April 2008
 In our newsletter this month:
A New Source for Spinel
New and Interesting Gemstones
New Content at GemSelect
Gemstones Worth Knowing
Customer Questions
A New Source for Spinel
The distinction between precious and semi-precious stones is no longer used in the gem trade. That's because there are a number of fine and rare gems which may well be the equal of sapphire, ruby and emerald. Spinel, we think, is a good example.
 At one time spinel was most famous for being mistaken for other gems, especially ruby and sapphire. The most famous case is The Black's Prince Ruby in the Imperial State Crown of the United Kingdom. It turned out to be a spinel, not a ruby. But since this gem had been owned by British Royalty for over 600 years, it hasn't been renamed the Black Prince's Spinel. Undoubtedly it will be called a ruby forever.
But spinel is finally beginning to get the respect it deserves. The spinel from Burma has always been highly regarded by gem dealers, but the supply has never been sufficient to make spinel marketable in jewelry stores. In the last year or so we've seen some fine African spinel coming on the market and this new supply may enable spinel to reach a larger market.
 Spinel has been highly regarded by dealers for its excellent hardness (8 on the Mohs scale) and very good dispersion or fire. It is also one of the few singly refractive gems (along with diamond and garnet), which gives its color a special purity and intensity. And unlike ruby and sapphire, spinel is always untreated. That's a pretty impressive resume for any gemstone.
However, the main source for high quality spinel has been Burma, and that has made spinel very hard to find for most buyers. We are fortunate to be located in the main trading center for Burmese gems, so we get to see a lot of the Burmese supply. But even here in Thailand it can be difficult to find good Burmese spinel, especially red spinel in sizes over 1 carat.
 For red spinel, Burma is still the main source. But in other colors, the spinel from Tanzania is very impressive. We have been seeing excellent pinks, ranging from violet pink to red pink. The blues are superb, with the colors ranging from violet to gray blue to a sapphire-like blue to greenish blue. Most of the Tanzanian spinel has very good clarity, and we have been able to buy quite a few pieces with VVS or IF clarity. We have also found a number of pieces in larger sizes, with good availability in the 2 carat size and, with luck, the occasional piece in the 5 to 7 carat size. Prices on spinel are still very attractive, especially if you compare the prices to untreated sapphire and ruby. If the spinel supply increases to the point where the jewelry industry can begin to promote it, you can expect prices to increase substantially.
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| New and Interesting Gems -- updated August 28th |
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Maw-sit-sit from Burma: Maw-sit-sit is one of the more unusual gemstones in the world, from its curious name to its variable chemical composition. It was named after the village in northwestern Burma which is close to the site where it was first found. That mine is still the only source.. Maw-sit-sit is considered to be a rock rather than a mineral, since it is composed of a number of different minerals, including kosmochlor (a mineral related to jadeite) and varying amounts of jadeite and albite feldspar. We have an excellent selection in a wide range of sizes and shapes, including some matching pairs. |
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Sapphire Cabochons from Ceylon and Thailand: We've recently acquired some large blue sapphire cabochons from Ceylon of exceptional, color, in size from 1.5 to 7 carats. Sapphire cabs of this size and quality are hard to find. All told, we have more than 100 sapphire cabs in stock, with the blues from Ceylon and the greens from Thailand. You'll also find a nice selection of matched pairs. |
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Watermelon Tourmaline Slices from Mozambique: We've had many requests for slices of watermelon tourmaline crystals and we've finally found some nice pieces from Mozambique. These make marvellous pendants and are also very popular with collectors. These range in size from 3 to 14 carats and are only about 3 mm in depth so they are easy to work into jewelry that will lie flat. |
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Golden Beryl from Madagascar: The beryl family is one of the most important gemstone families. It includes emerald, aquamarine and morganite as well as golden and red beryl. Beryl is quite a hard stone (7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale) and suitable for all kinds of jewelry. This golden beryl from Madagascar has excellent brilliance and clarity, with a number of pieces graded IF. You'll find a very good selection of pieces in a variety of shapes in sizes up to 10 carats. |
