PrettyRock.com's Gemology and Faceting blog

And the winner is...

2012-02-01T13:29:00.001-08:00

The winner of the January Book Give Away is Darrin Fry!

Congratulations!

Giant Emerald

2012-01-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

Beautiful or giant door stop?

January 2012 - Free Shipping and a Give Away!

2012-01-04T13:55:00.000-08:00

Click here to check out our recently added rough!

To celebrate the New Year we are offering free shipping! Just plug FreeShipJanUSA into the coupon box at check out to receive free shipping any where in the USA. (Sorry, offer not available for international customers.)

Also, we will be giving away a copy of Modern Jeweler's Gem Profile/2 The Second 60 by David Federman and Tino Hammid. For a chance to win, just leave a comment with anote about why you love rocks! One comment per person please.

We will draw randomly from all the entries at the end of the month. (I even marked it on my calendar so I wouldn't forget!)

Time to get started on your entry for the PrettyRock Rock Beauty Contest! Rocks are due March 1st 2012 See this page for details:
http://www.prettyrock.com/2012facetingcompetition.htm

Happy New Year everyone!

Beth and Dev

Scenes from Grassy Creek Gem Show

2011-08-11T08:48:00.000-07:00

We got to go up to the Grassy Creek gem show last weekend. The weather smiled on us and it was actually under 100 degrees that day. I didn't make it to the Franklin show this year, we had a Breast Cancer Walk Fundraiser. Dev went, and said it was a great show. Looked like it was a bit slow in the sales department for the vendors though. I didn't get many shots before my camera battery died, but here they are:

We got some fantastic Mexican, Australian, and Ethiopian opal that will be up on the site over the coming weeks. For my personal collection, I bagged a couple of gorgeous square cut Columbian emeralds. Now I just have to wait for the price of gold to come down so I can afford to have them set in earrings :)

5% of Summer Sales to Avon Breast Cancer Walk!

2011-07-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

Best Pink Rock I have!

Beth has committed to participating in the Charlotte Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. The walk is 26 miles the first day and 12 miles the second day. (That's a lot of walking!) The money I raise will be managed and disbursed by the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade to help provide access to care for those that most need it, fund educational programs, and accelerate research into new treatments and potential cures.

I will be walking and fund raisingwith an amazing group called Team Tuff Girl!

PrettyRock.com is donating 5% of all orders this summer to Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

To donate directly: http://info.avonfoundation.org/goto/Beth

Learn more about the walk click here! http://www.avonwalk.org/

Proceeds from the items in my etsy shop will also go the Walk!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ejmstudios

(oh yea, and there's some new rough up!)

New Rough! Gorgeous Citrine

2011-05-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

We've added some new citrine rough, including the one above! Check here for the latest rocks:
http://www.prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-all-recent.php
or you can always use the search function at the top of each prettyrock.com page.

Fight Breast Cancer!
Sponsor Beth in the 2011 Avon Breast Cancer Walk (click here)

Emeralds! and Spring Fever Free Shipping

2011-04-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

Some pretty little emeralds up!

These are some of the emeralds we got in Brazil. If you haven't read about our trip, check it out here.

Dev is already talking about going to Tucson in 2012...which means we need to sell rocks, so we can go buy more rocks! So here's a free shipping coupon for you! Just put springfever in the voucher box at check out to get your free shipping! I think the coupon code is case sensitive, type it in just like you see it...doesn't have to be green :) Exp May 31 2011

Spinel

2011-04-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

This is from our free wallpaper...it's an oldie but a goodie! I just love spinel crystals...

Paraiba!

2011-04-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

8.61 carats, 10 x 10 x 8 mm, 95% clean, Brazil

Winner's Glamour Shots

2011-04-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

And the winners are...

2011-03-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to announce the winners of our 2011 PrettyRock.com Faceting Competition!
Thank you to everyone involved. As always we had a wonderful time seeing all the "pretty rocks" that were entered! Judging came down to the wire on this one!

Winners will receive a gift certificate for facet rough in the amount shown by their name.

Best in Overall:
Michiko Huynh - $500 facet rough

Traditional Cut Category -
1 st Michiko Huynh - $150
2 nd Ivan D. Smith - $100
3 rd Charles McCoy (1.31 ct) - $50

Creative Cut Category - Charles McCoy $150

Mexican Fire Opal!

2011-03-22T13:03:00.001-07:00

Pretty Rock News - March 21 2011

2011-03-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring!

Faceting Competition! All the stones are in and we are busy meeting with the judges. We couldn't get them all together at once this time. I guess we will just have to suffer though more beer and pizza dinners this time! The winners will be announced before the end of the month. (Someone remind me not to have a competition end during tax season...)

