Siberian Amethyst, Debunking Another Myth of the Gem Trade.

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

A lovely example of Zambian amethyst, note the red flashes at 6 and 12:00 oclock. The alternating zones of purple and blue deliver a particularly velvety color

Quartz is as common as dirt. At 12% it is the most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust and the primary component of ordinary dust. Quartz is extremely stable and unlike other mineral components of the earth’s upper layer does not easily break down.

Amethyst is purple quartz, but despite the relative abundance of the mineral, exceptional fine rich purple amethyst, commonly called Siberian or deep Siberian color is extremely rare. In Medieval times, there were two distinct varieties of gemstones bore the name. t Oriental amethyst, was actually purple sapphire and Occidental amethyst, the quartz gem that bears the name today. Amethyst has seesawed in value over the centuries, today the finest of the fine might command $100 per carat at a high end jewelry store, in 1652, Nicols declared it to be of equal value to a diamond of the same weight.

I am not sure where the term Siberian originated and exactly how it became associated with the finest color in amethyst. The usual reason why a specific locality gives its name to the finest quality of a given gemstones, (Kashmir sapphire, Burma ruby and Paraiba tourmaline) is because the region is known to produce a particularly fine quality. This is not the case with “Siberian” amethyst. The fact is that for the past two centuries, the finest amethyst has come from Ceylon and Brazil (Streeter 1879)

Siberian amethyst is found in the Ural Mountains, with deposits outside the town of Mursinsk near the city of Ekaterinburg. Amethyst has been mined in this area since at least the 18th century and probably earlier. Sampling amethyst from mines active in this area in the 1830s, Gustav Rose, geologist with the famous Humboldt expedition (1837-1842) makes the following comment. “The Mursinsk amethyst at times is very dark violet-blue surpassing that from Ceylon but mostly it is pale violet-blue (purple) or spotted and striped (zoned).” John Sinkankas, who edited Rose’s text, calls this a “refreshing reappraisal” of Siberian amethyst and points out that Rose apparently held amethyst from Ceylon in the highest regard. In 1900, the great German gemologist Dr. Max Bauer make the identical point adding only Brazil as a source of the finest examples of amethyst. It is important to note that both these celebrated experts were able to view samples from actual working mines. Other writers (Farrington 1903) identify Siberia as a major source for amethyst in the U. S. but this is contradicted by Streeter, Kunz and G-H Herbert Smith, whose popular Gem-Stones was, perhaps the most popular general book on gemstones in the 20th Century went through 14 separate editions between 1913-1972.

Up until the 1990s the primary world source for amethyst were the Brazilian mines at Pau d’Arco, Rio Grande do Sul and Marabá. (Epstein 1988). Pau d’Arco located in the Brazilian state of Para was discovered in 1979 and was known to produce a rich sometimes over saturated purple, which often exhibited the much desired red flash in incandescent light. The other two sources produced a lighter brighter hued gem. This writer saw large parcels of amethyst, often hundreds of carats, from all these sources available for sale in the gem market at Teofilo Otoni during this period.

In the 1950s a new location of exceptionally fine gem material was located in Zambia in a 15 x 30 km belt, trending northwest in the Mwakambiko hills of the Mapatizya area of Zambia. This material, a medium dark royal purple has become famous for its dark blue zones which add a velvety “royal” quality to the face up color much as a bit of purple does in the higher qualities of sapphire. If one deposit were to be identified as the acme of amethyst it would be this one.

I was first introduced to the rough material in 1990. Much of it was being smuggled into Nairobi, Kenya. I had a good chance to examine the rough at that time and purchased several kilos. The rough was a uniform deep purple of 80-85% tone with deep blue zones running through it. Cut into gems it faced up with rich velvety slightly bluish purple and in incandescent light, the diagnostic red flashes and occasionally almost blue flashes of scintillation that are the hallmark of deep Siberian quality. Mining activity continues in Zambia but the major strike of exceptional material was mined out in the mid 1990s and a few gems cut from old rough are occasionally seen in the market.

The Making of A Masterpiece IV; Dendritic Agate Pendant/brooch

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by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

Hand & Eye:

The creation of a work of art is a process. Sketches are made, revised and a final design decided upon. However, during the course of the process, things change.

