Larson to Speak at Sinkankas Symposium

Spotlight on Spinel

Bill Larson is slated to speak at this year’s seventh annual John Sinkankas Symposium, on the event’s sole topic: spinels. The symposium is sponsored by the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society and the Gemological Institute of America (details here).

Spinel, crystalline and cut. (Photo: Wimon Manorotkul)

Bill’s extensive knowledge on spinels, from mine to market, will guide you through the five major spinel producing regions: from the historic deposits in the Pamir mountains of Tajikistan, to the diverse deposits around Burma, to the alluvial deposits of Sri Lanka, to the Luc Yen region of Vietnam, and finally the recent major find near Mahenge in Tanzania.

Violet spinel, 7.24 carats, from Mogok, Burma. Formerly in the Sinkankas collection, now in Bill Larson’s collection. (Photo: Wimon Manorotkul)

In discussing these varied deposits Bill will incorporate geography, geology, mineralogy, and gemology. The talk will be accompanied by some current and colorful images of mining localities, rough crystals, faceted gems, and inclusions. As the International Colored Gemstone Association’s cover of last summer’s InColor states, “Like a phoenix—red spinel on the rise,” Bill will bring us all the history behind this very trendy and desired gemstone.

Other presenters scheduled are Si Frazier, Edward Boehm, Dr. William “Skip” Simmons, Dr. Jennifer Stone-Sundberg, Jo Ellen Cole, Meg Berry, Robert Weldon, John Koivula, and Dr. George Rossman, all of whom will be speaking in their area of expertise. [back to top]

Update on Mozambique Tourmalines

The complicated history of Mozambique cuprian "paraiba-like" tourmalines, by Mary L. Johnson, PhD

A new study by Dr. Mary L. Johnson examines the life of a tourmaline crystal in three stages to reveal the natural origin of the pink color around growth tubes, which we see in some of today’s faceted tourmaline from Mozambique. The study was distributed by the American Gem Trade Association, March 25.

In the initial stages of crystallization in a pegmatitic environment, the crystal grows from bottom to top and inside out. Varying amounts of trace elements, precipitated minerals, and phase-splits into liquid and gas, are a few of the events that can morph the character of the crystal. These external changes can cause internal changes in the form of color zoning, cracks and healed cracks or fingerprints, and incomplete growth along the C-axis causing long fibrous tubes or trichites.

Needlework. A 3.22-carat Mozambique paraiba tourmaline (9.5 x 8 x 5.4 mm) showing brick-colored growth tubes. (Photo: Jason Stephenson)

The second stage involves the weathering, eroding, and ultimate etching of tourmaline crystals into worn pebbles and nodules. Then the cavities and hollow tubes are penetrated by the local soil and earth. The lateritic soils surrounding the tourmalines in Mozambique are rich in iron oxides, clay, and tiny quartz crystals. When these soils contain radioactive components and there is presence of manganese in the tourmaline crystal, pink halos can form around the hollow tubes.

The final stage is where Man comes in…collecting the worn and penetrated pebbles, cutting and polishing, and then the final heat treatment. Heat treatment will cause the imbedded soils to turn into a brick-like material—most likely the cause of the brick colored needles in the photo above.

GIA’s Spring 2009 edition of Gems & Gemology contains an article entitled “Solution-Generated Pink Color Surrounding Growth Tubes and Cracks in Blue to Blue-Green Copper-Bearing Tourmalines from Mozambique,” which deduces some very relevant findings on this issue as well.

Radiation has been historically and scientifically proven to produce pink-to-red discoloration in tourmaline. Pink coloration, or pink sleeves around the tubes, were only seen around growth tubes and cracks that reached the surface of the host gem. In structures that were completely confined within the host gem, no pink colorations were present. These pink structures may be diagnostic to the Mozambique deposit.

It was observed that the pink sleeves faded in color when the host tourmaline was subjected to heat. This can be an indicator of whether the material was in fact subjected to heat. [back to top]

Burma Bits

Year-End Stats Show Leaps and Bounds for Foreign Investment, Trade, Surpluses, Gem Production

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton remarked back in February during her Asian tour, “Clearly, the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn’t influenced the Burmese junta. Reaching out and trying to engage them hasn’t worked, either.” As Tim Johnston of the Washington Post commented last week, Clinton’s remarks “have triggered an intense debate about what approach toward Burma … might prove more effective.” Sen. Jim Webb, who heads the Foreign Relations Committee, seems to be ready for a change, too.

