and how to quantify those effects scientifically. Pearls are the focus of the next two articles, which identify the color origin of Chinese “Edison” freshwater pearls and present a classification system based on size, shape, color, luster, surface, matching, and nacre quality, respectively. Lastly, a field report highlights the bustling gemstone trading hub in Peshwar, Pakistan, known as the “intersection of anxiety.”
Measurement and Characterization of the Effects of Blue Fluorescence on Diamond Appearance
The lead article by Yun Luo and co-authors studies the effects of blue fluorescence on diamond appearance, particularly when it comes to perceived transparency and color. Results show that fluorescence intensity only occasionally impacts visible color and does not cause haziness by itself. The authors present methods to quantify these effects instrumentally.
Detection of Color Treatment and Optical Brightening in Chinese Freshwater “Edison” Pearls
A research team led by Chunhui Zhou provides an in-depth study on a group of 23 freshwater “Edison” pearls to distinguish their color origin. Various gemological and advanced instrumental techniques identified the use of color treatment and optical brightening agents in these popular cultured pearls.
Pearl Classification: The GIA 7 Pearl Value Factors
Affectionately known as “The Queen of Gems,” pearls have been cherished throughout history, and their popularity continues to grow in the market. Joyce Wing Yan Ho and Sally Chan Shih discuss the GIA 7 Pearl Value Factors for classifying various appearances and qualities. A beautiful wall chart accompanies this article.
Namak Mandi: A Pioneering Gemstone Market in Pakistan
This field report by Habib Ur Rehman and co-authors describes Namak Mandi’s transformation a salt market in Peshawar to Pakistan’s largest rough gemstone trading hub. The authors highlight pricing and trading techniques, the local gemstone supply chain, and traditional cutting practices to save weight.
Lab Notes
GIA laboratory staff members present their latest findings in the Lab Notes section, including a social media–worthy Melo pearl with an intense natural color, a beaded opal strand displaying striking play-of-color, and a flux-grown ruby containing chrysoberyl inclusions.
Micro-World
The Micro-World section, dedicated to the inner world of gemstones, features an iridescent abalone shell reminiscent of a topographic map, a polished quartz crystal displaying unusual bent rutile needles, and blue beryl crystals with heavily etched surfaces that are reportedly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.
Gem News International
Finally, GNI correspondents from around the world report on natural freshwater pearls from three European countries, mobile inclusions in quartz, multi-color Kenyan sapphires, and the reopening of the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. @chapter:29


Publication Year: 2022 Title: Michael Traurig: An Opal Dealer’s Battle with COVID-19 Abstract: Figure 1. A selection of opals at Jayson Traurig Bros. of Australia’s booth at the AGTA show. Photo by Erin Hogarth.
At the AGTA show, Michael Traurig (Jayson Traurig Bros. of Australia—Phoenix, Arizona, and Sydney, Australia) told us about his hospitalization for COVID-19 in Phoenix beginning in June 2020. “I went into shutdown,” he said. “Heart, lungs, kidneys. I was on dialysis. I was on a respirator. I became diabetic.”
Doctors put him on a life-support machine that acts as the heart and lungs outside the body. He said that up until that time, few people in the world with COVID-19 had survived the procedure. He was taken off and put back on the machine several times and visited by top doctors in the Phoenix area. “The ICU nurses called me magic because they put you on the machine to die basically,” he said. After 30 days, he was sent to a rehab facility in order to free the hospital bed. “I coded one more time in rehab and they jumpstarted me,” he said. “A few days later, everything started working again.” Today he is no longer diabetic.
At a second Phoenix hospital, where Traurig underwent surgery to remove the dialysis tubes, the staff had heard his story. “The head OR nurse looked at me and said, ‘Oh, you’re the one.’ I was the hope shot for the nursing staff because nobody else had lived through it.”
Traurig went home in September, more than two months after he was admitted. He had lost 70 pounds. “I couldn’t stand up,” he said. “I was jelly. I had to learn to walk. So I got a dog. And she walked me every day, twice a day.”
“It’s worth sharing my story if I can get even one person to put on a mask,” he said.
Before contracting COVID-19, Traurig had a successful show in February 2020. But a month later, 85% of the sales hadn’t been paid for, and he got the stock back. “Because everybody’s business shut down,” he said. He had used most of his funds to buy stock for Tucson because his business had changed in recent years due to changes in the industry and in the company. “I ended up mostly broke,” he said.
After his hospital stay, people began calling him and finding out what had happened. “They started throwing me a few bones,” he said. “And I started getting some business. They’ve been kind.” When he made his first purchase in months, a large batch of loose opals from a supplier in Australia, they let him pay it off over time. “There’s never credit given normally when you buy opals,” he said. They sent him more shortly before this year’s show. He had several displays of opal at the booth (figure 1) but said he had not yet been able to buy enough stock to make a living. “But it’s okay,” he said. “You realize who the friends are.”
Traurig’s father, John, and uncle, Tom, began working in the opal business in 1969. Jayson Traurig Bros. was the only non–North American member when AGTA was founded in 1981, the same year Michael bought into the business (Jayson = J’s son). In 1988, one of their boulder opals—which was later sold—was featured on the cover of G&G’s Summer issue (figure 2).