One of the larger questions in deciding on the final design for this pendant/brooch, was the complexity and placing of the appliques of white gold on the yellow gold surface of the pendant frame. These tiny branch like elements are meant to echo the natural pattern of dendritic inclusions in the agate itself (image left). The formation and cutting of this rare type of agate is the subject of the article below by Tarun Adlakah.

Both the designer, Michael Corneau and I agreed that too much applique would be too fussy. The question was, how do you minimize this design element without the result looking half-done. Michael came up with a couple of ideas, once the piece was in process figured out a better design which neither of us had discussed.

The finished piece was completely handmade from sheet gold using a saw, hammer, torch and laser welder. This method, known as hand fabrication is the true “handmade” method. The term is tossed about pretty liberally and often used to describe one of a kind pieces made in wax then cast by the lost wax method (cire perdu), but in my view unless you work in the metal itself, the piece cannot be said to be truly handmade.

A majority of the tools used in this process are hundreds if not thousands of years old. Some of the tools, such as the bow-drill featured below can be seen on tomb paintings from ancient Egypt. The laser welder is a new and very expensive tool. It was invented about twenty years ago and allows for precise cold-joining. It is particularly useful for adding the tiny filigree like elements pictured above

Poetry In Stone

by Tarun Adlakha

There are many legends surrounding the discovery of these stones and are mostly fables but it was around 400 years ago that the first documented records of their occurrence can be traced back to. A chance discovery gave birth to this lapidary art that flourished in the reign of the Chandela King Chhatrasal.

There are two primary occurrences of these stones spread over an area of about 50 kms radius in West Central India. The primary occurrence is of secondary river bed deposits in one of the tributaries of the Narmada river that has been weathered down by water and is a regenerating source after the annual post monsoon floods and is often associated with the transparent and more finely imprinted stones while the second inland source is associated with the translucent stones which are again sub characterized according to the regional peculiarities and are mined from the grey green volcanic ash beds at the depths of 40-85 feet.

Chemically these agates are quartz nodules with atypical banding and occasional druzy hearts with a hardness of around 7 on the Moh’s scale. Some nodules have yellow skins though that is again not a typical feature. The impressions though are still a scientific debate though most opinions point to the purely inorganic depositions of iron, magnesium and tin ions while a smaller school of thought believes that these were organic material replaced by ion exchange process over millions of years by inorganic metal salts and agatized.

The cutting process despite the advent of the gem saws has still remained the same for the last 400 years. The finally sorted stones are then sent to the master cutters who use a length of bow string coated with silicon carbide mounted on a wooden stand to slowly grind layer by layer until the dendrite bearing layer is reached. It is a painstaking process because the layers are very fine and the dendritic impressions even finer and not more than a few microns thick. One wrong stroke and a beautiful gem is ruined.

Online Gem Sale

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6162 We have several carat size, gem quality blue sapphires

We rarely have sales. In fact, I don’t remember the last one. However, in honor of the recovering economy we have decided to put all our loose gemstones on sale. This applies to everything other than the “Sale Gallery” Just go to the top of this post and place you cursor on Gemstone Gallery. You can then follow the index.

Currently gems priced over $5,00o are not priced. In any case we do not have a market basket—people who like gems rarely buy with one click—so give us a call: 413.637.1589 (800.773.0249 and Rebekah or I will give you the details. On sale gems are not sent “on approval” and returns will only be accepted if the gems are damaged or not as advertised and they are as advertised. The sale goes on until August 1st.

0418 Mandarin (spessartite) garnet. 3.27 carat. Retail price: $1,962.00. SALE PRICE: $1471.50

2126: Black Opal. Retail Price: $14,000.00 ONLINE SALE PRICE: $10,500.00

The Sun in Stone; From Our Workshop, Spring 2010

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Spring is a quiet time in the Berkshires. It is a time that we are to have time for creative work. At R. W. Wise, design usually begins with a gemstone. Gems are inspiring. If you talk nicely to a gem it will often talk to back to you and tell you what it would like to be.

