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 July 2009
In our newsletter this month:
• Finding Matching Gems
• New and Interesting Gemstones
• Rare and Unusual Gems
• Customer Questions
Finding Matching Gems
We've been increasing our inventory this year, as we find more opportunities to buy new and interesting gems. We now have about 12,000 items in stock. But as we grow our stock, it can take more work to sort through our gems to find the ones you need. Browsing through all our 1,300 sapphires, for example, can take quite a while.
So we've begun some improvements to simplify navigation of our website. For example, you'll notice a new menu bar across the top of each page that provides direct links to popular pages such as our New Arrivals or Calibrated Gems. So no matter where you are on gemselect.com, you can go directly to many pages without returning to the home page.
Recently we've added a new capability which we think is both powerful and extremely easy to use. With a single click it enables you to find all the matching or very similar pieces for a particular gem. It can save a lot of time when you want to buy several similar pieces or just compare similar items.
Here's how it works. When you go to the detail page for a particular gem, you'll see a link right below the Gem details that will tell you if matching items are available, and how many matching items were found. Clicking on the link will bring up a page that will show you all the matching items side by side, including the original item you were looking at.
You'll find that approximately 70% of our gems have at least 1 matching item. Occasionally you'll see large numbers of matching items in the cases where we buy large lots of calibrated sizes, as we did recently in pyrope garnet, citrine and ametrine. We display matching items based on gem type, color, shape and size, with a variance of maximum 4% on the size.
We'll even show you matching items for previously sold pieces. So if you purchased a gem from us in the past and want to find a similar piece, just enter the gem ID for your item in the Search box on our home page. Then view the detail page for the item and we'll include a link if any matching items are available.
Our matching items link will really save you time when you are ready to select a stone and want to make sure you've reviewed all the similar items in our inventory. Our matching items list is constantly updated as new items are added and others are sold, so you can be sure you are seeing all the similar items we have in stock.
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| New and Interesting Gems -- updated November 9th |
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Watermelon Tourmaline from Nigeria: Watermelon tourmaline is one of the most distinctive gems in the world. We have just purchased a small number of exquisite pieces from Nigerian with outstanding color and clarity. These are the finest we've seen this year. |
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Boulder Opal from Australia: Boulder Opal is the second most prized form of opal, after black opal. The name derives from the fact that this opal is found embedded in ironstone boulders. Boulder opal is especially attractive because, like the black opal, it has a dark body tone which adds vibrancy to the play of color. We've just purchased a small lot of excellent pieces, in sizes between 4 and 15 carats. |
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Clinohumite from Tanzania: Clinohumite is a rare mineral. It is a member of the humite group of minerals, which includes humite, clinohumite, chondrodite, and norbergite. Only three sources of gem-quality clinohumite are known: the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan, the Taymyr region of northern Siberia and the Mahenge plateau of Tanzania. Usually clinohumite is found in sizes under 1 carat but we just have acquired a small number of new pieces from Tajikistan in the 2-3 carat size. |
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Huge Topaz from Brazil: Gem-quality minerals are sometimes found in exceptionally large sizes. We've acquired some natural topaz from Brazil in sizes between 360 and 507 carats. We currently have 4 pieces in a light champagne color with outstanding clarity (all of been graded IF). Collectors take note. |
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Fluorite from Namibia: Fluorite is said to be the most colorful mineral in the world. We've just bought a new stock of some very colorful pieces, including electric greens and blues and some fascinating multicolor pieces. Most of the new pieces are in the 10 to 45 carat size, with a few larger stones, all with excellent clarity. We've recently added some very colorful cabochons as well. |
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Color-Change Diaspore from Turkey: Diaspore, sometimes marketed under the name Zultanite, is a color change gem from Turkey recently introduced to the international market. Under natural or fluorescent light, Diapsore has a kiwi green color, with flashes of yellow. Diaspore displays a champagne color under incandescent lighting, and when exposed to subdued lighting, such as candlelight, has a pinkish hue. We've recently bought a substantial number of new pieces, with a good choice of cuts and sizes. |
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Snowflake Obsidian from Mexico: Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass. It is formed when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools without crystal growth.In some stones, the inclusion of small, white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern, and this is known in the gem trade as snowflake obsidian. |
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Unheated Sapphire from Tanzania, Madagascar and Thailand: Our unheated sapphires have been very popular and we continue to increase our stock (now over 700 pieces). For the discriminating gem buyer who will accept nothing less than 100% natural, you'll find pink, blue, green, yellow and violet pieces, all guaranteed to be unheated. You may be surprised how affordable these are in the smaller sizes. |
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Seraphinite from Russia: Seraphinite is a trade name for a particular form of clinochlore, a member of the chlorite group. The dark green color of seraphinite is enhanced by a silvery and feathery shimmer caused by mica inclusions. Seraphinite was named for the seraphim, the highest order of angels, because of the feather-like appearance of the chatoyant fibers in the stone. This fascinating gemstone is a new addition our inventory. |
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Top Grade Amethyst from Brazil: We've just acquired some top grade natural amethyst from Brazil in very large sizes, ranging from about 20 to 75 carats. These are all VVS or IF clarity in the richest purple we've seen in amethyst in a long time. If you've been looking for a very special piece of amethyst, you'll want to check these out. |