Indeed, somehow the void created by sanctions in Burma appears to be being filled, as demonstrated by figures released since our last Gem News.

• Foreign trade for calendar 2008: Up 17.8% over 2007
• Trade surplus for fiscal year 2008–09: Up 4% over 2007–08
• Foreign investment for calendar 2008: Up 93% over 2007; Thailand, Britain, and Singapore lead the way

Gemstone Production Figures

Gemstone, jade, and pearl production for calendar 2008 (Central Statistical Organization):

• Total gemstone production: Down 15.5% from 2007
  • Ruby production: Up 34% over 2007
  • Sapphire production: Up 85.7% over 2007
  • Spinel production: Down 47.4% from 2007
• Jade production: Up 54.5% over 2007
• Pearl production: Down 30.4% from 2007

March Emporium the Largest Sale Ever

And, as we noted March 24 on Palagems.com, Burma likely had its largest sale ever at the 46th Annual Myanma Gems Emporium, held March 8–20 in Yangon. Associated Press quoted an unnamed source as claiming jade sales alone topped $191 million.

We’ve updated our Burma Gem Sales and Statistics accordingly. [back to top]

Bite-Sized Bits

• Democratic Voice of Burma: Sanctions blamed for jade workers turning to sex work; see also Kachin News Group
• Irrawaddy: China pumped $850 million into Burma gemstone mining operations? No: that’s the figure for Chinese investment in Burma mining as a whole
• Mizzima: Burmese jade business eyes an upswing
• Mizzima: “Land of Jade” remains closed to tourists
• Mizzima: Green vs. green: Environmental cost of jade in Burma – article and photo essay
• Kachin News Group: Jade mining proceeds despite losses

This 2.79-carat natural blue sapphire from Burma is available. It has a medium intensity, allowing its brilliance to catch the eye. Inventory #7326.

[back to top]

— End April Newsletter • Published 4/16/09 —

March 24: Burma Jade Sale Earns $191 Million

Likely the largest sale ever—despite U.S. ban

An Associated Press story today quotes an unnamed source as claiming jade sales of more than $191 million at the 46th Annual Myanma Gems Emporium, held March 8–20 in Yangon. Even though sales figures for pearls and gemstones were not available, this sale appears to be the largest ever, according to our Burma Gem Sales and Statistics.

The anonymous source—a participating merchant—also said that 3,500 lots of jade were sold. The article stated that 3,000 dealers attended, mainly from China and Hong Kong. [back to top]

Larson Opals Grace AMNH Case

Recent Gifts Create Exquisite Display

On February 26, a single display case containing opals debuted at the entrance of the American Museum of Natural History’s Harry Frank Guggenheim Hall of Minerals. The twenty-five opals included—featuring several gifted by Bill and Jeanne Larson—are from diverse localities of Australia, Brazil, Honduras, Ethiopia, and the United States. (According to the AMNH, all but 15% of the world’s gem opals are produced in Queensland and New South Wales.)

Black opals gifted by Bill and Jeanne Larson: (l–r) Doublet and two triplets from Australia, and cabochon from Honduras. (Photo: Thomas Rosinski/National Jeweler)

Fossilized opals also are on display in the exhibit. For an explanation of such fossil formation, see:

• March 10 article in National Jeweler

For more photos, see:

• A photo gallery of opals at American Museum of Natural History
• National Jeweler’s 10x blog

[back to top]

The Australian Gemmologist Publishes Part One
of Grahame Brown Memorial Issue

Contains Study of Sapphire–Ruby Characteristics
of West Pailin, Cambodia

On the first anniversary of his death, Grahame Brown’s beloved The Australian Gemmologist has published reminiscences and selected papers by Australian authors. The issue also includes a list of the late editor’s own published works, which according to his obituary in JCKonline, topped 500.

The tribute issue includes a study titled “Sapphire–Ruby Characteristics West Pailin, Cambodia: Clues to Their Origin Based on Trace Element and O Isotope Analysis.” These analyses “confirm a clear distinction between magmatic origin sapphires … and metamorphic-origin sapphires and rubies,” according to the abstract. Comparison with comparable Australian material also demonstrated similarities and differences.

