Wikileaks, Zimbabwe & Blood Diamonds, Part I

by Richard W. Wise. G.G.

Diamond fields outside of Chidzwa Village, Marenge, Zimbabwe, 2008

Wiki-leaks has been very much in the news and despite dire predictions from the Obama administration that material being leaked would put the lives of American officials and their assets abroad in danger, much of what has so far been discussed reads more like a series of tabloid news reports.

Among the 251,287 cables just released of which about half are labeled Secret or Confidential and half are unclassified, we learn to everyone’s surprise, that American officials are not particularly impressed with Afghan president, Mohamed Kharzi. The cables also contain disparaging remarks about Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin running a “virtual Mafia state” and about Italian President Berlusconi‘s relationship with an 18 year old Moroccan dancer.

Of particular interest to those of us in the Gemstone/jewelry community are Wiki-leaks of a series of cables written from the Office of the former Ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee in 2007-08 that relate to the situation in the Marenge diamond fields near Chidzwa Village in Zimbabwe.

Andrew Cranswick, CEO of African Consolidated Resources (ACR) is named as the source of much of the information. ACR a publicly traded British firm was the leaseholder until 2006 when ACR was ousted and the lease was taken over by the Zimbabwe government’s own Mineral Marketing Corporation (MMCZ). So it is safe to say that Cranswick has an axe to grind. “It was highly irresponsible for Wikileaks to publish names,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “This is extremely dangerous and puts peoples’ lives at risk.” Cranswick is reported to be going through bankruptcy proceedings in Australia.

Marenge Diamond Fields Said To Be Exceptionally Rich:

Cranswick describes the fields as exceptionally rich:

“Cranswick told us he was confidentially shown a report prepared for the De Beers Corporation by noted geologist John Ward. The report estimated that Chidzwa had a CPHT (carats per hundred tons) of over 1,000. By comparison, the Rio Tinto/Rio Zimbabwe-owned Murowa diamond mine near Zvishavane in Midlands province has a CPHT of 120.”

To put these number in perspective, Australia’s famous Argyle Mine was rated at 30.5 CHPT in 2005. De Beer’s South African claims average 85 CPHT. The highest CPHT previously noted was found in a small pipe adjacent to Slave Lake in Siberia that yielded 139 CPHT but the pipe was played out within two years.

Jawaneng Mine, Botswana

The three pipes at the Jwaneng Mine in Botswana, described by De Beers as “the richest mine in the world” have a CPHT of 141.

To properly evaluate Marenge’s potential it is also important to know the average value of the production per ton. For example although the Onea mine is rated at only 0.5 CHPT, the average per carat value is $880 versus $11.50 per carat from Argyle. According to Cranswick in the Wikileak-ed cables, a Russian group purchased $500,000 dollars worth of diamonds at $29.00 per carat. Cranswick describes the production as 60% industrial and 40% gem or facet-able material, other reports put the ratio closer to 70/30

More to come. Bypassing The Kimberly Process: Next on GemWise

Golconda orType IIa Diamonds; Big Prices at Auction

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By Richard W. Wise, G.G.

(portions originally published in 2008)

Another Auction Record? Well Not Quite:

On Tuesday, Christies sold a 27.03 carat DVVS1 cushion cut type IIa diamond for 3.55 million or $131,502 per carat. In a fit of salesman-like overstatement, Rahul Kadakia, referring to a 30 carat D-Flawless type IIa that sold last year for $130,000 per carat, stated that “This represents a 45% increase in the value of top diamonds in just twelve month’s time.” While it is true that a flawless diamond will command a significant premium over a mere VVS, Kadakia is ignoring recent history. At a Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction held in New York on April 17th, a 24.42 carat D color Internally Flawless diamond sold for 3.6 million or better than $148,443 per carat. One day earlier at Christies another rectangular step cut diamond weighing 27.91 carats (pictured above left) sold for 4.04 Million or $145,933 per carat.