: 11.85 Carat John Dyer sunstone, 18k yellow & white gold pendant design made in our workshop by Master Goldsmith Michael Corneau

This is part of the creative dialogue that goes on between the artist and his object.

This particular discussion started with a lovely sunstone that I found at John Dyer’s booth in Tucson, actually my wife Rebekah found it. Sunstone is a type of moonstone or crystalline feldspar. It is fairly durable and measures 6.5-7.2 on the Moh’s hardness scale which makes it a perfect choice for earrings or a pendant. Though some unique material is mined in Tanzania, the gems that I particularly like are mined in America, in Oregon toward the middle of the state, north of Plush. In 1987, Sunstone became the Oregon State Stone.

: A lovely Oregon sunstone carving by Michael M. Dyber. This example exhibets “schiller” a visual affect that can be seen in the image. The setting is 18k yellow, handmade in our Lenox workshop. The center stone is flanked by a pair of Montana padparadscha sapphires.

Sunstone comes in a range of hues, but medium to medium dark tones of orange-brown to brown-orange are characteristic of the Oregon material. Sunstone is something of a favorite among the exclusive fraternity of gem sculptors. New Hampshire gem-sculptor Michael Dyber has done some lovely carvings as has Larry Winn.

This latest entry is a cushion shaped cabochon (see above right) carved by the noted gem sculptor John Dyer. The technique is called reverse faceting. The facets are actually cut into the back of the stone. This causes a holographic affect when the gem is viewed through the top or table.

Book Review: Tears Of Mermaids

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Book Review:

Tears of Mermaids, The Secret Story Of Pearls

Stephen G. Bloom

St. Martins Press

ISBN: 9780312363260, $27.99

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

First let me say I was a bit put-off by Mr. Bloom’s prose style. He is without a doubt an elegant writer, but the glib-gonzo style, which is ok in a short piece, rapidly gets under the skin when stretched out to book length.

Mr. Bloom is a journalist and though journalists are not expected to necessarily be experts on the subjects the write about, they do have a responsibility to thoroughly research the topic and get it right. There are times when Bloom does, but there are times when he does not.

His first and most egregious error occurs in his introduction. “Pearl pricing”, he says, “is totally subjective …The same strand can go for three thousand dollars or thirty thousand dollars.” Nonsense! Oh yes, there is a fool born every minute, but the fact is that pearls trade in a fairly orderly market. So, absent the fool, no such gap between bid and ask prices exists (or the buyer would be soon out of business). Bloom would have been correct if he had said that there is no universally accepted hierarchical grading nomenclature. That is to say, one dealer may call the finest pearls “AAA”, while another may simply start with a single “A”. However the basic criteria: size, symmetry, surface, luster, orient and overtone are universal and used by all.

The writer’s statements about the people he meets in his travels say a great deal more about Mr. Bloom than they do about his sources. For example, early in the book he meets a survey group, including the celebrated former National Geographic writer Fred Ward who “seemed too important to have anything to do with me.” Well, I am familiar with that group and they have one afternoon in which to survey an entire gem show full of pearl dealers. Could it be that Ward was simply focused on his work? Given the book’s stated objective, one wonders why his Chapter 5, The Rana of Fresno, was included at all. Bloom takes such obvious pleasure in exposing the foibles, real and imagined, of his sources that, at times, it is difficult to tell if he is truly writing a book about pearls or just an extended gossip column.

Bloom’s comparison between the pearl and cocaine trade is unfortunate, as are the constant inferences that the pearl trade, and pearl dealers in general, are really quite sleazy. Bloom spends a page and a half justifying the cocaine comparison, finally admitting that “the biggest difference is that the possession of pearls is legal.” Cocaine is sold by neighborhood dealers and pearls by local jewelers, hey, no difference there! He might also have mentioned that unlike cocaine, pearls are not reduced in purity at every step along the distribution pipeline, and do not destroy the life of the purchaser– but that would have ruined the riff.

The above issues aside, there is much of value in Bloom’s book. Few have the opportunity to spend so much time trying to understand this old and arcane industry. Bloom’s first chapter, covering the history of pearls from the time of Columbus, is well researched and provocative. Interesting as well is his chapter on life as a deckhand on a Pearl boat off the Australian coast, though his attempt to capture the Australian argot is ludicrous and his contempt for the working sailors palpable. Yeah Stephen, having been a deckie, I kin tell yuz dat is ezakly the way sailors are “supposed to talk.”

