AGAIN - from the top three last week



#1.) Why did AGTA Place a Ban on All Synthetics?

Why Now? Why Not Just Synthetic Diamond?

Gary Roskin

Roskin Gem News Report

By now, you should have read that the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) plans on banning all synthetic gem materials from their GemFair trade shows beginning in 2025.

Why? Why does AGTA want to ban all synthetic gemstones from the show floor?

Synthetic colored gems have been around for quite a while. Why ban them now?

If it's because of the confusion within the diamond industry, why not just ban synthetic diamonds?

Do cultured pearls cause confusion with the sale of natural pearls?

We spoke to John Ford, AGTA's CEO to find out why now.

#3.) Gucci High Watchmaking

the G-Timeless Planetarium

When you think of High Jewelry watches, do you think of Gucci?

Introducing new high complications, Gucci's first minute repeater and jumping hour tourbillon watches "are inspired by nature's rhythms and geometric beauty."

This one specifically caught our eye... "set with multicoloured gemstones, with 40mm-diameter, in white or rose gold case. Twelve gemstones comprise of rubellites, fire opals, garnets, beryl, peridot, tourmaline, topaz, tanzanite and amethysts, surrounding the dancing hours flying tourbillon."

"The tourbillon, GGC.1976.DS, is named after the Orion Nebula NGC 1976, one of the galaxy’s brightest nebulas. It powers the clockwise rotation of the 12 gems, and can be stopped and started with a push of the crown."

Tap here to see more of Gucci's High watch collections!

AngloAmerican is a mining company. It owns 85% of De Beers (15% owned by the government of Botswana), mining diamonds in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa.

AngloAmerican also mines copper, nickel, platinum, and more!

In other words, they are not just about diamonds.

The Offer, the Buyout, the Takeover!

The latest news is that BHP (Broken Hill Proprietary and Billiton) is trying to buy AngloAmerican. But wait - there's more... There are several Chinese mining companies all looking for an opening if/when BHP stops bidding.

Too many stories have popped up this week trying to explain the complications of the BHP offer, as well how this may create chaos (more than we're in right now) in the diamond business. It is mind boggling!

To top it all off, there's the Russian diamond company, ALROSA, that has been forced to sell off its mines in Angola. (Are they pulling back production too?)

You could blame all of this takeover talk on encroachment of Created Diamonds if you want, but it looks like the price of metals is what's driving this train. And the jewelry industry may just be in the caboose!

Tap here to read (or skim through) all of these major diamond mining events!

This summer, the Driehaus Museum is proud to present Chicago Collects: Jewelry in Perspective, an exhibition of over two hundred pieces of rare and historically significant jewelry from the 17^th century to the present, all from prominent Chicago collections.

This first-of-its- kind exhibition includes a range of never-seen-before jewelry and decorative arts objects from the Richard H. Driehaus Collection alongside objects from the Chicago History Museum, the Field Museum, and the Lizzardo Museum of Lapidary Art, among loans from other Chicago institutions, collections, and private lenders with unique areas of focus.

Chicago Collects: Jewelry in Perspective is organized by jewelry historian and author Elyse Zorn Karlin, guest curator of the Museum’s 2015 exhibition Maker and Muse: Women and 20^th Century Art Jewelry, and will be on view at the Driehaus Museum, 40 E. Erie Street, from May 23 to September 23, 2024.

Tap here to see just a small number of pieces that will be on exhibit!

Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction at the Four Season Hotel des Bergues in Geneva on May 15, features the usual - but fantastic - selection of historic and modern jewellery from all periods, as well as from the most famous jewellery houses such as Harry Winston, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and many more.

Highlights of this auction include a sensational Art Deco diamond and onyx brooch by Cartier, a totally cool D, Internally Flawless almost square emerald cut diamond ring of 23.15 cts by Taffin, a very large Colombian emerald of 17.60 cts, and a magnificent Kashmir sapphire ring of 11.03 cts, not to mention a Cartier Mystery Clock and the 202 carat Fancy Intense Yellow diamond, seen here, called "the Yellow Rose." (... but wait until you see the eyebrow raising profile view of this diamond - a bench jeweler's nightmare!! )

Tap here for an incredible showing of gems and jewels!

Taking place on May 13, 2024, the Phillips Geneva Jewels Auction TWO will be held at the Hotel President, Quai Wilson 47, Geneva, Switzerland.

On sale for this auction are many beautiful gems and jewels (several noted below), but featuring a couple of fancy color diamonds – the Fancy Vivid Pink, the Fancy Vivid Yellow, and the Argyle Phoenix, a Fancy Red!

And more of course!

Rocks to Watch Diamonds of Wonder

Phillips provides a closer look at five magnificent stones on offer this May in Geneva, led by an astonishing 6.21 carat Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ring. There's also a video on that very ring!

Tap here to read a feature article from Phillips on the five top diamond jewels up for auction, and to see what we have for YOU!

This is the third edition of GEMMES, Spring 2024, an outstanding journal from l’Association Gemmologie & Francophonie.

