Articles from 2017

Commercial names, or trade names, are commonly used by merchants and buyers, and usually symbolize top quality, rare shades of gems. Their main purpose is to elevate the stature of certain gems above others of the same variety that show less attractive shades. Commercial names are becoming increasingly popular, fueled by buyers and laboratories alike. One issue, however, seems to continuously pop up - the color definition borders of each name.

Color is a challenging issue, to say the least. Think of the dilemmas one faces when describing, matching, communicating and grading color in gems, even in colored diamonds. I mean, how many times have you tried to assemble a pair of fancy colored diamonds for earrings, just to discover that your two fancy yellow candidates are not even close to be defined as a "matching pair"? In this Part II article, we continue our color journey into the challenges posed in color grading of colored diamonds and present our innovative solutions.

Gray is one of the less attractive colors among fancy diamonds. Even when it appears in conjunction with other popular colors, such as blue or green, its effect on the overall price is negative, regardless of its dominance within the stone. But what is the current extent of this effect? We thus set out to explore this issue.

In reality, some colored stones are very difficult to describe. Some gems produce peculiar colors, which can be very confusing, even for the most experienced expert ‒ for example, various gems may display a uniform color that lies in the border between two hues, others may possess an optical phenomenon that causes the gem to display many different colors, just to name two possible cases.

In the past few years, a peculiar trend seems to have been taking place in the gem trade. In gem shows and the jewelry market, gems seem to be losing their colors! Somehow paler shades of any color seem to be doing better and better each year, to the point that even gems with only the slightest hint of color appear to be in high demand.

Since the dawn of history, men and women have realized that in order to expose the beauty of gems, it is essential to cut and polish them. Though some gem crystals look great in their natural form, cutting and polishing bring out the best in them, facilitating their setting in jewelry. But, it is really not that simple!

It is always a thrill to go on a gem buying spree, isn’t it? It is especially so, when one travels to the source in search of newly unearthed wonders. A few weeks ago, my son Kobi and I did just that. We traveled to Arusha, Tanzania, to attend the Arusha International Gem, Jewelry & Minerals Fair in the charming Mount Meru Hotel. I still recall the first time I stepped foot in Africa way back in the mid seventies. And here I am, four decades plus later, in this amazing age of technology. The Arusha fair exemplifies how far we have all come.

An unusually large 9.13-ct. emerald-cut Santa Maria Africana-colored aquamarine gemstone was loaned to Gemewizard® for color analysis.

Gem shows are quite an experience for gem lovers like us. Personally, I have never discovered the secret of how to differentiate and spot a serious buyer from the crowds of visitors. But I want to tell you of the first and only time in history that I was bewildered by a dog!

Anyone who has traveled to Thailand has likely to have been confronted by this famous, but initially confusing sales pitch: "Same, same but different." In other words, this is exactly the same as what you asked for BUT with a different color or pattern. You get it? Okay, you surely are asking yourself, what has all this got to do with gems?

Blue diamonds were the highlights of last year’s auction scene, with some exceptional gems, among them, The Oppenheimer Blue, The Cullinan Dream and The De Beers Millennium Jewel 4 to name a few. Therefore, this seemed like a great opportunity to share with you how the borders between the fancy grades for blue colored diamonds are determined.