#1.) Photomicrography: Images from Within

Photomicrography: Images from Within

Images by Sammantha Maclachlan

This week, Sammantha has sent us TWO amazing photomicrographs! This time, the image on the right, Gilalite in quartz. This is a stack of 16 images and was taken at 120X zoom.

The second image, Dumortierite in quartz. This is a stack of 26 images. Taken at 80X zoom. 

Sammantha Maclachlan is an accomplished gemmologist and photomicrographer. Her attention to gemmological detail and beauty is evident within the incredible shots shown here and in the Roskin Gem News Report online magazine. We thank Sammantha for sharing her images, and welcome you to enjoy the page!

Tap Here for more Gemmological Eye-Candy from Sammantha Maclachlan! 



#2.) Mining News that Might Predict an Unpredictable Natural Diamond Business

Gary Roskin –

Roskin Gem News Report –

Various Reports –

This past week has seen several gem mining news stories in Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly. If you consider them carefully, it appears that they may be predicting unpredictable natural diamond prices through the holidays. Let’s take a look.

Tap here to read several diamond mining reports that could certainly affect diamond prices.

GIA Press Release –

the Gemological Institute of America

Roskin Gem News Report –

GIA reports for cultured pearls containing the Metakaku^® bead nuclei embedded with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags will now receive a report comment with the unique RFID reference number of the pearl, advancing tracing capability and source transparency.

GIA Steps Forward

Tom Moses, GIA executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer, explains. “As sustainability becomes increasingly important to consumers, this technology can play a vital role in telling the complete story of these gems,” said Moses.

New Technology - Metakaku®

The Fukui Shell Nucleus Factory technology, Metakaku®, embeds a wireless RFID digital tag into the pearl’s nucleus so its origin and movement along the supply chain can easily be tracked. The RFID tag with its unique registry number, can easily be detected by an RFID reader during examination of the pearl. Adding the reference tracking number to the GIA Cultured Pearl Classification Reports uniquely identifies each pearl, matching it with its quality attributes based on the GIA 7 Pearl Value Factors.

We spoke to Fukui's David Wong to find out more - lots more!

Tap here to get all of the details you may have missed elsewhere!

LauraLee -

WhoWoreWhatJewels.com -

LauraLee is back, posting the jewels worn at this year’s Music Television Video Music Awards (MTV VMAs) and what do we see? Emerald Cuts are back! Along with lots of color! (… and that Tiffany Bird-on-a-BIG-Rock brooch – this time with a very large amethyst).

A Treasure Trove

“Jaw-dropping” jewels, says LauraLee, with, of course, Taylor Swift, winning how many awards? [… taking home SEVEN, and breaking the record for most wins for any solo artist in history with 30, but who’s counting?] … and more importantly, wearing some amazing fancy yellow diamond earrings. Sabrina Carpenter, Lisa from Blackpink, Megan Thee Stallion, Camila Cabello, and so many more more!

Tap here to see a few, and then link to WWWJ.com to see MORE!

Press Releases -

Roskin Gem News Report -

Gem Diamonds recovered a 126.21 ct. Type IIa colorless diamond at the Letšeng mine, in Lesotho, on September 6. This is the eleventh Type IIa diamond greater than 100 carats recovered at the mine this year.

That's right - ELEVEN Type IIa diamonds over 100 carats this year!

You think that's impressive - and it is - but Lucara just announced the recovery of another enormous diamond, an extraordinary 1,094 carater!! WOW!

Tap here to be shocked and impressed with the numbers of large Type IIa Diamonds being found!

Columbia Gem House, Vancouver, Washington, USA, has unveiled their fourth annual online fundraising event, the Pebbles to Pines Fundraiser!

This year’s proceeds will benefit the National Forest Foundation (NFF) and its Reforestation Program, which focuses on reforesting critical-need regions of our National Forests.

For every dollar raised, the Program will Plant One Tree

The initiative targets regions across the United States, including forests within Oregon, Montana, and Arizona – states from which this year’s featured gemstones were sourced.

Past Recipients

Columbia Gem House began its annual online fundraising event in 2021, raising money and awareness for the Navajo Hopi Health Foundation (NHHF). NHHF is a non-profit that works to provide safe, accessible, quality and culturally sensitive healthcare for its patients, based in rural Western Navajo Nation, Northern Arizona. This organization was selected in part because of the connections established through Columbia Gem House’s Anthill Garnet. The Navajo Hopi Health Foundation was especially in need during the pandemic.

Tap here to learn more about organizing a fundraiser!

Photomicrography: Images from Within

Images by Sammantha Maclachlan

This week, Sammantha has again sent us another amazing photomicrograph!

This time it's an anthill garnet with an erupting chrome diopside crystal inclusion.

The image is a stack of 32 images and a magnification of 100x was used. 

Sammantha Maclachlan is an accomplished gemmologist and photomicrographer. Her attention to gemmological detail and beauty is evident within the incredible shots shown here and in the Roskin Gem News Report online magazine. We thank Sammantha for sharing her images, and welcome you to enjoy the page!

Tap Here for more Gemmological Eye-Candy from Sammantha Maclachlan! 

September 03, 2024 –

by Samuel Ord –

Jeweller Magazine –

As first reported in Jeweller Magazine, Kirsty McMullan of Outback Crystal Hunters shared a video of the moment the remarkable amethyst specimen was discovered. McMullan and her partner Patrick travel from Cairns to Western Australia yearly to search for gemstones.

