Category Archives: Russian Diamond Fund

Book Review: Terra Spinel by Vladyslav Yavorskyy

by Richard W. Wise G.G.

Tucson Gem Shows; A Brief Roundup:

Early Saturday morning, Rebekah and I woke from a deep sleep and reluctantly dragged ourselves to the Tucson International Airport. Our two weeks at the annual gem-orgy was over, goodbye blue skies, hello ice and snow. The Berkshires may look “dreamlike on account of that frosting” (James Taylor) but we are, quite frankly, over it! The icicles on our roof are four feet long!

Tucson was quite productive this year. The recession appears to be on the wane. Attendance was up and most vendors were quite pleased, with sales as much as 50% above last year’s—though in some cases, that’s not saying much! Prices in most gem varieties were strong with vendors unwilling to discount. Big auction prices realized by exceptional rubies and sapphires appear to be putting some upward pressure on smaller, finer goods.

Book Review: Terra Spinel:

Yavorskyy, Vladyslav and Hughes, Richard W., Terra Spinel, 2010 Privately Published and Printed in Hong Kong. Full Color, 200 pages; 240 x 260 mm ISBN: 978-0-615-40901-6

Though this is hardly news, in the past three years, spinel prices have doubled, particularly for finer qualities of red, pink and Cobalt blue varieties. Spinel has a long and illustrious history in the gem world, but it languished and traded in an indifferent market through most of the past century. Perhaps this is due to the fact that colorless spinel was used as a diamond substitute in the 19th Century and the bad odor of “simulant” clung to the stone for much of the 20th. This also explains why there has never been a comprehensive book written on spinel. For those looking for such a volume, Terra Spinel is not it.

A magnificent red spinel before and after

Terra Spinel, a large format coffee table sized portfolio (9.75 x 10.25″), designed, edited and written with the help of Richard W. Hughes, author of the seminal Ruby & Sapphire, is a picture book, but what pictures! Both Hughes and Yavorskyy are great photographers. My wife and I look forward each year to receiving Yavorskyy’s annual photo-calendar (not available this year due to the cost of producing the book). Vlad’s photographs burrow down and capture the gritty, often humorous and at times profound everyday realities of the remote regions he visits in search of gemstones. Like the dustjacket pictured above, the book is printed on a medium-dark gray background which makes the images really pop.

Old man, a villager from remote Afghanistan, by Yavorskyy

Beginning with the magnificent 110 carat polished red spinel rough pictured on the cover, the book chronicles some of the fine gemstones Yavorskyy has sourced over the years. Each page, even those with full page images of mines, villages and temples, and these are the majority, includes an example of a beautiful gemstone often juxtaposing rough and polished images of the same gem. Most of these images are labeled with the weight, at least, of the cut version, but many are not. Unfortunately this is also true of the final section entitled Spinel by the Book, which is essentially a seven page thumbnail sketch of the entire collection. Given its importance, a list of sizes would have been very useful.

Hughes does begin with a brief but informative history of both the gem and its ancient names– spinel, balas ruby and lal. Brief biographies and large images of three of the world’s most famous spinels; Timur’s, The Black Prince’s and Catherine the Great’s rubies, are also provided. Having recently visited the Imperial Collections in Moscow and St. Petersburg (October), I can attest to the fact that the color renderings of these important gems are the best available. There are full color maps of both the major historical and current mining areas. The book also contains a helpful two page bibliography.

Terra Spinel is a beautifully designed and sumptuously produced hardcover. The book is swathed in black cloth and wrapped in a thick chrome-coat dustjacket. The title and authors’ names and blind stamped in embossed silver on both front cover and spine. A color panorama begins on the inside front cover (endpaper) and extends to the endsheet; ditto inside the back cover. These are all expensive extras which more than justify its $95.00 price. Unfortunately shipping from Bangkok will cost another $65.00 bringing the total to $160.00. The book may be ordered directly from the website. For those traveling, the book will be available at the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show: 4–8 March 2011. Grand Hall, Booth G09; Baselworld: 24–31 March 2011. Booth C30, Hall 3.1.

Book Review: Russian Alexandrites

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Schmetzer, Karl, Russian Alexandrites

2010, 140 pages. ISBN 978-3-510-65264-4 $49.95

Just received a copy of Dr. Karl Schmetzer’s new book entitled Russian Alexandrites. Schmetzer is the senior author, the book also includes contributions from George Bosshart, Marina Epelboym, Dr. Lore Kiefert and Anna-Kathrin Maisy.