Figure 2. Cover of the Summer 1988 issue of G&G featuring the 26 ct “Jason” boulder opal, which has since been sold. Photo © Harold & Erica Van Pelt; opal courtesy of Jayson Traurig Bros. Pty. Ltd.
Traurig and his father are both red-green colorblind. He said they had both learned to compensate and that lighting makes a difference. During GIA’s Gem Identification course in the ’70s, John was given permission to ask what color a stone was because he couldn’t identify alexandrite’s color change. “I remember him coming home and laughing,” Traurig said. “During the exam he never asked the question. He said, ‘If I had to ask, I knew it was alexandrite.’”
Traurig spoke about how the opal business and his business have changed in the last 20 years. More dealers have joined the industry, and older miners have stopped mining. He noted that there are far fewer mining concerns today. In the ’80s and ’90s, they used to have three people to work the booth. “There were people who were trying to always be next to us because of the overflow. We were the draw. We stopped being the draw. It’s okay.”
Traurig also visited Tucson last April. “It was my tour of ‘I’m alive, I’m here, and I can walk,’” he said. “People were really welcoming and wonderful.” @chapter:33


Publication Year: 2022 Title: Spessartine Garnet in Aquamarine Abstract: Figure 1. A 7.98 ct blue aquamarine faceted by the author to display the garnet crystal within. Photo by Jessa Rizzo.
The author recently had the opportunity to examine and facet a sample of aquamarine rough. The aquamarine, reportedly from Pakistan, was acquired from gemstone dealer Ali Shad of Shad Fine Minerals (Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan). The rough was specifically selected for the large red garnet inclusion within. In preparation for faceting, the stone was oriented with the garnet inclusion as the primary focus. After careful planning and execution, a 7.98 ct modified emerald cut was achieved, highlighting the garnet crystal under the table facet (figure 1). Oblique fiber-optic illumination was used to observe the internal features of the aquamarine, revealing a well-formed red spessartine garnet crystal with iridescent colors along the garnet and aquamarine interface (figure 2). This is one of the most beautiful inclusions the author has seen in an aquamarine, and it is noteworthy as the gem was faceted to display the inclusion rather than to conceal or remove it.

Figure 2. The red spessartine garnet showed vibrant interference colors along the interface with the aquamarine host. Photomicrograph by Nathan Renfro; field of view 5.63 mm. @chapter:6


Publication Year: 2022 Title: Custom Knives by Loren Feldman Abstract: Figure 1. Loren Feldman holds a piece of gem dinosaur bone, displaying the variety of colors and textures he can choose for his knives. Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Loren Feldman.
Some of the most interesting discoveries in Tucson came courtesy of Loren Feldman (Feldman Custom Knives, Gold Canyon, Arizona). His knives are works of art constructed from some of the rarest materials on Earth—and other planets. A visit to Feldman’s booth is a fascinating walk through history that reveals geological treasures such as Tyrannosaurus rex bones, woolly mammoth tusks, and meteorites that fell to the earth millions of years ago.
Remarkably, Feldman has only been making knives for seven years. He describes his introduction to the craft and training as pure luck. Collecting rocks and minerals since he was a young boy, Feldman impressed custom knife maker Robert Stratton with his enthusiasm at the 22nd Street show in Tucson. After a fourth visit to the booth, Stratton generously offered to teach Feldman everything he knew about the craft. At the end of the training, he allocated part of his Tucson booth space to help Feldman get his start in the business. Feldman said that after his apprenticeship, “it took me about two years full-time to consider my work what I considered good. It took me about three years to pay all my bills. And seven years later, it’s the happiest I’ve ever been as far as a profession.”
Feldman’s knife handles are crafted from minerals, gems, and fossilized dinosaur bone. One of his favorites is a knife made of gem dinosaur bone from nine different dinosaurs (shown on the cover of this issue). He explained that only 1/20 of 1% of all dinosaur bone turns into gem, describing it as a miracle of nature because it is only created under very specific conditions. During this process, the dinosaur bone undergoes a transformation that leaves the bone with a beautiful pattern of color and texture (figure 1). Of all the materials he uses, he gets the most excited about gem dinosaur bone because it’s so scarce and highly coveted (figure 2). Feldman also makes his handles from rare gems and minerals from all over the world, such as charoite from Siberia, Ammolite from Alberta, green jade from British Columbia, black jade from Western Australia, dumortierite from Mozambique, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, labradorite from Madagascar, and agate from Northern Mexico.

