Issue 8, December 14, 2022 |
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The very latest gem news...
Last Week
AHA! There were a lot of us who didn't know (exactly) what a "Circular Brilliant" is on a GIA Diamond Grading Report! Obviously, it's a round diamond, that we all knew. But it's not a "Round Brilliant," nor is it an Old European Cut. Okay, if you didn't read that feature last week, you need to catch up with the rest of us. Here's the link: The Palm Tree Brooch
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Original Content
This week, we focus on Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels Auction in New York. That 10-carat Fancy Grey is a winner! And I just have to ask, was it really necessary to recut "the Incomparable," the 407 carat Internally Flawless, Fancy Deep Brownish Yellow shield cut diamond? Read the auction report to understand why I ask.
You may have read a press release by GIA about a recent testing of a large sapphire that is sometimes pink, and then sometimes pink-orange (padparadscha). Even if you know what tenebrescence is, this one is causing a lot of raised eyebrows. You can read about it here (below). Don't worry. We take the hard out of science.
Mine-to-Market
Check out the feature on mine-to-market raw gemstone jewelry collection in partnership with Moyo Gems, PACT International & the Tanzanian Women Miners. Mine-to-Market is a topic that just does not seem to rest.
We know there's a lot of concern about "greenwashing," so pay attention to everything you hear and read. [Greenwashing: unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company's products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do.]
Next Week
We are reaching into the gem folder for next week's newsletter and online magazine features. If you have an interesting gem you wish to share with our 16,000+ subscribers, send us a note. The contact information is below.
Advertising
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Read On ... Issue 8 of the new Roskin Gem News Report Newsletter.
Enjoy!
Gary Roskin
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Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels
Auction Results, Wednesday Dec. 7
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Gary Roskin -
Roskin Gem News Report -
December 14, 2022
Christie's auction went first on Tuesday, but Sotheby's had a line up card that was packed full of great pieces for Wednesday's Magnificent Jewels auction.
Top of my list, the 10.67 carat Fancy Grey emerald cut diamond from Hemmerle.
But before we start diving into the Fancy Grey, the auction had many fabulous pieces, including the largest Internally Flawless diamond ever graded by GIA, the "Golden Canary," weighing in at 303.10 carats, Fancy Deep Brownish-Yellow. And then there's an emerald found in the shipwreck of the Atocha, weighing 5.27 carats. Oh, and a black opal necklace made by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Not to mention invisible set jewels from Van Cleef and Arpels, a pair of diamond clips from Graff, and on and on....
But back to the grey... the sleeper, the one that went for cheap.
You may think that I am crazy, but when I saw that diamond in the catalogue, there was no mistaking it. I'd seen this diamond once before, in Basel several years back.
There are diamonds you never forget. The 11.11 cts. D/IF marquise, the 50.50 cts. D/IF emerald cut, the 0.75 ct. round Fancy Vivid Purplish-Pink.
This one though reinforced the old adage, never judge a book by its cover, or in this case, never judge a diamond by its grading report. "Fancy Grey." A complete non-starter for most people. But I am telling you, this diamond is one of the prettiest diamonds I have ever seen. The cutting is magnificent, with its small table (56%), steep crown angles, fat corners, large culet, and with the grey color as a background for the rainbows of dispersion, there is just nothing like it. Congratulations to the new owner. That's a winner!
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More on the Auctions:
Carol Besler reviews special items from the Christie's and Sotheby's sales.
Here's a thorough report from Anthony DeMarco for Forbes.com on the withdraw of the 13 carat square emerald cut fancy vivid pink from Christie's.
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Logo and website are redesigned
Logo and website are redesigned
CIBJO, the Confédération International de la Bijouterie, Joaillerie, Orfèvrerie des Diamants, Perles et Pierres, otherwise known as The World Jewellery Confederation, has modernized its logo and website.
The new logo keeps the familiar globe but with a modern flair, and closing CIBJO's trademark with a series of four colorful boxes as a nod to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals initiatives, to which CIBJO is committed.
The redesigned website is more active and has better navigation, which means less searching for needed information, including easily downloadable Blue Books on Gemstones, Pearls, Coral, Gemmological Laboratories, as well as Responsible Sourcing.
Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, president of CIBJO, noted, “While we have been the anchor of the industry for decades, and indeed will be celebrating our centenary in 2026, the changes in the jewellery business over the past several years have greatly expanded our role, relevance and areas of responsibility, raising our profile higher than it ever has been before.”
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Bonhams Auction Results, Dec. 6
Los Angeles
Fine Gems, Lapidary Arts and Natural History
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the "more affordable" Auction... |
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Tanzanian Spinel
Weighing approximately 24.21 carats
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Bonhams maybe not as much in the news as Christie's and Sotheby's, but they are one of the world's largest and most renowned auctioneers of fine art and antiques, motor cars, and jewelry.