His chapter on pearl trading in Hong Kong is excellent as is his description of diving off the Jewelmer pearl farm. A looming environmental catastrophe in the Philippines and his last two chapters about his visit to the island of Cubagua (where it all began) are thoughtful and poignant. Had he spent more words discussing real issues of this sort and less time lampooning the hard working people who made his book possible (I am one of those local jewelers), I would have enjoyed it a good deal more.

Ruby; Burma Days; Rangoon:

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“So to compare it to a diamond seems to me to be a reasonable approach. I am much of the same mind as you, my lord. The ruby is one hundred times rarer; therefore, let that be the price.” The French Blue, p.357

Our Bagan guide Mr. "E" explains one of the finer points of temple archetecture to my wife Rebekah

Rangoon: The Scott Market. Built in the late 19th Century, the market houses a lively market buying and selling goods of all kinds. Photo: R. W. Wise

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

After two weeks in Tucson, a week in Bangkok and a short time in the Rangoon market, I can say that fine quality unheated Burma ruby, is almost unobtainable and for what is available, source prices have risen dramatically. This means short supply coupled with dramatic price increases for the little bit of fine Burma ruby available in the U. S. market. Even with these increases, in smaller sizes, fine ruby remains relatively cheap compared to diamond. Today, a fine one carat ruby commands barely 60% of the price a D-Flawless diamond. At three carats ruby draws even and at five carats, fine Burma ruby surpasses diamond which, due to its availability in larger sizes, does not jump dramatically in price until it passes ten carats. Ten carat diamonds are available, a ten carat ruby of fine quality is a museum piece and a ten carat ruby will command ten times the per carat price of a diamond of the same weight.

: Rangoon; Scott Market. Together with my agent Lwin, I scour the market for ruby with little luck. Photo: Rebekah Wise

The international price has gradually risen because production began to peter out several years ago and most of what is now available in dealer’s inventories and picked over. The Burmese know the value of fine ruby and the better off dealers prefer gems to paper currency. My agent mentions a man I met over a bakery in 1994 (see SOGT pp. 159-161). “He is a big boss now” Lwin says, “he has ruby but the price is very expensive, so what is new?” We visit his jewelry store just outside of town and see some exceptional ruby set in traditional settings. The rich dealers don’t care if they sell. The generals have decided to allow elections, but the people are cynical, as my guide laughs, “it will be “a selection” he says in a clever play on the English words. Nothing much is expected to change.

So we rusticate in Bagan for a few days, visiting temples, shopping for lacquer ware along the hot dusty streets. Then its back to Rangoon for another day in the market with little luck.

Ruby; Burma Days!

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The view from a Bagan Temple: Photo: R. W. Wise

The view from the top of a temple showing some of the estimated four thousand temples and pagodas in the Burmese town of Bagan: Photo: R. W. Wise

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

Its hot in Burma but the early morning in Bagan is cool and breezy. Just off our porch with its planked and varnished teak floors, a broad leaved Banana Palm nods sagely in the light breeze, a giant Acacia tree bends its ancient back, its knarled branches splayed like arthritic limbs form an umbrella over our villa’s roof. A manicured lawn lies between us and the wide Irrawaddy River. From the opposite bank, along a ridge of ragged hills, a glint of gold off a temple dome flickers through the dawn shroud of silvered white mist. The mist clings though the day, turning to blue as the morning wears on. It is the dry season and the Irrawaddy, the mother of rivers, has receded leaving a broad expanse of bare sandy shoulder exposed on either bank.

: Why is the Lord Buddha smiling? Temple of the Smiling Buddha, Bagan, Burma. Photo: R. W. Wise

Located in the central part of the country, ancient Bagan was the center of a city-state that flourished between the 10^th and 12^th Centuries until Kublai Khan’s Mongols ravaged the place in the mid 13^th Century. Today, the chief reason to visit is to see the 3,000 or so temples and pagodas that punctuate the parched countryside. As our guide tells us, a pagoda is solid; a temple is hollow like a church with golden statues of the Buddha inside. During the height of Bagan’s prosperity, kings constructed the largest temples as monuments to their power and perhaps more importantly, as a way to gain cosmic merit so that after their deaths they might be reborn as some higher level of being.

