It’s my last day in the US before I slog through long layovers and lengthy flights on my way to Malawi. Malawi is a sliver of a country in Eastern Africa, just below Tanzania and above Mozambique. As part of the “Mozambique belt”, Malawi shares a similar geology to Kenya, Tanzania. Gem traders have long … Read More
Journal
The Importance of a Crown
This is why well-cut crowns are some important: the first image is of a new aquamarine asscher on the dop & half finished, the second is of the same stone, but with the crown I favor for asscher designs. Yeah, precision cutting really does matter, top to bottom. Finished stone in the third image: 3.42ct, … Read More
Always Worth the Extra Cost
The quality of cutting is often overlooked when pricing a colored stone unless it is a native cut. However, a precision cut gem will always present a far brighter and more desirable appearance than is observed in an average make. Precision is cutting is always worth the extra cost and a premium must be considered … Read More
Dangerous Feathers
Gemstone repair is one of the services I offer to the jewelry trade. All gemstones (diamond included) will take wear over time, especially if they’re used in rings. Happily, the great majority of the stones can be repaired with minimal loss. But occasionally the damage done cannot be removed. For example: I recently received an … Read More
Sneaky Synthetic Sapphire
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
Old European Cut
As you may know, the Old European Cut (OEC) design was a 19th century evolution of earlier, simpler designed use for diamonds. Eventually the OEC was superseded by better performing designs, especially by what we now call the Standard Round Brilliant (SRB). While it is completely true that the SRB optically out-performs the venerable OEC, … Read More
Q&A: Heating Zircon
Question: I am curious about the process of changing the color to colorless. I had read online that the color can be changed by heating at home, is this so (or just silly internet advice)? I am considering changing its color if so… Answer: Yes, you can heat zircon yourself and without special equipment. Many … Read More
Recut Project: Untreated Yellow Sapphire Round
All large sapphires are rare. In today’s market, untreated sapphires of any fine color are very rare indeed. Sizable round, untreated, fine color sapphires? Well, suffice to say that they’re almost impossible to source when you want one. That’s why I invested in this large, untreated yellow sapphire at the AGTA show in Tucson this … Read More
Spessartite Garnet Recutting Project
Last month I received a very large spessartite garnet from one of my wholesale brokers — over 18ct! Spessartite this large is rather rare, but because of the cut and obvious inclusions, it just wasn’t selling for him. So, after some discussion, we decided the stone would be best recut to a more salable shape … Read More
Recut Project: Yellow Sapphire Square Cushion
I just wrapped up a fun recutting project. A client needed a 6mm square cushion yellow sapphire with fine color, high clarity and untreated (if possible). I was able to find a badly proportioned square at Tucson this year and was reassured by the vendor it’s untreated. I’ll be sending the stone to the AGL … Read More