New Beautiful Gems Are In and a Small Contest!

22k gold blue sheen moonstone and diamond clasp

I used to go out to Tucson in February because they have what is known as the Gem Show there.  In fact it's more like 20 different gem shows and there is some pretty amazing stuff out there.  It's a ten day long event and virtually every gem dealer in the world is either in a booth there or they are out there buying and selling from the other gem dealers.  Some even just set up in their hotel rooms to see customers.  Looking at the massive concentration of wealth has always seemed like it would make a great detective story for someone to write about with a massive heist taking place under the noses of the amazingly heavy contingent of police working at the shows.  I was told many, many years ago by the first gem dealer I ever worked with (who later became a friend despite our 40 year age difference at the time) that one of the reasons the gem show was held in Tucson was because the Mafia had a heavy presence there and so everyone thought it would be safer since they didn't want any incidents happening too close to home.  I never found out if it was a true story but it always sounded good.

The problem with going to Tucson is that there is just too much stuff out there to buy.  So when I would go out there I would inevitably go way over budget in my buying and then when I would get back my then partner would yell at me for spending so much money.  After a few years I gave up feeling it was better to work with all of the wonderful dealers I had hooked up with out there over the years.  And since then it became more important that I stick to dealers I knew because, as I have discussed in numerous other articles here, gem treatments became far more prolific and difficult to detect.  Working with dealers I knew were as concerned about this as I was became more and more important.  Fortunately I had developed a good list of dealers who thought I like do and proved to be great sources for my needs.

My primary stone suppliers are a couple who I actually met before I was going to Tucson as they are located about an hour from here.  They have been friends as well for most of that time peiod.   I actually think I may have first bought from them about 35 or 36 years ago.  Both of our businesses grew over time and they have an astounding quantity of quality gem materials.  Every year around this time I try to get up and actually see them so I can pick up some neat material to put out for the holiday season. (Most of the time I deal with them on the phone as they know exactly what type of material I am looking for and it really isn't necessary to get up to see them---and it isn't safe for them to travel to me with any quantity of stuff so it's easier if I just get up there to look at the entire collection.)



18k and 22k gold clasp with a boulder opal

So I did get up there this past weekend to play around and see all the amazing stuff they have.  I brought back some extraordinary material to put out for the holidays which makes this a great time of year to come in and see me.  And as I often do, I'm going to offer a little bonus to get you in the shop to look.  Anyone who comes in and asks to see the ruby slice can have a $50 credit towards anything bought out of the case (this is only good as long as I have the stones in my possession which is usually just through New Year's).  And if you can pick out the most expensive stone I came back with (without any clues or hints) you can have a $150 credit towards anything bought out of the case.  (I'm highlighting bought out of the case as it can't be used towards custom work or repairs.)

So please come on by and take a look.  I'm always amazed by the stones I get to bring back with me and I think you will be too!  

What Gems Not to Wear in Engagement Rings (or No, No, No Emeralds in Engagement Rings Part 2)

22k and 18k gold boulder opal and tsavorite garnet pendant

I know.  I know.  It's been forever since I've written a new post.  Suffice it to say I've been a wee bit busy and a little distracted. But that doesn't mean I haven't been busy getting ready for the upcoming season.  Actually my cases are really well stocked right now so it's a great time to see some new stuff.  I've got a couple of pictures of new pieces here and I will be posting more shortly (I promise no more long delays between posts for awhile). 

I thought that for today I would review a topic in a much earlier post because it seems to get more comments and questions than any other posting and it seems that I haven't been able to get my point across clearly enough (at least given the questions I keep getting).  It has to do with what stones you can use in every day wear rings (like engagement rings).  You can view the original posting here or you can just read this one.



18k gold vibrant orange sapphire ring

Because of the supposed issue (which really is moot at this point but most people aren't aware of that) of conflict diamonds many people today want to stay away from diamonds for their engagement rings.   And frankly I'm not opposed to this as an idea because I love colored stones.  However there is a reason diamonds are such good engagement ring stones (besides the sparkle that is).  They are, quite simply, the most durable gem materials available today.  They aren't just a little more durable.  They are a LOT more durable.  It is just about impossible to scratch diamonds unless you are rubbing another diamond against them.  While diamonds can break (you can break any stone if you try hard enough), and they can chip over a long period of time, they simply do not get scratched and they are somewhat harder to chip then most other material. 

So what do you do if you want to stay away from diamonds (for whatever the reason)?  You go to sapphires or rubies.  Sapphires come in a plethora of colors (except for red because then they are called rubies) so you do actually have a good selection of colored stones to choose.  Sapphire is 9 on the hardness scale of 1-10 and only diamond is harder.  The hardness scale is a relative scale so while sapphire is 9 it is actually much softer then diamond.