This issue of the journal also includes articles on:

• The similarities of Andamooka and Coober Pedy opal (often compared as being as similar as ”chalk and cheese”)
• Blue fluorescence in diamonds – As the abstract states, the article reviews “the complex and often contradictory history” of this subject

Blue for you. Rough sapphire from Pailin, Cambodia, February 2009. Photo: Richard W. Hughes. See more photos from this Pailin trip at Ruby-Sapphire.com.

[back to top]

Burma Bits

First the good news… Revival of Mae Sot Gem Trade

Last month we looked at the tanking colored gemstone market in Thailand, and efforts to revive it. This month, the Bangkok Post reports (as posted on BurmaNet) that the market in Mae Sot is “teeming with Thais and foreigners shopping for gemstones.” An annual gems fair was held this year, February 27 through March 1—a collaboration of local government, commercial, and industrial concerns. Traders in Mae Sot’s Rim Moei market, near a cross-border bridge, noted that efforts like the gems fair are needed for a local trade that has been woefully quiet.

Mae Sot’s importance as a trading center has a history. Richard W. Hughes has photographed the Moei River near Mae Sot, beyond which—behind the bamboo on the other side—was a thriving market run by Karen rebels in the mid-1990s. From Hughes’s “Where the Twain Do Meet: Thailand’s Border Towns.” (Photo: R.W. Hughes)

Mae Sot, on Thailand’s western border with Burma, has had an influx of traders who, according to the article, have been abandoning Chanthaburi due to the closing of factories there, as we mentioned last month. Trade in border and other gemstone centers such as Mae Sot has been closely linked to legal and not-so-legal trade with Burma.

A fistful of dollars. A sapphire miner at Chanthaburi’s Khao Ploi Waen holds a day’s production. The mine closed just days after Richard W. Hughes took this photo earlier this year. See more photos from this Chanthaburi trip at Ruby-Sapphire.com.

The Tak Province Chamber of Commerce has proposed building a second “friendship bridge” across the Burma border, according to The Irrawaddy on Monday. According to the story, Trade between Mae Sot and Burma’s Myawaddy earns Thailand a handy $28 million per month, per the Chamber. [back to top]

BBC Report: “Burma’s gem mines face closure”

BBC reported yesterday that orders for stones from Burma have “almost come to a halt” and prices for them have “plummeted.” The story quoted a gem trader as saying that the price for a viss (~1.63 kg.) of jade rough had commanded just over £100; now it’s about £10.

Unlucky 13. When Richard W. Hughes took this photo of untreated Mong Hsu ruby at Thailand’s Mae Sai market in April 1996, he could write that the region “completely dominated the world's ruby trade in sizes of less than 3 ct.” Thirteen years later, the BBC says that a 3/4 of the workers in that mining area have lost their jobs and left. (Photo: R.W. Hughes)

Predictably, the U.S. ban on Burma ruby is cited for the collapse of the market. Others, the BBC report continued, have questioned this assumption, pointing to the fact that “most Burmese gems end up in Europe,” so the sanctions cannot solely be blamed.

The article claimed that the state-owned Myanmar Economic Corporation had “stopped its operations altogether” due to drop in orders from Thailand. Statistics were cited:

• 500,000 people worked in all of Burma’s mines—10% of the working population
• 75,000 out of 100,000 in the famous Mong Hsu region are now out of work and have left the area

[back to top]

Bite-Sized Bits

• Mizzima News: 46th Gems Emporium underway in Yangon, March 8–20, in spite of two bomb explosions March 3 (Kachin News Group)
• Kachin News Group: Jade traders turn to dope and gold for better deal
• The Myanmar Times: Myitkyina (Kachin)-to-Yunnan (China) road could help boost numbers

Red spinel from Burma. This 1.34-carat heart-shaped stone is highly fluorescent. Search on Inventory #11963. (Photo: Mia Dixon)

[back to top]

Gill’s Historical Index Gets Update

Check back often for free revisions

Joseph O. Gill’s Historical Index to Gems and Jewelry Online, which we profiled last month, has been updated as of March 8. The book, in Microsoft Word 2007 format, is available for free download from the Internet Archive.