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Alexandrite from Tanzania: Alexandrite is one of the rarest of all colored gemstones and is famed for its color change from green in daylight to red under incandescent light. Fine faceted alexandrite over 1 carat is more valuable than sapphire, ruby or emerald. We've recently purchased some small pieces in the 3 to 5 mm size in oval and round portuguese cut. The color change is not as dramatic as in the larger sizes, but the price is exceptionally good for natural alexandrite. |
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Pink Tourmaline from Mozambique: Pink is the most popular color in tourmaline and we have just expanded our stock with some outstanding new pieces. The shades range all the way from rose pink to hot pink and purple pink. We have more than 350 pieces in all, in a wide range of sizes and shapes. We buy pink tourmaline whenever we can find it, but rarely find this many fine pieces. |
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Chrome Diopside from Russia: Chrome diopside is one of the few gemstones colored by chromium. Its rich green is unique in the gems world, rivalled only by the best tsavorite garnet and chrome tourmaline. We have recently purchased some very fine matched pairs for earrings, as well as a number of larger solitaires. |
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Turquoise from Afghanistan: Turquoise, the sky blue cousin to lapis lazuli, has been known and valued for thousands of years. We've bought some new pieces from Afghanistan, in an interesting variety of blue and blue-green hues. A number of pieces have the fascinating veining that is so typical of natural turquoise. Sizes range up to 18 carats. |
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Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye: The most famous and valuable cat's eye gemstone is chrysoberyl cat's eye. In fact when the term cat's eye is used alone in the gem trade, it always refers to chrysoberyl cat's eye. All other types of cat's eye gems require an additional varietal designation, such as cat's eye apatite. Chrysoberyl cat's eye is so highly regarded due to its excellent hardness (8.5 on the Mohs scale), superb luster and remarkably sharp cat's eye effect. We have just found some excellent pieces at an unusually good price, including some hard-to-find matched pairs. |
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Spinel from Burma: We buy fine spinel whenever we can find it, and we've recently added some very fine pieces of Burmese spinel in larger sizes. You'll find reds, violets, blues and grays in a variety of shapes, including a number of cushion cuts. Sizes range from 1.5 carats all the way up to 5 carats. |
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Star Sapphire from Thailand: Thailand is well known for star sapphires, both the unusual black and gold ones as well as the traditional deep blue. We've recently added some excellent blue star sapphires to our extensive inventory, with sizes up to 14 carats. |
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Hessonite Garnet from Madagascar: Hessonite belongs to the grossularite garnet group, which also includes tsavorite garnet. While most grossularite garnet is green, hessonite typically has a orange-brown color which has earned it the nickname cinnamon stone. We rarely find hessonite in the market, but we've just bought an excellent selection of matched pairs in a variety of shapes. |
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Kyanite from Cambodia: We've just purchased a new stock of faceted kyanite from Cambodia, in a sparkling sapphire-like blue. Kyanite is usually cut as cabochons, but recently higher-grade material has been cut in facets. Like most kyanite, these exhibit the interesting color streaking which is the kyanite hallmark. You'll find sizes from 1.5 to 9.5 carats. |
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Apatite from Madagascar: Apaptite from Madagascar is famous for a vivid blue-green that is reminiscent of paraiba tourmaline. We have just acquired some excellent new pieces in the 1-2 carat size, with superb color. Apatite tends to have some minor inclusions, but many of these pieces are graded VS or beetter. We also have stock in the popular green apatite, known as the "asparagus stone." |
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Chrysoprase from Tanzania: Chrysoprase is considered the rarest and most valuable stone in the chalcedony quartz group. That's quite a distinction considering that the chalcedony species includes agate, chalcedony, onyx, carnelian, bloodstone and jasper. But chrysoprase, it is fair to say, is also the least known of all the chalcedony varieties. Chrysoprase is a vivid apple-green to deep green gem, colored by trace amounts of nickel, and makes stunning jewelry. |
