Simplified Tourmaline Species Classification for LA-ICP-MS Data

Comparison of LA-ICP-MS and EPMA Data, Part 1

Reveals new details about this historical jewel and the results of its first gemological analysis.

An update on the activity at Potentate’s Montana deposits.

The president of Oregon’s Desert Sun Mining and Gems provides the outlook for activity at the Ponderosa sunstone mine.

In recent years, the colored stone world has seen a growing appetite for unusual colors.

An update on activity at the Coscuez emerald source, as well as ruby deposits in Mozambique.

Cat’s-eye nephrite jade from Washington State. Washington Jade (Edmonds, Washington) made its Tucson debut at the AGTA show with nephrite jade from Washington State.

A gem dealer gives back to the mining communities that have supplied gems over the course of his career.

A 283.74 ct rough tsavorite from Merelani, Tanzania, yields a square cushion-cut gemstone weighing 116.76 ct.

A graduate of GIA’s Jewelry Design program in Taiwan is the recipient of the Buccellati Award.

A summary of “The Ethics of Jewelry” panel, held at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on January 25, 2019.

Eye-catching stones at Jeffrey Bilgore’s AGTA booth.

At the AGTA show, Rod Griffin (Rod Griffin Boulder Opals, Silverado, California, and Queensland, Australia) told us that the world market for all types of opals continues to be strong, but Australia’s opal industry is shrinking due to the costs, challenges, and changing regulations of mining.

The Jewelry Development Impact Index (JDI), one of the initiatives from the second Jewelry Industry Summit in January 2017, has become the flagship project of the Minerals, Materials and Society (MMS) program at the University of Delaware. Patricia Syvrud, development manager of MMS, discussed the program, which she calls a “road map to responsibility.”

The third Jewelry Industry Summit, held in Tucson February 2–3, revealed the successful implementation of several initiatives mapped out since the conference’s inception in 2016.

Mother-and-son team Laurie and Geoffrey Watt (Mayer & Watt, Maysville, Kentucky) noted that while there were plenty of customers at the AGTA show this year, the formula for success was a wide selection of materials and competitive pricing.

Thoughts from a longtime Tucson exhibitor on responsible practices and the changing market trends.

Susi Smither discusses her sustainable, responsible, and ethically based business practices.

One of the most striking materials encountered in the Riverpark Inn (Pueblo) Gem Show was “rainbow lattice.”