Gill urges those interested in the index to check the above website from time to time in order to take advantage of the most recent version. [back to top]

— End March Newsletter • Published 3/18/09 —

March 4: 840-lb. Emerald Follow-up

The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that five people now claim ownership of the “Bahia” Emerald, an 840-lb. specimen containing “protruding arm-sized green crystal cylinders,” according to the story. The article, and another from yesterday’s Los Angeles Times, trace the rock’s history, as alleged by the various players:

• 2001: Dug from a mine in Bahia, Brazil; owned by mine-rights owner and a business partner
• 2001: Gem trader Anthony Thomas purchased it for $60K from Brazilians; he claims he was told at the time that the emerald was stolen during transport
• 2005: Brazilians shipped it to Ken Conetto, a business associate (and amateur geologist) in San Jose, CA; Conetto attempted to find a buyer
• Summer 2005: Conetto shipped it to New Orleans for prospective buyer, but warehouse hit by Katrina and specimen is submerged for weeks; sale nixed; returned to San Jose
• June 2008: Conetto asked Paradise, CA, gem broker and real estate investor Larry Biegler to help sell the emerald; they drove it to Los Angeles to drum up interest, then had a falling out
• Biegler put up the emerald as collateral for a $1 million diamond deal with Todd Armstrong and Kit Morrison, Idaho businessmen; they claim the deal went bad and transported the rock to Las Vegas for warehousing
• September 2008: Biegler reported the emerald stolen from a vault in South El Monte
• December 2008: Armstrong and Morrison released stone to L.A. Count Sheriffs until ownership can be sorted out

Arm-sized crystals. Ownership of the Bahia Emerald is disputed by at least five parties. (Photo: L.A. County Sheriff)

The L.A. Times quoted attorneys from a court hearing yesterday as suggesting that the number of those claiming ownership of the emerald may continue grow. [back to top]

CIBJO Congress
May 3–5, 2009

Conference to be held at
historic Çiragan Palace Kempinski

On your way to the ICA Congress, stop in Istanbul for CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, Congress 2009.

Just as the ICA Congress plans to focus on China, the CIBJO Congress will look at Turkey and its significance in EurAsian markets, according to a February 13 press release. CIBJO president Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri:

The fact that Turkey is hosting the event is very significant. Like no other market, the country represents a blend of East and West, and it has helped unlock the fast developing markets in the republics of the former Soviet Union, as well as in the Middle East. Turkey also represents a strong jewellery market in its own right, and it is an economical jewellery design and manufacturing centre within just a few hours flying time from Western Europe. It is exactly the type of the centre that we need to look to in difficult times such as these,"

The Congress 2009 website is a little thin on details at present. Meanwhile, check out:

• Congress 2008 website
• CIBJO’s sustainable jewelry website.
• Çiragan Palace Kempinski, site of Congress 2009 [back to top]

Introducing Mia Dixon

Perhaps you’ve noticed that photo credits for many of our gemstones (such as the lovely sapphire pictured above) now refer to “Mia Dixon.” Mia took charge of the shutter upon the departure of in-house photographer Wimon Manorotkul in late September. (We were told by Wimon that Mia was a quick learner, as tips of the craft were passed on while they worked together.)

Mia Dixon first started at Pala International back in 2002 as the Administrative Assistant. She left the company in July of 2004 to raise her first child.

In July of 2008 she joined the team again as the resident photographer, mostly of gemstones but also some shots of mineral specimens. Mia is working part-time so she still can enjoy spending time with her beautiful boys Erik and Axel.

Mia Dixon was born and raised in the area of Gothenburg (aka Göteborg), the trade, educational, and cultural center of southwestern Sweden. She first arrived in California in 1994. Mia received her Associate’s Degree in Fashion Merchandising & Design in 1996 from Palomar College in nearby San Marcos, California. [back to top]

Pink Tubes in Cuprian Tourmaline

Indication of Locality and Lack of Heat-Treatment

According to a lab alert issued January 28 by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), “Samples of blue to blue-green, copper-bearing tourmaline containing surface-reaching growth tubes surrounded by intense pink ‘sleeves’ have recently been seen in the trade.”

This 27.63-carat copper-bearing tourmaline (examined for the GIA report) contained a large, obvious pink growth tube. (Photo: Robert Weldon, © GIA)

GIA Laboratory staff members determined that the phenomenon is produced by fluid containing naturally occurring radioactive material. The presence of such pink zones, according to the report, is evidence that the material has not been heat-treated, and also is an indication of locality: Mozambique.