Collectors Paying Big Premiums for type IIa diamonds:

Sales talk and hyperbole aside, Type IIa diamonds are regularly knocking down auction records. Gems of this type are often called “Golconda” diamonds after the famous Indian mines that supplied a majority of the world’s diamonds until they were mined out in the early 18^th Century. Collectors, particularly Europeans are willing to pay high premiums for these rare gems and for good reason.

Most of the world’s big name diamonds, those mined before 1725, the Koh-I-Noor, The Sancy and for that matter, The Hope diamond came from the fabled diamond mines of India, all are type II diamonds.

Type IIa is a rare type of diamond that contains no measurable amounts of Nitrogen. Nitrogen is the impurity that imparts the yellow color in diamonds. As a result “white” diamonds of this type tend to be colorless (D-F) colors and have few inclusions. (see GemWise:http://www.thefrenchblue.com/rww_blog/?p=29

Type IIa diamonds have unique characteristics. Stones of this type are famous for their exceptional lack of color, a color that goes beyond D and is sometimes referred to as super-D.

“…the old Golconda stones were by comparison ‘whiter than white.’ Place a Golconda diamond from an old piece of jewelry alongside a modern recently cut D-color diamond, and the purity of the Golconda stone with become evident.”

Benjamin Zucker; Gems & Jewels; A Connoisseur’s Guide

Type IIa diamonds have also been found in Brazil and at South Africa’s Premier Mine. It is estimated that only about 1% of the world’s diamonds are type IIa. The auction houses tend to lump together all type IIa stones, but be warned; not all type IIa diamonds are created equal. It is not enough that a stone fits the scientific definition. A true Golconda or perhaps I should say Golconda-type gem is not only “whiter than white”, diamonds of this type have other characteristics that contribute to their unique beauty, characteristics that sets them apart from the common herd.

Gems of The Finest Water:

Prior to the invention of modern terminology, exceptionally fine diamonds were referred to as “gems of the finest water”. The “term” water goes back to at least the Seventeenth Century. Water combines two concepts; color and transparency. For the purposes of rhyming I have renamed this later quality crystal and include it along with color, clarity and cut as one of the “Four Cs of Connoisseurship”. For a gem to be truly considered fine it must have both exceptional color and crystal so “super-d” too refers to more than just the total absence of color:

“This designation (super-d), one that sounds about as romantic as a name-brand motor oil refers to antique diamonds from India’s legendary Golconda mines—stones that are reputed to exhibit an extraordinary transparency.”

Richard W. Wise; Secrets of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones

The True Blue White Diamonds

Type IIa diamonds have yet another characteristic, one that is not well understood or even well known among gem professionals; under certain conditions the stones will emit a blue glow in daylight.

The mechanism that produces this phenomenon is not well understood but it is not ultra violet fluorescence. About one third of all diamonds fluoresce blue under ultra-violet light. A few of these, diamonds with very high fluorescence, will actually appear milky or foggy, i.e. lose transparency in daylight. Golconda-type IIa diamonds, rarely possess fluorescence in any meaningful degree:

In a paper presented in 1975 at the 15^th International Gemmological Conference, gemologist and author Herbert Tillander made the following observations:

“This type (type II) includes all natural blue diamonds, the only current source of which is the Premier Mine and some really blue-white stones without fluorescence.”

“Type II diamonds in general do not fluoresce although they give a bluish afterglow.”

Herbert Tillander, The Hope Diamond and its Lineage, p. 7

The problem is that the blue glow is quixotic and unreliable; Like the famous green flash at sunset that is sought, usually after a couple of Margaritas, by Caribbean vacationers, this phenomenon refuses to dance to the gemologist’s tune.

“Here, in the afterglow of day, we keep our rendezvous beneath the blue And, in the same and sweet old way I fall in love again as I did then.”Twilight Time,

The Three Suns

French 17th Century gem dealer, Jean Baptiste Tavernier

My love affair with this curious phenomenon began at about 2:30 one sunny late June afternoon in the Berkshires. A client and I were comparing two 10 carat type IIa diamonds. Both had GIA certificates, both graded D-Flawless with no fluorescence; one, a modern radiant and the second an Old European, said to be an old Golconda stone that looked like the Regent’s younger sibling. We placed the two together in the afternoon sun, suddenly a phenomenon like a blue haze appeared to dance above the old cushion, while the modern cut stone just sat quietly.