And the video pretty much tells it all.

But is it amethyst? It certainly looks like quartz! Both Amethyst and Smoky Quartz have been found in this locality.

Amethyst Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz, occurring in primary commercial hues from light lavender and pale violet to deep purple.

While what we normally see in jewellery stores is transparent, this material, while very big, appears to be more of an ornamental (non-transparent) variety.

“It’s not every day that you will come across a single amethyst point this large as the pocket zones need to be rather big to be able to grow into larger specimens,” she told Yahoo News Australia. And that certainly is important, especially if the point is undamaged!

Tap here to see images of the find as well as a video of the miner actually lifting the amethyst out of the pocket!

By Jessica Janes For Mailonline

5 September 2024

Gary Roskin –

Roskin Gem News Report –

The Antiques Roadshow is always good for a nice surprise, especially when it comes to “costume jewelry” or “something I kept in an old shoe box to play dress-up.” This time, we are introduced to six jewels purchased at thrift shops, beginning with a diamond ring described by its owner as “posh costume jewelry,” purchased for just a few hundred pounds. This ring, along with a bracelet and brooch, all totaled, was said to have been purchased for about fifteen hundred pounds. And she thought that to be quite a lot of money.

But that value became multiplied ten times by the Roadshow’s appraiser, Joanna Hardy, a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, a former diamond dealer and auctioneer, as well as a Member of the National Association of Jewellers’ Institute of Registered Valuers.

The six pieces of 18 karat and platinum jewelry, now estimated to be valued at $25,000 pounds, was created by jewelry artist, George Weil. This name may not be as well known as Tiffany, Cartier, Graff, or Van Cleef & Arpels, but he was important in his own right, especially in London.

Tap here to see the evaluation of the Weil Suite!

SSEF is launching two educational scholarships in gemmology, that will each be awarded once annually. They allow the scholarship winner to take a course at SSEF for free. SSEF will also cover the necessary economy flights and hotel costs required for the candidate’s participation (1 person) in the course.

The SSEF Foundation aims to make gemmological education more accessible to students with a passion for the subject but with limited financial resources. These two scholarships also align with the SSEF Foundation’s commitment to fostering excellence and knowledge within the jewellery and gemstone industry since 1972.

The two scholarships have been named in honour of Henry A. Hänni and George Bosshart, both past directors of SSEF who significantly contributed to gemmological research and education.

The deadline for applications is November 15th 2024, winners will be announced December 16th 2024.



Scholarship details and the application forms can be found here.

The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) has announced the results of its annual AGTA Board of Directors’ election.

Serving on the Executive Committee

Executive Committee members for the 2025 Board of Directors are as follows:

President: Bruce Bridges, Bridges Tsavorite

Members also elected to serve on the Executive Committee are:

Matt Hopkins, Hopkins Opal (re-elected to serve a three-year term)

Eshvar Kotahwala, Vinod Kotahwala, Inc. (re-elected to serve a three-year term)

Dudley Blauwet, Dudley Blauwet Gems (re-elected to serve a two-year term)

Newly Elected to the Board

Two newly elected Directors who will serve for three-year terms include:

Joseph Ambalu, Amba Gem Corporation

Tracy Lindwall, Nomad’s Lapidary Co., Inc., dba Nomads

All of the above Directors-elect will take office in February 2025.

Tap here for more AGTA details.

We've noticed that September has been the Go-to month for Conferences and Trade Shows simply because October is too close to the holidays, and August is time for many to go on vacation.

(Vacation? What is that?)

At least 6 major shows with several smaller more local venues, all vying for the retail jeweler's business to stock up for end-of-the-year holidays... all trying to squeeze their show or conference into the calendar without stepping on someone else's dates.

Why does the end of the month look empty? Are we missing something?

(Are you in Hong Kong?)

The Jewellery Show

Olympia, London, UK

– September 1-2, 2024

VicenzaOro

Vicenza, Italy

– September 6-10, 2024

JVA Annual Conference

Loughborough, UK – September 6-8, 2024

Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair

Queen Sirikit National Convention Center,

Bangkok, Thailand

70th Edition – Bangkok, Thailand

– September 9-13, 2024

HardRock Summit

Westminster, Colorado, USA

– September 7-15, 2024

Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong – Informa Markets

Hong Kong, China

– September 16-20, 2024 AWE

– September 18-22, 2024 HKCEC

Ethical Gem Fair California

Oakland, California, USA

– Saturday, September 21, 2024



MOVED TO 2025

Intergem – International Fair for Gems, Jewellery, & Gemstone Objects

dar-Oberstein, Germany

40th Anniversary

– September 27-29, 2024 April 11-13, 2025

Gem-A Annual Conference and Graduation

Saturday and Sunday, November 2-3, 2024

At etc.venues County Hall in Central London

Contact us at info@gem-a.com

CIBJO’s 2024 Annual Congress

Shanghai, China

November 2 to November 4, 2024

Pre-congress meetings will be held on October 31 and November 1.

Ethical Gem Fair NYC

Brooklyn, New York, USA

– October 17-19, 2024

To learn more about the FACETS SRI LANKA 2025 Trade Show, Tap Here!