Above: When these tubes are viewed near-parallel to their length, a pink zone can be observed immediately surrounding the tube. The growth tube is 0.06 mm in diameter. Below: As shown here, cracks extending from and between the tubes are also often lined with a pink zone as well. Approximate horizontal field of view is 2.15 mm. (Photomicrographs: John I. Koivula, © GIA)

Read the entire report, in anticipation of a Spring 2009 article to be published in Gems & Gemology in April. [back to top]

Burma Bits

Largest Gems Museum Opens

The Gems Museum (Nay Pyi Taw) of Myanma Gems Enterprise opened February 12 in the administrative capital, according to the official New Light of Myanmar daily.

According to the story, the museum features

the 6.2 centimetres long and 3 centimetres high world’s largest natural pearl weighing 45.06 mommes (845 carats or 929.50 rati) decorated with three female celestial beings, the most valuable Myanma cultured pearl weighing 9.8 mommes (104.39 carats), the valuable Myanma jade stone weighing 69 kilos, the Myanmar orchestra and ornaments made of jade, the largest Myanma ruby weighing 21,450 carats, and other ornaments made of ruby, quartz, Myanmar gold and silver wares and jewellery and uncut Mogok gem stones, various uncut gem stones and granite stones.

The museum campus also includes 20-square-foot retail spaces for 60 businesses. The new museum now outranks the existing Yangon gemstone museum in size. [back to top]

Phakant Opens to Tourists

This photo, taken by well-traveled gemologist and dealer Olivier Galibert is included in a 20th century account of a rainy season adventure in Burma’s Phakant area of Kachin State.

For those bored by the conventionality of the World’s Largest Natural Pearl, slap on your gumboots because the roads leading to Phakant (aka Hpakan, Hpakant, Phakan) are open again for intrepid gemologists.

Tour companies reported that visas will be granted to the jade producing area that had been off-limits since last February, according to the foreign-language news outlet 7-Day News, by way of Xinhua News Agency.

According to the story, visas need to be obtained 14 days prior to travel in the region. [back to top]

Sluggish China Sales, U.S. Sanctions
Hurt Gemstone Mines, Traders

Something sumptuous for a sluggish season. The slightly windowed Burma ruby above is priced to take the edge off. So is its unenhanced cousin below. (Photos: Mia Dixon, top; Wimon Manorotkul, bottom)

A January 28 Mizzima News story discusses the slowdown in Burma’s mining sector trade with China. One miner interviewed said he had reduced production. Miners in commodity minerals have shifted to maintenance mode. Some small mine operations may be forced to sell.

China’s economy slowed to a 6.8% increase in the fourth quarter of 2008 and was only 9% for the year, the first single-digit increase since 2003, according to the official People’s Daily.

Mogok Insiders Point to Sanctions

On February 19, The Irrawaddy relayed a report by a Mogok gem trader that at least 50 mines in the area have slowed down production, with some closing down altogether in the wake of U.S. sanctions. Skittish from the soft market, investors are loath to shell out the money needed for fueling heavy equipment used in the mining.

Traders from other countries, including Thailand and China, are becoming more scarce, according to the story. A Burmese journalist speculated that the government gemstone auctions—the next one is scheduled March 8–20—could be suspended if Chinese fail to attend.

The issues of sanctions, their effectiveness, and collateral damage was the subject of International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) meetings held in Dubai in October. See the online version of ICA’s Winter 08/09 InColor (pp. 10–11) for a report on the discussions.

Yangon Market, Prices Down by 50%

The same Irrawaddy story includes a claim by Yangon jewelers that buying in the city by international traders is down by 50%, just as prices have been halved as well.

Burma Production Figures May Hide the Hit

Because official Burma production statistics are released about 70 days after a given month’s end, we won’t know the figures for December and January for some time. The figures for the three months ending November 2008, released February 6, show a general downward trend in overall production, but look at the figures for sapphire and jade.

We’ll report on calendar year 2008 figures next month. See our Burma Gem Sales and Statistics anytime for the latest. [back to top]

Johachidolite from Mogok

Johachidolite, once found only in Korea, has for the last ten years been trickling out from Mogok. Three studies from the last two years will be of interest to collectors who want to stretch the Mogok envelope a bit. As Dr. Peretti writes in his introduction to the GRS study:

As we constantly studied the ruby and sapphire mines in Mogok, it was only a matter of time to discover one of the rarest collector gems in the world: Johachidolite. It is a true gem with its vivid color, high brilliancy due to the high refractive index, high density and Mohs hardness of over 7.5.

