For our series on innovators in jewelry design, this month we are focusing on multiple AGTA award winning artist, gem cutter, metalsmith, and gemologist Derek Katzenbach owner of Katzenbach Designs. Located in Maine, it came as no surprise that Derek has a special passion for working natural Maine tour- maline.
Featured ArticlesPricing of chalcedony varies greatly. While small, calibrated cabochons are sold at very low-price points, the unusual and rare ones are priced individually, especially if they are custom cuts.
*Gem Focus & Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)Amber: An organic gem that serves as mother nature's enigmatic time capsule.
*Gem Focus & Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)This is now the fifth quarter that we have produced this laboratory grown price index and as predicted, prices continue to slide.
Lab-Grown Diamond Price IndexIn light of the recent announcement that the Gübelin Gem Lab would introduce a rating system for gemstones, which is admittedly influenced by the process in use for wine, it seems appropriate to examine the potential implications for our industry, but from the context of the wine industry, where the pros and cons of such systems are known.
Featured ArticlesA new year begins where an old one ended, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The market evolved in response to COVID-19 but some of those changes will linger long after. New approaches may challenge traditional market structures. The classic gem varieties demonstrated their unwavering ability to store value even in the worst of times.
Colored Stone MarketTo the ears of many gemologist-appraisers, the assignment “divorce appraisal” has a hard, unpleasant ring to it.
News ArchivePositive holiday sales drive the diamond market amid pandemic resurgence. What is old is new in a newly manufactured old European cut diamond. Dominion Diamond Mines (DDM) of Canada finally sells its Ekati Diamond Mine. Blue diamonds discovered at the legendary Cullinan Diamond Mine.
Diamond MarketGem quality spinel has a long history of being confused with other gems or even a misguided reputation of being a ruby simulant. Thanks to newly gained appreciation and understanding of its own qualities, it now stands on its own merit as a fine gemstone in the modern gem market.
Market TrendsFluorescence is a common feature for a gemologist to note for a variety of gem materials. Some common gems of which fluorescence is well-known include diamond, ruby, pink spinel, pink and purple sapphire and alexandrite.
Gem Notes