This Week in the Roskin Gem News Report

Gary Roskin

Roskin Gem News Report

Antique diamonds don’t need a trend cycle to justify their appeal. Still, it doesn’t hurt when a high-profile engagement ring brings them back into the public eye.

Taylor Swift’s engagement ring—sporting an elongated antique cushion-cut diamond—has done just that, drawing renewed attention to vintage jewelry and reminding both consumers and the trade why well-made antique diamonds continue to hold their own.

For antique diamond dealers like Michael Goldstein, this renewed interest isn’t new—it’s a continuation of work he’s been doing quietly and consistently for decades.

At the Roskin Gem News Report, antique and estate diamonds have been part of the conversation since the very first issue, often through rare and important pieces appearing at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Heritage, and other auction houses. These are jewels that define the category—not because they’re fashionable, but because they endure.

So when interest in antique diamonds began cresting again—and after spotting a Facebook reel of an 18-inch necklace set entirely with antique diamonds—it felt like the right moment to take a closer look at Michael Goldstein, Ltd.

Goldstein’s depth of experience, disciplined eye, and long-term approach have made him a familiar—and trusted—voice in this corner of the gem trade.

Tap here to join in on our conversation
 with antique diamond expert, Michael Goldstein!

Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report

Bill Hoefer
Appraiser Under Oath





William "Bill" D. Hoefer, Jr. GG (GIA), FGA is an educator, and an expert in appraisal law. On a typical day, you can find him on his website, Appraising Demystified.

Over the past few years, in his patent research to locate gemstone diagrams for his Perfect Diagram software, Hoefer has come across some very interesting patents that he is sharing with all of us here in the Roskin Gem News Report.

Case in point, and the first one we're going with, is a patent from April 9th, 1901. A Mr. E. Loesser filed for a patent titled “The Art of Working Diamonds,” describing a method that used diamond-encrusted saw blades to cut through an octahedral diamond crystal—creating two facetable stones instead of grinding away the top of the crystal and ending up with only one cuttable diamond.

Could this have been the first time someone figured out a way to actually saw a diamond in two? Let's check out his patent!

Tap here to see the very first patent

on how to saw a diamond in two!

When this medieval gold ring first appeared in English-language news coverage earlier this month, it was already a really good story.

Three outlets — Archaeology Magazine, Medievalists.net, and Popular Science — all picked it up, each highlighting a slightly different angle.

But reading the original Norwegian press release behind those stories adds a whole new layer — quite literally — and a much more human one.

The ring was found last summer, in 2025, in the middle of modern-day Tønsberg, one of Norway’s most important medieval towns. Archaeologist Linda Åsheim was working alone when she spotted it — a moment she later described as an “out-of-body experience.” Her first thought was, well, let's just say, less than academic: “Shit — it's gold!!”

Yes, it was.

The ring had been sitting just about 7 centimeters down, less than 3 inches below the surface, recovered from a shallow soil layer associated with medieval cultivation, beneath the streets near the intersection of Storgaten and Prestegaten. The layer itself hasn’t been directly dated, but a spruce twig found just above it was radiocarbon dated to 1167–1269, firmly placing activity at the site in the Middle Ages.

That alone would make this a solid archaeological find. But what makes the ring exceptional is not just its age, but the quality of its workmanship.

Tap here for a closer look 
- and to find out what that blue center stone is!

Medieval gold ring, discovered last summer, 2025
Photo by Johanne Torheim, archaeologist
 at the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU)

FIRST PLACE!

Congratulations to Keith Chow for his photo: Thin film-like fluid inclusions in a Russian emerald.

The focus-stacked image was captured with a Leica S9D and Canon EOS RP under darkfield and fibre-optic illumination, with polarisers applied.

“Thin film-like fluid inclusions are characteristic of Russian emeralds and are frequently observed along specific crystallographic orientations. When viewed along the c-axis with appropriate illumination, these films produce intense interference colours, creating a rainbow-like optical effect that reflects their variable thickness and compositional interfaces."

Photo by Keith Chow, field of view 3.5 mm.

Tap Here to see all of the award winning images
in this year's competition!

Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report

Over the past few years, the Roskin Gem News Report has followed Pakistan’s slow but deliberate push to modernize its gemstone sector. The newest government reports (here, here, and here) suggest those long-discussed ideas are now being translated into national policy.

Taken together, the reports emerging from Pakistan over the past two years tell a more coherent story than any single announcement on its own. This is not a sudden policy experiment. It is a slow-forming effort to turn long-recognized gemstone wealth into documented, value-added exports—and to finally bring an informal sector into the global trade system.