The many hues of johachidolite from Mogok in Burma—available from Pala International. The J-word comes from the Japanese colonial-era name, now obsolete, for the Korean locality where the material first was found. (Photo: Mia Dixon)

Here are the reports on johachidolite:

• Contributions to Gemology (GRS Nov. 2007): 53 pages of all facets (no pun intended…) of johachidolite, including composition and structure, rare-earth element “fingerprint test” for origin, geology, and visits to localities; also included are 60 pages of archival material from the GRS library
• European Journal of Mineralogy (Oct. 2008): This study, co-authored by GRS’s Dr. Peretti, refines the structure-related information on johachidolite
• Gems & Gemology (GIA, Fall 2008): Study of gem johachidolite from Burma, in a range of colors, shows trends for beryllium, uranium, thorium, and lead; also rare-earth element concentrations

[back to top]

Bite-Sized Bits

• New journal published by MGS includes a paper titled “Modes of occurrence and origin of precious gemstone deposits of the Mogok Stone Tract.”

  Myanmar Times: Myanmar Geosciences Society publishes first edition of English-language Journal of the Myanmar Geosciences Society (MGS)
• Yangon City: Burma exhibits gems and jewelry at IIJS Signature Goa, Feb. 20–23
• The Irrawaddy: Visiting dignitaries receive smuggled gemstones—sort of…
• Myanmar Times: Government to plant 1.9 million mangroves as natural barrier against future cyclones
• Larry Jagan: Formerly of the BBC, Jagan reports (in various news outlets) on the increase in poppy cultivation in northeastern Shan State, as the gemstone market dries up in places like Panghsang, due to little Chinese demand
• Rapaport News: George W. Bush, less than a week before leaving Washington, altered the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE act

[back to top]

Gill’s Index Available as Free Digital Download

Updated, Searchable Index of 20,000 Docs on Gems and Jewels

Joseph O. Gill is offering a newly revised edition of his classic Gill’s Index to Journals, Articles and Books Relating to Gems and Jewelry. For free. And in an easily searchable digital format. Originally published in 1979, Gill’s “analog” database was only the second book published by the Gemological Institute of America that was not written by a GIA staff member, according to a lively scrapbook/biography offered as “Appendix 1” to the new digital version.

Joseph O. Gill, the author, in his library at Gill and Shortell, Ltd., San Francisco, 1987. (Photo courtesy Joseph O. Gill)

Both Gill’s Index and Appendix are available for free download via Internet Archive (host of the famous Project Gutenberg).

Since 1988, Joseph O. Gill, formerly of Sotheby’s and his own business Gill and Shortell Ltd., has spent his (early) retirement on the big island of Hawaii and, since 2003, trotting the global south and east that he’d traveled as a child—this go-’round sampling far-flung sights and vegan delights, laminated cheat-sheet in hand. (How do you say, “No flesh, please,” in Laotian?)

Gill packed a lifetime of achievement into his brief fifteen-year career: successfully challenging the Gemmological Association of Great Britain’s first-year exam and receiving both his F.G.A. from Gem-A and G.G. from GIA in 1973; a year later becoming head gemologist for Boston’s J. & S.S. DeYoung Inc. (and providing the firm with its single biggest sale—sans commission); being appointed western U.S. director of Sotheby’s jewelry sales in 1980 (increasing business by 400% in the first year); eighteen months later starting his own business and then being offered (and declining) the top job at GIA, by Richard Liddicoat…

Origins of Gemology in Pictures was compiled by Gill for the AGS Conclave held in Boston, during his time as J. & S.S. DeYoung’s head gemologist. (Image courtesy Joseph O. Gill)

And, of course, the publication of his magnum opus, the product of nine years of compilation on 48 inches’ worth of 5"x8" index cards—about 4,500 by our estimation. Typing the book’s draft alone took eighteen months.

So you can look up France and find that a rough diamond was found there or what gems were found in Antarctica or California or Nigeria or Ghana or Florida or in the oceans or anywhere including from outer space. You can find all the references ever in English from the first book done by Thomas Nicols on gems in 1652 until 2008, near 350 years of all the publication in English on gems along with more than 18 journals on gems and minerals. I went through each sentence of each publication and all was put in this handwritten annotated index.

