ORTHOCERAS - unique Fossil Jewelry !

Orthoceras was an ancient mollusk that lived more than 400 million years ago. The name means straight horn, referring to the characteristic long, straight, conical shell. Orthoceras is a genus of extinct nautiloid cephalopod. This genus is sometimes called Orthoceratites. Note that it is many times misspelled as Orthocera, Orthocerus or Orthoceros. Orthoceras fossils are common and have a global distribution, occurring in any marine rock, especially limestones. These are slender, elongate shells with the middle of the body chamber transversely constricted, and a subcentral orthochoanitic siphuncle. The surface is ornamented by a network of fine lirae.

Originally Orthoceras referred to all nautiloids with a straight-shell , called an ("orthocone") . But later research on their internal structures, such siphuncle, cameral deposits and others, showing that there are actually a number of groups, even different orders, that they can belong to. The following are a couple of examples.

Many samples of Orthocaras are extremely large and are finished as desk or large display pieces as seen in the following picture.

However, smaller sized pieces make up into very interesting pendants, and sometime earrings.

A wire-wrapped Orthocaras in a pendant design by our daughter-in-law.

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PYRITE - The "Fools Gold" Stone

Lets start by how you may see Pyrite when looking for it. First it could be a 'cube' attached to a host rock, or a bunch of small 'crystals' in amoung other crystals such as Quartz, or maybe the real fooler, a Golden Pyrite "clump'. These are not the only way Pyrite appears however, as can be seen in several of the following pictures.

There are several shiny brassy yellow minerals, but pyrite is by far the most common and the most often mistaken for gold. Whether it is the golden look or something else, pyrite is a favorite among rock collectors. It can have a beautiful luster and interesting crystals. It is so common in the earth's crust that it is found in almost every possible environment, hence it has a vast number of forms and varieties. During their search for forture, many infamous shouts ocurred amid the Old West propsectors "There's Gold in that Riverbed !" only to be disappointed in finding Pyrite or as the golden rock quickly became known as "fools gold". Many a gold seaker was fooled by this shiny yellow mineral that looks so similar to gold.

Pyrite is a polymorph of Marcasite, which means that it has the same chemistry, FeS2, as Marcasite; but a different structure and therefore different symmetry and crystal shapes. Pyrite is difficult to distinguish from marcasite when a lack of clear indicators exists, as can be seen by the following picture of a piece of Marcasite.

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Almost any rock that looks a little rusty will mostly likely contain some pyrite. Pyrite is cubic crystals composed of iron sulfide; spherical and bulbous pyrites also exist; it is found in large quantities, mainly in coal mines and near clay workings. It comes in a vast number of forms and varieties, but the most common crystal shapes are cubic and octahedral.
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One sought-after form is flattened nodules found in chalk, siltstone and shale called “pyrite suns’ or ‘pyrite dollars’. These nodules are usually made from thin pyrite crystals radiating from the center.

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Enourmous amounts of small Pyrite crystal clusters come from Oruro and Colavi, Bolivia. In Navajun (Logroño), Spain, large cubic crystals, are abundant. They are frequently embedded in a light brown matrix, and are occasionally twinned.

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Perfect crystals occur in Rio Marina on the island of Elba, Italy. In the U.S., there are also many fine localities. In Park City, Bingham Co., Utah, very large, well shaped Pyritohedrons and Pyrite Cubes have been found, as well as in the American Mine in the Bingham Canyon, Salt Lake Co., Utah. Large, intergrown cubes, many times partially octahedral, occur in abundance at Leadville, Lake Co., Colorado. Pyrite "Dollars" are mostly found in Sparta, Randolph Co., Illinois. The French Creek Mine in Chester Co., Pennsylvania is famous for the octahedral crystals that occur there, although most are distorted. Many interesting nodules were recently discovered in Alden, Monroe Co., New York.

The use of Pyrite in decorations is also quite common. How many times have you visited a mine to see mining scenes in Pyrite avaiable on the sales counters.

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And more recently, Pyrite has been faceted so that it can be made into jewelry such as rings, pendants or earrings.

