Idaho "STAR" Garnet

In 1967 the Legislature of the State of Idaho adopted the Star Garnet as it's State Stone. The Star Garnet is treasured throughout the world by collectors. This stone is considered more precious than either Star Rubies or Star Sapphires. Normally the star in the Idaho Garnet has four rays, but occasionally one has six rays as in a sapphire. The color is usually dark purple or plum and the star seems to glide or float across the dark surface. The four and six ray phenomenon is so rare in garnets, that it is largely unknown in the gemstone community and few gemologist who know about it have ever seen one.

.

The Star Garnet is found only in northern Idaho and at an undisclosed location in India. The Emerald Creek garnet area (near Clarkia, ID) is a pay to dig area run by the U.S. Forest Service. The Idaho stone is very gem quality. The four and six ray phenomenon is so rare in garnets that it is largely unknown in the gemstone community.

The very rare six-star garnet.

.

Montana's "YOGO" Sapphires

Sapphires are the official Montana state gem and have shared this honor with Montana Agates since 1969, but one type of Sapphire in particular stands out: the Yogo Sapphire. The Roberts Yogo Mine in central Montana is the only commercial Yogo Sapphire mine in the world, and a new group is helping to ensure that the process of getting the gems from the mine to the store is done responsibly. Mike Roberts, the new owner of Roberts Yogo Company, explained why he came to Montana from Alaska, where he mined for gold: "Just a new adventure to see, sounded like something fun to do, and hopefully there would be lots worth doing, (and) lots of money in it."

.
All it takes is following what Roberts calls the "yellow brick road," so named because limestone rock has a vein or dike running through it. The "road" runs hundreds of feet underground. And about every 30 feet of any given vein, there are 10 carats of sapphires, considered by many to some of the best in the world. But contrary to common belief, striking it rich isn't just a matter of luck. Roberts said: "None of it's luck. It's just the more dirt you move, the more sapphires you get." In just a couple of years, they have already found some 100,000 carats. The underground ore, ladened with sapphires, is loaded up and taken back to the surface. It's then sorted and the water washes away the ore. Yogos are considered more valuable because they are natural and untreated, unlike other sapphires, but they tend to be small. And after being mined, they get cut and shipped to stores, and that process is the focus of a group called the Earth Solutions Committee. The group includes Roberts, area jewelers, gem cutters and environmentalists.

.
"The idea of conscionable mining is something that reaches across sectors," explained Committee representative Claire Baiz. "We are going to add value to the Yogo sapphire by demonstrating that it's socially responsible and environmentally ethical in the way we mine and cut and distribute and sell the Yogo sapphire." The mine does not use chemicals and even outside observers seem impressed. Stuart Levit of the Center For Science In Public Participation said, "As mining goes, (it's) probably as clean as you can ask for. However, ‘how clean' is clean is always a real big question." This is just one of the questions this group will try to answer in the effort to make the Yogo sapphire even more precious.

.

History of the YOGO Sapphire started in the late 1880s, Yogo City was like a ghost town. The hundreds of people who had come to the town looking for gold had deserted it. Only a few people remained. Yogo City had been one of the least productive areas for gold mining in all of Montana. It was not until 1895 when Jake Hoover came to Yogo City looking for gold. Like many of the miners, he noticed the tiny blue pebbles that settled down to the bottom of the gravel bed along with the gold. But unlike others, he saved the pebbles. At the end of the season, he sent a box full of these little blue pebbles to New York for expert evaluation. The box was eventually examined by gemologist Dr. George F. Kunz, who identified the little blue pebbles as a rare untreated sapphire.
.
From stories presented on KRTV and KPAX.
.
Added comment from e-mail received: Other Sapphires found in Western Montana (known as "Montana Sapphires") do not have the YOGO's cornflower blue color and brilliance and usually are heat-treated to attain their blue color ...so don't be confused. Yogo sapphires are different from any other sapphire found on the globe. Also, other colors of Sapphires that are commonly seen in jewelry stores are not found in Montana.

.

Is Japan's Akoya Pearl Industry in danger of Collapse ?

Japan's akoya pearl industry, which began in the 1890s when Kokichi Mikimoto created the world's first cultured pearls, is facing collapse due to plunging sales and stiff competition from China. In the small fishing town of Wagu, on central Japan's Ago bay, about half of the 45 akoya pearl growers are about to close down their pearl beds after prices halved this year, sending them even deeper into the red. "It's the end if you lose your passion for the work you do -- and I'm losing it," said Akihiro Takeuchi, 43, one cultivator of Japan's renowned akoya cultured pearls. "We can't live like this. It's really unprofitable ... Akoya may die out completely in this town in a few years."

