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 June 2009
In our newsletter this month:
• Gemstone Prices during Recession
• New and Interesting Gemstones
• Rare and Unusual Gems
• Customer Questions
Gemstone Prices during Recession
The prices of many goods fall during periods of economic recession. Multiple factors contribute to declining prices, including falling consumer demand, liquidation sales, and attempts to stimulate business through discounting. Depending on the severity of the economic downturn, the effect may be shortlived. In a protracted recession, such as Japan experienced in the 1990's, a nasty deflationary spiral can develop, where steadily falling prices lead consumers to delay purchases in the hope that they can buy the same goods in the future at a lower price.
But not all commodity prices fall during recession. While oil prices fell dramatically during the current recession, the price of gold has remained stubbornly high, even rising from the start of the global economic crisis in October 2008. This is not unusual in a recession, when speculators seek a safe haven in gold.
The high price of gold has certainly cut into jewelry sales, even leading some consumers to cash in their gold jewelry. Sales of luxury items like jewelry are always slow during economic downturns, but the high price of precious metals has made times even tougher for many jewelers and jewelry designers.
Surprisingly, the gems trade has not suffered to the same degree. This is because the market for fine gemstones tends to be supply-limited, not demand-limited. The demand for the finer stones always exceeds supply, and the better the stone the more competition there is to buy it. Smart gem dealers put as much effort into establishing sources for good stones as they do marketing their wares.
We are fortunate to have a diversified business, with customers in more than 90 countries. That has helped cushion the impact of the recession on our business. In fact you may have noticed that we've actually increased our buying in these tough times while many other dealers are cutting back. For us it's an opportunity to buy special stones at good prices. We've been buying more calibrated pieces and more top-grade sapphire, including many unheated stones. We've also added substantially to our stock in aquamarine, spinel, tanzanite and spessartite garnet.
Few economists are brave enough to forecast an end to this recession. We're all hopeful that we might see some improvement by the end of the year. In the meantime we're taking advantage of the opportunity to buy some especially fine gems.
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| New and Interesting Gems -- updated March 10th |
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Ammolite from Canada: Ammolite is a rare gemstone of organic origin that is fairly new to the market, with commercial mining beginning only in 1981. Ammolite is the fossilized shell of ammonites, which are composed primarily of aragonite, the same mineral that makes up nacreous pearls. Ammolite's main attraction is a remarkably vivid play of color. Ammolite is typically used to create doublets or triplets that are suitable for making durable jewelry. We have just acquired 3 very fine pieces from the sole source for this material in Alberta, Canada. |
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Mali Garnet from Mali: Mali Garnet is a rare garnet that is a mixture of grossular and andradite garnets. The name derives from the West African country of Mali where this garnet was first discovered in 1994. Mali is still the only source for this unusual garnet. Though Mali Garnet is predominantly grossular by composition, the presence of andradite is responsible for its superb dispersion or fire, reminiscent of the most famous andradite garnet, demantoid. |
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Sillimanite Cat's Eye from Madagascar: Sillimanite is an aluminum silicate, related to both andalusite and kyanite. In fact these three minerals are polymorphs -- they share the same chemical composition but different crystal structures. Sillimanite is named after the American chemist Benjamin Silliman (1779-1864). Silliman was one of the first American professors of science at Yale University. We've bought some interesting sillimanite cabochons with an exceptionally vivid cat's eye. |
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Rubellite Tourmaline from Mozambique: Rubellite, the intense ruby-red color of tourmaline, is one of the rarest tourmaline colors. We rarely find good specimens in the market, so we're glad to announce that we've just added more than a dozen new rubellite pieces to our inventory, mainly in the 1 to 3 carat size. |
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Amazonite from Brazil: Amazonite is a gemstone variety of green microcline, a feldspar mineral. It is named after the Amazon river in Brazil, though surprisingly no deposits have been found in that location. The lively green or blue-green color is reminiscient of jade. We've just acquired a parcel of interesting cabochons in a vivid blue green, including some matching pairs. |
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Sugilite from Australia: Sugilite is a rare mineral named after the Japanese geologist, Ken-ichi Sugi, who discovered it in 1944. It is rarely found as crystals, usually being massive in form. It has a distinctive purple colour and is usually opaque to translucent. Sugilite has sometimes been called purple turquoise although there is no real connection between turquoise and sugilite, except both are colorful cabochons that are very attractive when set in silver. We've just bought a new stock of some top-grade sugilite. |
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Jasper from Indonesia: Jasper is usually considered a chalcedony, but scientists put it in a group by itself because of its grainy structure. The finely grained, dense jasper contains up to twenty percent foreign materials that determine its color, streak and appearance. Uniform jasper is rare. It usually is multicolored, striped, spotted or flamed. We've just purchased a new lot of Indonesian jasper with with unusual plant-like markings. |
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Color-Change Garnet from Tanzania and Madagascar: The rare color-change garnet from east Africa and Madagascar has been very popular, and we have been buying all the high quality pieces we can find. We have just added several dozen new pieces from Madagascar. These have a striking color change from golden to orange or pink. |