The book begins with an excellent introduction written by Schmetzer and Kiefert detailing the geological setting in the Tokovaya area of the Ural Mountains. Schmetzer notes that in Russia, alexandrite has always been found associated with emerald and gives a comprehensive history of the various discoveries, specific mines and the history of mining for emerald and alexandrite in the area surrounding the Russian city of Ekaterinburg. The introduction includes a breathtakingly beautiful full page image of Russian emerald and alexandrite crystals from the Boyd Collection.

In the Fall of 1830, Maksim Stefanovich Kozhevnikov, a peasant living in the Beloyarsk district discovered the first emeralds clinging to the roots of a fallen tree on the banks of the Tokovaya River. I was immediately struck by the similarity of the description of this discovery of emerald in the Urals to that of the discovery of tourmaline by Elijah Hamlin “on the last day of Autumn” in the same year, at Mt. Mica, Maine. The tourmaline crystals were also found clinging to the roots of a tree: “a vivid gleam of green flashed from an object on the roots of a tree upturned by the wind.” (Hamlin, The Tourmaline, 1873).

Schmetzer also reproduces an entry by mineralogist Sir David Brewster in February 1935 edition of the London Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science. In the entry, Brewster notes that the crystal is pink-red under candlelight that a thicker crystal would be redder and redder. This entry, read a certain way, is a misleading description and may be the actual source of largely mythical “ruby red” alexandrite. Another other possible source, a novel, The Alexandrite, written by Leskov and published in Russian in 1884 that describes alexandrite as “green by day, red by night.” This, of course, is partly due to the fact that in 1830, incandescent illumination was limited to candlelight which at 1500 kelvin is a good deal redder than the light bulb at 3200k.

Chapter 4 surveys the location of important collections of alexandrite specimens and includes photographs of some of the finest examples. Chapter 5 contains an excellent, easy to understand and beautifully illustrated using both drawings and photographs of actual specimens, discussion of alexandrite crystal morphology. Chapter 6 examines structural properties, again with excellent illustrations consisting of photomicrographs of crystal slices that show both growth patterns and pleochroism. Chapter 7 discusses the very rare cats-eyes and star stones. Chapter 8 compares growth patterns between Russian, synthetic and other natural sources of alexandrite including a suggestion about crystal habit that could be useful to gemologists and dealers in the field in doing preliminary separations of Russian versus alexandrite from other locations using magnification alone.Chapter 9 is the least satisfying though it does have an interesting discussion of color and crystal orientation that would be of interest to lapidaries.

Chapter 10 discusses origin determination. Branding is rampant in the gem trade. High dollar premiums are regularly paid for sapphires from Burma and Kashmir and tourmalines from Paraiba (Rio Grande do Norte) Brazil. Russian alexandrite, due to its very limited supply, enjoys a mythical and mostly undeserved status in the gem trade (Wise, Secrets, p.85-89). Using Laser Ablation (LA-ICP-MS) a particularly sensitive instrument that uses a laser to excise a tiny bit of material and subject it to X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) is able to compare tiny concentrations of trace elements. Schmetzer compares alexandrite from several sources, Hematatita Brazil, India and Lake Manyara, Tanzania and Russia. The study concludes that relative concentrations of the elements; B, V, Ga, Ge, Sn and Ta are relevant in differentiating point of origin in alexandrite. The study was not exhaustive as it excludes material from Ilakaka, Madagascar as well as some other minor localities. It does, however, form a strong foundation to build upon.

The book also includes an appendix with a list of the principle Russian mines and a useful historical timetable. There is an extensive bibliography and index. Altogether a very satisfying volume and a necessary addition to every gemological library. Unfortunately like other German publications, the book is not available on Amazon or any other online easily accessible source. The book may be purchased by contacting the publisher; Schweizerbart Science Publishers. for our English readers, the book also available through the GemA bookshop.

Inside The Vault; The Diamond Fund, Part II

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by Richard W. Wise

It is difficult to know where to start. You enter The Diamond Fund through a vault-like door. The room is simple, dark and unadorned. The showcases are brightly lit. Unlike the rest of the Armoury, the room is quiet, only two groups are allowed in at any one time. The first case contains a pile of diamonds. How else to describe it? Included are some beautifully formed bi-pyramidal crystals—several a large as quail’s eggs! I have as yet found no written reference which describes these stones and gives their history, but modern names such as the 342.50 carat “34th Communist Party Congress (actually found in Yakutia) and the 40.54 carat “Soyuz Apollo” suggest that they were sourced in the Siberian fields during the Soviet Era.

