December Newsletter 2023

The holiday season is finally upon us and whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah or any of the other wonderful festivals, GemSelect wishes you all the best. This time of year shoppers all around the world are struggling to find that perfect gift. Fear not, we have some great holiday gift tips for you.

History of Mozambique Tourmaline

The history of tourmaline in Mozambique is intertwined with the fortune of a man by the name of Moussa Konate. Originally from Guinea in Northwest Africa, Moussa Konate was a gemstone trader who had tried many of the African markets with limited success.

That story changed when in 1987, he switched from buying rough stones in Madagascar and focused his efforts on the other side of the Mozambique Channel.

Moussa was trading in aquamarine rough, which was mined in the province of Zambezia in Central Mozambique, when he decided to take a risk and buy up some of the mixed tourmaline that was being traded locally.

He was surprised to find that a small percentage of the stone glowed in a way which would indicate that it was copper bearing tourmaline, similar to Brazilian Paraiba.

The origin of the tourmaline rough was an alluvial deposit in the Shalawa area of Nampula Province where tourmaline was originally discovered in around 2001 by local farmers. In 2003 Moussa took seven kilos to the US and quickly and easily sold the lot.

Of the several hundred kilos of tourmaline rough that was first mined from this area, only approximately ten percent has the neon glow of Paraiba. Mozambique has now become a major supplier of high quality tourmaline gemstones.

We have added many stunning Mozambique tourmaline gems of various colors, shape and sizes to our stock.

Fluorite: The Collector's Stone

Fluorite is the second-most popular mineral in the world among mineral collectors next to quartz. Famed for its enormous range of colors, it is often referred to as "the most colorful mineral in the world."

Many fluorite specimens exhibit fluorescence under ultraviolet light. In fact the very term 'fluorescence' (the ability of some gems to appear a different color when viewed under ultraviolet light) comes from 'fluorite,' not the other way round, since fluorite was one of the first fluorescent minerals studied.

Fluorite is of interest as a gemstone because of its remarkable range of colors and its attractive vitreous luster. Most specimens of fluorite have a single color, but a significant percentage of fluorite gemstones have multiple colors and the colors are arranged in bands or zones that correspond with the shape of the crystals.

Fluorite is a relatively soft stone, rating only 4 on the Mohs scale, so it is not very practical for some types of jewelry, though it is suitable for pendants, earrings and brooches.

Check out our gems including newly added multicolored Fluorite.

December Birthstones

Those born in December are lucky enough to have three gorgeous gemstones to choose from in Turquoise, Tanzanite and Zircon.

Customer Questions and Answers:

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Happy Gemstone Hunting!

Team GemSelect