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Ruby-Zoisite from Tanzania: Ruby-Zoisite, also know as anyolite, is the natural combination of ruby and zoisite crystals in a single specimen. Zoisite, the same mineral as tanzanite, provides an earthy green and black color while ruby lends exciting pink and red highlights. Ruby-zoisite is usually cut en cabochon or carved. We've recently purchased some excellent cabs, but also some unusual and rarely seen faceted peices. |
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Cat's Eye Apatite from Africa: Cat's eye apatite can often be confused with the more expensive chrysoberyl cat's eye, but apatite is a softer stone (5 on the Mohs scale) that is best used for pendants and earrings. It does exhibit a very striking cat's eye effect, however, and is sought after by collectors. We've recently bought some first rate pieces in green, blue and honey, in sizes from 2 to 10 carats. |
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Yellow Sapphire from Thailand: We've just acquired some brilliant yellow golden and yellow orange sapphires from Thailand, mainly in sizes from 1 to 3 carats, with a few larger pieces as well. You'll find a nice range of shapes, with many pieces VS or VVS clarity. |
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Ruby Cabochons from Madagascar: Recently we've found some excellent ruby cabochons from Madagascar in the 3 to 14 carat size. These are pure red and some are clean enough to be graded translucent. These cabs make wonderful jewelry and the price is very attractive. We've just added some terrific matched pairs as well. |
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Grossularite Garnet from Kenya: Grossularite (or grossular) garnet is a calcium-aluminium garnet. The name grossular is derived from the botanical name for the gooseberry, grossularia. Grossularite garnet combines excellent brilliance and hardness. We've recently acquired some very fine pieces from Kenya, mainly in the 1 to 2 carat size. |
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New Content at GemSelect
We add hundreds of new gems to our inventory every day. But we also add new content to our site each week as well, in the form of articles and reference material.
Recently we've added new articles on topics ranging from gemstone investing to gemstone collecting. If you're interested in gemstone history, see our recent piece on the history of briolettes. For buying advice, you might like to read our new articles on best value gemstones and buying gems at wholesale prices.
Gemstones Worth Knowing
Each month we focus on one of the lesser known gemstones. This month's featured stone is Rhodolite Garnet.
Rhodolite garnet is the name applied to a mixture of pyrope and almandite garnet. Rhodolite tends to be lighter in color than most other kinds of red garnet. It can be easily confused with ruby because of the similarity in color. The mixture of red and violet in rhodolites is highly desirable, and purple or purple-red is the most sought after color.
Deposits are found in Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand and the USA (North Carolina).
For more information see our Rhodolite Garnet Information page.
Customer Questions
Every month we answer questions of general interest from our customers. Please feel free to send your questions to help@gemselect.com. |
| Q: |
I was looking at the clarity grades for your gems and noticed most of them were graded VVS, VS and SI but some weren't graded with those letters at all. Why is that? RK, Canada |
| A: |
The clarity grades of IF, VVS, VS, SI and I1 apply to transparent gemstones, where the interior of the stone is visible. If a gem is translucent or opaque, you can't see inclusions. So these gems are simply graded as translucent or opaque. You will typically see this grading for cabochons and even for some faceted gems such as fire opal or black tourmaline.
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| Q: |
How often do you add new gems to your website? Do you do it once a week? What day should I look to see the new gems? Thanks! DSK, USA |
| A: |
We add new gems to our website every day except Sunday (we try not to work on Sunday). New gems can be found on our New Arrivals page, which will you show you all the gems we've added in the last 5 days. |
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| A final note -- If you send us email, please be assured that we answer all our email very promptly, 6 days a week. But we sometimes have problems with spam filters on the receiving end, so please adjust the settings on your mail client so you can receive mail from help@gemselect.com.
Happy gem hunting,
Your friends at GemSelect
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