This Week in the Roskin Gem News Report

Two of Sri Lanka’s key gem trade events were once again running back-to-back in Colombo this week, giving international buyers and dealers a concentrated look at the market from two complementary perspectives — and under the stewardship of two different trade organizations. It also gave suppliers a chance to pick up inventory before the later January shows, IJT in Tokyo (January 14-17, 2026), VicenzaOro (January 16-20 2026), in Vicenza, Italy, and the big Tucson gem & mineral shows in the U.S. coming up the first week of February.

FACETS Sri Lanka, produced by the Sri Lanka Gem & Jewellery Association (SLGJA), traditionally opened the January calendar (January 3-5) with a broad, international presentation of Sri Lankan gemstones and finished jewelry. The 33rd edition of FACETS brought together exporters, manufacturers, designers, and overseas buyers, with an emphasis on polished goods, jewelry collections, and long term relationship-driven trading.

Early feedback from exhibitors pointed to solid attendance and a familiar mix of established buyers and returning international visitors, reinforcing FACETS’ role as a cornerstone event.

Gems Sri Lanka


Just days later, Gem Sri Lanka, (January 7-9) organized by the Ceylon Gem & Jewellery Traders Association (CGJTA), followed with a more sourcing-oriented focus. Positioned squarely as a business-to-business platform, the 3rd edition of Gems Sri Lanka emphasized direct access to gemstones and production-level trade, appealing to buyers interested in fresh material and face-to-face negotiations. Day 1 of Gems Sri Lanka reportedly was considered a success, welcoming over 2,000 attendees.

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Together, the two events create a natural progression for visitors in Colombo: FACETS offering a wide-angle view of the market and finished goods, followed by Gem Sri Lanka’s tighter concentration on sourcing and trade activity. For buyers already on the ground, the pairing continues to make early January one of the most efficient windows of the year for doing business.

Tap here to go to FACETS' website

Tap here to go to Gems Sri Lanka's website



Tuesday, February 3

9:00 am - 9:55 am 

9:00 a.m. – 9:55 a.m. | Tuesday, February 3, 2026 |

Current Trends In Colored Gems;

Presented By: Stuart Robertson & Brecken Branstrator

10:00 am - 10:55 am 

10:00 a.m. – 10:55 a.m. | Tuesday, February 3, 2026 |

The Amazing World of Diamond Luminescence and Its Applications for Diamond Testing;

Presented By: Dr. Thomas Hainschwang

11:00 am - 11:55 am 

11:00 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. | Tuesday, February 3, 2026 |

No Stone Unturned: The Hunt for African Gems;

Presented By: Richa Goyal Sikri

1:00 pm - 1:55 pm 

1:00 p.m. – 1:55 p.m. | Tuesday, February 3, 2026 |

Synthetic Diamonds: What’s New, What’s Next?;

Presented By: Julia Griffith

2:00 pm - 2:55 pm 

2:00 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. | Tuesday, February 3, 2026 |

Rubies From New Amphibole Type Deposits;

Presented By: Vincent Pardieu

3:00 pm - 3:55 pm 

3:00 p.m. – 3:55 p.m. | Tuesday, February 3, 2026 |

Field Gemology: A Foundation to Better Understand Gemstones;

Presented By: Wim Vertriest

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.

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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

Get ready for the 2026 Tucson Gem & Fine Mineral Show at the Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery, taking place from January 30 until February 14! After another incredibly successful year, we are excited to present our fifth show since opening in 2022. The 2026 event is set to be nothing short of spectacular, featuring an exceptional lineup of exhibitors – some of the finest in Tucson.

This year, you’ll also have the opportunity to experience a special Tsumeb Pop-Up event, along with our Mineral and Stones Art Day, showcasing talented jewelry makers and artists. We are also excited to introduce two new awards this year: the ‘VanPelt Award of Photographic Excellence’, and a new annual Young Photographer of the Year contest.



The show will also feature a series of captivating talks in our conference room by distinguished speakers, including Gene Meieran, Dr. Aaron Celestian, and Daniel Trinchillo.

One of the more boutique shows in Tucson, and within walking distance of the Tucson Convention Center, is the Ethical Gem Fair.

It's a relatively short show, spanning only 4 days, from January 30th through February 2nd, so make sure to plan accordingly.

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Exhibitors include:

Ian Bone/Heather Blake (Capricorn Gems)

Stuart Pool (Nineteen48/Moyo Gems)

Monica Stephenson (ANZA Gems/Moyo Gems)

Jay Moncada (Perpetuum Jewels)

Brian Cook/Quendi Cook (Nature's Geometry/Quore)

Hewan Zewdi (Agere Treasures)

Eric Braunwart/Natasha Braunwart (Columbia Gem House)

and Susan Wheeler/Jessica Hudson (Virtu Gems)

As an added draw, also exhibiting is For Love & Ganache, artisanal chocolates in gemstone shapes. When you buy a box, tell them you read about them here in the Roskin Gem News Report!



The Diamond Club West Coast Closes Out 2025 
and Looks Ahead to Continued Growth

More than 600 guests gathered to celebrate industry excellence, honor standout members, and mark an exciting new chapter for DCWC

And we took the opportunity to reach out to Kalpesh Jhaveri, to hear his thoughts on the current diamond market

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Los Angeles, CA – (January 5, 2025)


The Diamond Club West Coast (DCWC), an affiliate of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), closed out the year with its annual Holiday Party, welcoming more than 600 members, industry leaders, and guests for what has become the largest year-end jewelry industry celebration on the West Coast.

