February 2008
 In our newsletter this month:
Buy It While You Can
New and Interesting Gemstones
New Content at GemSelect
Gemstones Worth Knowing
Customer Questions
Buy It While You Can
The colored gemstone business is quite different from the diamond business. Diamonds are promoted as rare and precious, but in fact they are widely available in standardized cuts and shapes. The fact that diamonds are expensive has more to do with De Beers' control of the supply chain than it does with rarity of diamonds. About 60 million carats of gem quality diamonds are mined each year. Unless you're looking for something very exceptional, you can always find diamonds in every shape, size and quality.
The situation with colored gems could not be more different. Colored stones, unlike diamonds, are mostly mined by independent, small-scale miners, working in remote locations in far away places such as Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Tanzania, Burma, Afghanistan, Columbia and Bolivia. Mining is carried out with pick and shovel, and only rarely with heavy equipment. Colored gems reach the market in a variety of ways, many of them involving relatively small deals between independent businessmen.
The reality of the colored gems business is very apparent when you go out in search of a specific gem. If you look for a sapphire in a specific color, size, shape and clarity, you have to be lucky to find exactly the stone you're looking for. The supply of material is so variable that not every kind of stone will be available in every color and size at any given time. It's one of the frustrations of the colored gems trade. At the same time, there is a lot of excitement when interesting stones come on the market.
From our years in the gems business, we've learned that you have to buy it while you can. When good stones come on the market -- and especially good stones at good prices -- you have to seize the opportunity. A few months later and it may no longer be possible to buy them. We've learned the lesson the hard way.
 Here are a few cases in point. Recently we were able to buy some unusual rose zircon from Tanzania. This was completely untreated material, very clean, and some of it in exceptional sizes -- up to 5 or 6 carats. We bought as much as we could and we hope we'll be able to buy it again. But we won't be surprised if next month the supply has dried up.
It happened with chrome tourmaline last year. We were able to find a nice parcel of this rare tourmaline colored by chromium. Not surprisingly, we sold it very quickly. We tried to buy more but it was no longer available. Then we didn't see it again for many months. Last week we got lucky again and found a small number of pieces at a very good price. We wish we could have bought more.
 Another example is demantoid garnet. This rare green garnet with the diamond-like luster is one of the most difficult to find of all of colored gems. Sometimes we go a whole year without any in stock. Last week we found a small lot and bought it immediately. Who knows when we'll see it again.
Some gems, such as the quartz family (amethyst, citrine, etc.) are always in good supply. But some others, while usually available, are not always available in the sizes or quality that we want to buy. For example, we've had many requests for peridot in larger sizes. Everything we had found in the market for months was under 2 carats. Then last month we found some Burmese peridot in sizes up to 11 carats, with outstanding color saturation. It is quite rare to find peridot that large and we'll be surprised (but delighted) if we see it again any time soon.
Like most gemstone buyers, we have a shopping list when we go into the market to buy gems. But if we only bought what was on our list, some months we'd buy hardly anything at all. In the colored gemstone market you have to be an opportunist. |
| 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 if you've looked at our sitemap recently, you may have noticed that we've been adding a lot of new website content as well.
Some of the new content is reference material that we hope you'll find useful. New pages include a refractive index chart for all the different gemstones, and another chart listing gems by specific gravity or density.
In our Other Gem Selections you'll find a number of new pages that let you view gems by color or shape. So if you want an easy way to see all our red gemstones or all our trillion cut gems you'll find convenient links to these and many more.
Finally, in our Gemstone Articles section you'll find a number of interesting new articles on gemstones written by the GemSelect staff, on topics as diverse as the history of birthstones and the mystery of andesine-labradorite.
Gemstones Worth Knowing
Each month we focus on one of the lesser known gemstones. This month's featured stone is Sphene.
Sphene is a calcium titanium silicate that is also known by its mineralogical name, titanite. The name sphene comes from the fact that its crystals are typically sphenoid (from the Greek sphenos meaning wedge). The name titanite comes, not surprisingly, from its titanium content.
Sphene occurs as translucent to transparent , reddish brown, gray, yellow, green, or red monoclinic crystals. Sphene has an unusually high refractive index (1.843-2.110), higher than zircon , ruby and sapphire (but lower than diamond which is 2.417-2.419). But it is sphene's dispersion or fire which is truly exceptional, exceeding even that of diamond.
For more information see our Sphene information page and our recent feature article on sphene.
Customer Questions
Every month we answer questions of general interest from our customers. Please feel free to send your questions to help@gemselect.com, with "Newsletter question" in the Subject line. |
| Q: |
I need a 7 x 5 mm gem for a standard setting. How much can a gem vary from 7 x 5 mm and still fit? Thanks very much for your answer. JN, New Zealand |
| A: |
The general rule for calibrated gemstones is a .1 mm variance for gems under 1 carat, and a .2 mm variance for gems over 1 carat. The exception is round stones, which have a larger variance since it is easier to adjust a setting for a round stone. When you search for gems using our calibrated size chart we'll automatically show you all the gems that qualify, including the permitted variance.
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| Q: |
When I put some items in my shopping cart they are always there when I come back the next day. But today when I came back the two gems I'd saved were gone. What happened? DS, USA |
| A: |
Items will be saved in your cart for 3 days. There are 2 reasons items might disappear before the 3 days are up: (1) Another customer buys the item; or (2) You clear your browser cache and delete cookies from your system. We use browser cookies to recognize you when you return to our site. However, if you create an account with us and login before you put items in your cart, you don't need to worry about browser cookies, since the items are tied to your account ID rather than the session ID stored in your browser cookie. |
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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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