This year’s AGA Tucson event tackled a series of treatment related issues through the kind of first class line-up of speakers and hands-on lab sessions that have come to define this annual event. The morning…
Featured ArticlesIn 2005, a Market Trends segment in the GMN tilted Andesine: The Next Paraiba? reported on the buzz building in the industry around this intensely red colored plagioclase feldspar appearing in the market in small quantities…
Featured ArticlesOn Friday February 8, 2008 the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) in cooperation with the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) presented an important presentation on irradiated gems in the Leo Rich Theater on the grounds of…
Featured ArticlesIn the early days, there were the foil backs. These synthetic stones, often nothing more than glass, had a gold colored foil coating on the pavilion that theoretically made the stone look more diamond-like. The…
Featured ArticlesThe lead article discusses changes in the market for promotional diamonds. These charts that follow show the history of the subject diamond categories from 1995 to present. All prices shown are adjusted from the GemGuide…
Market TrendsIn November, the NRC issued a fact sheet, available on their website www.NRC.gov that addressed issues regarding the safety and sale of irradiated gemstones and most notably blue topaz. The fact sheet is in response…
Featured ArticlesDuring the 1980s, a revolution swept through the jewelry appraisal profession and the cover letter became standard appraisal practice. It seemed that every course, seminar and book endorsed the use of a cover letter. Now there…
News ArchiveWhile much has been written about glass filled ruby and its sudden surge of presence in the marketplace and ease of identification, little has been written regarding the instability of this material. About a year…
Gem NotesAt press time we are only a few days away from the end of the holiday shopping season and unless there is a dramatic shift in the current trend, many jewelers are in for disappointing…
Colored Stone MarketAs the final quarter comes to a close, we find the market in disarray. No one knows what to charge anymore and that makes pricing diamonds that much more challenging. Take for example a recent…
Diamond Market