TRAVELING WITH JEWELRY !

Summertime, Travel, Fun in the Sun, Fun at the Airport or not ! Jewelry is rarely at the top of ones packing list. And other than the addition of a cheap, costume necklace or two for a fancy night out, most people don't pack any good jewelry. But sooner or later, we all have to travel for some function where "the good stuff" needs to come along. Be it a family wedding where grandma's pearls need to make an appearance or a gallery opening where that canary Diamond you have (and I say "you" because I certainly don't have one) begs to be worn, or a fancy Cruise where you have to appear at Formal Night with the Captain, we all find ourselves packing some fine jewelry occasionally. So, how do you keep it safe and secure? Lets check with some experts to find out.

The hotel security director: You can probably guess what a director of safety and security would say when asked , "Don't take your heirlooms and your favorite stuff with you." But, if you are going to take them, here are some tips for traveling with jewelry:
1) Be sure you are staying in a hotel with a safe in the room or safety deposit boxes at the front desk. Most 3-star or better hotels have both.
2) Once you've checked into the hotel, use the safe or safety deposit box. The hardest part is getting people to utilize them, the hotels advertise having them, but then people don't use them, and that's where things can go wrong.
3) Know the hotel's policy if something should happen to your jewelry. In most U.S. States, an innkeeper is not liable for hotel losses, unless they are the direct result of the hotel's negligence. For example, if a hotel employee is caught stealing it.

The insurance agent: if you own fine jewelry, you probably have insurance to cover it. But does that insurance apply when you are traveling? You first need to ensure that you are insured. A standard homeowner's policy will not cover jewelry for disappearance, and it will only cover theft of jewelry up to $1,000. The key is to purchase a rider to your homeowner's policy or a separate policy to cover just the jewelry. Either one will cover your jewelry for theft, disappearance or other mishaps, including losing a stone from a setting or the old familiar dropping of your wedding ring down a garbage disposal. Now you will need to be sure that you are following your specific policy's rules for travel, and you need to check with your agent about that. Most standard policies will cover you for travel anywhere, but some might require that certain items be kept in a safe when you are not wearing them. And, if we're talking about Harry Winston, red carpet-level jewels, your policy may limit exactly how much jewelry you can travel with. And Insurance Agents like Security Directors, will both advise that it is best to leave the heirlooms at home. There is no way to insure sentimental value. That ring that your grandmother gave you can only be insured for an appraised value, and it probably means more to you than that.

And last but not least, be aware of your surroundings and where you are traveling before wearing that necklace, bracelet or ring. Displaying them at a party or special gathering is one thing, but wearing them in public going to and from the "gala" can sometimes lead to trouble when least expected.

And one last suggestion, with the abundance of immatations on todays market, it might just pay to have someone make a copy of that "special necklace or broach" and leave the real stuff in your safe or bank box when you do the "fling on the night". But still be careful where you go, as someone may think you really have the real thing and want to relieve you of it.

RAINBOW GEMSTONES - a variety of colors!

A play of words, a method of description, comparing something to a known item, a panarama of colors -- these all describe what are call "rainbows". Almost everyone knows what the "rainbow" in the sky after a thunderstom is and why it is present. But that same play of colors also describes several different kinds of gemstones. The following are several of the more commonly found gemstones with "rainbow" in their name.

A necklace with the major pieces being 'Rainbow' Agate

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An interesting piece of 'rainbow' Calsicila from Mexico.
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A pendant made from 'rainbow' Fluorite from Indiana.
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..A newer find called 'Rainbow' Pyrite from China..
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An old favorite among the lapidary community, 'rainbow' Obsidian.

An interesting piece of Chalcedony, that over the years has come to be know as the "rainbow" rock.

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FACETED GEMSTONES - One choice for a list of the Rarest !

Not without some controversy and easily finding several different listing on various sites on the internet, lets look at 10 Faceted Gemstones that can stir up debate about them being the 10 rarest. But whatever list one uses, they all have one thing in common - they are all very very expensive.