While still on the road in Katmandu, Gill obtained a high-quality optical character recognition scan of the original Index. He proofed the text and for three years, with limited resources, he revised the text to the best of his ability. The text includes links to other gemological works offered by Internet Archive, where Gill also has posted:

• The Personal Scrapbook of Henry D. Morse (Trained the First Diamond Cutters in America) and Charles M. Field (Inventor of the Modern Diamond Cutting Machine) – Scrapbook (and Many Extras)
• Origins of Gemology in Pictures by Joseph O. Gill, presented to attendees of the Bicentennial 1976 American Gem Society Conclave in Boston

As Gill told us, “You will definitely want to go to Archive.org and do a search for ‘gems, gemology, jewelry, Gill’ to see the many other unique texts that I have contributed to this wonderful web site.” [back to top]

— End February Newsletter • Published 2/25/09 —

Robert Weldon Takes Viewers on “Safari”

This Thursday, January 22, in Carlsbad, CA

Acclaimed photographer Robert Weldon will present “A Photo-Safari to Gemstones of the World” this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Carlsbad. The seminar is cosponsored by the San Diego chapter of the Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Alumni Association.

According to the WJA website:

The Seminar will provide an overview of gem supplies as well as which gems will be popular at the upcoming Tucson trade shows in February. Weldon will also share his experiences and photographs from visiting different and far-reaching gemstone localities around the world.

Weldon is Manager, Photography & Visual Communications, GIA. The seminar is open to the public.

Event: “A Photo-Safari to Gemstones of the World”
When: Thursday, January 22, 2009, 7:00 p.m. sharp
Where: Sheraton Carlsbad, 5480 Grand Pacific Drive, Carlsbad, CA 92008
More Information: WJA website [back to top]

Pala’s Featured Stones: Rhodochrosite from a New Locality

Pala International obtained a parcel of rough rhodochrosite at November’s West Coast Gem & Mineral Show in Costa Mesa, from a locality that has yet to be confirmed. We will keep you posted as the mystery of origin unfolds.

Selection of the new rhodochrosite material; sizes ranging from 2.5 to 10.5 carats. (Photo: Mia Dixon)

The material is the classic, beautiful pinkish-red hue, with more peach or orange secondary than some of the other rhodochrosite localities. Reminiscent of a padparadscha sapphire, with a pleasing blend of colors and a fluorescent glow. There are several localities around the world that produce rhodochrosite mineral specimens but there are really only two that produce facetable rough in quantity and quality: the Kalahari manganese fields of South Africa, and the Alma District of Park County in Colorado.

Here is a fine example of what Colorado can produce: a 19.78-carat round brilliant, 16.8 mm in diameter. This stone has been sold. (Photo: Jason Stephenson)

Displaying these three examples, you can see the unique variations of red produced by each deposit. Production from South Africa and Colorado is extremely limited; however, the new material is available now.

Another example of a fine rhodochrosite, this time from South Africa: 16.27-carat oval brilliant, 20.21 x 13.41 mm. From the Gladnick collection. (Photo: Jason Stephenson)

Interested? Call or email us to inquire. [back to top]

Collecting and Investing in World Class Gemstones

As we watch the world financial markets fall and lumber along the bottom, we begin to consider the question, Where did this money go? Even the most brilliant financial wizards probably have a difficult time explaining every last detail and the reasons why. With all these questions in the air about investments, in the parlance of our time, it may be worth researching other areas in which to invest capital. Most financial advisors will suggest that a percentage of one’s portfolio be in hard assets…

Pala International is endowed with some of the industry’s top consultants and specialists in the world of colored gemstones, with 40 years of observing and experiencing the gem and financial markets as they take their course. “Collecting and Investing in World Class Gemstones,” by Pala’s Jason Stephenson, is a reflection on that experience: a primer on the “pros” in favor of collecting—from the pros. [back to top]

The Maine Event

Tourmaline Necklace to Grace D.C. Gala

Photo courtesy Maine State Museum.

Maine’s first lady Karen Baldacci will attend presidential inaugural events adorned with the Maine Tourmaline Necklace, which contains 52 carats of pink, green, and blue-green tourmaline from the Dunton quarry in Newry. The necklace features gold panned from the Swift River in Oxford County as well as a dangling 24-carat pink tourmaline centerpiece.

The necklace was presented to the state in 1977 with the provision that Maine’s first ladies would wear it on official state occasions.

According to the Bangor Daily News, a book about the necklace, The Crown Jewels of Maine, has recently been published by one of the piece’s creators, jeweler Jim Vose. More information also is available from the Main State Museum. [back to top]

Burma Bits

Foreign Investment in Burma Nearly Doubles

Last month we noted that jade markets in China had stagnated, due apparently to the U.S. ban on Burma jade.