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Charoite from Russia: Charoite is a new gem on the market, first appearing in 1978. It is found only in one location in Siberia, Russia. The color and patterns are quite unique, with swirling shapes of lavender and violet. It is sometimes described as having the appearance of a purple marble. We've just purchased a new lot of charoite cabs in a deep violet, in sizes up to 9 carats. |
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Pyrope Garnet from Mozambique: Pyrope Garnet, sometimes known as Bohemian garnet, is the most famous of the red garnets. Its dark, blood red color is distinctive and attractive, and it has excellent brilliance due to its high refractive index. A lot of pyrope garnet tends to be too dark, but we've found some very high quality pyrope from Mozambique that shows why garnet was one of the most popular gemstones in the 18th and 19th centuries. |
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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, pears and emerald cuts in smaller sizes, ideal for earrings and ring settings. |
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Cat's Eye Scapolite from Madagascar: Scapolite displaying a cat's eye effect are rare and highly regarded in the gem trade, since they tend to have exceptionally sharp eyes. Just keep in mind that these are slightly soft stones (5.5 to 6 on the Mohs hardness scale) and are not suitable for rings. But they make terrific earrings and pendants. |
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Blue Sapphire Pairs from Madagascar: We have been buying some outstanding blue sapphires from Madagascar recently, and we've put together several dozen matching pairs. These are mainly rounds and ovals, with a few square-cut as well. A classic stone for earrings and perfect for ring and pendant designs. |
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Unheated Yellow Sapphire from Tanzania: Completely untreated yellow sapphire is rare and difficult to find, not to mention expensive. We have been finding some very good unheated yellow sapphire from Tanzania, mostly in sub-carat sizes. But we did find 5 very good pieces between 1.1 and 1.5 carats. These are all ovals with VVS clarity, at an excellent price for unheated material. |
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Large Tourmaline from Mozambique: We have one of the largest inventories of tourmaline you'll anywhere, and we have just added many large pieces to our collection. You'll find pink, red, orange and green, as well as an amazing variety of multicolor and bi-color pieces. We also have a good stock in watermelon crystal slices. |
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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 150 pieces of Namibian demantoid, including some very fine matched pairs. |
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Spinel from Burma and Tanzania: We buy fine spinel whenever we can find it, and we've recently added some very fine pieces to our extensive stock. You'll find red, violet, orange, blue and gray in a variety of shapes and sizes. Notable among these acquisitions are some larger pieces in the 2 to 4 carat size, and a number of hard-to-find matching pairs. |
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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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Apatite from Madagascar: Apaptite from Madagascar is famous for a vivid blue-green that is reminiscent of paraiba tourmaline. We have just acquired a range of excellent new pieces. Most are in the 1 to 2 carat size, but we've also found a few rare stones in the 4 to 5 carat size. We also have stock in the popular green apatite, known as the "asparagus stone." |
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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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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 very affordable pieces in smaller pieces. |
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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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Rare and Unusual Gems
Each month we feature a rare and unusual gem from our inventory. This month we feature a rare flawless Paraiba Tourmaline from Mozambique.
A rare vivid blue-green tourmaline was first discovered in the Brazililan state of Paraiba in 1989. Lab analysis showed the unusual color was due to the presence of copper and manganese. Market demand for these stones was so strong that the Brazilian mines were soon worked out. Fortunately similar material was discovered in Nigeria in 2001, and then in Mozambique in 2005.
The Mozambique material is regarded by many experts as the closest in color to the original Brazilian cuprian tourmaline. But where the Brazilian stones tended be heavily included, the Mozambique mines sometimes yield very clean specimens. But the 2.21 carat trillion pictured above is the first Paraiba tourmaline we've found that is graded IF.
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 have heard that the sapphire from Kashmir is the best. Do you sell this sapphire? RG, Canada |
| A: |
Kashmir sapphire is indeed the most famous sapphire in the world. But it is extremely rare. New sapphire is rarely found in Kashmir, and in fact most of the material that exists was discovered more than 100 years ago. You will almost never see genuine Kashmir sapphire offered for sale; indeed they rarely appear even at the high end auctions.
Apart from its extreme rarity, Kashmir sapphire is valued for its intense cornflower blue and its silky sheen (due to rutile inclusions). You will sometimes find a similar color in the best sapphires from Ceylon, Burma and Madagascar. Here is an example of a fine cornflower blue sapphire from Sri Lanka (Ceylon).
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| Q: |
How can I find the untreated stones on your website? I want to buy a blue sapphire that has not been treated in any way. Thank you. CY, Singapore |
| A: |
We have created pages where you can view just our unheated sapphires and our untreated gems in all varieties. Just click the links to visit the pages. Once you reach these pages you can use the blue pull-down menu to sort the gems by size, weight, color, shape and price.
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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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