All other gem materials are truly not hard enough to be worn on an every day basis.  Some of them are more durable than others but if you are looking for a gemstone that will represent a lifetime of marriage nothing else is going to work. 

Emeralds in particular are problematic.  While their scratch hardness on the Moh's scale is actually pretty high, they are almost always filled with inclusions that make them extremely fragile.  Now if you don't mind replacing them every few years that's fine but they aren't exactly a cheap stone.  And if you're looking for green stones, this is really going to be a problem for engagement rings as green sapphires, while available (and relatively inexpensive) are not the kind of green that emeralds occur in.  They tend towards a light yellowish lime green with blue overtones to them.  Tourmalines are also too soft for every day wear.  They don't break that easily but they do scratch.  I gave my wife a 10.26 ct. tourmaline in her engagement ring and we're down to 9.50 ct. because of how many times I have had to have it repolished and she has only used it as an occasional wear ring after the first couple of years that she had it. 

Chrysoberyls, which include alexandrite, are also fairly high on the Moh's scale but again they are not as durable as sapphires or diamonds.  Anything in the quartz family or softer (this includes things like amethyst, opals, citrine, etc.) are a real problem because there is so much quartz dust in the air that the stones can actually get scratched just from that.  Opals break very easily as well. Pearls are an organic substance and they scratch very easily and are also subject to cleaning chemicals and other substances that you come in contact with on a daily basis.   

So here's what I tell people:  If you don't mind replacing the stone every few years (or if you are one of the more careful people out there every 5-10 years) go ahead and get whatever you want. But if you are looking for a meaningful stone that will be still be with you at your 50th anniversary party stick to the diamonds, rubies and sapphires.  All of the other ones will be problematic. 

It's Tax Free Day Sale Time Again!

18k gold, tourmalines and diamonds

Apparently the governor is scheduled to sign the tax free weekend bill today or tomorrow for Massachusetts so our annual sale is on!  This sale is open to anyone in our database, however you must have been a previous customer to take advantage of it.  We are offering a scaled discount that goes up as the cost of the goods go up.  Additionally most of our strung product is offered at a special price regardless of the cost.  The sale only applies to goods out of our cases but the tax free element of it applies to anything $2500 or less (individually---you can order two bands that total more than $2500 but are each still under that amount and they will be tax free) that is paid for in full on Saturday August 15, including custom work.  For those of you who won't be around next Saturday you are welcome to come in early, pick something out and leave us a credit card number to run through on Saturday and then you can pick it up anytime.  I'm sure some of you have been dreaming about something I make......so come on by!

On Posting on My Blog

Boulder opal and green garnet earrings

I had a discussion recently with a customer about her ability to post comments on my blog.   For those of you who don't have a Google account, in the area where it says "Post As" click on the entry "name/URL".  You don't have to put in a URL but you can just use your name.  That assumes you want to leave your name.  If not just do it anonymously. 

I know I haven't written anything in awhile but please be watching for next week's announcement (which may actually happen later this week depending on how quickly our state legislators and governor can get their act together. 

Pearls Before Swine (Put Your Pearls on Before You Eat Your Bacon)

Untreated Natural Color Akoya Pearls

I mentioned in my last posting that I would be writing about pearls in this post and that's exactly what I'm going to do.  I've written about pearls before but I've been writing this blog for so long now I don't expect anyone just finding me to go all the way back to the beginning to find the articles.  So I'm going to start from the beginning on pearls and if you've read about this before, just look at the pretty pictures.

But first a few quick notes.

 1) We will only be closed for the day of July 4.  Usually I close for some time around the beginning of July but we will not be doing that this year.

 2) Cambridge is working at eliminating parking spaces from the streets as quickly as it can so I again want to remind you that we do have a parking space available most of the time.  But you have to call ahead and ask me if it's available and where it is. Please feel free to do so.

 3) I routinely get customers in who swear to me that they read my blog all the time.  But none of you seem to want to make a comment ever.  This drives me nuts because I don't know if you're reading the blog if you never tell me on the blog itself. I have to wait until you come in the store and say "Oh, that last thing you wrote was really interesting".  I read other blogs and all kinds of people make comments.  What is up with that folks???? So anyone who posts a comment on this article can get a $25 credit against any case purchase in the future. I don't care what the comment says or is about. If you want to tell me my haircut looks stupid that's fine. I don't even care if you just want to tell me the latest joke you've heard. They are all good for that credit.  It gets lonely here sometimes....

So pearls....Pearls have been around for a long time as a jewel.  Well all gem materials have been around for a long time (they may just not have been found yet), but pearls have been known about and used as ornamentation for a lot longer than most (some believe they may be the oldest gem materials used). Originally pearls were natural, organic substances.  They would grow in oysters (or freshwaters would grow in mussels in rivers) in the ocean.  It is thought that some form of irritant would kick off the process of nacre forming around it and ultimately a pearl would form.  Finding truly round pearls was extremely rare as the process is a natural process and couldn't be controlled in any way.