.
Saltwater akoya oyster pearls have long been a benchmark of quality in the industry, with domestic production peaking at 88.5 billion yen ($900 million) in 1990. But by 2008, output had fallen to one-fifth of that. First, a "red tide" of deadly phytoplankton washed in each year in the mid-1990s, killing two-thirds of the country's akoya oysters. Then the market was flooded with less expensive Chinese freshwater pearls. At the same time, young people's tastes have shifted to more casual accessories. Now the current recession -- the country's deepest in decades -- could be the last straw. Loss-making jeweler Tasaki Pearl has closed seven of its eight pearl farms in Japan this year, and U.S. upscale retailer Tiffany & Co has announced plans to end its pearl-only store outlets. In Wagu, young growers have already drifted away, while their elders see little hope of survival after this year's open tender, which was delayed by a month, resulted in a 50 percent drop in prices.

.
"Those who can quit are lucky, but many can't because they've got bank debts from the past," said Makoto Yamamoto, president of the Pearl Cultivation Fishery Union in Mie, where one-third of Japanese akoya pearls are produced. "I was always optimistic in the past, even when we had the red tide, but this time I've got no ideas," the 74-year-old veteran said in an interview

.

SEEKING SURVIVAL
Chinese growers have succeeded in cultivating freshwater pearls as big and round as akoya and have been exporting them since the 1990s. Unlike akoya oysters, which can yield a few pearls, a single freshwater mussel can produce as many as 40. China now has 50 times Japan's pearl production capacity and the pearls are much more price-competitive, according to Mikimoto director Takashi Shimokura. There is also more competition now from South Sea and Tahitian pearls which are often bigger than akoya, attracting consumers especially in many western countries. Japan's global exports of cultured pearls have tumbled 60 percent over the last 25 years, and the country currently imports more than double the amount of pearls it exports.
Since last autumn, the country's retailers have seen falls in sales of up to 40 percent at home and 70 percent overseas, a document they submitted when seeking government support showed.
The Japanese government unveiled in late May a 120 billion yen emergency package for small fishery companies as part of a supplementary budget. But that alone won't help, said lower house member Norio Mitsuya, who also sits on parliament's Pearl Promotionary Group. "They (pearl industry) must come up with more innovative ideas. Whining about competition won't change the situation because we can't stop the imports," said Mitsuya. "For survival, the industry as a whole must seriously consider to whom they want to sell and how," he added.

.
Akoya pearl producers and retailers agree that they need to raise public awareness about the quality of their products. "Not many people know the difference between saltwater and freshwater pearls and that the chance of cultivating a top-class akoya pearl is so small -- less than 1 percent," said Yoshimasa Ohata, president of Ohata Pearl Industry, a pearl processor that also owns oyster beds in Ago Bay. Ohata said an increasing number of pearl stores, especially those on the Internet, are selling freshwater pearls without clear explanations of their origin as they can be sold at lower prices. In an ominous sign, even the company that first gave the world the akoya pearl now appears ambiguous about its future. "As the originator of akoya pearls, we do feel responsible for akoya, but there are also high-quality South Sea pearls," Mikimoto and Co's Shimokura said. "We want to keep providing customers with high-quality jewelry, whether it's akoya, South Sea pearls or diamonds."

.
.
Partial reprint of a Reuters News Article and AGTA story.
.

Stone Patterns !

One of the things one looks for when picking out a slab to make pieces for jewelry out of is an outstanding or unique pattern within the outline of the shape one is going to design. An excellant example is the following pendant made from Red River Jasper from Australia. Here you see two very well defined colors streaking across the stone.

Some times the piece of stone or slab is not large enough to make several pieces which would become a pendant and earring set. But sometime one is luckly enough in the pattern presented by the stone, to be able to make a pendant and earring set from multiple pieces, as seen in this Tiger Iron set from Australia.

Then there are times when one is able to make a large pendant out of a slab, only to have the finished piece break into pieces, hopefully only two, because of a fracture line in the stone or a bit of rough handling when cutting or polishing. Many times the crack occurs when trying to drill a hole for hanging the piece from a necklace or placing a bail on it. But sometimes when this occurs, one gets very lucky and where the crack occurs allows the piece to be repolished into a matching set as seen in this Cappucinno Jasper double-pendant.

Sometimes it takes a bit more imagination to come up with a design after a stone cracks, but as can be seen in these Cappuccino Jasper pieces, the original stone patern is still very much present although the two pieces no longer actually fit together.

At other times there is no real pattern but similar areas make for an interesting double pendant design. Again Cappuccino Jasper from Poland fills the bill for this double-pendant.

We close out with another great pendant made out of Seraphinite or "Russian Angel Stone" where Silvery Mica is encased in the Seraphinite makes for a very interesting pendant pattern and a very unique piece.

.

.

SERAPHINITE - The Russian Angel Stone ! !

