A collection exhibiting the world’s rarest natural color diamonds has been extended at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The Olympia Diamond Collection is comprised of five diamonds in the – blue-green, orange-yellow, purplish-pink, blue and orange. Each has been independently examined and graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) as ‘vivid’, the highest level of color saturation possible.

These diamonds range in size from 1.01 carats to 2.34 carats and represent five of the strongest colors that naturally occur in a diamond.

For example, the Scarselli 1.71 carat heart-cut, natural red color diamond is the largest one in the world,graded by the GIA as a fancy red , and has an estimated value of some $10 million!

Sotheby’s on Tuesday named Joseph Lau Luen-Hung as the buyer of the cushion-shaped 7.03-carat, vivid blue, IF diamond that fetched a record-breaking $9.48 million at auction last week. Lau is a renowned Hong Kong collector and connoisseur.

Lau is a real estate investor who owns a 71 percent stake in Chinese Estates Holdings, and is ranked as Hong Kong’s fifth richest person by Forbes Magazine, with a net worth of around $4 billion.

Lau has named the stone “Star of Josephine.” The auction house noted that the diamond sale, which took place May 12 in Geneva, broke two auction records — the world record price per carat for any gemstone at auction, and world record price for a fancy vivid blue diamond at auction.

That was the theme of a morning session of the Accredited Gemologists Association (AGA) meeting in Tucson, Arizona where gemologists and appraisers are meeting this week to discuss and share information on the latest gemstone treatments and detection methods that can be used to identify stones that have undergone the latest treatments.

Paraiba Tourmaline
Beauty Personified! But Is It “Treated”?

As the gemological community races to keep up with the latest treatments, one thing seems clear: Gemstone treaters, and those who sell their gussied-up wares, are speeding ahead, nimbler than ever.

“To paraphrase Jimmy Carter, we have to declare the moral equivalent of war on these issues, and if you don’t do it, nobody’s going to do it,” panel moderator David Federman, editor-in-chief of Colored Stone magazine, told the audience. “This is like global warming. Deny it all you want, but the glaciers are melting.”

The impetus behind the new treatments is, as always, dollar signs $$$$. Ted Themelis, an expert on Burmese gem deposits, says rough ruby that would sell for $70 to $100 per kilogram could go for $1,000 per kilogram after undergoing treatments that make poorer quality goods look much more attractive.

Ruby

Lead glass-filled rubies, the heavily treated stones coming out of the gem-trading center of Chanthaburi, Thailand, are often undergoing more than one process.

Among the new treatment techniques discussed during the session are cobalt-infused sapphire and pink-diamond treatments.

Christopher Smith, vice president and chief gemologist of American Gemological Laboratories, said the cobalt-infused sapphire is a neon blue, similar to Paraiba tourmaline or Malagasy apatite.

The treatment is detectable, through the use of a Chelsea filter, through spectroscopy, which reveals bands of cobalt, and through various other methods, including the use of a microscope.

“When we looked in more detail at the color, we saw blotches and black pits in the center of color under microscope,” Smith said.

Branko Deljanin, director of Canadian operations at EGL USA, says colored-diamond treatments are also a concern, with high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT), coating and fracture-filling irradiation among those used.

“Or there’s some combination of all, and that’s the scariest,” Deljanin said.

Buy colored gemstones from a reputable dealer with grading reports from a reputable grading laboratory.

We recently blogged on the possible danger of Irradiated Gemstones and noted that several retailers, most notably Stuller and Sterling Jewelers have stopped selling irradiated precious gemstones.

Now comes word from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of their recent test results on several large batches of irradiated Blue Topaz in which they found no evidence of any health threat or safety issue.

Eight of the nine batches of gems, which averaged around 500 carats each, showed only background levels of radiation, while one registered at “twice background.”

Background levels refer to radiation that is picked up merely because a survey meter is turned on because there are already low levels of radiation present in the atmosphere. By measuring “twice background,” it implies that there are low levels, but nothing that would be considered dangerous or hazardous to health.

Jewelers, are however, still very concerned as to whether their existing stocks of precious gemstones may contain levels of irradiation that pose a significant risk. To this end, the NRC has indicated that they will continue to do random irradiation testing of Precious gemstones and will set up a program with Jewelers to test samples of their gemstone stock.