“…the never failing test for correctly ascertaining the water is afforded by taking the stone under a leafy tree and in the green shadow one can easily detect if it is blue.”

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, 1689

The old Golconda diamonds exhibited these three characteristics, ultra-colorlessness, a high degree of transparency and, if Tavernier is to be believed, a delicate blue glow. Tavernier as quoted above bought all his diamonds in India. Given his statement it would seem to follow that in the original meaning of the term, a blue white diamond was not, as most experts believe, a blue fluorescent stone but rather a non-fluorescent Golconda diamond.

“The Regent possesses that unique limpidity characteristic of so many of the finest Indian diamonds together with a beautiful light blue tinge.”

Ian Balfour, Famous Diamonds

Balfour gives the following description of the 135.92 carat Queen of Holland diamond (pictured left)

“Yet there are experts who, after examining it think that the ‘Queen of Holland’ is a typical Golconda stone. It has been classified as an ‘intense blue’: although it is a white diamond it does possesses a definite blue tint, rather like the colour of cigarette smoke. The Gemological Institute of America has graded the ‘Queen of Holland’ as ‘internally flawless’ and ‘D’ colour…”

Ian Balfour, Famous Diamonds

Very little of any information about Golconda diamonds exists in the current or historical literature. This explains why so few experts are aware of Golconda-type IIa diamonds and their characteristic beauty marks. Specialists that I consulted, at both Christies and Sotheby’s, were totally unaware of the phenomenon of the blue glow. Perhaps this is because, in at least some cases, this ethereal phenomenon is, as I have said, quixotic. It only appears under certain as yet indefinable conditions. It can be seen in sunlight and most gem experts, particularly those in New York, don’t get out much and when they do in the polluted haze that hangs over The City, perhaps the phenomenon is not visible at all.

Mystery Solved?

I had a conversation with Tom Moses who is GIA’s point man on grading fancy color diamonds. Finally a living person other than myself who has seen this affect. Moses is indeed familiar with the blue phenomenon which he describes as the Tyndell Effect similar to the affect that makes the sky blue. This same cause was suggested by Fancy Color diamond specialist Stephen Hofer in a conversation I had with him two years ago.

According to Moses, Type IIa diamonds usually do not fluoresce or if they do, the fluorescence is so weak that it is not reported on GIA’s grading reports. The blue glow is not at all characteristic of a specific location; Moses has seen it is Type IIa diamonds from South Africa, Brazil and Russia. Only a small percentage of type IIa diamonds exhibit this blue glow.

"Mystery of The Hope Diamond" or Smithsonian goes Hollywood!

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The 45.52 carat Hope Diamond

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

I just watched the Smithsonian Institution’s new program “Mystery Of The Hope Diamond.” It was presented on the Smithsonian Channel Saturday night but can also be viewed online. The presentation focused on two topics; the curse and the gem’s phosphorescence.

That the “curse” was a marketing ploy, invented by Pierre Cartier in 1910, to sell the diamond to Evelyn Walsh McLean has been well documented. According to the legend, the stone brought disaster to all who owned it. Jean Baptiste Tavernier, the man who brought the diamond from India was supposedly torn apart by wild dogs when in truth he died of old age in Moscow. That such a story would tempt the young socialite to defy the curse and purchase the stone, says a great deal about the reckless hubris of nouveau riche Americans of the Gilded Age. It does not answer the question as to why the Smithsonian spent so much time rehashing this discredited old saw.

It seems to me that more recent events, in particular, the discovery in 2007 of the lead replica of The French Blue, a 68 carat diamond owned by the French Crown, stolen in 1792 is far more significant. Subsequent computer modeling based on the replica established without doubt that the Hope had been cut from this purloined stone. That news was given about fifteen seconds and neither Francois Farge, the discoverer nor Scott Sucher, the modeler received a mention.