Included in the magazine is:

AT THE HEART OF GEMS • Glyptics: from the cradle of civilizations to the present day, an age-old art in constant evolution – Stéphane Renard

FAIRS & EXHIBITIONS • A group of French-speaking people in Tucson 2024 – Boris Chauviré, Clara Allirol-Mouton, Marine Bouvier, Marianna Corre, Emmanuel Fritsch, Chloé Picard and Lauriane Pinsault

LABORATORY GEMMOLOGY • The eye of Saint Lucia (seen here on the cover) – Thomas Cagniard, Jean-Pierre Gauthier & Jacques Fereire • L’antlérite, a new gem species – Aurélien Delaunay, Emmanuel Fritsch, Ingrid Lerouyer

GEMMES NEWS • Edition GGTL – The latest news from the laboratory – Féodor Blumentritt, Clara Allirol-Mouton, Candice Caplan & Franck Notari

GEMQUIZZ • GemmoCroisés – Gemmologie & Francophonie

...and more!

Tap here to read more and to download the magazine!

Gem Materials Include Dalmatian Jasper, Thulite, Ruby, Sapphire, and Diamond

Van Cleef & Arpel's Extraordinary Objects, remarkable for their combinations of materials, set the stage for a dialogue between jewelry, watchmaking and 'métiers d'art'.

Inspired by nature in motion, the Apparition des Baies is an invitation to journey to the heart of Van Cleef & Arpels’ poetic vision. 

Folded onto themselves, the lacquered rose-gold leaves of the Apparition des Baies Automaton form a luxuriant dome that conceals a secret.

Watch two VCA videos that reveal the secret of not only what's under the leaves (unless you have looked at the image here already... ), but also how the leaves (and everything else) were made!

Expert Artisans ... Awe inspiring! Tap here!

New books for your library ...

Gempedia

by Rui Galopim de Carvalho

Art of Wax

by Elsa Tierney

Jewelry Technology in the Ancient & Medieval World

by Jack Ogden

Mineral Collecting in Northern Greece (Volume 2)

by Anastasios Tsinidis

... and more from Le Gemmologue and from Flammarion!

Tap here to read about the latest Gem Pubs!

MARÍA PORCEL Los Angeles

The jewelry house presents ‘Blue Book’, the catalogue of its most luxurious custom-made pieces with price tags in the multi-millions, at the Beverly Hills mansion that inspired ‘Citizen Kane’, featuring a dinner with Reese Witherspoon, Anya Taylor-Joy and Emily Blunt

Precious stones are the stars of this collection. Necklaces studded with emeralds from Colombia and aquamarines from Brazil. Others displayed nearly perfect sapphires, convertible to form brooches or tiaras fit “for queens and princesses,” says Reynolds. Particular standouts were the Bird on a Rock brooches seen above.

Tap here for more of this star studded event!

AJF Art Jewelry Forum

by Liesbeth den Besten

This exhibition, February 25–May 26, 2024, Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim, Pforzheim, Germany, celebrates Gabi Dziuba’s unique years-long collaborations with well-known German visual artists of different generations, along with an extensive overview of her own work since the 1970s.

Haute couture and the underground, chic and trash, all meet in an uncomplicated and humorous way. In this world, authorship is not claimed or disputed but shared.

Read Liesbeth den Besten's review here!

Caption: Daniel Topka and Gabi Dziuba, Werewolf

ring, white gold, tanzanite, sapphire, tourmaline, diamonds, photo: Winfried Reinhardt

Brussels Jewellery Week:

April 25–May 5, 2024

Celebrate the cutting-edge realm of contemporary jewelry, pushing boundaries and redefining traditional norms. Brussels Jewellery Week platform serves as a meeting ground for both established and emerging artists, passionate collectors, and a diverse global audience.

Save the date. Tap here for more information!

Mad About Jewelry 2024

May 5–8, 2024

At the Museum of Arts and Design’s annual benefit sale of contemporary jewelry, you’ll find work by 50 artists from 19 countries.

A gala brunch and preview shopping for ticket purchasers takes place May 4.

MAD About Jewelry has become known as the ultimate pop-up shop for contemporary, artist-made jewelry, where collectors and jewelry enthusiasts have the rare opportunity to meet and acquire pieces from some of the most innovative creators in the field. MAD About Jewelry is free with museum admission.

Save the date. Tap here for more information!

SNAG x San Diego June 5–8, 2024

SNAG (the Society of North American Goldsmiths) : 51st Conference.

With 1.4 million people, San Diego is the second largest city in California. The San Diego/Tijuana region is the largest bi-national conurbation shared between the United States and Mexico with a population of 7.1 million.

San Diego/Tijuana have been designated as the 2024 World Design Capital, exemplifying connection, cooperation, and collaboration. Come to SNAG’s conference to gain new creative inspiration and foster lifelong bonds of collaboration and friendship within the jewelry and metals community

Tap here for more conference information!