Founded in 1793, Bonhams has more than 400 specialist sales a year in 60 different categories at salerooms in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong.
With specialists in every major area of art, antiques, jewellery, motor cars and collectables, the depth of knowledge at Bonhams makes them a natural choice as the place to buy and sell.
The Los Angeles salesroom is located on Sunset Boulevard, and is Bonhams' largest auction house.
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Cat's Eye Alexandrite, 18.44 cts. |
Exceptional and Important Cat's Eye Alexandrite--A Published Gem--"The Mona Lisa."
Sold for US$819,375 including premium.
Classic Brazilian material, with its teal greenish-blue changing to reddish-purple hues, this 18.44 carat gem was written up in GIA's Gems & Gemology magazine in 1988.
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TUCSON
at the NEW Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery
- Events -
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The Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery is Tucson's brand new 'go to' venue for fine quality mineral specimens, gemstone carvings, mineral specimen preparation and mineral films and broadcasts.
The year 2022 marks the 67th annual Tucson Gem & Mineral Show and with this, the opening of the Gallery, the concept of Ian and Diana Bruce, known worldwide as proprietors of Crystal Classics Fine Minerals and UK Mining Ventures.
The Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery proudly brings together many of the very best in the business, making this a one stop experience for the mineral enthusiast, from respected amateur to consummate professional.
The new premises at 465 West St Mary's Road features individual showrooms for dealers Crystal Classics, Collector's Edge, Graeber & Himes, Nicholas Stolowitz Fine Minerals and The Focal Crystal.
Also present are Dreher Carvings of Idar-Oberstein fame; MCP (Mineralogical Collection Professionals), internationally recognized for their mineral specimen preparation and BlueCap Productions, whose very own Bryan Swoboda has become a household name through the ever-popular Mineral Talks Live.
The Gallery offers you the perfect setting in which to relax and enjoy a stunning selection of the world's finest mineral specimens with an on-site refreshments in our Courtyard Café and Bar.
TUCSON 2023
Friday, 27 January 2023 - Sunday, 12 February 2023
Friday, January 27, 2023: FIRST DAY OF 'TUCSON 2023' AT THE TUCSON FINE MINERAL GALLERY
Sunday, January 29, 2.00pm: KERITH GRAEBER TALK - 'Mexican Minerals'
Monday, January 30, 2.00pm: TBC LARRY FRENCH TALK - 'The Life of Gianmaria Buccellati'
Tuesday, January 31, 2.00pm: MCP SPECIAL EXHIBIT - By Federico Pezzotta
Join Federico Pezzotta as he shares the discovery of a world class gem crystal pocket and the years of preparation of specimens in this once in a lifetime unveiling! This will be a continuous story from extraction, preparation and bringing specimens to market. Limited seating and not to be missed.
Wednesday, February 1, 2.00pm: FEDERICO BARLOCHER TALK - 'Burma'
Join Federico Barlocher as he shares the mysterious gems from Myanmar, an underground journey not to be missed! This is a rare opportunity to understand the mines and minerals and people the most historic location for gem crystals in the world.
Friday, February 3: BOOK DAY AND PRESENTATIONS
11am-12.30pm - Roy Starkey - ‘Making it Mine’ - Sir Arthur Russell and his Mineral Collection
Roy Starkey-Making it Mine, Sir Arthur Russell and his Mineral Collection- The story of Sir Authur Russell building the finest collection of British Minerals, now housed in the Natural History Museum. Roy will share the story of passion and determination and copies of the book will be available
1.30pm-3pm - Patrick Dreher - Dreher Masterworks
Patrick Dreher will share five generations of family carvings known the world over. Dreher Carvings trace the history as well as a phenomenal photo journey not to be missed. Come early to see what Patrick has carved for this year!
3.30pm-5pm - Richard Hughes - Jade, A Gemologist’s Guide
Richard Hughes will enlighten the audience with a journey all about Jade, a Gemologist's Guide. Richard's presentations always enspire and enthral the audience and this will be no exception. From the artistic beauty, history and worldwide occurrences, this volume should be on everyone's coffee table.
6pm-9pm - Harvard Evening
Sunday, February 5, 1pm-5pm: LADIES AFTERNOON
Sunday, February 5, 6.30pm-8pm: AMERICAN HERITAGE MINERAL AWARD
Monday, February 6, 1.30pm-4.30pm: TSUMEB DAY
2pm - Malcolm Southwood (via Zoom) - “Tsumeb: some green surprises!”