This was dictated, I am sure, by political considerations along with the rehashing of Richard Kurin’s totally undocumented thesis that the stolen diamond had been purchased by King George IV—a label found with the rediscovered lead model strongly suggests that the French Blue was in the possession of Henry Phillip Hope before it was recut. Oh well, if Hollywood, not to mention Pierre Cartier, has taught us anything it is that to win a mass audience, it is necessary to titillate and legends and curses no matter how far fetched, are far sexier than history.

The Mystery of The Hope Diamond was narrated by Kim Bassinger, who unfortunately did not appear. It featured some interesting antique footage of McLean along with excellent descriptions of the genesis of diamonds, some great footage of India and a very interesting description of the Hope’s phosphorescence. I particularly enjoyed the footage showing the fabrication of the Hope’s new setting by the Harry Winston Company. the Smithsonian’s curator, Dr. Jeff Post did a good job of explaining a number of technical points. It is available on the Smithsonian website and is altogether well worth spending an hour viewing.

The Making of a Masterpiece V

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An exceptional 32 carat Siberian amethyst custom cut by John Dyer

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

In the old days an apprentice goldsmith was required to submit a finished work, sort o final exam and thesis in metal to prove his skills and worthiness to hold the title of master goldsmith. This work was known as a masterpiece.

Per usual at R. W. Wise, a client’s purchase of a particularly beautiful gemstone began the journey. The stone, a fairly large custom cut amethyst measuring 24 x 19mm, a tad large for a ring, practically begged to be made into a brooch. In consultation with our client, it was decided that it would be a combination piece that would be wearable as both a pendant and a brooch.

The client is particularly drawn to designs from The Art Nouveau Period (1890-1910). Le art nouveau, literally the new art, evolved from the Arts & Crafts Movement (1860-1880), really a philosophy as much as a movement that put great emphasis on naturalistic design, hand craftsmanship and the use of honest materials.

A 18k gold, plique a jour pendant by Art Nouveau master Lucien Gautrait. R. W. Wise Collection. Photo: Jeff Scovil

Art Nouveau jewelers retained the design concept but pulled out the stops when it came to use of materials. Drawing inspiration from ancient Celtic and Gothic designs, jewelry of this period are executed with naturalistic, often fantastical females and floral designs featuring asymmetrical whiplash like filigree. Art Nouveau designs are often quite intricate, made extensive use of enameling as well as exotic gemstones of all colors.

From Concept to Completion:

The Concept:

As with all custom design, the first step is the concept. The client supplied us with pictures of period designs. Master goldsmith Michael Corneau then reinterpreted the design ideas into a pendant/brooch that would frame the gemstone.

The finished sketch. The empty center is precisely the size of the gemstone. At the upper left the designer holds a narrow piece of shaped 18k gold wire the first section of the piece. Photo: Amy Judd

Execution:

Once the sketch is approved, we move on to execute the design. In this case the construction involved a large number of individually shaped elements.

The following images illustrate the construction process:

A series of tiny shapes, cut out, filed and fitted, then laser welded. Photo: Amy Judd

Soldering the elements. Photo: Amy Judd

Working with the flexible shaft tool, shaping and smoothing. Photo: Amy Judd

The finished Piece:

18k Art Nouveau style brooch with 32 carat Deep Siberian amethyst. Photo: Robert Weldon

Boldly Going Where No Lab Rat Has Gone Before

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Boldly going where No Lab-rat has gone before.

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

Gemological Laboratories are under increasing pressure to add quality grading to their traditional role of determining origin and treatment of gemstones. One laboratory, AGL had been doing this for several years. However, recently under the aegis of the Lab Harmonizing Committee several of the leading labs have decided to aggressively go where no lab has gone before into the world of marketing. Gem Labs have entered the nomenclature business and into a firestorm of controversy .

The question of nomenclature is often more about tradition than science. You can study internal inclusions and make a determination about treatments and point out what specific anomalies led to your conclusions but how do you decide what to name a gem? The recent flap over Mozambique cuprian tourmaline that I covered in an earlier post is an excellent example. http://gemwiseblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html

Traditionally we name a gemstone based on species and variety but what happens in the case of a gem that is of the species corundum but derives its name strictly from a mix of colors? What gem am I thinking of? I’ll give you a hint; padparadscha sapphire.

