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June 2008
In our newsletter this month:
Burmese Tragedy
New and Interesting Gemstones
New Content at GemSelect
Rare and Unusual Gems
Customer Questions
Burmese Tragedy
As recently as 1940, Burma was the most prosperous nation in southeast Asia. It was the largest exporter of rice in the world, and had vast reserves of valuable teakwood, not to mention its treasure of rubies and jade. Unfortunately most of this wealth had flowed to her colonial masters, the British, who had annexed Burma to British India in the 19th century. The British developed the rice and logging industries, and built railways and schools. But as in India, they were basically colonial exploiters.
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| Burmese Monks refusing alms! |
When Burma negotiated its political independence from Britain in 1947 there was finally hope that the Burmese could have both freedom and economic prosperity. But it was not to be. The Burmese revolutionary hero, Aung San, was assassinated even before the official independence day, and years of fragile democracy and civil war culminated in the army taking control in 1962, with General Ne Win creating a kind of hermit kingdom, isolating Burma from the world.
The recent devasting cyclone in Burma that left as many as 100,000 dead in the Irawaddy Delta is only the latest Burmese tragedy. There have been glimmers of hope in the past, especially in 1990, when a rare democratic election was won by the National League for Democracy. The NLD was led by Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Aung San. Though she was prohibited from standing for election, the NLD won over 80% of the parliamentary seats. But the generals refused to recognize the election results and have kept Aung San Suu Kyi under almost continuous house arrest ever since.
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| Daw Aung San Suu Kyi |
The international community has struggled to find a way to help the Burmese people. Even much of the humanitarian aid for the victims of Cyclone Nargis has been refused by the paranoid Burmese junta. Economic sanctions have failed, since Burma's vast natural resources are eagerly consumed by China. Recent attempts to prevent the importation of Burmese gemstones into the USA and the European Union may make the west feel like they are taking action, but this only serves to further limit the livelihood of ordinary Burmese. With the protection of China, Burma can withstand any international pressure.
The situation in Burma is indeed tragic, and it is hard to see much cause for hope in the latest catastrophe. But sometimes tragic events have positive outcomes. It has happened before. India's aid to Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake helped to bring the two archrivals closer together. The same happened in 1999 when Greece was the first country to come to Turkey's aid after a devastating earthquake, leading to a breakthrough in once-hostile relations between the two countries. The Burmese generals are now being forced to open the doors to accept international aid for their suffering people. But the generals have also demonstrated their utter callousness to their own citizens, including younger member of the military. It will not be forgotten. In a country that recognizes the power of karma, the generals may well have sealed their own fate. |
| 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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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 rutilated quartz to tiger's eye to fracture-filled ruby, the history of the cushion cut and gemstone art. Click the link to see all our gemstone articles.
Rare and Unusual Gems
Each month we feature a rare and unusual gem from our recent acquisitions. This month's featured gem is a very large flawless tanzanite from Tanzania:
The demand for fine tanzanite continues to exceed demand. Nonetheless, much of the tanzanite in the market is mediocre: small in size, uninspring in color and indifferently cut. It wouldn't be so bad if tanzanite weren't so expensive.
Here is one of the finest pieces of tanzanite we've been able to buy in the last year. At an impressive 5 carats, this stone has a deeply saturated violet blue, the most desirable tanzanite color. The portuguese cut maximizes its brilliance. But what makes this piece especially rare is that it is graded IF -- internally flawless.
For more information about tanzanite see our Tanzanite 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 bought some nice cabochons recently, but I noticed that they were not well polished on the bottom. Was it just an oversight or was it intentional? Thanks for your answer. SB, Canada |
| A: |
Many opaque cabochons are mounted in jewelry in such a way that the base is not visible, and thus the cutter opts not to polish the base. In fact if glue is used to set the cab, it is better if the base is not polished. Translucent or transparent cabs are usually polished on the base.
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Do you sell a gem named Cordierite? Or do you know where I can find it? MM, USA |
| A: |
Cordierite is one of the names used for the gemstone that we sell under the name of Iolite. A magnesium aluminum silicate with a hardness of 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale, Cordierite is the name most commonly used in mineralogy, while Iolite is used in gemology. The name Cordierite comes from the French geologist P. Cordier (1777-1861); the name Iolite comes from the Greek root for "violet." For more information see our Iolite Information Page. |
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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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