Almost everyone knows the story of Alexanderite and its connection to the Russian Zars and the rarity of the gemstone. Alexandrite was originally discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia in 1830 and named after the boy Czar, Alexander ll. But few seem to be aware of another spectactular Russian gemstone. It is a commonly known Mineral Specimen stone due to its softness, but few realize it can also be a fantastic jewelry gemstone.

.

Seraphinite is a lovely dark-green stone that changes its sparkle and coloration as you view it from different positions. It comes from the mine “Korshunovskaia” which is situated not far from Baikal Lake in Eastern Siberia, Russia, near the same area where Chrome Diopsite and Charoite are mined. Seraphinite forms through the metamorphic and hydrothermal alterations of other iron and magnesium silicate minerals. It crystalizes in the form of foliated or granular masses and also as tabular crystals. It has a hardness is 2 – 2,5 (Moh’s Scale), density of 2,6, and a Chemical formula H8 Mg5 Al2 Si3 O18.

..

Seraphinite is the gem quality variety of Clinochlore. Clinochlore was found by the Russian mineralogist Nikolai I. Koksharov (1818 – 1892) who was once the director of the Russian Imperial Mineralogical Society. This mineral got its name from the Greek words for inclined and green since its structure is monoclinic and its common color is green.

..

Seraphinite has silvery chatoyant fibers much like charoite. Many agree that the fibers are the result of Mica being trapped in the veins of the stone. Often referred to as "an angel stone" due to its feathery look and strong Air to Earth qualities, it is difficult to say these days who gave this “Angel” name to the stone, but they say that it helps one to contact angels and communicate with them. Seraphiniteis is said to have become one of the premier healing stones of the 21st Century. It is strongly recommended for use in strengthening and activating all of the chakras.

There is a common opinion that seraphinite can be used only as a mineral specimen, because of its softness. But Seraphinite looks great in jewelry and can keep a polish/shine quite well, and it is not as fragile as it appears. But because of its softness it can easily be formed into beads of all shapes and sizes.

.............

Seraphinite definitely looks best mounted in Platinum, White Gold or Silver. It can be mounted in rings, but greatly discouraged because it can be so easily damaged due to its softness.

A good pendant or earring mounting is best for protecting the cut and polished Seraphinite stones.

In the past several years, a variety of Clinochlore has been found in the West Chester area of Pennsylvania. Many call it Seraphinite because of the close resemblance to the Russian material.

.

Caring for your Gemstone Jewelry !

OK, you broke down and went ahead and bought the most incredible piece of gemstone jewelry you have seen, now how to keep it that way! Caring for your gemstone jewelry is an essential necessity for any jewelry owner, as gemstones are a durable material, and they do require care, so that when handed down as heirlooms in the years to come, they are just as brilliantly remarkable as they are to you now, to be cherished forever.

.
Most transparent and hard gemstones can endure being cared for by simply cleaning the jewelry with mild nonabrasive hand detergent and a soft bristled toothbrush; then dried with a soft clean cloth. It is wise to place a soft washcloth in the sink covering the drain, as doing so will aid in preventing any gemstones from becoming chipped or falling down the drain while you are cleaning your jewelry. Some would suggest using ultrasonic cleaners, while this may be the fastest method for cleaning your jewelry; it is also the quickest way to damage your gemstones. Be very careful when using an ultrasonic cleaner, make sure that your gemstones is one that can withstand such cleaning before using this type of method.

.
Here are some suggestions for cleaning and caring for your gemstone jewelry----
1) Use 2 cleaning bowls. One that has warm water plus the cleaning liquid and one that has only warm water to rinse. Note: If you are using sinks, place a soft washcloth over the drains, this will help to keep stones from going down the drains and also help to prevent possible chipping.
2) Use lukewarm water, never use hot water.
3) Use a mild dishwashing liquid or mild jewelry cleaning solution. One that is safe for your specific jewelry gemstones and metals.
4) Several soft, clean, dry cloths (1-for cleaning and 1-drying)
5) Small, unused soft bristled toothbrush

.
The process is simple, fill your sink with warm water, add a little drop of mild dishwashing liquid and swish around to make bubbles. Carefully, place a few pieces at a time in the sink allowing them to soak a few minutes (don’t overload the sink as this may cause jewelry to hit against each other causing chips, cracks and/or damage). Then take each piece out and carefully clean with the soft bristled toothbrush. Caution, you only need to use a toothbrush if you have a piece of jewelry that has tiny cracks, holes, and small places where dust and dirt can get in; otherwise, there is really no need to use a toothbrush. Rinse in a separate sink that only contains warm water. Place the jewelry on a soft cloth and carefully dry your jewelry pieces. As a side note, allow an hour or so for your jewelry to 'air dry' to make sure that all water is gone before placing back into their jewelry box or containers.