In my book Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones, www.secretsofthegemtrade.com, following the late great GIA gemologist Richard Liddicoat, I define padparadscha as a light to medium tone of pinkish orange to orangey pink. Up until recently, labs have avoided the issue by simply calling the colors; “pinkish orange” and so forth.

A consortium of gem labs under the title: The Laboratory Manual Harmonization Committee (LMHC) met in Milan and has drawn up a standardized definition of padparadscha. The LMHC consists of seven of the world’s major laboratories (AGTA Gem Testing Center, CISGEM (Milan), GAAJ (Japan), GIA (USA), Gemological Institute of Thailand, Gübelin Gem Lab (Switzerland) and SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute (Switzerland). Some of these labs, excluding for the moment GIA-GTL, have begun to call and consumers have begun to demand a lab certificate that uses the term padparadscha to describe the stone. The question is, where is this definition coming from and is this the beginning of a brave new world wherein laboratory gemologists begin to dictate to dealers and connoisseurs?

“Well”, I can hear you say, “somebody’s got to cut through all the confusion.” and I agree. But, be careful what you wish for. Leaving aside the question of how this definition was arrived at, like it or not, once established the criteria determined by the labs will become the accepted definition. Are we ready for this and what in the training of a gemologist prepares them for this role? I received my Graduate Gemologist diploma some years back and I can tell that what a neophyte Graduate Gemologist doesn’t know about quality in gemstones would fill many volumes. A newly minted G.G. is little more than an apprentice scientist. Oh sure, he learns the GIA diamond grading system but…

According to Richard Hughes well known author and gemologist with the AGTA gem laboratory which makes him one of the most prominent lab-rats, laboratories have no business making such calls. He was particularly upset by the fact that the LMHC did not include a representative from Sri Lanka at the meetings where the decision was made (I mean where does the term come from?). Hughes also had problems with the adoption of a printed color chart developed by Franck Notari (GIA Geneva). Hughes makes the point that the definition of padparadscha is fuzzy at best and he feels that the insistence on hard a fast definitions is not appropriate. As proof of this assertion, Hughes did an analysis and discovered that the magnificent 20.84 carat padparadscha (pictured above left) that sold last year at Christies falls outside the parameters as defined by the chart adopted by the LMHC.

Stay tuned…

Tavernier, Later Travels & Peter The Great

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By Richard W. Wise, G.G.

Jean Baptiste Tavernier was one of the most prolific travelers and most remarkable men of the 17th Century. His adventures span forty years and 180,000 miles. My historical novel, The French Blue, tells the story of his life and adventures up until the sale of the Great Blue Diamond to Louis XIV, the Sun King of France. Though Tavernier lived to the age of eight four, we know little of the later life of after his ennoblement in 1669. For roughly a quarter of the price he received for the blue diamond, 36,750 ounces of gold, purchased the Chateau Aubonne just outside of Bern in what was then the Duchy of Savoy and with it the barony in 1670.

Chateau Aubonne with tower added by Jean Baptiste Tavernier

The next we hear of him is in 1684 in Berlin as a guest of Fredrick William of Brandenburg. The Elector, anxious to equip his own East Indian venture, offers Tavernier an ambassadorship to India and appoints him Chamberlain and Counselor of his soon to be created Navy. After six weeks in Berlin, he visits several towns in Germany and Holland and returns to Aubonne in November.

In January 1985, Tavernier, now 80 years old, sells his Barony to the Marquis Henry du Quesne for 168,000 livres, approximately three times the purchase price. Ball suggests that he did this to raise money for the Brandenburg venture. This may be true but I believe that the canny old adventurer had his nose in the wind and knew that as a Protestant his time was up in France.

Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy was the son in law of Louis XIV. Louis issued The Edict of Fontainebleau in October effectively declaring Protestantism to be illegal. This was shortly followed by the Verification of Nobility, a decree that revoked the titles on non-catholic aristocrats. At first the Duke was reluctant to honor Louis decrees but caved in once his father in law threatened to send an army to invade the duchy.