At The Ruby Mines:

It is tempting to believe that the lack of fine ruby in the world market is the result of the U. S. embargo, but it is not. Burma is flanked by India and China and both these emergent powers are far more important trading partners than is the United States. The Indians have always greatly valued ruby—in the 17th Century, French dealer Jean Baptiste Tavernier wrote of buying rubies in Europe and bringing them to India because he could get better prices from the Mogul nabobs— and China’s nouveau riche have developed a taste for luxury goods. No, it is simply that, after a thousand years, the ruby, at least the accessible ruby has been mined out. Certainly this is true of Mogok’s secondary deposits; every bit of alluvium in the mountain valley has been turned over not once, but a hundred times. Mogok village itself was once moved to get at the gemstones and the small lake at the valley’s floor is a flooded excavation. According to my Burmese agent, a Shan tribesman born in Mogok, there are still gems buried in the hardrock, but they are deeper and require blasting, heavy equipment and much more capital to mine. Investors, however, are rather reluctant to invest.

More to come…

Bangkok Soujourn Part I

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Bangkok's Chao Prya River

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

Arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday. We had only a week and a day between returning home from Tucson and leaving again for Asia. I had agreed to give a talk at the 34th GIA Gathering on the 24th. Lecturing on jetlag. I don’t recommend it. Still our timing was good, two days after we left, the northeast was slammed with 18″ of snow.

The Gathering, hosted by Ken Scarrett, was well organized with about 100 people in attendance, good food, good wine and good talk and all books sold. It was great seeing old friends like Mark Smith, Richard Hughes and Gay and Joe Belmont. GIA has established a school here with hundreds of students coming from all over the world to study gemology in Bangkok, the colored gemstone capital of the world. It is particularly gratifying to meet and talk to this new generation of students. I find myself in awe, they come from such an interesting variety of places and backgrounds.

Ruby; The End of Burma?

Ruby production at Mong Hsu and Mogok has shut down. Production from Mogok has for years been little more than a trickle and now it appears that the “new mines” at Mong Hsu are at an end of their productive years. At any rate, according to a number of sources, both mining areas are now effectively closed.

There are few Burma rubies of any quality to be found in the Bangkok market. In many ways this resembles the situation in the late 1980s when Burma stones did not exist in the market and all that was available was mined in Thailand. Today the Thai deposits are mined out and Africa is ruby’s new hope! Compared with Mogok, a valley 20 miles long, the vast geology of East Africa’s Mozambique belt, a geologic formation stretching from from Ethiopia in the north all the way to Zanzibar possesses the greatest potential for gem production in the 21st Century.

We have had the opportunity to see a number of the newer rubies from Mozambique and Tanzania including a 16 carat piece of flattish alluvial rough from Mozambique that will likely cut an 8+ carat stone. In some cases, the color is quite marvelous, resembling the pure scarlet hues of the best of the old Thai gems.

: Very fine old Thai ruby with orange secondary hue. Some connoisseurs consider that the slight orange frames and adds saturation to the overall color. Courtesy: Richard W. Hughes:

The hue itself was often of a purer red than stones from Burma though the high iron content added a murkiness—sometimes adding an orangy secondary hue or a brownish mask that was not attractive. Both the Mozambique and Tanzanian material while geologically similar and iron bearing have measurably less iron in their composition and thus a higher degree of transparency. Much of the Mozambique resembles the old pinkish Lai Thai material that superficially resembles some Burmese. Due to the iron, the African material lacks the highly saturated ultraviolet punch of the best of Burma, though the best material is exceptionally beautiful in its own right.

More later, stay tuned!

The Wittelsbach; Old Stone New Myths

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The Wittelsbach, the second most famous diamond on earth, newly recut and renamed The Wittelsbach-Graff went on view at The Smithsonian Institution last week. The unveiling of the diamond was attended by several luminaries including its billionaire owner Lawrence Graff accompanied by what Graff called “new stories” among them the newly minted story that the diamond was originally found and brought to Europe by the famous French diamond dealer Jean Baptiste Tavernier.

