#1.) Wow! That’s Big!



XRT Technology helps Lucara Recover an Exceptionally Large 2,492 carat Diamond from its Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana

Lucara Press Release –

Gary Roskin –

Roskin Gem News Report –

Lucara Diamond Corp. is thrilled to announce the recovery of an exceptional 2,492 carat diamond from its Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana. This would be the world’s second largest gem quality rough diamond crystal ever found, second only to the famous 3,106 carat Cullinan Diamond.

The Science of Finding BIG Diamonds

This remarkable find, one of the largest rough gem quality diamonds ever unearthed, was detected and recovered by Lucara’s Mega Diamond Recovery (“MDR”) X-ray Transmission (“XRT”) technology, installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds.

Tap here to read more about this amazing discovery, and about the Karowe Mine.



#2.) The Abernethy Pearl

Scottish Jewellers Cairncross

of Perth

Ruth Davis

1 August 2024

Lyon & Turnbull

It's not often we get to lead off the Roskin Gem News newsletter with a Pearl report... but here we are!

The largest Scottish river pearl found in living history, the Abernethy Pearl, is a remarkably perfect example, found in 1967 by Scotland’s last pearl fisherman, William (Bill) Abernethy.

This magnificent pearl was sold at the Lyon & Turnbull auction Wednesday, August 21, 2024.

“We are honoured to present this important piece of Scotland’s natural and social history to auction this August as part of our Wednesday, August 21, auction of The Cairncross Collection.” [Lyon & Turnbull auctioneers, are located at 33 Broughton Place, Edinburgh, Scotland.]

Estimate: £40,000 – £60,000

Sold for £75,000 + commission = £93,000+

Tap here to watch the live auction video and to read more about the Abernethy Pearl!

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 image below, 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! 

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.

We've all seen the images of the behemoth, the 2492 carat rough diamond crystal from Lucara's Karowe Mine in Botswana. It's brownish... looks like there may be some fractures running through it... definitely not your top quality Type IIa colorless gem.

But it is gemmy... and almost 2,500 carats!

So what to do with a stone that has historic value, but questionable gem quality? Do you get more value from it by putting it on display, or by cutting a dozen or more faint brownish large stones?

All of this is speculation, of course, but it is certainly very intriguing.

Read Joshua Freedman's report, and then tune in to his interview/podcast with William Lamb, CEO of Lucara Diamonds. We might not find out more about the diamond's quality, but we expect it will be interesting to watch.

Where have we seen something like this before?

Certainly not on par with the massive size of the stone above, but consider the 12.76 carats Argyle Pink Jubilee, the largest pink diamond crystal ever recovered from the Argyle Diamond Mine. During the cutting process, the stone cracked on the wheel. Remaining in one piece, and now weighing 8.01 carats, it was donated to the Melbourne Museum. You can read about it in the Autumn 2012 issue of Gems&Jewellery Magazine.

A museum fate worth considering then before cutting?

Tap here to read Joshua Freedman's report!

If you know Richard Hughes of Lotus Gemology, Bangkok, then you are anxiously anticipating the wild rides of gemological roller coasters with his latest book all about Jade nomenclature.

Classic example, the book's press release begins - "Broken Bangle takes readers through the entire tortuous history of jade nomenclature, detailing how the current monikers were based on misinformation and misunderstanding of the gems’ true natures. Thus, the Chinese gem yù (amphibole jade) was named “nephrite” by French mineralogist Alexis Damour in the mistaken belief it was the same as the Mesoamerican pyroxene jade that a 16th Century Spanish doctor himself misinterpreted as being used to treat kidney disease (‘nephritus’). Later, Damour created a mineral species he called “jadeite” for what was actually a gem rock already known in China as fei cui."

And this is simply the introduction! Hang on!



And tap here to read the full press release...

JCK Magazine

by Rob Bates

In Rob Bates' latest feature on Russian Diamond Sanctions, he reports on the new regulations that allow even more Russian diamonds into the U.S.

This is good for those who actually bought Russian Diamonds prior to the war in Afghanistan. Bates speaks with JVC's Sarah Yood for the details. - gr

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued two general licenses that will allow the import of previously banned “grandfathered” diamonds in the United States.

The term “grandfathered” refers to rough or polished diamonds that were mined in Russia or whose origin cannot be determined, but were purchased prior to the implementation of Russian diamond sanctions on March 1, 2024. Under past rules, many of those gems were not allowed to be imported into the United States.

These two new licenses change that. The first—general license 103—applies only to diamond jewelry and basically allows the import of all pieces purchased prior to March 1.

Tap here for license 104, and to get your "permission slip"!

De Beers Press Release

De Beers Group, the world’s leading diamond company, and Tanishq, India's largest jewellery retail brand from the Tata group, announced a long-term strategic collaboration to connect more Indian consumers with the rarity and preciousness of natural diamonds and amplify the growing opportunity in the Indian market. 

Seen here together, Ajoy Chawla, (left) CEO, Jewellery Division, Titan Company Limited, and Sandrine Conseiller, (right) CEO of De Beers Brands.

Speaking with the Roskin Gem News Report, a De Beers spokesperson reiterates that, "the collaboration with Tanishq in India complements the collaboration we have established with Signet in the US. Both collaborations are with the leading retailer in a key consumer market for diamond jewellery, both focus on promoting the attributes of natural diamonds, and both will involve training retail staff on how to communicate the attributes of natural diamonds as well as a scale marketing campaign." De Beers is also working closely with Chow Tai Fook, the largest retail jewelry company in China.

Tap here for more details on this latest natural diamonds promotional effort. 

Date:

July 29, 2024

Source:

Heidelberg University

Often times, an article like this might float across the Roskin gem desk and never make it to the Newsletter or online Magazine. It's just a tad bit too much science for us. However, this time, we not only found this article in our usual search space, it was also sent to us from Stone Group Laboratories. So, we thought best to include it here, hoping that the labs will find it useful. - gr

Summary:

Sapphires are among the most precious gems, yet they consist solely of chemically 'contaminated' aluminum oxide, or corundum. It is widely assumed that these crystals with their characteristically blue color come from deep crustal rocks and accidentally ended up on the Earth's surface as magma ascended. Geoscientists have now been able to show that the sapphire grains found in the Eifel (Germany) formed in association with volcanism.

Tap here to read more - and to get the link to the full report in Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology!

JVA Annual Conference

Friday 6th- Sunday 8th September 2024 

At Holywell Park, Loughborough

Contact us at conference@thejva.org

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

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