By 1686 it was clear that The Elector’s East Indian venture had come to naught. Tavernier once again begins traveling. In 1687 he is in Switzerland and he arrives in Copenhagen sometime in 1687 or 1688.

According to information uncovered by Tavernier’s biographer Charles Joret, Tavernier now age 83 commences a seventh voyage to the Indies. Joret produces a fragment of an article published in a Danish journal by Frederick Rostgaard who states that he interviewed the aging adventurer who told him of his intention to travel to Persia via Moscow. (Joret p.384).

Fredrick William of Brandenburg

On February 6, 1689, Tavernier received a passport signed by First minister Prince Vasily Gallitzin to enter Russia and to proceed from Smolensk to Moscow. Tavernier was required to report to the Bureau of Foreign Affairs once he reached the Russian capital.

The Russian Orthodox Church was rabidly anti-West and sought to curtail the influence of foreigners. In 1652 Czar Alexis decreed that all foreign nationals living in Moscow were forbidden to live or build churches within the city. They were required to reside in an area known as the German Suburb (Nemetskaya Sloboda). This quarter was located three miles northwest of the city along the Yauza river. The quarter was laid out European style with Dutch, French and English buildings including several Protestant churches. The quarter housed over 3,000 people and it is known that a number of French Huguenots (Tavernier’s co-coreligionists), fleeing the new wave of persecution in France, had taken up residence in the suburb (Massie, p.111). It is reasonable to assume that Tavernier would have been required to live in this quarter during his sojourn in Moscow.

In his biography of the French gem merchant, Charles Joret cites a letter written in 1876 by an M. I. Tokmakof claiming to have discovered Tavernier’s headstone in an old protestant cemetery in Moscow. Given the Czar’s decree it is reasonable to assume that this cemetery was located in the Nemetskaya Sloboda. Since all Protestant churches were located in the German Suburb, this provides some direct evidence that Tavernier did reside in the quarter. The headstone was intact except that the last two letters of the date had been obliterated leaving us with no exact knowledge as to the date of Tavernier’s death.

During his youth, Peter the Great befriended the British General, Patrick Gordon and several other foreigners and spent a great deal of his time in the German Suburb. This raises the interesting question of whether or not Tavernier met Peter. In his early youth, the young czar’s spiritual advisor, Patriarch Joachim, a fiercely anti-Western Orthodox cleric, controlled his access to the foreign quarter, but, according to historian Robert K. Massie (Peter The Great 1980), after the Patriarch’s sudden death on March 7, 1689, “Peter’s visits became so frequent that he seemed almost to live there.” (Massie, p.112)

Russian Czar Peter the Great as a young man

As to a meeting between Jean Baptiste Tavernier and the future Peter the Great, it is interesting to speculate. The precocious young Czar was extremely curious about foreign lands. Tavernier was a celebrated traveler and a famous man and the evidence strongly suggests that he was in residence in the German Suburb in March of 1689. It is difficult to believe that the young Peter would not have sought him out. According to Joret, Tavernier died in Moscow sometime in 1689 at the age of 84.

Notes:

Translation of letter by Dr. Lawrence Blumentrost to Prince Gallitzin (Joret Appendix p. 404), translation mine.

To Vasily Vasilyevich (Gallitzin), first Minister to their Royal Highness(s) Your Excellency, He, the noted merchant Baron Tavernier who lives in Bern, Switzerland has just arrived from the abroad in Smolensk from Stockholm with a pass port of the King of Sweden. He wishes to travel through the Persian Empire on business he asks me a letter from him to get a free pass to go to Moscow as this man is great friend of mine and I’m quite in touch with him I have a pressing need that it comes. For this reason here I humbly ask you not only his name but in my own name by any power that you possess because of our sovereign serene and kindly get him a free passage for him and all his luggage and send this Indeed a letter to Voyevoda (official??), Smolensk. It will be a new benefit (favor) added to the many benefits from your grace that I shall never cease to be grateful for your Excellency’s time.

Your humble servant, Dr Lawrence Bliimentrost.