Stay tuned.

The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) has called for the checking of irradiated blue topaz and for members to consider temporarily suspending imports of these gemstones.

Recently the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) stepped up enforcement of irradiated gemstones, which resulted in some retailers pulling these goods from the shelves.

AGTA said that while there hadn’t been a confirmed report of cancer or radiation poisoning as a result of irradiated gemstones to their knowledge, increase care in handling was prudent. “We have no reason to believe that any significant quantity of dangerous gemstones [exist] in the market today. However, since there have been a handful of sightings over [the past few decades] of gemstones with potentially harmful radiation, we are taking the prudent step of reminding all AGTA members that if they handle deep blue topaz, they should do their own radiation checks”.

Government rules affect darker color blue topaz, as some light blue topaz is LINAC (linear accelerator) treated and had been exempt from the rules. NRC rules apply to treated gemstones. In coming months however, LINAC treated gems will face there own regulations including having an NRC license for the importation of blue topaz, red tourmalines, many beryls (except emerald,) kunzite and irradiated diamonds.

AGTA concluded that since blue topaz generates more than $1 billion in sales each year, expanded regulations increase the amount of business risk.

NRC rules require documentation of all irradiated gems, including a paper trail of sources, and AGTA members are encouraged to identify inventories by vendor and date of import. Older stock will have had radioactive decay, AGTA mentioned, and could be easier to sell or document as safe.

All new imports must be clearly identified by vendor and date, as should sales to manufacturers and retailers AGTA concluded. AGTA urged its membership to temporarily suspend importing such stones until the status and safety could be clarified.

We advise that you check with your Jeweler before purchasing.

Holy Batman!!….er….Superman!!

A new mineral found in Serbia shares virtually the same chemical composition as the fictional “Kryptonite” from the Superman series!

Real Kryptonite is white and powdery

The fictional Kryptonite is green and glows…..giving Superman a tough time.

Scientists discovered the match after Googling its chemical formula-sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide.

The problem is that the Jadarite (its current nomenclature) is not green and does not glow. Rather, it is white and powdery instead.

Colored gemstones are some of the most beautiful creations on this earth.

They are exceptionally desirable for their versatility in jewelry creations, as well as for their excellent price points.

Colored gemstones

Topaz is an incredibly beautiful gemstone that has traditionally been treated with a process to enhance and promote a deep blue hue.

Suppliers of a new kind of enhanced topaz are aiming to replace both irradiated and coated colors. Can topaz colored by surface-fusion become a new basic?

Introducing “Glacier Blue Topaz”.

Gorgeous stone with a bit of controversy…

Glacier Blue, on the other hand, is a surface-colored variety. And the color layer isn’t even topaz. It’s a thin alchemized surface of cobalt spinel. Is a lab-colored topaz hybrid a good spokesman for natural color gems? This is where the subject of topaz gets very tricky—and even more controversial.

To read the entire article, click here.

The gorgeous and precious bluish-purple gemstone tanzanite, is becoming an increasingly rare commodity as a result of over-mining.

The mineral was discovered in 1967 in the Meralani Hills near Arusha, Tanzania and is (thus far) the only place in the world where the gemstone has been found.

Authentic tanzanite has a slight variation in color depending on the surrounding lighting conditions and can change from changing from a deep hue of blue blue to purple and shades of green. Tanzanite is sometimes treated with high intensity heat to subtly assert a certain color or overtone.

Tanzanite rough, shortly after being brought up from the ground.

Polished Tanzanite gem.

The gem exploded in popularity with a very effective marketing program by Tiffany & Co. soon after its discovery.

As a result of this initiative, as well as the incredible and striking beauty of this gem, sales of this gemstone has been consistently near the top of the charts for all precious gemstones.

The largest tanzanite crystal found was in 2005, weighing in at 16,839 carats (7.5 lbs) and measuring 22 x 8 x 7 cm.

Now here is the problem:

Because of the fact that Tanzanite is mined in one specific geographic location and a result of its huge popularity (and relative scarcity), experts say there is only about a 10 year supply of Tanzanite left under the ground!

This fact has increased the demand for this precious gem as people look to purchase this beautiful work of G-d before it might become extinct.

Here is an awesome video on Tanzanite, from its history and origins until today.

I found this on You Tube and it’s great!

Enjoy!