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November 2008
 In our newsletter this month:
Gemstone Videos
New Content at GemSelect
New and Interesting Gemstones
Rare and Unusual Gems
Customer Questions
Gemstone Videos
Unless you happen to live in Chanthaburi, Thailand or Jaipur, India, the best prices on quality gemstones are only found online. You'll not only find the best prices, but the widest selection as well. The only tricky part is that you have to make your selections based on photographs. And that can be a challenge.
Our high quality gemstone photos have always been a distinguishing feature of our website. We photograph each and every gemstone we sell -- not a simple task when we have more than 10,000 gems in stock. We also shoot each gem from 3 different angles, so you can get a good sense of the cut and proportions.
One of the virtues of still photos is that they can provide a lot of information. A still camera with a macro lens can get very close to the subject, so that very fine details can be seen. A good gemstone photo can be almost as detailed as looking at a stone under 10x magnification with a jeweler's loupe.
 But still photos have their limits. It's hard to capture the brilliance and luster of a gemstone in a still photograph. Gems reflect light best when they are moving. Many gems are pleochroic and display different colors from different angles. The multiple colors of tourmaline in particular are tough to capture with a still camera.
For a long time we've wanted to include video clips on our website to give our customers a more true-to-life experience of our gems. But high quality video was simply too slow for the internet and we didn't want to lower our quality standards or slow down our website. Now recent innovations in video compression, combined with faster internet connections, are making it practical for us. Starting this month you will start to find video clips on our gem detail pages.
If you have the industry-standard Adobe Flash Player installed, you'll see a video window when you visit a gem detail page that has a video clip. Just click the start button to play the video. If you don't have Flash installed, our detail pages will show you our still photos. If a video is available, you'll see a "Play Video" button. Click on it and you'll have the option to install the Flash player. Or you can just click here to install Flash.
We'll not only be shooting video for many of our new gems, but we'll also be adding videos for selected items in our current inventory. We're still perfecting our video production. |
| New and Interesting Gems -- updated August 31st |
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Ametrine from Bolivia: We've added some impressive new pieces of natural ametrine to our collection. The new pieces are mostly emerald-cut, with excellent color zoning and VVS clarity, mainly in the 5 to 8 carat size. These are the nicest ametrine we've found this year. |
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Tsavorite Garnet Pairs from Tanzania: Tsavorite garnet is increasingly rare and matching pairs in the top chrome green color are hard to find. We've acquired some very fine rounds, trillions and ovals, mainly in smaller sizes. These are ideal for earrings or ring settings. The brilliance and sparkle of these gems is remarkable. |
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Asscher Cut Gems: The Asscher cut is a special form of the step cut which has become popular for diamonds, but is rarely found in colored gems. The Asscher cut is square with dramatic cut corners, forming an octagonal outline. It is cut with a deep pavilion, resulting in an interesting geometrical windmill-like pattern when viewed from the table. We have started creating some Asscher cuts in our workshop and have produced a number of pieces in topaz, amethyst, tourmaline and smoky quartz. |
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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, pink and blue in a variety of shapes and sizes, including a number of rare pieces over 2 carats. |
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Tourmaline from Mozambique and Nigeria: We have been aggressive buyers of African tourmaline as new material comes on the market. We now have a stock of over 3,100 pieces. Among our latest acquisitions are some very fine blue greens, some interesting multicolors, and a range of vivid pinks. |
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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 900 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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Kyanite from Burma: We've just purchased a new stock of faceted kyanite from Burma in a sparkling sapphire-like blue. Kyanite is usually cut as cabochons, but recently higher-grade material has been cut in facets. Like most kyanite, these exhibit the interesting color streaking which is the kyanite hallmark. You'll find ovals, pears and emerald-cuts, with many calibrated stones in the 7 x 5 mm size. |
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Kunzite from Afghanistan: Kunzite is the pink variety of spodumene, named after the famous American mineralogist George Frederick Kunz. We've been finding some lovely pieces in the market recently, with excellent color saturation. You'll find a good range of sizes and shapes, including oval, pear, trillion and cushion cut. |
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Large Green Apatite from Madagascar: Apatite are rare in larger sizes, but we have recently acquired a small number of very large green apatite from Madagascar. These are all eye-clean specimens with excellent color, ranging in size from 7 to 24 carats. We hardly ever see apatite in these size so collectors take note. |
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Fire Opal from Mexico: We always try to keep a good stock of this affordable Mexican opal, but we've recently expanded our stock with some very nice yellow and orange cabochons in a wide range of sizes and shapes. We also have some matched pairs for earrings. |