Figure 2. Feldman studies a piece of gem dinosaur bone he cut, contemplating how to incorporate it in the knife handle. Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Loren Feldman.
Equally impressive are Feldman’s blades. Made of fine American Damascus steel, the blades are one of three types: carbon, stainless steel, or mosaic. Feldman also crafts blades from iron meteorites that fell to the earth millions of years ago (figure 3). Feldman noted that while rare and expensive, meteorite has been used to make knives throughout history, adding that at least one meteorite blade was found in King Tut’s tomb.

Figure 3. A finished six-inch knife featuring a meteorite blade and gem dinosaur bone handle. Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Loren Feldman.
Feldman purchases some of the material he uses but also does his own exploration and digging. Each summer, he visits a friend’s ranch in Montana to dig for dinosaur bone, and any bone recovered is sent to a lab for identification. He recently found enough T. rex bone to make a knife. Feldman noted that he’s never seen another knife maker incorporate T. rex bone.
Each knife comes with a sheath made of premium leather or exotic skin such as alligator, snake, or elephant—“all legally obtained,” Feldman said. About half of Feldman’s customers also purchase stands, which are crafted with the same rare materials, including dinosaur bone, woolly mammoth tusk, and fine gemstones, and are often chosen to coordinate with the materials in the knife.
When asked what he enjoys most about his business, Feldman revealed that his favorite part is attending the shows and talking with customers. “Doing these events and meeting the collectors, the hunters, the scientists, museum curators, and the professors. I love learning more about the products I sell. Just about everything that I share with my customers, I learned here at this very show.”
For Feldman, business is better than ever. The pandemic has increased the demand for his handmade creations. He explained that customers have been treating themselves during a time when they’ve been deprived of so much. His clientele, which includes collectors, investors, ranchers, hunters, and culinary artists, has kept him busy for the past two years. @chapter:22


Publication Year: - Title: GIA Education Attracts Diverse Students to Hub of Israel Diamond Industry Abstract: Skyline of downtown Ramat-Gan, featuring the famous Israeli diamond center and the financial district surrounding it. Photo courtesy of Eldad Carin

                      Israel, one of the world’s leading rough and polished diamond trading centers, topped $5 billion in polished diamond exports in 2015. The four diamond towers of the Israel Diamond Exchange in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan have served as the hub of the Israeli diamond industry since the 1940s. The towers house 3,000 large and small businesses employing more than 15,000 workers. The surrounding area is a technology park where many of the industry’s innovations – such as laser cutting, computer-directed cutting, rough modeling and automated polishing processes – were developed.

In mid-November of 2016, GIA instructor Ric Taylor traveled to the Ramat Gan offices of the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association Ltd (IDMA) to teach the Institute’s five-day Diamond Grading Lab class. The class brought together a diverse group of Israeli and international students with a range of experience from performing appraisals to buying and selling rough diamonds.

“While many of the students have been buying and selling rough for years, hands-on experience with the GIA International Diamond Grading System allows them to better understand the value of the diamonds cut from this rough. They were able to gain practical experience grading diamonds according to GIA standards and better assess the value of the rough they trade,” said Taylor. “Likewise, students who were already professional appraisers before taking the lab class were able to increase their knowledge and accuracy in grading the clarity, color and cut of the diamonds they work with.”

One student from Sierra Leone, where the diamond industry is vital for the developing country, sought not only to better understand diamond quality but to explore a possible beneficiation project for his home country. His goal is to help educate those who mine and sell rough diamonds in Sierra Leone. The course enabled him to connect and network with members of the trade from not only the important diamond center of Israel, but also from around the world.

“I earned my Graduate Gemologist diploma in Bangkok and now work in a numismatic shop with my husband; we are also auctioneers and buy heirloom jewelry. Since Tel Aviv is only a three and a half hour direct flight from Geneva, I took this as an opportunity to refresh my diamond studies,” said Julie Chaponnière, a Geneva-based gemologist who participated in the class. “GIA provides just the right combination of theory and practice. With this five-day lab class, I’m better able to assess diamonds that come to us without grading reports.”