Malcolm Southwood will be joined by Zoom for a talk on Tsumeb: Some Green Surprises. Mal will share some interesting minerals, green in color, we think we understand, or do we? Plenty of time for Q&A to really propel our celebration of Tsumeb Day!
Tuesday, February 7, 2.00pm: DAVID JOYCE TALK - 'Red Lake Gold'
David Joyce will share his experiences of mineral specimen recovery at Red Lake Gold in Canada.In addition to his expertise on Canadian mining and minerals, David is an accomplished singer-songwriter. Come early to enjoy a few tunes relaxing on the patio. Be sure to ask David what his mining day job was!
Wednesday, February 8, 2.00pm: CHRIS OSTERMAN TALK - 'AZ Silver Nuggets'
Chris Osterman will share the story of finding modern day Silver while metal detecting in the desert of Arizona. By Day, Chris is an exploration Geologist working many classic mines around the world. Have you see the 400 pound nugget, currently on display at the UA Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum. Learn the story here in February.
Wednesday, February 8, 6.30pm-8.30pm: MINERAL CLUB COMPETITION
Friday, February 10, 6.30pm-9pm: YOUNG COLLECTORS EVENING
Sunday, February 12: FINAL DAY OF 'TUCSON 2023' AT THE TUCSON FINE MINERAL GALLERY
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Is it a Padparadscha, or not?
GIA Observes Unusual Color Change in Sapphires During Color Stability Testing
... and what is Tenebrescence?
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Gary Roskin -
Roskin Gem News Report -
December 14, 2022 -
Over the past several years (2018/2019 till today), more and more sapphires have undergone color stability testing as gem dealers discover sapphires with color instability ... they change from pink to pink-orange (padparadscha), and then back again to pink.
This color change is NOT due to changing light sources e.g. incandescent to fluorescent and seeing an alexandrite-like color change. No, this is caused by heat, lack of light, or exposure to ultraviolet light. This is called Tenebrescence.
Mindat.org defines Tenebrescence as: the ability of minerals to change colour when exposed to sunlight. Tenebrescent minerals include hackmanite, spodumene and tugtupite. Tenebrescent behavior is exploited in synthetic materials for the manufacture of self-adjusting sunglasses, which darken on exposure to sunlight
Mindat then gives examples: hackmanite (variety of sodalite), spodumene and tugtupite. You will note, sapphire (corundum) is not listed. While it's been known for decades that some sapphires can have this property, stability testing was not a standard lab procedure until recently.
Up until this recent GIA press release, these pink/orange sapphires would be pink in its stable position, change color to a padparadscha pink-orange, and then with heat and strong incandescent light, revert back to pink.
But here is the new issue. According to GIA, "A padparadscha sapphire (3.54 ct) submitted to the GIA laboratory increased its orange color during the color stability test. If left in the dark for an extended period, the color could become less orange or even go to straight pink. This can be replicated by exposing the sapphire to intense LED illumination."
And here is the conclusion: "This stone would be characterized as a padparadscha sapphire because the pink-orange color after the stability test is acceptable."
So instead of the sapphire exhibiting the usual tenebrescent results by reverting back to pink when heated, the sapphires gained orange color to end up as a pinkish-orange padparadscha color, and sometimes even to orange!
Of course, this causes some concern about how to label the color of these sapphires. Are they then Padparadschas?
According to GIA's press release, GIA states that, "In GIA’s experiments, the color observed after the color stability test is very similar to the color observed after exposure to daylight, for example, if set in jewelry and worn frequently. Given this and the need for a consistent, easily accessible standard, the color after the incandescent light stability test is the color indicated by GIA on reports for these sapphires. This standard is applied regardless of whether a sapphire loses or gains yellow or orange color during the test."
You can read more about this discovery in a recently published feature in a GIA Lab Note, "An Update on Sapphires with Unstable Color," by GIA gemologists Dr. Aaron C. Palke, Shane F. McClure and Nathan R. Renfro.
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E-commerce Jeweler Launches Groundbreaking Partnership to Track Gems from Mine to Consumer |
KITCHENER, ON -
Dec. 7, 2022 - PRNewswire -
Most jewelers who make ethical claims simply set stones in recycled gold, without addressing the social and environmental costs of the metal's origins. Further, brands that market "ethically sourced" gemstones without disclosing their origins offer consumers questionable confidence that their jewelry is ethical. For example, a third of the world's diamonds are mined in Russia and are considered 'conflict free' under the Kimberley Process, yet are directly financing Russia's war on Ukraine (Abend) ("What is the Kimberley Process"). When jewelers assure their materials, they are typically fine jewelry or luxury pieces. Therefore, much of the affordably-priced costume jewelry sold today fuels environmental destruction, poor wages, unsafe working conditions, and conflicts like the war in Ukraine (Archuleta).