Business Leaders Step In

The message became clear in 2024, when business leaders—not politicians—spoke up about how much value Pakistan was losing through mining wastage and non-value-added rough gemstone exports. ICCI president Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari noted that roughly 80% of Pakistan’s gemstone exports left the country in raw form, pointing to the lack of in-country cutting, certification, and internationally recognized quality standards. A proposed pilot project in the region was intended as a first step towards addressing these issues.

By 2025, those concerns had moved from chambers of commerce into the Prime Minister’s Office. A special committee on Gemstone Policy, chaired by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar Khan, put hard numbers to the problem. Officials concluded that 30–40% of gemstones are lost due to non-scientific blasting and drilling. By the time cutting and handling are factored in, total wastage approaches 50%.

A Huge Monetary Gap

When the committee turned to exports, the contrast was just as stark. Pakistan’s real gemstone export potential was pegged at over $2 billion annually, yet officially recorded exports stood at just $5–7 million—less than half of one percent of that figure. This gap, officials noted, is largely the result of undocumented trade and the continued export of gemstones in rough form.

Tap here for the continuing story regarding 
Pakistan's efforts to help its gemstone industry.

Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report

Lauralee

Who Wore What Jewels

We’re big fans of Lauralee’s red carpet gem parade at WhoWoreWhatJewels.com, so this week we dipped into her coverage of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards to see what jewels were really rockin'.

Diamonds were everywhere, of course—but they weren’t alone. Sapphires showed up in a big way, tanzanite made a sizeable appearance, and men’s jewelry once again sent a clear message: brooches are here to stay!

What made this year interesting wasn’t just sparkle for sparkle’s sake—it was how intentionally the pieces were used. Necklines were clean so necklaces could do the heavy lifting, earrings (for some wardrobes and hairdos) were allowed to dominate entire looks, and brooches weren’t treated as afterthoughts.

Here’s where the jewelry really stood out!

Tap here to see lots of jewels from
the Critics Choice Awards Ceremony!



Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report



George Peter “Pete” Yantzer, a respected gemologist and influential figure in modern diamond grading, passed away this past week following a battle with cancer. He was 77 years old.

Pete’s career in gemology spanned several decades and left a lasting mark on laboratory standards and industry thinking—particularly in how diamond cut quality is understood, measured, and communicated.

On a personal note, I had the opportunity to work for Pete for a short while at the Los Angeles GIA Gem Trade Laboratory, and later had discussions with Pete while he was Director of the AGS Lab in Las Vegas. He was an exceptional diamond grader and was perfect for leading the AGS lab to develop the Cut Grade that changed the way the industry evaluates the beauty of diamonds. - gr

In Memoriam: George Peter "Pete" Yantzer

Columbia Gem House
Press Release

During this year’s Tucson gem shows, Columbia Gem House will present several new gemstone lines, reflecting an expanded focus on distinctive cuts and U.S.-sourced materials.

Among the additions is a new series of faceted star-shaped gemstones in sapphire, citrine, neon green beryl, white quartz, and garnet, offered in calibrated sizes ranging from 3 to 5.5mm.

Also debuting in Tucson are faceted crescent moon cuts in sapphire and Idaho garnet, available in 5x3mm and 6x4mm sizes.

Additional introductions include an expanded range of star cabochons in sapphire and ruby, as well as a new offering of American rhodolite garnet from Idaho.

Taken together, the new releases highlight Columbia Gem House’s continued emphasis on American gem materials, nontraditional cutting styles, and calibrated options suited to contemporary jewelry design.

Columbia Gem House will be exhibiting at the Ethical Gem Fair and the AGTA GemFair, Booths 1117 (loose gemstones) and 3319 (finished jewelry).

ArtOuro
40th Anniversary
Press Release

ArtOuro will mark its 40th year in the international gemstone trade, showing at GJX Tucson 2026, returning to the show with a curated inventory of natural Brazilian gemstones; tourmaline—including Paraíba—alongside aquamarine, morganite, amethyst, citrine, and imperial topaz - calibrated and matched materials.

Founded in Brazil in 1986, ArtOuro has spent four decades supplying gemstones to jewelry designers and manufacturers worldwide. The company’s anniversary theme, The Art of Forever, reflects its focus on continuity in sourcing and manufacturing rather than short-term market trends.

Booths 1026–1126

If you log onto their website, you will find an inventory B2B digital platform, WebGem, allowing previews, inventory access, and scheduled meetings for designers and manufacturers both before and during the show. Try it out!

ArtOuro

#1.) Pezzottaite: From the Ground to the Vault

 A Rare Beryl Revisited

Gary Roskin

Roskin Gem News Report

Discovered in Madagascar in the late 1990s, pezzottaite was initially mistaken for pink tourmaline or morganite (pink beryl) before laboratory testing revealed it to be something else entirely. Further analysis showed pezzottaite to be a rare, cesium-rich mineral belonging to the beryl group that had never before been identified.