The class was sponsored by the IDMA and held in their offices in the Ramat Gan diamond district from Nov. 13-17, 2016.

Through a unique combination of hands-on training, one-on-one coaching and multimedia, students of GIA’s Diamond Grading Lab class learn techniques for grading diamonds consistently and accurately using a modern gem microscope and a jeweler’s loupe. By the end of the five-day program, participants are versed on GIA’s International Diamond Grading System™ and how it determines diamond value, the components of a GIA Diamond Grading Report, the most common diamond features, and how to operate gemological equipment. For more details about GIA education programs, contact us or call +1 760-603-4001. @chapter:38


Publication Year: 2001 Title: The Current Status of Chinese Freshwater Cultured Pearls Abstract: Chinese freshwater cultured pearls (FWCPs) are assuming a growing role at major gem and jewelry fairs, and in the market at large. Yet, it is difficult to obtain hard information on such topics as quantities produced, in what qualities, and the culturing techniques used because pearl culturing in China covers such a broad area, with thousands of individual farms, and a variety of culturing techniques are used. This article reports on recent visits by two of the authors (SA and LTZ) to Chinese pearl farms in Hanzhou Province to investigate the latest pearl-culturing techniques being used there, both in tissue nucleation and, much less commonly, bead (typically shell but also wax) nucleation. With improved techniques, using younger Hyriopsis Cumingi mussels, pearl culturers are producing freshwater cultured pearls in a variety of attractive colors that are larger, rounder, and with better luster. Tissue-nucleated FWCPs can be separated from natural and bead-nucleated cultured pearls with X-radiography. @chapter:14


Publication Year: 2013 Title: Buff-Top Round Diamond Abstract: Figure 1. A profile view of this buff-top round diamond shows its low polished dome. Photo by Jian Xin (Jae) Liao.

              The modern round brilliant diamond is getting a “new old” look with the use of Japanese laser technology. Diamond’s high refractive index and adamantine luster make it ideal for faceting to produce dramatic scintillation, brilliance, and fire. One of the oldest and simplest cuts is the cabochon, with its smooth convex dome. A popular cut among colored stones, the cabochon is rarely if ever used in diamonds due to the gem’s extreme hardness and the difficulty in polishing it into a smooth, rounded surface. The New York lab recently examined several diamonds with an interesting variation on the cabochon.

About 30 buff-top round diamonds ranging from 0.25 to 1.50 ct, originally submitted to GIA’s Japanese lab, were received for grading. The buff-top cut has a low cabochon dome with a faceted pavilion (figure 1). These diamonds were cut with four short main pavilion facets (figure 2). This rare cut posed a challenge for the grading staff, as the smooth dome and faceted pavilion combined to produce internal reflections that made it very difficult to see clearly into the stone. Although diamonds can be cut with lasers, the polishing process with the use of diamond abrasives into a smooth rounded surface is both laborious and time consuming. The unfaceted dome was likely created using the same technology that produced the first synthetic nano-polycrystalline diamond sphere in Japan in 2011. One Japanese study (T. Okuchi et al., “Micromachining and surface processing of the super-hard nano-polycrystalline diamond by three types of pulsed lasers,” Applied Physics A: Materials Science & Processing, Vol. 96, No. 4, 2009, pp. 833–842) found that pulsed lasers most efficiently produce a smooth, undamaged surface for fine finishing diamonds. A combination of three lasers was used: a near-infrared laser for the rough shaping, and ultraviolet and femtosecond lasers for fine finishing (E. Skalwold, “Nano-polycrystalline diamond sphere: A gemologist’s perspective,” Summer 2012 G&G, pp. 128–131).

	Figure 2. Viewed face-up, the buff-top diamond shows an arrangement of four main pavilion facets. Photo by Jian Xin (Jae) Liao.
This advancement in diamond finishing offers new possibilities for a variety of interesting shapes and forms that could not be achieved with previous methods of polishing and faceting alone. Diamond cabochons, completely smooth spherical beads, and sugarloaf cuts could emerge next. @chapter:31


