Shows and Events

• AGTA GemFair Tucson 2018
• Empress Dowager at Bowers Museum
• Book Release: Dreher Carvings

Pala International News

• Featured Stone
• That's All, Folks!
• Farewell to Josh Hall
• Changes at Pala International
• Holiday Help - Pastel Sapphires
• Paraiba Marketplace

Shows and Events

Pala International's team will attend this year’s GemFair.

When: January 30th - February 4th, 2018
Where: Tucson Convention Center
Hours: 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m, February 4th 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

We will be at booth #1016.
  

Starting in November the Bowers Museum will feature an exhibit called Empress Dowager Cixi: Selections from the Summer Palace.  This collection will feature over one hundred objects owned by Empress Dowager Cixi which will give viewers deep insight into this powerful woman’s life. As the Empress Dowager was both an art aficionado as well as a politician, we are sure that the highly anticipated exhibit will be one that is well worth attending. The show will run from November 12th 2017 to March 11th 2018.

Pala has featured Empress Dowager Cixi periodically regarding her passion for pink tourmaline. She is the driving force which ignited the mining boom in California in the early 1900's.

For more on Empress Dowager Cixi, see: California Gem Mining: Chronicle of a Comeback

New release! Hot off the press!

Pala is very happy to announce the release of Dreher Carvings: Gemstone Animals from Idar-Oberstein by art publishers Arnoldsche. This long awaited book features master carvers Gerd and Patrick Dreher and provides vivid images, history of the Dreher family, a history of Idar-Oberstein, and homages to these incredible artists. Pala International's Larson family also contributed to the book's history and homages. The book also includes some of the Larson's own collection, as was seen in the February 2016 edition of our newsletter.

Copies will be available for purchase at Pala's booth at AGTA in Tucson, please let us know if you would like for us to reserve you a copy for pickup.

Pala International News

While Alexandrite is commonly known for hailing from Russia with Love, our feature here will have you whispering "Ceylon!"

Emerald by day, ruby by night. Alexandrite was first discovered in a Russian emerald mine in 1831. While it is name and fame belong to Russia its origins are spread around the globe. It is located many places, from Brazil to Tanzania, India to Sri Lanka, and Madagascar to Burma. The color change has fascinated humans for years.

This behemoth Alexandrite weighs in at 18.03 cts.; measuring 15.87x13.54x10.19mm. This stone brilliantly shows what Sri Lanka has to offer in the world of rare and extravagant gems. For today's attainable material this stone is profoundly clean for it's extreme size.  The color change is rated as a prominent to strong, (80%-90%) by AGL, earning this stone a Classic Ceylon distinction.

Interested? Contact us! 

Pala on Instagram!

Want to see more fine colored gemstones from Pala International? There are a couple of ways to do it.

1. Check out the Instagram feed on our Home page
2. Follow palainternational on Instagram

After over 41 years of working for Pala International, Vice President Josh Hall is retiring at the end of this year. What a run!

"When I started at Pala, all of our loose, colored stone inventory would fit into two small mailing boxes. Now it has one of the largest, and most diverse inventories of any colored stone supply house in the United States. I have been so lucky and fortunate to have spent my entire adult life surrounded by beautiful color. The extraordinary variety of species that we sell has given me a unique education into the fascinating world of gemstones. I will miss acquiring that knowledge most of all."

Josh will now have time to travel with his newly retired wife Jill, as well as work in the yard, and around the house. And who knows, maybe even get to go to the park for a picnic in the middle of the week…

"I want to thank all of my friends in the industry for the faith and confidence they have bestowed on me over all these years. I would also like to thank all of my fellow employees for their support and hard work in making Pala International into what it has become. And finally, I would like to offer my profound thanks to Bill Larson, who gave me the opportunity to learn, grow, and excercise my humble talents to help me achieve my personal goals, as well as helping Pala International grow into the corporation it has become."

Thank you all for a wonderful life full of color!"