“The DCWC Holiday Party is about more than celebration, it’s about community,” said Jhaveri. “Seeing more than 600 people from across our industry come together under one roof reminds us how strong and connected our community truly is. This evening reflects the momentum we’ve built and the exciting future ahead.”

Interview: Market Realities from the West Coast


A conversation with Kalpesh Jhaveri
President of the West Coast Diamond Club

We had an opportunity to speak with Kalpesh Jhaveri about the current diamond market. We spoke about the influence of synthetic diamonds, of what is popular in natural diamonds, and whether tariffs have affected pricing. We also spoke a bit about the DCWC and its current wave of popularity.

What’s selling — and what isn’t?

According to Jhaveri, 2025 has been a strong year for lab-grown diamonds.

“One- and two-carat goods, especially one-carat stones, have been softer on the natural side,” he explains. “Those buyers, because of dollar value, have shifted into larger lab-grown stones. Lab has suddenly become very, very affordable.”

By contrast, natural diamonds over three carats have held up better. “As far as natural goods are concerned, larger stones — over three carats — have done pretty well.”

... and so much more in this interview!

Tap here for specifics in the current diamond market!

2025 People’s Choice Award Winner



Giovanni Pace has been crowned this year's winner of our Facebook vote for his incredible photomicrograph depicting a pyrite inclusion within a 14.35-carat hyaline quartz cabochon. The material hails from the state of Bahia, Brazil.

His photomicrograph was obtained from a stack of 18 photographs at 90x magnification (1.60 mm field of view), acquired under darkfield illumination with fibre optics and polarised light. To enhance the microscopic details, a light-blue filter was positioned between the darkfield light source and the specimen, and was subsequently removed via digital image processing in Photoshop.

Giovanni will now receive a £50 voucher redeemable at Gem-A Instruments. His photomicrograph will also be featured in the Winter 2025 edition of Gems&Jewellery magazine.

Artisanal Mining and the Roskin Gem News Report

Over the years, we’ve published numerous feature stories focused on artisanal gem mining and the people behind it. We support responsible artisanal miners who work to bring their goods into transparent, legitimate markets. Too often, however, the word “artisanal” is casually equated with informal or illegal activity. More striking is that some of the notable skepticism toward artisanal mining comes from within the diamond industry.

In this week's World Diamond Council newsletter, an opinion piece written by Alan Cohen, talks about how we should not think of "artisanal" as illegal, but as an integral part of the mining industry.

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Reassessing a time gone by, when inclusion was a policy for winners

"Today, the public debate around artisanal diamond mining follows a familiar script — informality is equated with illegality," writes Alan Cohen, a member of both the WDC Board of Directors and Its KP Task Force. "Media reporting, NGO narratives and enforcement rhetoric present artisanal diamonds as being inherently suspect. This framing is so pervasive that it is rarely questioned. Yet it overlooks a crucial historical reality. In many of Africa’s key diamond-producing countries, artisanal diamonds were once deliberately integrated into formal distribution systems — not because of indifference or deliberate oversight, but because they were central to foreign-exchange policy."

Here is a direct link to this important Op Ed

#1.) 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

#2.) The Journal of Gemmology

The Winter Issue 2025

Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report

We just reviewed our copy of the latest Journal of Gemmology, Gem-A's premier gemmological publication, (Volume 39, No. 8, 2025).

Highlights include a feature article that describes the successful applications of unsupervised machine learning algorithms to the geographic origin determination of Copper-bearing tourmaline.

Other feature articles include taking a closer look at the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire and its wealth of gemstones and pearls, as well as the limitations of using trace-element signatures for distinguishing the geological and geographic origins of gem quality corundum.

Editor-in-chief Brendan Laurs FGA, who was recently announced as the recipient of the 2025 Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology from the Accredited Gemologists Association (AGA), notes that “This issue closes the year with an important application of machine learning to the origin determination of gem materials, rounding out a trend we’ve been seeing regarding the increased use of artificial intelligence for addressing complex gemmological challenges. The Journal continues to be a valuable resource for keeping track of exciting new developments in the science of gemmology.”

Tap here for more info - 

and to download your copy - with membership.

AGAIN!

#3) Unearthed: Raw Beauty

See some of the rarest and most spectacular mineral specimens ever discovered.

Los Angeles Natural History Museum 

December 14, 2025 through April 18, 2027

A Not-to-Be-Missed Exhibition at the NHM

If you’re heading through Los Angeles anytime soon, put the Natural History Museum on your must-see list. Their newest exhibition, Unearthed: Raw Beauty, brings together some of the rarest and most extraordinary mineral specimens you’ll ever encounter — many of them making their public debut.

Gems, Jewelry, and Minerals

Billed as an exhibition that takes you “underground,” it offers a deeper look at how minerals and crystals form, why they behave the way they do, and where they appear in everyday life — from remote caves, to your kitchen countertop, to your jewelry.

For those of us who marvel at nature’s work, several of these beauties will have you leaning in for a better, closer, and longer look.

In short: Unearthed: Raw Beauty is that rare exhibition that’s as visually spectacular as it is scientifically engaging. If you’re anywhere near Los Angeles — downtown in the Jewelry District — near Pershing Square — or even just passing through on the 10 or the 110 — trust me: go!

Tap here for details and a sneak peek at Unearthed: Raw Beauty.