Publication Year: - Title: Translating Passion into Success: What “Job Success in Today’s Market” is All About Abstract: The opening panel, "Job Success in Today's Market," at GIA's Carlsbad Jewelry Career Fair held on Oct. 11. From left, moderator Jennifer Wilson, senior vice president and general counsel for GIA; Douglas Hucker, CEO of the American Gem Trade Association; Meghan Simmons, director of operations for Omi Privé; Cathy Calhoun, owner of Calhoun Jewelers and Mitchell Binder, president of King Baby. Video Duration: 1:18:36
“It’s not like you can go out and buy passion. You’ve got to build passion. You’ve got to learn passion,” said Douglas Hucker, CEO of the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), a panelist at the opening of the 2019 GIA Carlsbad Jewelry Career Fair.
Career Fair, which is in its 28th year, featured 10 speakers, 25 career coaches and 42 jewelry company recruiters ‒ including Tiffany & Co. and Signet Jewelers ‒ and was attended by more than 600 students, visitors and job-seekers. The opening panel, “Job Success in Today’s Market,” featured four industry leaders who spoke about how their passion led them to where they are today.
According to Hucker, passion is acquired through education, perseverance and experience ‒ and is strengthened through networks built at industry organizations such as GIA. “You’ve got to find the things that attract you and be with them, make them a part of your lives,” he said.
For Meghan Simmons, director of operations at Omi Gems and Omi Privé, passion means communicating the provenance of gems and seeing “your own legacy [begin] to imbibe itself into those gems and jewelry.”
For Cathy Calhoun, owner of Calhoun Jewelers, a retail jewelry chain, passion means communicating the beauty and value of jewelry to your clients and to “have fun” while doing it.
To Mitchell Binder, president of the rock ’n’ roll jewelry brand, King Baby, and “go-to” jeweler for the likes of Johnny Depp, Bruce Springsteen, Slash and Aerosmith, passion means changing the world through jewelry, from the United States to Japan and China.
Each speaker shared their backstory and offered tips and advice to attendees. This overview of the panel includes time stamps that will take you to each speaker’s spot in the video.

Mitchell Binder, president of King Baby, coaches a prospective job seeker during Career Fair. Photo by Emily Lane
Douglas Hucker (Begins at 13:37)
Hucker launched a career in colored gemstones because he loved color.
With diamonds, he says, you have to explain the 4Cs, but “when you show your customers five rubies, you don’t have to tell them which one is the best one … It just jumps out at you. It attracts you.”
He also spoke about marketing to today’s generation and finding a mentor.
Meghan Simmons (Begins at 26:07)
Meghan Simmons found her path while helping out with the Elizabeth Taylor jewelry auction at Christie’s. It made her realize that, “your own legacy begins to imbibe itself into those gems and jewelry.”
That experience inspired her to ask: “What would it take to become a jewelry specialist?” The consensus was to get her Graduate Gemologist® diploma at GIA.
She connected with an employee from Omi at the 2015 GIA Career Fair while she was still a GG student.
“I introduced myself and he promised to keep me in mind. A few weeks, after I graduated, I got a call from Adam Graham. They were going to be operating two booths in Las Vegas and they needed help. I knew it would be an invaluable learning experience,” she said.
Simmons was hired by Omi right after.

A prospective job seeker meets a recruiter at GIA’s 2019 Jewelry Career Fair in Carlsbad. Photo by Emily Lane
Cathy Calhoun (Begins at 33:07)
The world of gemstones and jewelry opened up for Calhoun in a surprising way—her jeweler boyfriend had a heart attack on Thanksgiving, the start of the holiday selling season.
“He’s in the hospital and he says to me ‒ you’re going to have to go run my jewelry store,” she said.
Calhoun, not understanding why diamonds of the same carat weight had different prices, started labeling and selling same-sized diamonds all at the same price, almost giving her boyfriend another heart attack.
But “just by sheer luck,” GIA was in town that weekend to do a two-day education symposium on gemstones and Calhoun said attending it changed her life.
“I knew what I was going to do for the rest of my life,” she said, so she immediately enrolled in GIA’s Graduate Gemology program.
Calhoun shared many of the fun and interesting events she has held at her stores, including her Carat Club for self-buying women, hosting car shows and Hippy Day and setting up a bar in her store.
Mitchell Binder (Begins at 45:57)
Binder started out by hand-making jewelry for the Hell’s Angels: They were “not your classy diamond types,” he said.
His jewelry took off when Japanese buyers started bidding wars over his jewelry on eBay and two Japanese businessmen arrived at his small, 400 square-foot studio with briefcases full of cash, buying everything he had.
“It was like a drug deal,” Binder said. “I sold the jacket off my back. With the cash, I started King Baby.”
His next big break was when he was invited to pitch his jewelry at Neiman Marcus.
“You wouldn’t think that a guy like me and my designs would fit at Neiman Marcus…I had the biker rings and the skulls,” he said.
But the Neiman Marcus order quickly grew to over a million dollars and was on its way to two million before Binder stopped them and said he needed to figure out a way to hand-make all that jewelry.
Binder said his mother, who is a painter and a writer, always told him to “change the world,” and he has, by reaching the corners of the world through his jewelry. Not only does he have stores all over the U.S., but also 20 stores in China.
“I went from the black sheep of the family to the patriarch,” he said.
Future Forecast
Hucker painted a hopeful picture of where the gem and jewelry industry is headed:
“You guys have an opportunity in making this industry better, cleaner, more giving and more loving because you have access to data that 10 years ago, none of us had. Don’t think that just because you know where a gemstone came from, that you’re OK. Find out what’s happening, where that gemstone came from,” he said “You’re going to become a part of the family, and you need to take care of that family.”
Read about and watch the Creative Careers panel from the 2019 Jewelry Career Fair in Carlsbad. @chapter:36


