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 Jewelry Trade Center Bangkok |
May 2009
In our newsletter this month:
• Gems and Jewelry in Thailand
• New and Interesting Gemstones
• Rare and Unusual Gems
• Customer Questions
Gems and Jewelry in Thailand
The economy here in Thailand depends heavily on exports. In fact more than two thirds of our gross domestic product is based on selling products to the rest of the world.
Thailand is most famous as the world's top exporter of rice. But in 2008 the export value of gems and jewelry exceeded that of rice, with more than USD $9 billion of product shipped to countries around the world.
The supply chain for this important industry begins in our home town of Chanthaburi, a small city of about 50,000 people located 250 km southeast of Bangkok. Gemstone material from around the world is brought here to be cut and polished, and nearly every street of the town has family-run gem cutting workshops.
Chanthaburi has probably the lowest prices in the world for loose gemstones. But not all of the city's production is exported directly; many gems are set into jewelry by factories in Bangkok.
The gems district in Bangiok is concentrated in an area of Silom Rd near the Chao Praya River. Since 1996 the district has been dominated by the Jewelry Trade Center, a 59-floor skyscraper that is the 4th tallest building in Bangkok. It houses the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS), a gem and diamond trading center, and the leading shopping center for jewelry, art and antiques in Bangkok.
The story of this landmark building represents the evolution of the gem and jewelry business in Bangkok. The project was started by the Ho family, who immigrated to Thailand from Burma when General Ne Win took power in 1963. Originally from southern China, the family had become successful in business in Burma over several generations. But they lost everything when they fled Burma and started over in Thailand. The father, Waing Kong Ho, opened a small jewelry business in Bangkok and then established himself as a successful gems broker with a reputation for honesty. His eldest son later established his own successful jewelry company, Bijoux Holdings, incorporating the latest Japanese production methods.
Mr. Ho and his sons trained hundreds of young Thais in the gem and jewelry business. One of the Ho sons, Henry, was trained in gemology at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in California. When he returned to Thailand he started the AIGS lab to provide scientific training and gem certification for the Thai gem industry. AIGS is now one of the leading gem labs in the world, especially in the detection of gem treatments. It has helped Thailand become a leading center for gems and jewelry.
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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 pink-red tourmaline from Mozambique.
Tourmaline is famous for its fabulous colors. It is also a gem that can sometimes be found in large sizes. But very clean pieces over 10 carats are very rarely found in the top colors. This 10.98 carat purple-pink-red gem is a good example. At more than 25 mm long, this will make a simply stunning pendant.
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: |
Could please inform me if there is a gemstone available with the name of chrisolite (or similar spelling)? Thank you very much. R., South Africa |
| A: |
The name chrysolite comes from the Greek for "golden stone," and the term has been used historically to refer to a number of different gemstones, including topaz, beryl and chrysoberyl. According to modern mineralogy, the name chrysolite is now used to refer to members of the olivine species which tend to yellow rather than green. Green olivine is known, of course, as peridot.
Moldavite, a green form of tektite, is sometimes known as water chrysolite or pseudo-chrysolite. |
| Q: |
I see you have some larimar on your website. Is it true that larimar is a rarer gemstone than tanzanite? DS, USA |
| A: |
Both tanzanite and larimar are found in single locations in the world -- tanzanite in Tanzania, and larimar in the Dominican Republic. But the known larimar desposits are very small indeed, found in only one square kilometer on a remote mountainside. Larimar is a variety of pectolite, which is found in every hemisphere. But thus far the unusual blue pectolite has only been found in the single location.
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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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