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Demantoid Garnet from Namibia: Demantoid is the rarest and most valuable of the garnets, and is one of the most difficult to find of all colored gems. It is one of the few colored gemstones with a luster and brilliance similar to diamond. We have built up a stock of more than 100 pieces of Namibian demantoid, including some very fine matched pairs. |
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Amber from Poland: Amber is the fossilized hardened resin of the pine tree, Pinus succinifera, formed mainly in the Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period, about 50 million years ago. Amber has been used since prehistoric times for jewelry, amulets and religious objects. The most prized pieces contain inclusions of insects or plants or pyrites. Most amber is found in the Baltic region. We buy amber just a few times a year from our source in Poland and we've just added a new stock. |
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Turquoise from Afghanistan: Turquoise 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. We've also found some of the popular apple-green turquoise that we first carried last year, and some superb matched pairs in blue. |
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Huge Star Rose Quartz from South Africa: We carry many large gemstones, but none as large as these Star Rose Quartz. We've collected 9 pieces over 100 carats, with the largest weighing in at an amazing 974 carats. The star effect in rose quartz is unusual in any size, but quite rare in these very large stones. |
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Axinite from Tanzania: Axinite is a group of brown to violet-brown or reddish brown minerals that sometimes occur in gem quality. Axinite is distinctive for its strong vitreous luster when polished, and its interesting pyro- and piezo-electric properties. Axinite is also popular with mineral collectors due to its unusual crystal structure. We have found a small stock of golden brown Axinite from Tanzania. |
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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. You'll find red, violet, orange, blue and gray in a variety of shapes and sizes, including a good selection of pairs and lots. |
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Blue Sapphire from Madagascar, Ceylon and Tanzania: One of the most classic of all colored gemstones, the blue sapphire is always fashionable. This brilliant and hard-wearing gemstone is perfect for any kind of jewelry. We've added many new stones to our stock of more than 400 blue sapphires, including a number of excellent cornflower blue pieces. |
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Jadeite from Burma: Jade has been known and treasured for more than 7,000 years. But only in 1863 was it discovered that jade is actually not a single mineral. What was traditionally called jade is in fact two separate and distinct minerals: jadeite and nephrite. Jadeite is the rarer and more valuable jade, with the most famous deposits coming from Burma. We have verified samples of our Jadeite at the AIGS gemological lab in Bangkok. You'll find a good range of colors in these, including white, green and lavender. |
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Spessartite Garnet from Mozambique: We have added a large number of new pieces to our extensive inventory of this very popular gem. We now have over 500 pieces in stock, in mandarin and red-orange, in both cabochon and faceted. The range of sizes and quality grades is extensive. Our most recent additions are in the best mandarin orange color, mainly in smaller sizes. |
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Color-Change Garnet from Tanzania and Madagascar: We've recently found some rare Color-Change Garnet from Tanzania with a dramatic color change from greenish-brown to red pink. We have a small number of pieces, mostly eye-clean, in the 1 to 2 carat size. We've added these to our substantial stock of Color-Change Garnet from Madagascar. |
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Sphene from Sri Lanka: We have added some excellent new pieces to our stock of this rare gemstone famous for its remarkable dispersion or fire. These are bright golden and green pieces in interesting shapes and cuts, including a number of rounds in smaller sizes. Sphene tends to have inclusions, but we've found a number of eye-clean pieces. |
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Emerald from Colombia: We have just received a new stock of Colombian emeralds with rich color and good transparency. These are mainly ovals and pears in smaller sizes, ideal for earrings and ring settings. |
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Rare and Unusual Gems
Each month we feature a rare and unusual gem from our inventory. This month we feature a stunning large Aquamarine from Madagascar.
Aquamarine belongs to the beryl family, along with emerald and morganite. But where emeralds are typically heavily included and are routinely treated with oil to fill fissures, high quality aquamarine can display a dazzling clarity. Recently we acquired two large aquamarines from Madagascar that combine excellent color saturation with top clarity. We have a 15.86 carat square octagon as well as a similar 10.58 carat stone.
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: |
In your June newsletter you wrote that prices for colored gemstones are stable even when we're in a recession. But I saw another article that said that diamond prices have fallen by more than a third. Is it true? WJ, USA |
| A: |
Yes, it's true. If you've been shopping for diamonds in a retail shop, you would have no idea that diamond prices had taken such a nosedive, since the retail market does not adjust prices when commodity prices fall. The diamond market is still largely run by the De Beers cartel, and when prices are weak they respond by cutting production in the mines rather than lowering prices in the sales channel. It's really the worst of both world when this happens, because both the consumer and the miner suffer. But it's a reminder that diamonds are not rare. Over 1 million carats of gem-quality diamonds were produced in 2008. |
| Q: |
What is the rarest gemstone you sell? I'm just interested to know even if I can't afford it! Thanks, KM, New Zealand |
| A: |
Many colored gemstones are rare, including alexandrite, tsavorite garnet, chrysoberyl cat's eye and sphalerite. But recently we acquired some specimens of clinohumite, a gem so rare that untl recently, only a few thousand carats were known to exist in private collections. A recent find in Mahenge, Tanzania is making clinohumite more widely available but it still counts as very rare. It is not particularly expensive, however, so it's a very interesting gem for collectors. |
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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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