Publication Year: 2024 Title: Gemstones and Art Abstract: Figure 1. Left: “Meteorites,” a mosaic by Leonardo Scarpelli. A labradorite background gives a strong sense of light shining in the night sky as the observer moves. Right: The “Starburst” mosaic by Leonardo Scarpelli. Larimar proved the perfect material to reproduce aquamarine’s transparency and color. Photos by Cristiano Brigida; courtesy of Scarpelli Mosaici.
Exploring the Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery, the author was impressed by artistic masterpieces hanging from the walls. These exhibits ranged from stone mosaics of modern subjects to watercolor paintings of minerals. The author had the chance to speak with mosaic artists Leonardo and Catia Scarpelli (Scarpelli Mosaici, Florence) and watercolor artist Ksenia Levterova (Kyiv).
The Scarpelli family creates stunning mosaics representing contemporary subjects using the technique of commesso fiorentino (from the Latin commettere, meaning “put together”), which dates back to the Italian Renaissance. In this craft, opaque stones of different colors and textures (pietra dura) are finely cut into unique shapes and seamlessly joined together. This traditional art form developed and achieved a level of perfection in the late sixteenth century in Florence, under the rule of the Medici family, who wanted to depict their era in a durable, eternal medium.
Leonardo Scarpelli, the son of a commesso fiorentino master, began his career in 1992. Challenged by the idea of moving from traditional to more modern subjects, he experimented with the commesso fiorentino technique by incorporating gem materials that had never been used before, such as labradorite. Scarpelli discovered that labradorite brought depth and life to subjects where dynamism is essential, such as a splashing water drop or meteorites falling in the night sky (figure 1, left), allowing him to create unusual motion effects unexpected from a traditional mosaic.
After Scarpelli exhibited in some gem and mineral shows, the idea of reproducing mineral specimens with the proper transparency and color nuances by means of commesso fiorentino became a compelling challenge. When commissioned to reproduce a fine aquamarine specimen from Pakistan, the Scarpellis’ extensive search for the right color landed on Larimar, the trade name for a variety of pectolite. Its light blue color and white speckles made Larimar ideal for the purpose, leading to impressive results (figure 1, right). This is one more case where the use of a gem material associated with traditional stones demonstrated all its potential in bringing into play precious effects, colors, and textures.
Ksenia Levterova is a talented Ukrainian watercolor artist. Passionate about the perfection of mineral shapes and their fascinating colors, she specializes in the reproduction of mineralogical subjects at a photorealistic level.

Figure 2. Watercolors of tourmaline with albite (left) and a diamond crystal from Kimberley, South Africa (right). Photos by Cristiano Brigida; courtesy of Ksenia Levterova.
Levterova’s artworks exhibited in Tucson this year encompassed a wide range of subjects, from the captivating beauty of fine specimens such as tourmaline to the precise reproduction of mineral crystallizations (figure 2). Watercolor makes it possible to represent the most subtle variations in color and transparency effects while displaying each crystal’s characteristics with remarkably high definition. The degree of realism and the fidelity to shapes and color nuances allow a rigorous mineralogical consistency. As a result, Levterova’s work is becoming popular in many gem and mineral shows, and she has a gallery hosted on Mindat (https://www.mindat.org/gallery-63606.html). @chapter:25