Although it shares a common lineage with emerald and morganite, pezzottaite stands apart visually as well as structurally. In its best examples, its orangy-pink to purplish-pink hues can rival the beauty of fine morganite. At the same time, pezzottaite behaves differently in ways that matter to gemologists. It crystallizes in the trigonal system rather than the hexagonal system typical of beryl, a structural difference driven largely by its unusually high cesium content. That distinction is the reason pezzottaite presents such a clear set of identifying features—most notably its strong pleochroism, which becomes an important part of recognizing the material.

◈

Get Out Your Dichroscope

Beryl (including pezzottaite) is a doubly refractive crystal, meaning that light entering the stone splits into two polarized rays traveling in slightly different directions and at slightly different speeds. As a result, the rays absorb light differently and—when viewed through a dichroscope—reveal two distinct colors, a phenomenon known as pleochroism.

Optically, pezzottaite behaves differently from the stones it was first confused with. Morganite, a pink variety of beryl, is only weakly pleochroic, typically showing subtle shifts between pale pink, peach, or near-colorless hues. In most cases, those differences are slight enough to have little impact on cutting or face-up appearance.

Pink tourmaline, by contrast, is strongly pleochroic, but the effect is usually expressed as variations in saturation—light pink versus darker pink—rather than a pronounced change in hue. Pezzottaite stands apart in showing stronger and more distinctive pleochroism, commonly displaying a clear difference between pink and purplish-pink in opposing crystallographic directions. That directional color difference is readily visible with a dichroscope and has real implications for cutting. Depending on orientation, a cutter can emphasize warmer, padparadscha-like peach hues or push the stone toward vivid, high-saturation pink, giving pezzottaite a broader visual range than many expect.

Tap here for more about Pezzottaite:

From the Ground to the Vault- A Rare Beryl Revisited

#2.) Annual Trade Show Calendar 2026

TUCSON

FEBRUARY

Your Tucson Check-List: 
 https://roskingemnewsreport.com/your-tucson-check-list/

JOGS Tucson Gem and Jewelry Show

Tucson, Arizona, USA

– January 28 – February 8, 2026

The Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show

Tucson, Arizona, USA

– January 29 – February 10, 2026

Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery

Tucson, Arizona, USA

– January 30 – February 14, 2026

Westward Look Show

Tucson, Arizona, USA

– January 29 – February 1, 2026

The 22nd Street Show

Tucson, Arizona, USA

– January 29 – February 15, 2026

Ethical Gem Fair Tucson

Tucson, Arizona, USA

– January 30 – February 2, 2026

The Mineral City Shows

– January 30 – February 14, 2026

The Holidome Show

Tucson, Arizona, USA

– January 31 – February 8, 2026

AGTA GemFair

Tucson, Arizona, USA

– February 2-6, 2026 [5 days only – Monday thru Friday!]

Gem & Jewelry Exchange GJX

Tucson, Arizona, USA

– February 2-7, 2026

THE 71st TGMS Tucson Gem & Mineral Show

Tucson, Arizona, USA

– February 12-15, 2026

Tap here to go to the complete 2026 Trade Shows Calendar

AGAIN!

#3) The Roskin Gem News

Report's TOP 25

By Gary Roskin

Roskin Gem News Report

As the year comes to a close, the Roskin Gem News Report is proud to present the Top 25 most-read stories of 2025.

According to our online magazine analytics, with close to 1,000 feature stories published in just over three years, page views rose 143% over 2024, while active readership increased 115%. Perhaps the most telling figure: the average time spent on feature stories nearly doubled, up 99% year over year.

The Tally

Every year, we sort through the full lot of feature stories published over the past twelve months to see which pieces were the most important - to you.

Not by our editorial preference. And not by promotion.

Simply by what you chose to read.

Putting this list together is always fun, revealing — and rarely predictable.

Revealing, because it shows how broadly your interests land: important auctions, rare and historic gems, laboratory science, terminology, trade policy, ethics, and provenance.



Encouraging, because the results mirror exactly what we aim to deliver: enjoyable (and educational) international news with real-world trade importance.

Tap Here

You click when something makes you stop and look a little closer — a great stone, an interesting explanation of a lab report, or a story that connects the dots.

From red-carpet jewels to football championship rings.

From museum donations to tariff negotiations.

From spectacular color to highly technical questions of definition, disclosure, and trust.

That mix is what defines this year’s Top 25.

So now, let’s start the countdown.

Here they are — the Top 25 most-read features of 2025, counted down from #1 to #25, based entirely on reader engagement. (Links are included if you missed any along the way.)

ENJOY

Tap here to see our Top 25 most-read features of 2025