The pearling industry was huge for quite a few years.  It was, in a typical human fashion, so large that the major pearling areas were fished out over a number of years.  By the late 1800's most of the world's largest pearl beds had been overfished to the point of extinction.  In 1919 oil was discovered in the Persian Gulf and the final remaining natural pearl beds of any size were ruined from the resulting pollution (as well as the over harvesting). 

It was extraordinarily convenient then that at about this same time period a couple of Japanese entrepreneurs (Mikimoto was one of them) had worked out a way to grow a cultured pearl in an oyster.  While experiments resulting in pearl like entities had been ongoing for a number of years, the Japanese managed to perfect the result.  They discovered they could put a round bead nucleus (made of shell from American fresh water fisheries as it happens) into an akoya oyster and in a few years, a growth of nacre had formed around it creating a round (well sometimes) pearl.  One of the keys to this development was figuring out how to get the bead nucleus into the oyster without killing it or stressing it out too much and then keeping them alive for the requisite growth period. 

Untreated Cultured Blue Grey Akoya Pearls

Originally, all of the cultured pearls available were grown in Japan.  The Japanese waters were cool which slowed growth down somewhat.  Additionally the type of oyster they could use was relatively small and pearls over the size of 9 mm were virtually unheard of.  As long as the pearls were kept in the oysters for a long enough period, the nacre that was created in the somewhat cooler waters, usually produced a far better luster than seen elsewhere.  Over time, some pearl farmers tried to speed up the growth process and wouldn't let the pearls remain in the oysters long enough which led to thinner nacre and lower luster, albeit cheaper, pearls.

In the 1970's and 1980's over development and pollution, along with a number of other economic factors (including China's entry into the cultured pearl market and the developing South Sea cultured pearl industry) reduced the number of Japanese pearl farmers drastically and the number of Japanese akoya pearls being sold.  As it happens the Japanese took their knowledge and sold it to China as the industry there ramped up.  While the Chinese produced akoya pearls, they were almost always lower quality (and produced in huge quantities which dragged the prices down of all the goods).

The Japanese also produced some of the best known freshwater pearls for a period of time.  The term "Biwa" pearl came into existence because of how many freshwater pearls were produced in Lake Biwa in Japan.  While natural freshwater pearls had been around in the past (New Jersey produced large numbers in the early 1800's and Tennessee was a large source), the same issues confronting natural salt water pearls, over fishing and industrialization and the resulting pollution, eliminated most of them.  Freshwater pearls are produced by inserting a piece of mantle tissue into a mussel and allowing a growth to form around that. The resulting pearls were usually a free form shape, which for jewelers like me, were much more interesting.  However Japan was faced with pollution in its lakes as well (which we believe led to some fascinating highly metallic looking pearls for awhile) and ultimately the freshwater pearl industry there pretty much stopped as well.

Bead Nucleated Freshwater "Edison" Pearls

In the meanwhile, the Chinese were moving at a rapid speed in the freshwater pearl market as well.  They produced so many low quality pearls that the prices on all of them plummeted as the market was flooded with a large amount of junk.  So then they turned to trying to produce a true round pearl to replace the Japanese akoya pearl industry that had was pretty much disappearing.  They were quite successful at this, but the resulting pearls have just never been as nice as the Japanese akoyas were.  The luster was never the same and if you held a strand of the Chinese freshwater rounds next to the Japanese akoyas, you would immediately see the difference.

However, both Japanese and Americans have been working with the Chinese in the last couple of decades and new products are coming out all the time.  The latest thing has been bead nucleated fresh water pearls in which round bead nuclei are inserted into the mussel and a pearl forms around it.

3 Strand of Untreated Akoya Cultured Pearls

Truly, to fully talk about the pearl industry I would need to write a small book and a single blog article doesn't lend itself to that.  This is meant to provide you with an overview and, as usual, I have a reason for presenting it to you now.  I recently saw one of my sources who I don't get to see very often as she was here exhibiting at a jeweler's conference, and she had some stunning strands of pearls which you can see pictured here.  At the top is a strand of multicolored akoya pearls, completely and totally untreated (no sun bleaching, no anything).  Also there is a strand of blue grey untreated akoya pearls.  The larger strand of multicolor pearls are called Edison pearls (that's the name of the company).  They are untreated (natural color) bead nucleated freshwater pearls.  All of these strands are stunning.  And the akoya strands are the first of any quality I have seen a number of years.  So while I don't normally sell round pearls I found these hard to resist.  The blue grey pearls are baroque as are the Edisons.  The Edisons have the size of South Sea pearls but are somehow completely different looking.  Please come by and take a look.  Even if you don't buy them, you aren't going to see a lot of material like this anywhere else these days.

I'll be looking forward to your questions and comments!