Publication Year: 2019 Title: A Near-Round Natural Pearl Discovered in the Edible Oyster Magallana bilineata Abstract: The inner and outer shell of M. bilineata (left and center). A near-round pearl (right) was found inside the shell. Photos by Sadar Aslam.
Pakistan, which has a coastline stretching 1,046 km (650 miles) along the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Gulf of Oman, is blessed with numerous marine resources, including oysters that mainly inhabit estuaries and mangrove habitats. In Sindh Province, some oyster reefs at Hab River Delta have high ecological and economic value. Nine edible oyster species belonging to the genera Crassostrea, Saccostrea, and Ostrea have been recognized from different localities there. Pearl-forming mollusks belonging to the genera Pinctada have been reported from Daran Beach.
The Ostreidae family includes edible oysters and is most commonly known as a source of seafood (K. Scarratt et al., “A note on a pearl attached to the interior of Crassostrea virginica [Gmelin, 1791] (an edible oyster, common names, American or Eastern oyster),” Journal of Gemmology, Vol. 30, No. 1-2, 2006, pp. 43–50). Of these, Magallana bilineata has the widest distribution in the Indo-Pacific region, encompassing the coasts of northern Arabia, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, the Java Sea, South China and Vietnam, the Philippines, and Okinawa.
Magallana bilineata is a euryhaline species that inhabits backwaters, creeks, estuary banks, coastal bays, and lagoons, forming oyster beds on a large scale. A large number of specimens of this species from Hab River Delta were examined to study the taxonomic characteristics of the genus Magallana as part of a joint project between Japan and Pakistan. Ten shells of each species were opened. Only one shell of M. bilineata (150 mm shell height) contained a pearl, attached to tissues near the adductor muscle. It was near-round, with a smooth surface and a purplish and off-white color very similar to the inner shell layer of M. bilineata  (see above, left). The crystal structure of calcium carbonate was observed under high magnification. The non-nacreous, shiny pearl (see above, right) was 4.15 mm in diameter and weighed 0.02 g. The specimen is housed at the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, University of Karachi (part of the study collection of author SA).
Oysters living in tropical and warm regions have darker, more vivid, and more extensive coloration than those in cooler climates. Our finding is very similar to that of Scarratt et al. (2006), which found a pearl inside Crassostrea virginica that was attached to an adductor scar. In our case, the pearl was attached to the tissues near an adductor scar. This finding demonstrates the very rare phenomenon of edible oysters producing natural pearls. However, further work will be needed to determine its chemical composition using highly accurate analytical methods. @chapter:14


Publication Year: 2014 Title: Cultured Pearl Market Update – Tucson 2014 Abstract: View Gallery

Cultured pearls shine
Fran Mastoloni (Mastoloni Pearls, New York City) updated us on the cultured pearl market during the AGTA show. He explained that for the past two years, the emphasis has been on long necklaces, double strands, and mixing different sizes, colors, and types of cultured pearls. These trends have reenergized the market, making pearls “fun to wear again.” While weddings and graduations are still occasions for classic akoya-type necklaces and studs, there are now more opportunities to sell innovative blends of color and shape. Typical of this approach is the striking necklace with 15–17 mm Tahitian baroque cultured pearls shown in figure 1 (left). Such a piece might take three years to make and could retail for tens of thousands of dollars.

With production of Tahitian cultured pearls down, Mastoloni has been using smaller off-round, pastel-colored pearls to create distinctive, competitively priced necklaces. These styles offer a “big” look for a relatively low price. The colors, including a subtle silvery gray, are all natural. Mastoloni stressed the importance of luster as a selling point.

South Sea cultured pearl production has been reliable and consistent in quality, but prices have fluctuated. While lower-quality specimens are inexpensive and readily available, high-quality pearls are expensive and difficult to obtain. Due to improvements in culturing processes—including the X-ray inspection of mollusks—baroque-shaped cultured pearls have become increasingly rare. When X-ray operators detect a non-round pearl, Mastoloni noted, they will restart the culturing process. As a result, fewer non-round shapes are available for baroque necklaces (figure 1, center).

Demand for fine cultured pearls from China has outstripped supply, with fine examples of all pearl types showing surges in price. Golden cultured pearls from the Philippines (figure 1, right) have become increasingly costly and difficult to obtain, Mastoloni noted.

View Gallery

Cultured beauty
This scarcity of cultured pearls made the necklaces exhibited by Mastoloni all the more remarkable. They included an exceptional strand of multicolor specimens from Australia, the Philippines, and Tahiti (figure 2), as well as a truly remarkable Burmese cultured pearl necklace that was the product of decades of labor (figure 3).

Mastoloni added that the cultured pearl industry has become much more competitive. Dealers require much more breadth of inventory: Simply having akoya or Chinese freshwater material is no longer enough. Customers are more educated and driven to seek out unique, striking pieces of different colors, shapes, or lengths—and want to see new variations and combinations every time they look to make a purchase. @chapter:14


Publication Year: 2017 Title: Book Review: Enduring Splendor: Jewelry of India’s Thar Desert Abstract: By Thomas K. Seligman and Usha R. Balakrishnan, softcover, 135 pp., illus., publ. by Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, US$25.00.