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PAINITE has been described as the rarest gem mineral. As of early 2005 there were eighteen known specimens, all numbered and accounted for. Specimen No. 5 has been faceted into an oval and weighs 2.54 carats. Painite is pink to red to brown in color, very strongly pleochroic (showing different hues from different angles) and it fluoresces a lovely green under short wave UV. It comes from Mogok and Kachin State in Myanmar.

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SERENDIBITE, not to be confused with serandite, comes from Sri Lanka. It boasts an unusually complex formula consisting of calcium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, boron and oxygen. So far there exist three faceted specimens. The name comes from the old Arabic term for Sri Lanka, Serendib, as referenced in The Sixth Voyage of Sinbad.

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.POUDRETTEITE, another of the purple gemstones from Magok, Myanmar, was discovered in 2000. By December 2004 nine gem-quality pieces had been found , including a pale pink. At a Mohs hardness of 5, Poudretteite is the softest stone on this list — too scratchable for a ring but suitable for earrings, a pin or a pendant if care is exercised. Previously this substance had been known as a rare mineral of tiny colorless crystals, discovered in 1987 and named after the Poudrette family that operated the source quarry at Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec.

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GRANDIDIERITE is a bluish green mineral found primarily in Madagascar. The first and so far only clean faceted specimen, from Sri Lanka, was originally mistaken for a serendibite. Grandidierite is trichroic, transmitting blue, green and white light. The mineral is named after French explorer and natural historian Alfred Grandidier, who among other things unearthed bones from the extinct half-ton elephant bird in Ambolisatra, Madagascar.

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JEREMEJEVITE is a colorless, sky blue or pale yellow stone, the highest quality of which comes from Namibia. In nature it occurs in small obelisk-shaped crystals and has in the past been mistaken for aquamarine. It was named after Russian mineralogist Pavel Jeremejev who discovered the mineral in 1883.

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MAJORITE forms under the extreme pressure that occurs 250 miles (400 km) or more beneath the earth’s surface or from the shock of a meteorite impact. It’s a dark purple form of Garnet that was discovered in 1970 in the Coorara meteorite near Eucla, Western Australia. The species is named after Alan Major who researched high-pressure Garnet formation. Has similar formation to the apple green Moldavite collected from around a metor strike in the Czech Republic.

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TAAFFEITE is a mauve to purple to red stone named after Bohemian-Irish gemologist Edward Taaffe who discovered the first one from a box of Sri Lankan spinels in 1945. The stone displayed a double refraction which was uncharacteristic of spinel. If you could round up all the faceted taaffeites currently in existence they would fill about half a cup. Of the rarest red variety there are fewer than ten specimens.

.MUSGRAVITE is a species chemically and optically similar to Taffeite, but is even rarer. Facetable musgravite was first reported in 1993 and as of 2007 there were eight such specimens. The mineral was discovered in 1967 at the Musgrave Range in South Australia, but has since then turned up in Greenland, Madagascar and even Antarctica. It’s not unlikely that some stones thought to be taaffeites by their owners are actually musgravites. Micro-Raman spectroscopy, which uses a green laser, can quite handily distinguish the two.

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BENITOITE is found only in San Benito County, California. The stone is a strong blue with a dispersion similar to that of diamond, and fluoresces an intense blue-white under UV light. The largest faceted Benitoite weighs 15.42 carats, but stones over one carat are rare. In 1974 someone stole a flawless 6.52-carat pear-shaped specimen from the Zurich airport and it’s still missing. In 1985, Benitoite was designated the state gemstone of California.

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PHOSPHYLLITE is a rare mineral composed of hydrated zinc phosphate. Its name derives from its chemical composition (phosphate) and the Greek word for "leaf", phyllon, a reference to its cleavage. It is highly prized by collectors for its rarity and for its delicate bluish green colour. Phosphophyllite is rarely cut because it is fragile and brittle, and large crystals are too valuable to be broken up. The finest Phosphophyllite crystals come from Potosi, Bolivia, but it is no longer mined there. Other sources include New Hampshire, USA, and Hagendorf, Bavaria, Germany. It is often found in association with the minerals Chalcopyrite and Tripholite.

