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May 2008
 In our newsletter this month:
Our Home in Chanthaburi, Thailand
New and Interesting Gemstones
New Content at GemSelect
Rare and Unusual Gems
Customer Questions
Our Home in Chanthaburi, Thailand
GemSelect is based in Chanthaburi, Thailand, a town of about 50,000 people located 245 km southeast of Bangkok (see map). It is not a very well known tourist place. In fact you'll hardly find it mentioned in the average tourist guidebook. In the gemstone world, however, it's a different story -- Chanthaburi is one of the world centers for cutting and trading colored gemstones, as important as Jaipur in India or Idar-Oberstein in Germany. Chanthaburi's weekend gemstone market is a rare experience for any gemstone lover.
Chanthaburi is also a wonderful place to live and work. As expatriates who've settled in Thailand for some years, we've come to love the life here. Though living and doing business in a developing country can be challenging -- we've survived a major flood and a minor military coup in the last couple of years -- the quality of life and the hospitable Thai people more than compensate for the occasional difficulties.
 While foreign tourists have not yet discovered us, Thai people know Chanthaburi as an area of great natural beauty and outstanding food. Located in a plain between the Gulf of Thailand and the rugged Chanthaburi Mountains, Chanthaburi is one of the few places in Thailand where you can enjoy both unspoiled beaches and mountain waterfalls. With an annual rainfall of more than 3,000 mm, Chanthaburi is famous for its tropical fruit, particularly durian, rambutan, mangosteen and longan. We also have abundant seafood, especially shrimp, much of it exported; and Chanthaburi is an important producer of high quality white and black pepper.
 Chanthaburi also has quite a fascinating history. When Ayutthaya, the historical capital of the Siam kingdom, was attacked and completely destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, the country was thrown into chaos. A Thai military commander named Phraya Taksin retreated to Chanthaburi, where he built up a force to repel the Burmese. After the defeat of the Burmese, Taksin became King of Thailand in 1768 and started the work to rebuild the nation.
 Though they fought a series of wars with Burma, the Thais are proud that they have never been colonized. While all the other countries in the region -- Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia -- were once colonies of the French or the British or the Dutch, Thailand managed to remain independent.
Chanthaburi, however, was a temporary exception. When Thailand tried to exert control over Laos and Cambodia in the 19th century, it led to a conflict with France in 1893, known as the Paknam crisis. One of the results of the crisis is that France occupied Chanthaburi and held it until a peace treaty was signed in 1905. Signs of the French occupation can still be seen here in the French architecture of the old town and the largest Catholic cathedral in Thailand.
With its flourishing gem grade and its fruit and seafood industries, Chanthaburi is a prosperous town, probably one of the wealthiest in Thailand. It has a small but significant foreign population, though most are African gem traders, not westerners. English is not widely spoken, but foreign visitors are warmly welcomed.
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| New and Interesting Gems -- updated March 15th |
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Variscite from the United States: Variscite is a relatively rare phosphate mineral and high quality specimens are used as gemstones and for carvings. Its name derives from Variscia, the historical name of Vogtland in Germany, where it was first found in 1837. At one time it also went under the name Utahlite, since important deposits have also been found in Utah, USA. We've found some excellent cabochons in various shades of green, mainly in the 20 carat size. |
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Goshenite from Russia: The colorless precious beryl is known as goshenite. It is named after the small town of Goshen in western Massachusetts where it was first described. Goshenite was once used for manufacturing eyeglasses and lenses owing to its excellent transparency. Goshenite belongs to the same family as emerald, aquamarine and morganite. We've found a small number of high quality pieces from Russia, in sizes ranging from 3 to 5 carats. |
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Dumortierite Quartz from Namibia: Dumortierite Quartz is an ususual quartz that is integrown with the mineral dumortierite. The inclusions of dumortierite give it a deep blue color that is unique in the world of quartz. The color has similarities to lapis lazuli and sodalite, but with the superior hardness of quartz. We have a nice range of cabochons from 7 to 35 carats. |
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 zultanite to synthetic corundum to the gemstone cutting process. For useful buying information see our new articles on untreated gemstones and buying tourmaline.
Rare and Unusual Gems
In a new feature beginning this month, we feature a rare and unusual gem from our recent acquisitions. This month's featured gem is a huge sphene from Sri Lanka:
Sphene, also known as Titanite, is a brilliant yellowish-green, green or brown gemstone of high luster, unique color shades and an intensive fire that can compete with diamond. While always in demand, sphene has been a rare gem on the market. But very large sphene with excellent clarity are extremely rare.
This 12.18 carat heart-shaped piece is the largest sphene we have ever been able to buy, but also one of the cleanest. Sphene tends to be included, but this piece is so clean we've graded it VVS. The brilliance and fire of this sphene is difficult to capture in a photograph, but this gem glitters like very few colored gems we've seen. This large sphene is perfectly sized for a very impressive pendant.
For more information about sphene see recent feature article on The Brilliance of 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. |
| Q: |
I was just wondering ... why do so many gemstone names end in "ite"? Thanks for your thoughts. MM, USA |
| A: |
The "ite" suffix derives from the Greek lithos meaning rock or stone (the adjectival form of lithos is "-ites"). It is a convention in the mineral world that new minerals are given names ending in "ite." The Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association publishes guidelines for naming new minerals (or renaming old ones).
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Is there a difference between brilliance and luster in gemstones? Or do they have the same meaning? FB, Australia |
| A: |
Brilliance and luster have loose meanings in everyday language, but they are technical terms in gemology. Brilliance refers to the light reflected from the interior of a gem. Thus only a transparent gemstone can be said to have brilliance. Luster, on the other hand, refers to the light reflected from a gem's surface. Brilliance is graded from low to high, but luster is usually described in terms such as vitreous (like glass), adamantine (like diamond), silky, resinuous and greasy. |
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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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