January Newsletter 2023

Happy New Year!

We have had a few well deserved days off but now it’s time to get back to work as we look forward to a very exciting 2023! We are all about color and the start of a new year brings Pantone color of the year. The color institute has named “Pantone 18-1750 Viva Magenta” its color for 2023 and called the shade an “animated red that strikes a balance between warm and cool tones”. We immediately think of three stunning gems that match this color, Ruby, Rubellite and Spinel.

Gems from Down Under!

We often get asked what other gems we have that are of Australian origin apart from Opal; look no further as we showcase some famous and some not so famous gemstones from Australia. Beneath the dramatic deserts and inhospitable environment of Australia's outback lie untold supplies of exotic gemstones. Australia boasts the crown for the world's finest and most abundant supply of precious opal. In 1993, Australia declared opal its national gemstone and rightfully so as Australia's opal mines are larger than the rest of the world's combined.

While Australia is most famous for its seemingly endless supply of fine opal, it also produces a variety of other striking gemstones varieties including:

Chrysocolla

Chrysocolla is not a very well known gemstone but it is becoming increasingly popular with jewelry designers looking for something interesting and new. While found in multiple locations around the world, arguable the most sought after is the Australian Chrysocolla with its striking blue green hue.

Australian Chrysocolla for sale

Sodalite

Well known in the gemstone world for its rich royal blue color, sodalite may also be gray, yellow, green, or pink, and is often mottled with white veins or patches. The more uniformly blue material is used in jewelry, where it is fashioned into cabochons cut stones. Australian Sodalite gems are quite rare and mainly found in New South Wales and Tasmania.

Australian Sodalite for sale

Variscite

Variscite is considered to be one of the rarer and lesser-known collector's gemstones available today. Its appearance often causes it to be confused with turquoise, but variscite's color tends to be greener rather than blue. Very little gem grade material is found in Australia and Gemselect is very happy to be able to offer genuine Australian Variscite at very affordable prices.

Coral

Precious coral is a gemstone quality variety of natural coral, closely related to reef-building 'stony' coral. Most coral gemstones available today are varieties of Corallium rubrum, a very specific pink to red colored species of the coral genus. Coral gemstone found in Australia often have the most sought after red to pinkish red color.

Australian Coral for sale

Sapphire

Australia is most famous for opal and diamond, but it is also an important source of sapphire gemstones. In fact, Australia is one of the largest commercial-grade sapphire producers in the world. Australian sapphire mainly comes from New South Wales and Queensland and is available in various colors, including yellow, orange, green, pink, violet and blue.

Chrysoberyl

Chrysoberyl is a rare and exotic group of gemstones first discovered in 1789 by renowned geologist, Abraham Gottlob Werner. The bright yellow chrysoberyls from Australia have an unusually high refractive index which gives them a much sought after brilliance not found in this gemstone in other countries. Despite the name they are not part of the beryl family but make a very attractive gemstone for jewelry at very reasonable prices.

Australian Chrysoberyl for sale

January Birthstone

A quick reminder that January's birthstone is garnet, truly one of the most diverse gemstones available. When one thinks of garnets, the color that usually pops to mind is red, a nice deep red, but garnets come in a wide variety of colors and price range to suit all budgets. If you or a loved one celebrates a birthday in January you are spoilt for choice - green, red, orange, yellow, pink, purple, and more!

Customer Questions and Answers:

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