In 2009, Thomas K. Seligman, director emeritus of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, began research on the Thar of India with a focus on the soni caste of artisan jewelers. As Mr. Seligman’s research progressed, he proposed an exhibition featuring the work and stories of several individual sonis from Jaisalmer, in Rajasthan. Though many of the jewelers are highly skilled craftsmen, traditionally they do not sign their work; The study and exhibition, which would be co-curated by Mumbai-based jewelry scholar Usha Balakrishnan, would prove to be a unique opportunity to highlight these artists. This volume accompanied the exhibition.

In the book’s first chapter, “From Metal to Ornament: The Language of Jewelry,” Ms. Balakrishnan outlines a fascinating history of the region while explaining that the very nature of what jewelry represents in Indian culture has resulted in gaps in its history. For example, Hindus are traditionally cremated and their jewelry recycled within the family rather than being buried with the original owner. Also, constant migration of communities resulted in similar jewelry designs appearing in vast geographical regions. These complexities make a linear study extremely difficult. Indeed, Mr. Seligman’s study eventually became, according to folklorist Pravian Shukla, “the methodical documentation of the present in order to capture complete one moment in time.” Ms. Balakrishnan explains that there are three distinct categories of Indian jewelry: gold set with precious gems made for royalty and the very affluent, jewelry crafted primarily from silver, and finally tribal adornments made from base metals and materials such as shell and feathers. All are made by the soni, or jeweler. (The the surname Soni is common in Rajasthan to those in the jewelry-making trade.) She also discusses the deep significance of various forms of jewelry such as the hasli, a torque-type necklace that signifies a woman’s betrothal, charms that attract good luck, and pieces that fend off the “evil eye.”

The second chapter, “Four Sonis from Jaisalmer,” is a detailed examination of four of the many jewelry making families of the region. The family of Govindlal Soni, interviewed by Mr. Seligman, carries on traditional techniques and styles passed down from father to son through many generations (typically the only aspect of traditional jewelry-making undertaken by women is stringing). The family of Govindlal Soni has developed keen business acumen that has helped them to grow. Dharmendra and Om Soni are brothers who also carry on a family business established generations ago. This family specializes in making gold jewelry, with some silver jewelry made for the tourist trade. Hanuman Soni and sons specialize in traditional-style jewelry made for local people. All the jewelers in this family have trained in gold work but prefer to concentrate their efforts on fulfilling the needs of locals for traditional, heavy silver pieces. They also make pieces that are ordered and stocked by other shopkeepers. Hari Om Jewellers, established by Hari Ram Soni, and now run by his sons, developed a distinct jewelry style known for relief engraving and cut outs. This family specializes in making commissions for tourists. Several nice examples of each family’s work are depicted, showing how each has developed a distinctive style of their own.

Chapter three, “Pure Serendipity: An Odyssey into the World of Indian Jewelry” details the chance occurrence that led Ronald and Maxine Linde to collect Indian jewelry. Their first acquisition, shown in a full-page photograph on the first page of the chapter, was a spectacular necklace of gold, rubies, pearls, and diamonds. The Linde collection represents a great depth and diversity of ornaments and numerous pieces from their collection, promised gifts to UCLA, comprised most of the exhibition. The Linde’s collection is unique and special, as many collectors of Indian jewelry tend to gravitate to the Mughalera, with its grand pieces set with gold and precious gems. The Lindes have collected such items, as well as the silver jewelry of the lower castes and miniature items made for the statues of gods and goddesses. Pieces shown that the reviewer found particularly charming were a simple, silver hansadi neckpiece and a lovely gold, jade, ruby, and diamond armband dating from the late 17th to early 18th centuries.

Finally, “Selections from the Ronald and Maxine Linde Collection of Jewelry and Ritual Arts of India,” is devoted entirely to showcasing items from the collection from lavish, large, gold necklaces and earrings set with diamonds, rubies, pearls, and emeralds to humble, but still lovely, everyday silver earrings and everything in between. Photographed in high-resolution detail and shown against white backgrounds, the jewelry pops from every page and is a treat for the eye.

This reviewer found the book fascinating and very informative, as it concentrated on areas not usually visited with regards to Indian jewelry: the creation of everyday jewelry for the local communities as well as the background, histories, and motivations of the jewelers that so often remain anonymous. This is highly recommended reading for anyone interested in Indian jewelry as well as anyone interested in traditional, indigenous jewelry forms. @chapter:21