In Europe’s Royal Jewel Game; it was all about size:

After visiting the The Armoury, The Diamond Fund, The Hermitage and The Victoria and Albert (not bad for one trip, hey!) I am struck by how much quality standards in gemstones have changed over the centuries. Obviously the stone in these collections were some of the finest in the world, but they are what we today would strongly fault for the quality of their cut as well as for the often substantial number of eye-visible inclusions. It is important to note, however, that the testosterone fueled game as it was played by the royal houses of Europe was more about size than it was about quality. Having the biggest sapphire trumped having a lot of smaller higher quality gems. The point was, “mine is bigger than yours” and if the color was a little off or the cut was wonky, so what!

The Shah Diamond, so named because it was owned and signed by no less than three royal owners

The Shah Diamond, so named because it was owned and signed by no less than three of its first four royal owners

The Shah Diamond–Truly Expensive Graffiti:

The holdings include two historically important stones. The first is the 88.70 carat Shah Diamond, a Golconda stone from the famous Indian deposits. This diamond, hardly more than polished rough, has a history going back to 1544. We know who owned the stone because each of the owners signed it. The first inscription, perhaps the most expensive graffiti on earth, reads: “Burzam-Nizam Shah the second, Year 1000” (1591). Next it was owned by Akbar, the first emperor of the Mogul dynasty of India, and then by his grandson, the gem loving Shah Jehan who added his own inscription in 1644. The final signature reads: “The ruler kajar Fath Ali Shah Sultan” and was carved in 1824. The stone, which appeared to me to be of high color, is described as “light yellowish brown” due to minute cracks in the crystal which contain iron oxide. These cracks are quite invisible to the naked eye. The stone is a natural octahedral crystal with polished faces.

The second diamond is the Orloff. I was particularly keen to have an opportunity to see this great gem in person. This stone was first described by the 17th Century adventurer Jean Baptiste Tavernier which many readers will recall is the protagonist in my newly published historical novel, The French Blue. An expert observer, Tavernier was also a skillful artist; his rendering of this stone was first published in his Six Voyages (1678) and reproduced in the novel. The stone is in the shape of a giant gum drop, faceted up the sides and across the top. Tavernier describes it as being of the finest water. Golconda diamonds are usually type IIa stones, contain no measurable Nitrogen, and do not fluoresce to ultra violet light. Russian experts have noted “a barely noticeable bluish green tinge”, an ill understood phenomenon that is sometimes seen and described in Golconda diamonds such as The Regent, despite their lack of fluorescence. Diamonds of this type are highly crystalline and are often described as “whiter than white” and bring substantial premiums at auction.

The Orlof, probably the same diamond called The Great Moghul and described by Jean Baptiste Tavernier in The French Blue.

The Orloff, probably the same diamond called The Great Moghul, and described by Jean Baptiste Tavernier in The French Blue.

Another beautiful stone, a tourmaline originally thought to be a ruby and weighing 260.86 carats is set with a green enameled foliate cap. The stone was set in the rough and it resembles the shape and color of a strawberry. It has numerous visible inclusions that add to the fruit like look. It was originally owned by Rudolph II of Bohemia and described by De Boot and called at that time, “Caesar’s Ruby.” It was presented to Catherine the Great in 1777. De Boot valued it at 60,000 ducats.

Update–Siberian Amethyst:

Arrived London on the 21st. Spent a good part of yesterday viewing the famous Victoria & Albert Museum’s jewelry collection. Included is a platinum necklace with a suite of several very large (200 carat plus) amethysts given by Czar Alexander I to Frances Anne, wife of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry. The suite is of Siberian amethyst. Given the provenance, you would expect these stones to be the finest of their kind. While, fine enough, measuring perhaps 8.4 on a 1-10 scale, they do not stand up to the finest Zambian and Brazilian material and seem to lack the requisite red flash.

The Treasures of Moscow's Diamond Fund, Part I

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The vaulted chamber of Hall 1, The Armoury, Moscow

by Richard W. Wise

Greetings all; my wife Rebekah and I left late last week for a vacation tour of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tallinn, Estonia. We are also spending a few days in London.