luxe.zen aims to change that. The cutting-edge jeweler is already a Fairmined gold & silver licensed brand. With this partnership, luxe.zen can trace all materials from the mine to the consumer. "When the answers to our questions about our material's origins were unsatisfactory, we knew we had to do better. Our Moyo Gems pieces represent industry-leading transparency at an affordable price. We name the miner and give back 3% of profits to support others like her," Sarah Healey - founder
This boundary-pushing partnership also helps increase artisanal miners' income. luxe.zen uses primarily rough and imperfect stones, which most jewelers reject. This partnership means that miners now have a market for those stones. Furthermore, luxe.zen's partners provide safer venues to sell, transparent pricing, and immediate payment. Training is provided on mining safety and environmental sustainability, and how to assess the value of their finds. Salma Kundi, TAWOMA's Secretary General, sees a bright future for these miners, as partners like luxe.zen expand the market for their gemstones while ensuring they have the support and training to get their stones to market safely. "We are bringing expanded opportunities to Tanzanian Moyo program miners through this new effort,'' says Norbert Massay of PACT International. "These opportunities strengthen women-led households, communities, and our national partner TAWOMA."
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Colorful Gemstone Jewelry |
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Forbes.com -
Felicity Carter -
December 9, 2022 -
[Please note the European abbreviation in this article for carat weight, along with the karat fineness of precious metal, is "kt"]
The Fashion Edit: Colorful Gemstone Jewelry
From a decadent beetle necklace to a delicate mono earring, here’s an edit of zingy gemstone jewelry to suit all budgets—they’ll brighten up your winter.
18kt Gold Cable Chain Amethyst Beetle Necklace by Annoushka: A statement piece from British brand Annoushka, not only is there a polished 18kt yellow gold cable chain, it's adorned with the Mythology Rose Gold Topaz Beetle charm that features a 6.52kt faceted amethyst, 0.6kt tsavorite and 0.04kt black diamonds. The beetles are available in other stones such as amethyst, citrine and rose quartz, and there are also coordinating cocktail rings.
18kt Gold Cable Chain Amethyst Beetle Necklace by ANNOUSHKA (above)
Gemmy Gem Tourmaline & 18kt Gold Earrings by Irene Neuwirth: These showstopping earrings are brought to you by Los Angeles jeweler Irene Neuwirth and offer the perfect opportunity to channel your inner Elizabeth Taylor. The one-of-a-kind earrings, available at MATCHESFASHION, are crafted from 3.55kt of round-cut aquamarine stones and suspended at 21.58kt of pink pear-cut tourmaline for a gorgeous and oh-so-glamorous contrast.
Colors of Love Sasha Rose Gold Rainbow Multicoloured Gemstone Egg Chain Bracelet by Fabergé: A delicate chain bracelet, there’s a nod to the Fabergé egg via the shape of the multicolored pavé stones inset. Here, an 18kt rose gold chain comes together with Zambian emeralds, sapphires, garnets, Mozambican rubies and tsavorites.
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... and one more time, from a different source...
AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge Awards Honor 2022’s Best Colored Gemstone And Pearl Jewelry, Plus Lapidary Artistry
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Forbes.com -
Every year, fine jewelry designers, manufacturers and lapidary artists submit their colored gemstone and pearl jewelry designs plus ingeniously carved or faceted gemstones; objets d’art for competition in the American Gem Trade Association AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge Awards™. The 2022 awards showcased a rich and colorfully varied array of creations, which this writer had the opportunity to view in the Dallas, Texas Arkenstone Gallery of Fine Minerals, which is open by appointment only. According to AGTA CEO John Ford. “While there were a number of first-time and multi-award winners this year, the artistic and technical accomplishments of all entrants impressed all the judges with their choice colored gemstones and pearls, design originality and creative excellence.”
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I hope you've enjoyed all of the auction coverage these past two weeks. We have seen some amazing pieces worth reporting! And when next we see something notable, you can bet that we will be covering it right here just for you!
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Stay informed and keep in touch. We'd like to know where you've been and what gems you've seen.
We will continue to post features on the website, so feel free to log on to the Roskin Gem News Magazine any time at www.RoskinGemNewsReport.com
If you would like to contribute, or you have read something somewhere that you feel would be perfect to share with the community, then please feel free to contact us directly at Gary@RoskinGemNews.com
We will see you again SOON!
Stay safe and stay healthy!
Gary Roskin
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The creation of this newsletter is the work of Gary A. Roskin Ltd, dba Roskin Gemological Services. If you should have any comments or suggestions regarding the contents of this newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact us at Gary@RoskinGemNews.com |
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