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The above listing appears to be based on the hardest to find, finding sizes to facet and somewhat on pricing. There are other listings of the 10 rarest gemstones based solely on price, hardest to find, exotic and lack of availability. The following list is based on a 2008 cost per caret. Please note several are repeated from the above list.

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Jadeite $3+ million/caret

Red Diamond $2-2.5 million/caret
Serendebite $1.8-2 million/caret
Blue Garnet $1.5 million/caret
Grandidierite $100,000/caret
Painite $50-60,000/caret
Musgravite $35,000/caret
Red Beryl $10,000/caret
Black Opal $2,500/caret
Jeremejevite $2,000/caret
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some even add Tanzanite to this list at $1,800-2,200/caret.
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And then we must not forget the most popular gemstone: which by it's pricing would quickly make one think it is rare:
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DIAMONDS, in general, Diamonds are not at all rare, but controlled pricing keeps the price high. The De Beers Company would prefer you didn’t know, but annual world production of gem-quality Diamond exceeds sixty million carats. This equals twelve metric tons and would fill about 145 bushel baskets. Consider this the next time you pony up a few thousand dollars for an engagement ring stone. However, colored Diamonds, called fancies, can be genuinely scarce. About one carat out of every 10,000 sold is a fancy. These shades include yellow, green, blue, orange, brown (“champagne”), purple, gray, black (called carbonado, recently shown to be meteoric), milky white, pink and red. Red is by far the rarest.

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Thanks to several gemology friends for information and pictures of the rare gemstones, although still missing a couple pictures.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR from TEXAS !

Happy New Year !

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Well it is time to say "Good-bye" to the old year and "Hello" to the new. Welcome 2010 ! But for many 2010 will be the Year of the Tiger, which is also known by its formal name of 'Geng Yin', which doesn't start until February 14th, 2010.

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As 2009 ends one looks back at what has been accomplished and what didn't get completed. So in looking back decided to take a look at all the jewelry pieces that have completed and try and decide which one was the best. That is an impossible task, so decided to look at the completed pieces in several catagories.

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This Turquoise, Carnelian and Silver set was the most complicated to construct.

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One of the most unusual pieces was constructed of Sea Jasper and Pearl Sticks.

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The most expensive set is this set of Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, Wild Horse Magnesite (Turquoise) and Ivorite with the Silver Pendant containing more Wild Horse.

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Probably the most unusual stone used in a set was this Seraphenite (Russian Angel Stone) mixed with green Adventurine.

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And for the most unusual, Lampwork Beads, Golden Jasper and Onyx will be hard to beat in this off-set design.

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And one of the best selling stones is Hematite, here in a simple set mixed with Coral and an Arrowhead Pendant.

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So ends 2009, we hope everyone had an enjoyable year and we look forward to seeing or friends and customers again during 2010.

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Stock Up On Jewelry and Gemstones !

If the fears of hiperinflation are realized, you'll look back with pride on your recent luxury jewelry purchases. All that money you've sunk into custom jewelry and top-of-the-line gemstones will make you look like an absolute genius to your friends. Agree or disagree, that's the position of South African billionaire Johann Rupert, and many will take the advice of a guy who can be described in that manner.

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According to Bloomberg News who has been advising investors, "If we enter a hyperinflation period, you're going to be so glad that you bought expensive stuff two months or six months ago." "If inflation picks up, you're going to see people running into stores, buying high cost jewelry." Will inflation cause a mob to form outside the Cartier store on Fifth Avenue? Well, probably not and you probably wouldn't have to worry too much about the pushing and shoving, but being ready to throw an elbow to protect your purchases probably isn't a bad idea.

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Of course, Mr.Rupert has something to gain – his company, Richemont, is the world's second largest luxury goods maker behind Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A. (usually called LVMH). In Mr.Rupert's talk with investors in the company controlled by his family, he forecasted "normal growth" with luxury sales showing signs of recovery this month and next. What Rupert is worried about is quantitative easing ("queasing," if you will), which involves various governments' pumping money into their saging economies to attain some kind of short-term stability. But, this could lead to a nasty hangover in the form of significant inflation rates in a few years. To beat these problems, he suggests sinking your cash into the playthings of the rich (though not cars, since they don't hold their value all that well). Gemstones, in particular, will be more than shiny in a few years, of course along with Gold.