: The 116 carat Great Blue diamond that French gem merchant sold to Louis XIV of France in 1669, from a drawing by Tavernier published in the 1st French edition of Le Six Voyages in 1689.

Tavernier’s relationship to The Wittelsbach is tenuous at best. The French gem merchant, the man who brought the great blue diamond that subsequently became the Hope to France and sold it to Louis XIV, wrote a 17th Century bestseller called The Six Voyages of jean Baptiste Tavernier that I have just released in novel form called; The French Blue, never mentions the stone. To be fair he never mentions the Great Blue either but he does include an invoice which pictures the blue in his book. The first mention I have seen of Tavernier’s possible relationship to The Wittelsbach appeared in a recent New York Times article. The Times writer, Guy Trebay, admits that the relationship is little more than a possibility.

: The recut Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond. The recut preserved the original double stellate facet pattern and resulted in a upgraded GIA color grade of Fancy Deep Blue. Photo: Courtesy Gary Roskin

Though The Smithsonian is hosting the exhibition, Graff’s myth making marketing machine appears to be controlling every aspect of the exhibit. Access to the gem have been carefully controlled. Only a few select gemologists/experts have been even allowed to see it. One of the few journalists allowed access, Gary Roskin of The Roskin Report describes the evening:

"We were there from 5 pm until 11:30 pm, examining, and photographing. The
atmosphere was both giddy and serious. And why not? We were handling the
Hope Diamond, the world's most important deep blue, and the"
Wittelsbach-Graff, a stone that until recently was mysteriously gone from
public view. And now, here they were, possible relatives, sitting side by
side. It was quite magical."

Graff spokesman Henri Barguirdjian in an interview with Financial reporter Maria Bartiroma attempted to ah—refashion the debate over the re-cutting of the historically important gem that resulted in a loss of 4.45 carats as merely a “re-polishing”. Despite the fact that the stone is currently on view in a public institution, Graff is doing his best to control information about the gem. This writer was told that even requests for images of the newly refashioned gem must be approved by the Graff organization.

Well, as I reported previously, this particular “repolishing” resulted in a loss of 4.45 carats and the upgrading of the stone from a GIA grade of Fancy Deep Grayish Blue to Fancy Deep Blue and from VS to Flawless clarity. In the world of blue diamonds this upgrade would add a minimum of $500,000 per carat to the value of a smaller blue gem. To give Graff his due, he did not make the same mistake as the buyers of the Agra Pink, the recut followed the original facet pattern.

Though some experts have said that re-cutting the diamond was a travesty that would destroy its historical provenance, it is hardly without precedent. The gem’s big brother, the 45.52 carat Hope Diamond, originally 116 metric carats when Jean Baptiste Tavernier brought it from India, has been entirely refashioned not once but twice. The first recut, the gem that came to be known as The French Blue was ordered by Louis XIV and supervised by his court jeweler Jean Pitau. This reduced the stone into a shield shaped gem of 68 metric carats. The second recut occurred sometime after The French Blue, then set in the Medal of The Golden Fleece, was stolen from a French warehouse in 1792.

Update on Oyo Valley Red Tourmaline:

: A range of hues in red tourmaline from Nigeria’s Oyo Valley. Note the exceptional transparency (crystal) in these gemstones Photo: Robert Weldon

You’ll recall I mentioned the new Oyo Reds from Nigeria in my last post. Here is an image. There has been little red tourmaline in the market in the past few years and much of what was previously available was also from Nigeria. This material occurs in very large crystals that are sawn then cut. Very large eye-flawless gems are available, with stones up to 50 carats not uncommon.

Prices of this new material are very competitive and suites of matched stones, a rare occurrence in tourmaline, are available.

Colored Stone Magazine is No More

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After 22 years Colored Stone Magazine has ceased publication. Other than a letter addressed to advertisers and signed by V.P. David Pyle, the parent company, Aspire Media, publicly known as Interweave Press, there has been little by way of an epitaph. The website is still up. Subscribers who have recently signed up have been told that they will be provided with an alternate subscription. The website is no longer accepting subscriptions requests.