Who could've known four decades ago what a great jewel expert Josh would become.  He started as a gem cutter but became familiar early on with Pala's extra Large John Sinkankas designed facet machine and cut several amazing stones.  My personal favorite is a clean superb 6800 carat citrine now In Harvard's gem collection and featured in Van Pelts Birthday book.  

Josh proved quickly he could sell fine gemstones to jewelers and dealers but he has a personal style that goes beyond the sale. In his time at Pala he has helped countless (perhaps thousands) of jewelers solve gem problems that for most suppliers were unsolvable.  He doesn't just recut or match gems for clients but he educates with love and patience for every question that a customer brings.  Pala international's staff has amazing knowledge of all things colored gem oriented and Josh absorbs and expands all of our knowledge.

Josh became one of; if not the most important face of Pala International at Tucson's AGTA shows.  Pala is a founding member of AGTA and Josh has worked hard to keep Pala in the forefront of knowledge whether it was treatments, new localities, or rare species.  Josh along with myself helped "the guide" set accurate prices for jewelers for over two decades. He traveled into Africa and brought back beautiful gems and saw what it takes to get these beauties from the source.  Over these many decades he has become a close and trusted friend.  

We look forward to seeing he and Jill expand their lives together with newfound leisure time for many more cruises, one of their favorite pastimes.  Pala has always been like a family with longevity being one of its strengths.  No one can take Josh's place. We can only strive to approach his time and dedication to customers who became his friends over the many years.  We wish him a long life, great heath and much happiness in his next chapter.

Perhaps the Halls will visit all of us in Tucson sometime ...  from the other side of the booth.

Bill Larson

As Josh caps off a historic 42 year career at Pala, we prepare to take the reigns and create a new space for Pala in the 21st century.

The core of the Pala International gemstone team going forward will include Carl Larson G.G. and wife Alison Larson G.G. Both GIA graduates, they have been with the team for over four years. Jason Stephenson G.G, a GIA graduate who also holds a B.S. in Geology has now been with Pala for over 11 years. Rounding out the gemstone side is Mia Dixon, our in-house photographer who has been with the team for nine years.

Our goal is to maintain and service all of our loyal long time clients while adding a larger selection of larger and finer colored stones to meet the demands of a growing number of colored gemstone connoisseurs. Feel free to call with any gemstone inquiries through the holidays and we look forward to seeing you all in Tucson in 2018.

As we see color trends come and go in the gemstone world, one that we have seen steady demand for is the jeweler’s hunt for Padparadscha as well as both pastel pink and purple sapphires. With the holidays coming up quickly we’d like to make your search for these stones a little easier and show you a small assortment of this palette that we have available.

Delight your customers and have just the item that they are looking for already fabricated in your shop.

Have your gift wrap ready.

Paraiba has continued its climb as one of the elite collectible gemstones. Growing popularity amongst the masses and further refined taste from the connoisseur has driven the demand. More and more people have heard the word Paraiba and instantly the neon Windex or Caribbean color comes to their minds. From jewelry television, to retail, to designers and dealers Paraiba has now been properly disseminated across the globe. Anyone can own a sub 1ct neon blue Paraiba for under a thousand dollars these days. Granted it would be heated, heavily included and potentially oiled, but still that iconic blue color is attainable and well known in today’s market.

On the other end of the spectrum, true connoisseurs of fine gemstones are gravitating to completely untreated Brazilian Paraibas. For those who are unaware, there are certain colors that do actually come out of the ground natural which are in no need of heat. From the intense purples, to indigo blues, to greens these darker more dramatic colors, these stones have a different feel than the bright and lighter heated counterparts. It seems as if the heating process not only changes purples to blues but also changes the tone from dark to light. Those who are after material that is closest to its original state are seeking no heat Paraiba colors.

For more information on Paraiba please visit:

Paraiba

The Path to Paraiba Now Winds Through Mozambique

- End November Newsletter • Published 11/17/17 -

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