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Partial reprint from The Luxist news release and Bloomberg News.
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Global Gold Frenzy !

In a small corner of Switzerland where Italian is spoken and roughly one-third of the world’s gold is refined into bars and ingots, business is booming. Every day, bangles, bracelets and necklaces arrive in plastic bags — from souks in the Middle East, from pawn shops in Asia and from corner jewelers in Europe and North America. “It could be your grandmother’s gold or the gift of an ex-boyfriend,” said Erhard Oberli, the chief executive of Argor-Heraeus, a major refiner that processes roughly 400 tons of gold a year. “Gold doesn’t disappear.” Amid a global frenzy fed by multibillion-dollar hedge funds, wealthy speculators and governments all rushing to stock up on the precious yellow metal, the price of gold has now surpassed $1,100 an ounce.

Long considered the ultimate refuge for nervous investors, gold has climbed as the dollar has steadily weakened, budget deficits have expanded in the United States and Europe, and central banks have continued to pump trillions of dollars into weak economies, creating fears of another asset bubble that will ultimately pop. It’s not that gold has changed, but gold buyers have changed. It’s a structural shift seen on the investing side, from Asian central banks right down to individual investors buying ingots and coins. Gold’s appeal has broadened. Indeed, last month, Harrods, the 160-year-old London department store, began selling coins as well as gold bullion ranging from tiny 1-gram ingots to the hefty, 12.5-kilogram, 400-Troy-ounce bricks that are so often featured in movies and stocked inside the vaults of Fort Knox. Harrods’s lower ground floor, where the gold is peddled, has been packed with interested shoppers. Bars are definitely more popular than coins. The 100-gram is the most popular.

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IN the United States, ads promising high prices for gold are regular fodder for late-night television spots, while buyers are setting up tables at shopping malls or hosting gold-buying gatherings at private homes. 10 times as many people are going into stores to sell gold compared to when the metal was selling for $300 an ounce at the beginning of the decade. Adjusting for inflation, gold would have to top $1,885 to set an all-time record.

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China has already doubled its gold reserves over the last six years underscored how even the most traditional investors are shifting a portion of their assets into bullion.

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Over all, in the second quarter of 2009, consumption of gold for jewelry plunged 20 percent, while investor demand for gold increased 51 percent, according to the World Gold Council. Demand for bars weighing 100 ounces or less for individual investors is up 80 percent. Inflows of old gold jewelry and individual investor sales are especially strong in the United States and Western Europe. In the past, hoarding gold as an investment was much more popular in the Middle East and Asia. Europe and the United States are the emerging markets. In addition to high anxiety about the future, recent political trends may also be playing a part in the global gold fever. With a crackdown on tax havens worldwide and Swiss bankers handing over the names of wealthy American clients to authorities, some experts say rich people now prefer an investment that can easily be hidden from the prying eyes of tax collectors. In Europe, people want physical gold to store themselves, with no documents.

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The region surrounding Mendrisio has dominated gold refining for decades, profiting from its close proximity to northern Italy — which has a long tradition of jewelry-making and cheap labor — as well as from Switzerland’s own reputation for financial stability and discretion. The Swiss government has also nurtured the business, guaranteeing gold assays for purity and carefully regulating the industry. One of the 100-gram bars that is produced just about fits in the palm of ones hand, with a satisfying metallic coldness that belies its $3,500 price tag. The standard 12.5-kilo, 400-ounce brick, on the other hand, is a monster, straining the wrist as well as the imagination: but just one of these thick bars commands a higher price than a studio apartment in Manhattan. India is now a far bigger consumer than Italy of gold for jewelry.

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Gold has been around as an investment or placed in jewelry for over 6,000 years, there is just nothing else like it, with no real alternative.

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Partial reprint of a New York Times article.
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Tucson Fall Gem Show - 2009!