With the demise several years ago of Gem Key, the loss of the 22 year old magazine leaves only two publications, one a relative new comer, In Color, published by The International Colored Stone Association and Gem Market News, another quarterly published by The Guide, covering the colored gemstone industry.

Founded in 1987 by the Gilbert family as a quarterly industry news magazine, Colored Stone has been through several incarnations. Its current owner, Interweave Press, is its third. As the name suggests, the parent company is most involved in publishing consumer oriented fiber arts magazines.

What brought the magazine to its end? According to Pyle’s letter it was all about the current economic situation. “The corporation was definitely profit driven” said Morgan Beard the former editor in chief. Beard who ran the magazine for 10 years, notes that “Colored Stone never really made money. The Tucson Show Guide kept the magazine afloat.” At its peak, the circulation was between 8-10,000, “sometimes”, she said, “we broke even.”

“Sorry to see it go”, said dealer Bear Williams summarizing industry reaction. “Yes, it’s too bad”, said Simon Watt (Mayer & Watt), but Watt goes on to make the broader point that: “we never have had any sort of real industry journalism.”

Many readers will recall Colored Stone’s controversial coverage of the so-called “Copper Diffusion” issue by then Editor-in-chief David Federman. Federman wrote several articles based unsupported claims by the proprietor of an unaccredited online gemological school concerning copper diffusion treatment of tourmaline, garnet and topaz. “Federman was on the right track with his coverage of enhancement issues”, but, on the James issue, “I called and told him, ‘“David you have lost perspective, he hung up on me.”’ “David Federman is a great writer but a lousy editor.” said Watt. Beard agrees, “Federman wrote what he believed but often did not investigate or take a balanced approach”, she said. Eventually the claims were determined to be faulty by Colored Stone’s own Science Editor among many others.

Federman’s coverage also resulted in a lawsuit by the Direct Shopping Network (DSN) that named Colored Stone and Interweave Press as defendants. Did the controversy contribute to Interweave’s decision to pull the plug on Colored Stone? Beard doubts it. “Interweave just shut down three of its magazines. I think they finally decided, we have the Show Guide making money and the magazine not, so why continue the magazine?” she speculated. Another source told me that an outside executive had been brought in to reorganize the magazine.

Another Interweave publication, the venerable Lapidary Journal/Jewelry Artist may be asked to step up and fill in the gap caused by the demise of her sister publication. Originally called just Lapidary Journal, the 60 year old magazine changed its focus just two years ago and directed its coverage more toward jewelry, but since October has begun repositioning itself back into the gem world said Merle White, Editor-in-Chief. When asked if this meant that her magazine would pick up the slack left by Colored Stone, “that has not been discussed”, she said. “We strengthened our gem coverage because our readers asked for it” she stated. Federman was terminated but Managing Editor, Karla Rosenbusch has been retained to coordinate The Tucson Show Guide. What will be the fate of Colored Stone’s online newsletter Gem-Mail? “That is under discussion” said White.

Countdown To Tucson 2010

Taken at Tucson 2009. Photo: R. W. Wise

The major industry extravaganza known as The Tucson Gem Shows are just a couple of weeks away. This will be my 25th year and my wife Rebekah and I will spend a full two weeks at the shows.

I predict that it will be all about price this year. The gem and jewelry industry is being squeezed from both ends. As Wayne Prentise of Troy Diamond Report points out: “for 2009 three currencies tracked gained over 20% in real value: Australian Dollar +27.72%, Brazilian Real +24.99%, New Zealand Dollar +21.81 …while Gold increased +28.2%, all when measured to the basket of currencies.” Prentise predicts higher prices for Brazilian and Austrailian gems at Tucson this year. By contrast, David Stanley Epstein, an American dealer living in Brazil recently reported substantial decreases in the prices of Brazilian gem being offered in the Brazil’s gem capital of Teofilo Otoni.

Where does the truth lie? Stay tuned for the true gem. I will be posting regular reports from Tucson on GemWise beginning February 1st.