Our first stop was Moscow. As part of our tour, we visited the The Armoury. Founded in 1806 by imperial decree, the former munitions storehouse encloses the most important exhibits of Russia’s National Museum of History and Culture including the State collection of gems and jewels. The building stands at the southwest section of the Kremlin in central Moscow. Located within the Armoury is The Diamond Fund, aptly named, it is a small museum within a museum and is the repository for the finest of the jewels that are part of the Russian national collection.

Visiting The Diamond Fund is not easy. Though many visitors tour The Armoury, few make the advance reservations or are willing to pay the $130.00 per person required for a one hour unguided tour.

Beginning the Tour: Inside The Armoury:

We began our tour in The Armoury proper and the first thing that struck me as we gazed into the cases in Room 1, which houses items of gold from the 12^th through 17^th Centuries is the prevalence of emerald as a decoration in some of the oldest pieces. Many of the items on exhibit are religious objects including, several manuscript Bibles with highly decorated, carved, chased, repousée and niello silver covers. Th ese hand written scriptures were encrusted with gems the most prevalent of which are agates, emeralds and natural pearls. One object, a 14^th Century reliquary, includes numerous large cabochon emeralds, most hardly more than water worn pebbles, which displayed rather good color. The 14^th Century Crown of Monomachus, sort of a Russian fur cap with a gold crown is decorated by several large rectangular faceted emeralds as well as sapphire, spinel?, rock crystal and pearls.

Monomachus Cap. Late 14th Century. A golf carved filagreed cap set with cabochon emerald, sapphire, spinel and pearls

The Colombian emerald mines were conquered in the 1560s, so emeralds dating from this period are certainly not from that source. It is tempting to suggest that these are Uralian emeralds, however, several of these objects are thought to be of Byzantine manufacture and given that some emeralds from the Roman period have been traced to Pakistan, it is not possible to tell the exact source without testing.

Sapphire and Tourmaline:

All of the metalwork is housed in a large dimly lit vaulted chamber within the Armoury. The light is challenging. I saw a number of blue sapphires with color and inclusions that suggest Ceylon origin and though I can’t be sure, I can’t think of another possibility.

Made in 1731 by G. W. Dunkel, this crown in surmounted by a magnificent uncut red tourmaline of exceptionally pure red hue.

Another surprise, tourmaline! There are several lovely tourmalines, particularly reds, used as primary decorations on a number of the pieces in both The Armoury and The Diamond Fund. One example, a crown made in 1730 by goldsmith G. W. Dunkel in St. Petersburg for Empress Anne is surmounted by a gigantic uncut alluvial peable of red tourmaline. More about tourmaline in the next post.

The Goldsmith’s Art:

The goldsmiths work is exceptional. Repousée, a process by which a three three dimensional bas relief is formed by placing sheet gold or silver upside down in a bowl of warm pitch is breathtaking. Once cool, the pitch both holds and cushions the metal and a series of shaped hardened metal tools are used to push the metal outward. Once the figure is formed, the metal is turned right side up and small details are pushed and chiseled or “chased” in using smaller, finer edged tools. By these processes, small figures of Christ and the saints were beautifully rendered with minute detail.

Russian goldsmiths were masters of enameling and niello. Silver and yellow gold are a fairly restricted palette, one can be used to gild the other, but that is about it. Niello is a alloy of silver, lead and copper of varying mixtures and a low melting point that becomes gray to black and flows easily into chased or carved filigreed recesses in either gold or silver and can create contrasts that bring out the finer details in the host metal.

Fabergé Eggs:

The Armoury also holds Russia’s fifteen remaining Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs. A majority of these eggs, gifts to the Czarina by the ill fated Czar Nicholas II, were spirited out of Russia after the revolution by the American industrialist Armand Hammer and now reside in the

United States. Each of the eggs is a masterpiece of the goldsmith’s art. (Pictured Anastasia’s Egg). Faberge was known particularly for his use of enamels. This technique involves the fusing of powdered colored glass to the metal’s surface in a kiln at high temperatures. Each color, each changing nuance requires an additional firing. To give the impression of depth, Fabrege sometimes used as many of six firing for a single color. The workshop is reputed to have used 500 different colors.

Pearls:

Pearls were used in large numbers to decorate many of the objects, particularly the icon frames. We saw sizes up to 7-9mm in round as well as many semi-round and baroque shapes. For the most part the pearls exhibited a dull luster, which is probably the result of age and poor storage.

Next: Inside the vault, The Treasures of The Diamond Fund; stay tuned!