The upcoming Tucson Fall Gem Show is a smaller cousin of the large Tucson Gem Fair held each February. This years fall show will be held September 10th to 13th. .

1. A.B.C. Direct, 349 E. Ft. Lowell Rd & 3301 E. Pennsylvania St.
2. Gem & Lapidary Wholesalers, Holiday Inn/Holidome
3. Best Bead Show, Tucson Convention Center
4. Gem & Lapidary Wholesalers, Rodeway Inn.

Click on the individual show and you will be taken to that shows info. For those shows that are not an individual vendor, there will be a listing of vendors and their booth location.

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Denver Gem Show -- Fall 2009 !

Each Fall gemstone and lapidary enthuiast alike gather in Denver, CO., for the Gem and Jewelry Show. Similar to the Winter Gem Fair in Tucson, but on a much smaller scale, the show is actually made up of several shows at various locations around Denver.

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The year the Denver Event runs from Sep 16th thru the 20th.

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The following individual shows make up the larger event. Some of these are open to the public, some are wholesale only, requiring business and tax certificates to enter, and some have sections for both the public and wholesalers.

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1. Bead Renaissance at Crown Plaza, Denver
2. Colorado Fossil Expo, Merchandise Mart/Plaza Annex
3. Colorado Mineral & Fossil Show, Holiday Inn/Denver Central
4. Denver Coliseum Mineral, Fossil, Gem, and Jewelry Show
5. Denver Expo 2009, National Western Complex/Expo Hall
6. Denver Gem & Mineral Show
7. Great American Gem Show, Quality Inn/Central Denver

8. Greater Denver Area Gem & Mineral Council, Merchandise Mart/Expo Hall

9. International Gem & Jewelry Show, Merchandise Mart/Pavilion Building
10.Miner's Cooperative Mineral Show
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Click on the individual show and you will be taken to that shows info. For those shows that are not an individual vendor, there will be a listing of vendors and their booth location.

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Show and Craft Fair Set-up !

There has always been a delima as to how one sets up a sales display for Craft Fairs, Bazaars and Shows. I am sure there is no right or wrong way, but over the years we have come to find certain ways seem to be preferred by customers. This may be a regional thing also. What works in Texas may not in Oregon or New York, but may in Georgia.
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When we first started out other vendors seemed to use the "L" or "U" shape, where the customers came directly into the sales area. So we started out with a "U" shape at the first show (pic #1), which wasn't too bad in a 12x10 space, but it made for very close quarters when using a 10x10 tent outside (pic #2 & 3). Outside events generally mean vendors use tents in a 10x10 or 10x20 ft vendor space. However, we have found inside spaces can be 10x10, 12x10, 15x10 and in some case 10x8 ft in size.
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.Using the larger 12x10 or 15x10 ft spaces inside, we tried several different varients on this theme for a while (pic #4, 5 & 6), but being so close to and almost in the face of someone looking at the items, seemed to be a bit awkard and intimidating to the customer.

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A Visit to the Tuscon Gem Show was an eye opener. Although those with very large booths had the come-in and look around set-up, the majority of the smaller booths (pic #7 & #8)seemed to be set up where the customer stayed to the outside and the vendor inside the tables. These pictures of two of the major shows at Tucson show this concept.

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Now after several years of trial and error, we have decided that usually the best presentation is where the items being sold are placed on a table towards the customers, and we stay behind the table to discuss their options and purchases with them (pic #9 & #10). We then leave a walkway, where once they are pretty sure what they want, we can go outside the tables to help them try items on and hold a mirror for them.

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Placing display tables along the outside even works well when using the 10x10 ft tent (pic #11).

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However the ideal situation ocurrs when one is lucky enough to be able to obtain a corner location (Pic #12 & #13), even if it has a pole as seen in the last picture.

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As can also be noticed in the later photos, backdrops and draps, if not against a wall, also greatly enhance the displays so customers are not looking through your displays into those behind or beside you.

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Just remember each time you setup, be prepared for a whole new experience and things happen that have never happened before.

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