Diamonds in Brief
Vegas Diamond Roundup The Las Vegas trade show is behind us now and as a barometer of the industry, it could be a rocky road ahead. The traffic was definitely down, and diamond sales were much…
Diamond MarketColored Stone Market
Despite the slowdown in sales for the U.S. jewelry industry, the colored stone market is experiencing growth. Last year was a record year for colored stone imports into the U.S. Among the leaders was emerald. Colombian…
Colored Stone MarketTreated or Enhanced- Is There a Difference?
Our industry is known for its liberal rules when it comes to the English language. Actually, we tend to make our own rules to fit the need at the time if the English language does…
Featured ArticlesDiamond Flash Effect
Two years ago, we wrote about the distinct difference between natural strain in a diamond and the flash effect seen in glass-filled diamonds. Mostly, separation of the two should be easy, yet we have seen…
Gem NotesMarket Trends: Emeralds
The lead article goes into great detail regarding the fall and rise of emerald prices over the last decade plus. The graphic above illustrates this. Prices in the graph are for one carat emeralds with…
Market TrendsColor Communication and Quality Grading of Colored Gemstones: A Non-Technical Look at the Technology Behind Grading
Pigeon blood ruby. Cornflower blue sapphire. Flame red spinel. The names conjure up great images in the mind of what these gems look like, but do we really know what their color is? Are these…
Featured ArticlesDiamonds in Brief
According to IDEX trading network, global diamond prices are up slightly for the early part of the year. After a steady year in 2006, prices started to move slightly in 2007. The last few weeks…
Colored Stone MarketColored Stone Market
The market is slightly improved as the summer approaches. Activity in the colored stone market is concentrated in the finer quality products. Prices for many varieties in this category are up 20 to 30% from…
Colored Stone MarketCuprian Tourmaline
Cuprian tourmaline is the variety of copper bearing tourmaline mined from locations other than the original source of copper bearing tourmaline in Paraiba, Brazil. The GemGuide considers Paraiba to be an origin-specific trade name…
Featured ArticlesCassiterite
Recently, a client brought in a small assortment of gemstones to our lab and represented them to be crystallized tin from Bolivia. His initial excitement came in the hopes that this would prove to be…
Gem Notes