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September 2008
In our newsletter this month:
The Ban on Burmese Gems
New and Interesting Gemstones
New Content at GemSelect
Rare and Unusual Gems
Customer Questions
The Ban on Burmese Gems
We've had a number of questions from our customers about new legislation in the USA banning the importation of Burmese gemstones. In this month's newsletter we consider the implications of the new law, since many people are confused about exactly what it means.
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Bush Signs Burma Gem Ban |
The new legislation, known as theTom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008, was signed into law by President Bush on July 29th, 2008 and will take effect in 60 days from signing. It extends previous legislation from 2003 which already banned the importation of all gemstones from Burma. But a loophole in the existing law allowed the importation of Burmese gems which were cut and polished in other countries such as Thailand.
The new law closes this loophole, but not for every kind of Burmese gemstone. The new law only addresses ruby and jadeite. It doesn't affect any of the other varieties of gemstones from Burma, such as spinel, zircon, peridot, maw-sit-sit and kyanite. These can still be imported so long as they are processed outside of Burma.
The reason that the embargo covers only ruby and jadeite, we assume, is that these are the primary sources of gemstone revenue for the Burmese junta; trade in the other types of Burmese gemstones is so small as to be inconsequential. The enforcement effort is also simplified by restricting the ban to only ruby and jadeite.
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Burmese Ruby Rough |
You may have read in some news stories that the new law allows the import of Burmese ruby and jadeite for personal use. We have studied the language of the legislation and find no exception made for personal use. The only exception is for Burmese gems which were previously in the USA and were subsequently exported and reimported, or left the country with an individual for personal use and were then reimported.
In our June 2008 newsletter we expressed the view that the ban on Burmese gemstones will do little to impact the junta's revenue, since Burma's largest customer, China, is a big buyer of valuable jadeite and ruby at government auctions in Burma. We do fear that the small independent Burmese miners and gem traders will suffer, since they depend on trade with Thailand. If Thailand can no longer export Burmese ruby and jadeite, it will impact the independent Burmese businessmen, not the government.
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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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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 gemstone labs to maw-sit-sit, alexandrite and kyanite. If you're interested in learning more about the gem and jewelry business, we've been adding short biographies of some of the most interesting figures. See our new piece on the infamous Jacob the Jeweler. Click the link to see all our gemstone articles.
Rare and Unusual Gems
Each month we feature a rare and unusual gem from our inventory. This month we feature a fine Burmese ruby.
Burmese rubies of good quality have always been rare, but new sanctions against Burma will soon make them nearly impossible to find in many places. Burmese rubies are indeed special -- they have a unique fluorescent quality that can be seen even under visible light. Few gems have the intensity of color of a Burmese ruby. Our photos of this 1.12 ct stone nicely captures the fluorescence and the slight violet undertone that is so distinctive of Burmese ruby.
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 selected a gem I want to buy from your website, watermelon tourmaline #187979. Is it possible to buy two of them? AV, USA
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| A: |
All of our gems are unique natural products of the earth, so we have only one of each item displayed on our website. We do put together many matched pairs and lots in smaller sizes. But it's very difficult to do in the case of large watermelon tourmaline, where the color zoning is rarely the same in two different stones. It's why you will rarely find matching pairs in watermelon tourmaline.
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| Q: |
I would like to buy some gems from your website. Unfortunately, whenever I click on the add to cart button, the cart is still empty. Could you please help me with this problem? Thank you in anticipation. J., USA |
| A: |
You need to have JavaScript enabled to add items to our shopping cart. To enable JavaScript in Internet Explorer 7, select "Internet Options" from the "Tools" menu. Then click on the "Security" tab. Click the "Custom Level" button and then scroll down to the Scripting section and make sure that "Active scripting" is enabled.
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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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