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Aquamarine from Mozambique: Aquamarine is the light blue or blue-green variety of beryl, the same gem species as emerald and morganite. Most aquamarine is quite pale, and the deeper tones are valuable and hard to find. We have just added several dozen new pieces from Mozambique in a saturated blue that is the most coveted color in aquamarine. |
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Peridot from Pakistan: Many people in the gem trade believe the finest peridot in the world comes from Pakistan. We have found a small parcel of top Pakistani peridot in very good sizes, mainly 1.5 to 4 carats. If you're a peridot aficianado, be sure to check these out. |
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Turquoise from Afghanistan: Turquoise has been known and valued for thousands of years. We've just bought some new pieces from Afghanistan, in an interesting variety of blue and blue-green hues. Among our new acquisitions are some excellent matching pairs. |
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Labradorite from Madagascar: Labradorite is a member of the plagioclase feldspar group, which also includes andesine and sunstone. Labradorite displays an iridescence in lustrous metallic tints, often blue and green. It is mainly caused by interference of light from lattice distortion. We've just bought a new parcel of fine Madagascar labradorite, with a good selection of shapes and sizes. |
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Opal from Sudan: Most of the world's precious opal comes from Australia, but there is some high quality material found in east Africa, especially in Ethiopia and Sudan. We have just acquired our first lot of Sudanese opal, with several dozen pieces displaying a good play of color. Sizes range from 0.5 to 3.6 carats. |
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Chrysoprase from Tanzania: Chrysoprase is considered the rarest and most valuable stone in the chalcedony quartz group. That's quite a distinction considering that the chalcedony species includes agate, chalcedony, onyx, carnelian, bloodstone and jasper. But chrysoprase, it is fair to say, is also the least known of all the chalcedony varieties. Chrysoprase is a vivid apple-green to emerald-green, colored by trace amounts of nickel, and can look very impressive when set in jewelry. |
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Rutile Quartz from India and Brazil: Rutile (or rutilated) quartz is clear or smoky quartz with inclusions of rutile crystals. Rutile is the mineral name for natural crystals of titanium dioxide. While most varieties of transparent quartz are valued most when they show no inclusions, rutilated quartz is valued specifically for the lovely patterns formed by the delicate golden needles of rutile inside it. We've just purchased an interesting lot of faceted pieces from India to add to our stock of Brazilian material. |
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Large Blue Topaz from Brazil: High quality topaz can sometimes be found in very large sizes, and we have just purchased a small number of blue topaz over 100 carats. Several of these weigh in at over 200 carats, These unusual stones display the same vibrant color and excellent clarity that you'll find in more ordinary 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 website every month, in the form of articles and reference material.
Recently we've added new articles on topics ranging from seeing gemstone stars to identifying country of origin, gems from Pakistan and rocks as gems . If you've wondered why you don't see Kashmir sapphire in the market read our new article on the most famous sapphires in the world . Click the link to see all our gemstone articles.
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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 green zircon from Sri Lanka.
Natural zircon is typically golden brown to orange or reddish brown. Blue and white zircon are produced by heat treatment. But the rare green zircon is a special case. The green color occurs naturally, but only in a few places in the world, principally Sri Lanka and Burma. In some zircons, radioactive uranium and thorium cause a partial disruption of the crystal lattice. Most of these so-called metamict zircon are not clean enough to be cut as gemstones. But some green specimens are an exception, and are highly prized by collectors. This 3.64 carat zircon from Sri Lanka displays a strong, slightly yellowish, green with good clarity and excellent luster.
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 noticed you have some really interesting bloodstone on your website, with a lot more color in it than I usually see. Can you provide some more information about these stones? BW, USA |
| A: |
We recently bought some bloodstone rough stone from Madagascar and have been cutting it in our own shop. The rough material has a high iron oxide content, and that's why this bloodstone displays a lot of red. Some pieces have yellow and white spots as well. Our cutters have turned out some impressive pieces, including some faceted stones that you will rarely find. |
| Q: |
Do you have a printed catalogue? I would appreciate if you would send me a copy. Thank you. JSR, Indonesia |
| A: |
Almost all our gemstones are one-of-a-kind, and our stock is constantly changing. So that makes it impossible for us to have a printed catalog that is current and complete. But our website is actually an electronic catalog. All of the gems shown online are in stock and ready for delivery, and gems are removed from the website as soon as they are sold. You can search our website not only by gem type, but also by color, size, shape, weight, price and even country of origin. You can't do that with a printed catalog! |
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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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