When it comes to moissanite, we usually think of the colorless variety as a diamond substitute. While we certainly hope for full disclosure, there are times when an appraisal customer is informed that they have…
Gem NotesLab grading differences are becoming a hot industry issue. The differences in grades from one lab to another are problematic. Consumers are being deceived into thinking that they are buying a diamond with higher grades…
News ArchiveMarket Activity, Provenance The diamond market is proving to be difficult today for manufacturers. Margins are thin, rough prices are up, and polished prices are too high for current market demand to accept more increases. Recently…
*Gem Focus & Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)Up, Up, and Away! On April 16, the Princie pink diamond sold for $39.3 million making it the most expensive jewel ever sold in Christie's New York auction houses 200+ year history. Everyone you talk to today…
*Gem Focus & Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)Dr. George Harlow, curator of minerals and gems at the American Museum of Natural History, New York explained the mineralogy and the geochemistry of the Mogok metamorphic belt. Mogok has been the source of fine…
Featured ArticlesAs more companies entered into this technology, known as fracture-filling, or clarity enhanced (CE), the door became wide-open for vendors to assign the clarity grade of their choosing. While we at Northwest Gemological Laboratory have…
News ArchiveRecently an experienced bench jeweler and custom designer submitted a diamond to Gemworld for a damage report. The diamond had apparently developed an eye visible break in the crown during an otherwise routine retipping job…
Gem NotesThe natural fancy color diamond category has performed extraordinarily well during the past decade. Fancy colored diamond prices are driven by some of the same factors driving the strong interest in important collection grade natural…
Market TrendsBlack stones have been in vogue for some time even sold as loose stones on the TV or Internet. See figure 1. While originally these may have been black diamonds set in expensive jewelry, we…
Featured ArticlesThe best known localities for precious opal have long been Australia, although, among others, Mexico, several states in the west of the USA and Slovakia have yielded precious opal over the years. Only recently a…
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