One of my clients purchased a fine selection of larger sized sapphire rough from Umba, Tanzania. The stones were all nicely shaped and great colors. But in reviewing the stones for cutting, I noticed one that didn’t seem quite right. It seemed to be a water-worn sapphire cobble, but the fracture pattern on one side … Read More
In 2011, I purchased this zircon rough in Tanzania. Zircon from Singeda, Tanzania is often a super-saturated, near-black shade of red. In reflected light, the stone appears near-black, but it is red in transmitted light. I cut the stone in a cut-corner square brilliant of my own design. But this kind of zircon is so … Read More
Gem boxes come in various size and shapes — round (“gem jars”), rectangular, and square, each intended to both protect and display a loose gemstone. Most gem boxes are made of plastic; some have glass tops. They’re great for storage as well as shipping. All of this is common knowledge to anyone who has been … Read More
I finished recutting this sapphire for Wildfish Gems today. When I received the stone, it appeared to be an untreated blue-green sapphire (no surprise there; untreated stones are Ed’s specialty). But after I finished recutting the stone, I noticed that it looked very different under my desktop diamond grading light than it did on my … Read More
About a month ago, a client contacted me with a special project for his wife. He wanted to make a custom pendant for her using a gemstone that was both unusual and suited her as a geologist. After some discussion, we settled on green zircon. Zircon is both a visually interesting gemstone and an important … Read More