Colored Stone Market
The June JCK Vegas Show largely fizzles as buyers are for the most part M.I.A. Big trends in colored stones continue to be Ethiopian emeralds, teal colored sapphires, mint, and most other garnets and neon…
Colored Stone MarketGem Market Pulse June 2018: Aquamarine
Featured Gem: Aquamarine The summer show circuit has begun with the JCK and related shows just behind us in Las Vegas and New York JA up next in July. While trade shows are definitely an opportunity…
*Gem Focus & Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)Enhanced Lapidary Materials: Lapis and Gold in Quartz
Previous articles by the author covered the most recent breed of enhanced lapidary materials in the form of fancy compressed blocks comprised of natural gemstone ingredients, metals, shells and resins. Also, howlite and magnesite—two minerals that have…
Featured ArticlesDaylight Fluorescent Opal
Semi-transparent to transparent opal that is capable of being faceted is not unusual. Most are familiar with the cherry opal from Mexico, ranging in color from a yellowish- orange to reddish-orange, some with a play…
Gem NotesVayrynenite
Väyrynenite [´vjairÉ™nÉ™,nait] is an exceedingly rare manganese- beryllium phosphate mineral with chemical formula of Mn2+Be(PO4)(OH,F). Initially it was found by a Finnish mineralogist of Russian origin Oleg von Knorring (1915-1994) in Viitaniemi, Finland in 1939…
Gem NotesColored Stone Market – May 2018
The market remains generally attractive heading toward the important JCK Las Vegas show. Dealers expressing concern regarding the difficulty sourcing extra fine ruby and sapphire. Emerald continues to excite world markets. The price ceiling that…
Colored Stone MarketDiamond Market
Diamond markets are quiet with prices steady as the market shrinks a bit. With many retail store closings, the way diamonds are purchased is changing. However, DeBeers Forevermark appears to be going strong as they…
Diamond MarketThe Boom in Pearls
Pearl prices and demand continue to rise thanks to Asia’s appetite for the gems, designer interest, and the marketability of their one-of-a-kind offerings. Aziz Basalely’s most interesting pearl sale in Tucson wasn’t an oversize peacock-color Tahitian or…
Featured ArticlesGem Market Pulse March 2018: Small Studio Artisans and Designers, Make Larger Gains in Jewelry Sales
US gem trade is carrying some interesting trends from 2017 into 2018. At the forefront of these is the evolving structure of how and where consumers, mainly millennials, buy their jewelry. While traditional retail jewelers’ sales are…
*Gem Focus & Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)The Accredited Gemologist Association (AGA) Tucson Conference – 2018
This year, the AGA conference was held on Wednesday, January 31st located at the Tucson University Park Hotel. Approximately 150 gemologists and industry professionals attended the conference from all over the world. It was a…
Conferences