.
Cleaning your jewelry doesn’t have to be done often, but several times a year to protect your gemstones. As a rule of thumb and if in doubt, clean your gemstone jewelry with warm, soapy water. Avoid harsh chemicals or high heat which can cause gemstones to fade or crack. And try to store your gemstone jewelry in a clean jewelry case out of the reach of harsh light or sun to prevent fading and possible damage to your gemstones.

As a last note, it is also wise to have a jeweler check any gemstones that have been put in settings at least once a year. This is to make sure that the prongs are secure and your gems are safe. When in doubt, ask a professional jeweler about the care and cleaning of your new gemstone jewelry.

.

Oh and one last guide line, if you have Opals, don't store them in a dry location. You might even place a small jarlid of water in the drawer where Opals are kept, this will keep them from drying out and cracking.

.
.

Las Vegas "Jewelry Show 2009"

Like the Tucson GemFair, the Las Vegas Jewelry Show is not one but a collection of shows taking place at the various area hotels and casinos between May 25th and Jun 2nd. Here is a list of the major ones.
.

AGTA Gem Fair and the JCK Show
Sands Expo & Convention Center/Venetian Hotel Ballroom
May 29 to Jun 2, 2009
Wholesale Credentials Required/pre-registration Suggested
.
Couture
Wynn Las Vegas Resort
May 28 to Jun 2, 2009
Wholesale Buyer Credentials Required
.
Gem & Lapidary Dealers Association
Mirage Casino Hotel

May 25 to May 28, 2009
Wholesale Buyers Credentials Required
.
Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show
Bally's Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
May 28 to Jun 1, 2009
Wholesale Credentials Required
.
International Gem & Jewelry Show
Cashman Center
May 29 to 31, 2009
Open to Public
.
Gem & Lapidary Wholesalers Show
Bally's Las Vegas Hotel
May 29 to 31, 2009
Wholesale Buyers Only
.
The Bead Renaissance Show
Palace Station Hotel & Casino
May 20 to May 31, 2009
Open to Public
.
Additional informations can be found on-line at:
http://www.jewelryshowguide.com/event/guide/las_vegas
.
.

"Natural Stones" are in for Jewelry !

It appears that the Jewelry getting the most attention this Spring leaves the flashy carats of Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubys and Sapphires behind and is drawing its inspiration from the mineral samples in a science museum gift shop. Agate, malachite, moonlight crystal, quartz and shimmering drusies are set in gold, wrapped in wire, strung as pendants or faceted as cocktail rings in ways that showcase the best of what nature has to offer.

.
"Authentic, more natural stones are the 'new bling,' " says Julie Gilhart, senior vice president and fashion director of Barneys New York. "There is a handmade craft and artisanal feel to these new designs, which feels fresh and new." Pieces that feel special but without over-the-top glitz make sense right now, says Los Angeles-based jewelry designer Devon Leigh. "People are reaching back to the Earth and to things that happen naturally," she explains. "There are a lot of negative things happening in the world, and ideas found in nature are balancing and comforting." Leigh uses geodes -- plain on the outside, glittery crystal on the inside -- in her work, slicing them for one-of-a-kind earrings and necklace pendants.

.
Yves Saint Laurent's spring collection of rings and necklaces has a similar handcrafted aesthetic, incorporating stones such as turquoise and agate. The stones that sit on top of the "Arty" cocktail rings are encased in what looks like molded gold, formed and set in a rough but sophisticated way. The swerving lines of the setting and varying surface textures add to the organic appeal. "I love the way designers are mixing metals with these stones," Leigh says. "It's not over-the-top hippie. It's edgy and feminine." Erickson Beamon tempers the hippie vibe by using extra-large stones and setting them at random angles, making a multi-strand necklace look like an eclectic statement piece. Jessica Kagan Cushman strings dozens of stones over four tiers to make an eye-catching conversation starter of a necklace. And Etro clearly showcases each stone, faceted on a gold arm cuff to reveal varying grains and gradations of color.

.
Some designers love the juxtaposition of earthy and shiny elements. "I have always been drawn to the organic and more unusual stones," says Irene Neuwirth, a Los Angeles-based jewelry designer. "Most recently it's been boulder opals, which I set with diamond pave. No two are ever the same, and the contrast of the earthy stone and diamond pave is really beautiful to me." The large, vividly colored stones make the accessories they're attached to statement pieces. And because the prices of quartz and geodes are so much lower than those of precious gems, designers can take creative liberties with the stones and sell pieces at reasonable prices (unless they add diamonds as decorations, of course).

.
The bohemian feel of this jewelry lends a relaxed and romantic vibe to any ensemble. Play up the art nouveau elements by pairing pieces with something soft, pale and flowing. Or use them to soften an outfit that's crisp and stark. The look is distinctive -- and decidedly down to Earth.

.

Partial reprint of LA Times article with photos added.

.

.