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 March 2009
In our newsletter this month:
• The Situation in Madagascar
• New and Interesting Gemstones
• Rare and Unusual Gems
• Customer Questions
The Situation in Madagascar
The supply of colored gemstones is often sporadic and unreliable. One simple reason is that colored stones are rare, with many varieties rarer than diamond. Another reason is that many gems are mined in developing countries that are politically unstable and struggling to find a way to capitalize on their valuable gemstone reserves. Madagascar is a case in point.
Madagascar, the huge island off the coast of Mozambique, is believed to have some of the richest untapped gemstone reserves in the world. With a population of about 20 million, it is also one of the poorest countries in the world. Until the discovery of important sapphire and ruby deposits in the late 1990's, Madagascar was almost entirely dependent on agriculture. The island is the largest producer of vanilla in the world. Indeed the country was so dependent on vanilla that when Coca-Cola introduced a new formulation that used less vanilla, it produced a significant downturn in the Madagascar economy.
As a democratic republic, Madagascar has been unstable since the early 1970's and corruption remains a major problem. A serious political crisis in 2002 brought the country to a virtual standstill for 6 months over the results of a disputed election. Marc Ravalomanana was eventually declared the winner of the election and became president. He was re-elected in 2006. Ravalomanana is credited with improving the country's infrastructure and making improvements in education and health, but has faced criticism for his lack of progress against poverty.
The lucrative gems trade has yet to yield many benefits for the Malagasy people. Prior to 2005, restrictive rules made it very difficult for foreigners to buy gems, and this meant that many gems were smuggled out of the country without any tax revenue going to the goverment. The rules were relaxed in 2005 and efforts were made to establish training so that more gems could be cut and polished in Madagascar instead of leaving the country as rough stone.
The gem trade increased under the new regulations, but in 2008 a scandal erupted over the alleged smuggling of a huge 534 kg. rough emerald from Madagascar. The government responded by imposing a ban on all gemstone exports from the country. The ban was eventually relaxed to permit the export of finished stones, but the export of rough stone is still prohibited. The latest rules have had a significant impact here in Thailand, where most Madagascar gems have been cut.
If this were not enough, a new political crisis is brewing. In December 2008 the major international aid donors, including the World Bank, suspended payments to Madagascar due to allegations of government corruption. President Ravalomanana is now under pressure from a political rival, Andry Rajoelina, mayor of the capital city of Antananarivo. Recent political unrest has resulted in the occupation of four government ministries by the opposition and more than 125 deaths in protests and demonstrations. Tourism has ground to a halt and international trade is has become even more challenging.
Representatives from the Southern African Development Community have now arrived in the country to facilitate talks between the two sides. We hope the Malagasy politicans can reach a compromise that will allow economic development to move forward.
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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 an exceptional unheated blue sapphire from Tanzania.
Top quality untreated blue sapphires are increasingly rare. It is especially hard to find them over 2 carats. This remarkable 4.06 carat sapphire from Tanzania displays a rich saturated blue under any lighting conditions. This stone combines excellent clarity (graded VVS) and luster as well.
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 see you are now stocking emerald from Zambia. They look very good. How do they compare to the Columbian emeralds? ME, Sweden |
| A: |
We think the Zambian emeralds are exceptional value. They tend to display a more saturated green than the Columbian emeralds, and many of the Zambian stones have very good clarity and transparency compared to most emeralds. Columbian emeralds tend to be highly included with many internal fractures and fissures. For more information see our recent article on Emeralds from Zambia. |
| Q: |
I'm looking for very large gemstones -- over 50 carats. Do you carry stones that big? Thanks for your help. JRE, USA |
| A: |
We do stock many large gems. We currently have more than 150 pieces over 50 carats, and more than 1,400 pieces over 10 carats. The best way to find our largest stones is to go to our Huge Gems page, and then use the blue pull-down menu to sort them by Weight Descending.
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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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