Nonetheless, total investment in Burma by China soared during the first nine months of 2008, according to statistics published by Burma’s Central Statistical Organization, and reported by Associated Press on January 5. (In November we linked to an Irrawaddy story that reported trade between the two countries grew in FY2007–08 by 60 percent.)

The foreign investment increase is mainly in the mining sector. Overall foreign investment nearly doubled (from $502.5 to $974.9), compared with the same nine months last year. [back to top]

Six New Gem Mining Blocks Leased

400+ Jade Blocks Created After Beijing Olympics

This jadeite oval from Burma features lovely translucency and an even color. And, of course, it’s available. (Photo: Wimon Manorotkul)

Burma’s Ministry of Mines announced the allocation of six gem mining blocks to local entrepreneurs with ties to the country’s rulers, according to a January 14 story by Mizzima News (MN). The blocks are located in Shan and Kachin states, and Sagaing division in the north and eastern regions of the country.

A November 24 Kachin News Group (KNG) story stated that

[s]oon after China's Beijing Olympic Games in August, the Ministry of Mines under of the Burmese ruling junta created more than 400 new jade mining blocks in Hpakant, Lonkin (Lawng Hkang) and Taw Maw, according to ethnic Kachin jade merchants in Hpakant.

While operation of jade blocks is granted only by approval of ruling authorities, and then mainly to “private” companies allied with the rulers, the KNG story explains an alternative jade mining system, Naing-ngan-daw Akyoto, or “mutual benefit” (as in benefit between company and authorities). Begun in 2005 in Phakant, the system offers block operation for a small mining permission fee and a 40-percent tax for each sale.

The MN story mentions changes seen in the local gem markets of Mogok and Phakant. With the advance of mechanized mining, controlled by select enterprises, the finest rubies and jade now bypass the local traders, moving across borders or to official auctions. The article quotes a “long time jade businessman in Mandalay” as saying that the country’s rulers are earning more from cross-border trade than from auctions, the latest of which was held earlier this month.

Jade Mining Heedless of Global Economy, Sanctions

The November 24 KNG article claimed that jade mining in Phakant (aka Hpakant) resumed in October, after a break in the monsoons, as if the world economic crisis and U.S. sanctions hadn’t occurred in the meantime.

Gemstone material is declining in quality and quantity, according to an unnamed “retired professor from the Rangoon Institute of Economics” quoted in Mizzima News on January 11. To illustrate the point, the article compares FY2007–08 production with 2004–05 (ruby) and 2003–04 (sapphire), which are down considerably, but as we reported last month, production of jade, ruby, and sapphire is up by at least a third for the first nine calendar months of 2008.

The KNG article included an estimate of $400 million in foreign exchange from Phakant (aka Hpakant) jade in 2007. See our Burma Gem Sales and Statistics for the latest available data. [back to top]

New Year’s Eve Jade Mine Explosion Kills Two in Phakant

Two miners were killed and seven injured in an underground jade mine in Phakant (aka Hpakant), in the northern state of Kachin, the afternoon of December 31, as reported by Kachin News Group (KNG) on January 7. The mine is run around the clock, according to the story, by “300 miners including overseers, 20 power shovels and about fifty 12-wheel rock trucks.”

Jade mining at Phakant, in Kachin state. (Photo courtesy All Kachin Student and Youth Union)

The article’s sources claimed that the mining operations “are operated by Chinese jade businessmen.” The story discussed the state of the jade trade:

At present jade markets are cold in China and with [the] U.S. ban on importing gem[s] from Burma, most small jade companies have stopped mining but only some jade companies linked with drug smuggling can continue mining, said sources close to jade companies in Hpakant.

KNG also reported on January 2 about a toll being collected on the Mogaung–Hpakant jade mining road. The road, currently being reconstructed, isn’t set to be completed for three years. [back to top]

Bite-Sized Bits

• The Irrawaddy: Burma’s head of state has his own likeness carved on a jade (?) Buddha statue
• Mizzima News: Gems tycoon Zaw Zaw has assets frozen by U.S.
• Xinhua News Agency: 46th Gems Emporium to be held in March
• Yangon City: The 26th Gems & Jade Sales 2009 was held January 5–9, but no sales data available
• Yangon City: An exclusive pearl exhibition for domestic dealers was held for three days during the second week of December; no sales data available [back to top]