The Reply and order:

From our Majesties the tsars the August princes Jean Pierre Alexeyevich Alexeyevich and Orthodox by His Majesty the Empress and Princess Sophia August Alexeyevna autocrat of all the Russians, Alexeyevich Ivan , Musin Pushkin and our commander in Smolensk Voyevoda in our empire and its designees to know it was reported to our Majesties that Baron Taverier arrived a Smolensk from the Swedish border with a passport from His Majesty, the King of Sweden. however, do not leave from Smolensk to Moscow ukase without an order of our Majesties But when this order from of our Majesties arrives, give the order without delay to send this stranger to Moscow. Send a report to our Majesties and give him a copy of your authority and also order the alien to appear in our August chancery offices to the Keeper of the Great Seal of the Empire and Director of Foreign Affairs of our Majesties Governor and boyar of Novgorod Prince Vasily Vasilyevich well as before and the boyar Prince Alexei Vasilyevich Gallitzin or their delegates Done in Moscow the year 7197 (1689) on February 6. Presented to Andre Viniousse.

Lecture & Book Signing; The Clark Art Institute:

I have been invited to deliver a lecture on Jean Baptiste Tavernier and the Odyssey of The Hope Diamond at the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts on November 7, 2010 at 3:00 pm. Admission is free. There will be a book signing directly after the lecture.

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.

Gold and Jewelry Prices in 2010

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As gold prices pass the $1,300 per ounce mark, it might be useful to talk about the relationship between gold prices and the price of finished jewelry. In the late 1970s, during the first gold rush I can recall, prices seemed to go up every week culminating in a peak price of $850 per ounce in early 1979. During this period, we adjusted our prices weekly and often found ourselves raising the ticket price on finished pieces to keep up with our replacement cost.

A Finished Piece of Handmade Jewelry Averages 70% labor, 30% gold:

After the peak things gradually calmed down and gold tended to trade between $350-500 for most of the next two decades. Gold is a material, in handmade jewelry it is normally 30% of the finished price. That means that 70%, on average, is the cost of the craftsman’s highly skilled labor. Paradoxically, the more handwork the less of a factor the actual materials become.

During the go-go late 70s some commercial manufactures thinking to take advantage of consumer awareness of high gold prices, began marketing gold jewelry by weight.

“Don’t worry, the gold is free!”

This was a problem for hand craftspeople. I recall be asked frequently to weigh handmade original pieces. At first I simply refused, but later I developed a standard response. “Don’t worry”, I would say smiling my most ingratiating smile, “the gold is free.” You can imagine the effect on the potential client, like a deer caught in the headlights, stunned speechless. It did provide an opening for me to launch into an explanation of the differences between commercial and handmade jewelry. Sometimes it worked, oftentimes it didn’t.

Brooch, hand constructed of gold sheet and wire.

Using the international gold price to deduce the price of a piece of handmade jewelry is a bit like comparing the price of a wooden house to the cost of a tree. The fact is, no one pays the spot gold price quoted in the morning paper. Craftsmen do not buy ingots, they buy manufactured sheet and wire of a certain size, shape and fineness.

Nobody Pays The Spot Price:

Gold: Manufactured sheet and wire stock

The price of manufactured gold differs from the spot price in the same way that the price of a board foot of lumber differs from the price of a pine tree. It is , in fact, 20-35% higher. Then there is waste. Saw a 1″ circle from a 1″ square of gold sheet and you end up with a certain amount of dust and a few tiny, unusable corners. Unless the workshop generates a great deal of scrap it is not cost efficient to melt that scrap down, make an ingot and roll it out into sheet. We can do it in our workshop, but under 5-6 ounces it doesn’t pay. So the dust and scrap is returned to the refinery for cash or credit of roughly 95% of the spot price. Net loss, 35% of the price originally paid. Polishing then reduces the rough weight by about 10% to yield the lovely hand polished piece of jewelry you see on display.

So, the next time you are tempted to ask a craftsman to weigh a piece of fine handmade jewelry, remember that gold price has a nebulous relationship to a finished piece of jewelry, particularly handmade jewelry. Remember too, craftsmanship counts.

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!