We recently closed the Pretty Rock forum. Forums take a tremendous amount of time to do well. With all the balls Dev and I have floating, one of them had to go, and we chose the forum. It was fun chatting with folks, but we just didn’t have the time on a daily basis to maintain the forum. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into a forum! If you have a favorite forum, don’t forget to send the leaders a thank you note for all the effort the put in to give you a nice place to chat!

On a happier note, I am going to try and be more consistent in my rock blogging to bring you news about Pretty Rock and rocks in general. We welcome comments on our posts, so we can always chat that way. We do moderate comments to keep out the spammers, so it might be a day or two before your comment shows up. Sorry, but that is the only way to keep those folks from spouting their nastiness.

Mexican Fire Opal Dev picked up some gorgeous Mexican Fire Opal last weekend. We will be getting some up on the site this week...stay tuned!

New Sapphires!

2010-12-06T06:21:00.000-08:00

New Rough up! Nice sapphire in this lot :)

NY Diamond District

2010-11-19T12:02:00.000-08:00

Dev and I got a chance to spend a few days in New York City this fall. It is an amazing city and more then lives up to it's reputation for hustle and bustle! The people, however, did not deserve the reputation they have for being rude. Everyone was very helpful and friendly...all 4 times we got lost on the subway :) We were there over Labor Day weekend, so the diamond district wasn't very busy and most of it was closed. Maybe someday we will get to return and see what is inside all those buildings. Here are a few photos from our trip:

NEW Rough up!

2010-10-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Devin added over 100 rocks over the weekend!

http://www.prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-all-recent.php

Beautiful Opals!

2010-08-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

With good reason, most people think of Australia when they think of opal, but it is also found in Slovakia, Peru, Mexico, and Brazil. According to Opalglobe.com, most largest Brazilian mines are in Pedro Secundo in the Piaui State. The largest mine is the Boi Morto mine. One unique feature of Brazilian opal is its lower water content. Brazilian opal have 5 to 6% water compared to 10to 12% in Australian opal. This makes Brazilian opal far more stable, and less likely to be damaged by exposure to sunlight or temperature changes.

We recently had a chance to see some Brazilian opal close up when we had a visit from our favorite Brazilian rough dealer. In his bag of goodies were these gorgeous opals. He was kind enough to let me to photos of them to share with you. The photos do not do them justice!

87.60 cts - is very fine one with broad flash colors and red
38 mm x 29 mm x 11.5 mm deep
from the Pedro II area of the state of Piaui in the North of Brasil.
$7000

88.18 carats smaller flashes, more green and yellows etc.
46 mm x 28 mm x 10 mm deep
from the Pedro II area of the state of Piaui in the North of Brasil.
$7000

Why you need a gemologist...

2010-08-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

http://sfpublicpress.org/news/2010-07/macys-sells-rubies-filled-with-glass

Gemology Kitty

2010-07-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

She helps with homework...

Hadn't thought of this use for a rock...

2010-07-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

hmmm doesn't say how many carats it is...

http://ultimate-luxury-community.com/baldi-creates-for-harrods-window-a-790k-crystal-bathtub?goback=.gde_111387_member_24852304

Rock Note Cards - PrettyRock.com

2010-07-07T11:31:00.001-07:00

Copy right notice not on front of note cards!

Something new! We have taken some of our favorite rock images and made note cards. They are 3.5" x 5" and sold in sets of 10 (includes envelopes) The perfect size for a quick thank you note to your favorite customer!

http://www.prettyrock.com/php/rock-gifts-notecards.php

2011 PrettyRock.com Faceting Competition

2010-07-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

We have a challenge for you this year! The challenge is to see who can create
the prettiest, brightest closed-c axis green tourmaline!

Main Points of Interest:

1) Material: The material must be closed c-axis green tourmaline. The stone must be at half to fully closed c. We will verify this before judging. We will have this material available at PrettyRock.com for purchase, but it does NOT have to be purchased from us to be entered in the contest. So, if you have some stuck in the back of your drawer, this is the time to dig it out and do something with it!

2) Categories : Traditional Cut - a standard design. For example emerald cut or cushion cut. Creative Cut- Skies the limit! It must be your own design. It can be a carving, or fantasy cut for example. ALL entries must be between 1 and 100 cts. Larger or smaller stones will be disqualified.

3) Prizes: There will be One Best in Show with a Grand Prize of $500 worth of faceting rough (winner’s choice) , and a box of faceting goodies.

- There will be 3 winners in each category: 1st Prize - $150 worth of faceting rough (winner’s choice)
- 2nd Prize - $100 worth of faceting rough (winner’s choice)
- 3rd Prize - $50 worth of faceting rough (winner’s choice.)

HALL of FAME: Anyone who places two years (or more) in a row, will be inducted into our Faceter’s Hall of Fame! They will also win the honor and privilege to use the rare and much sought after GPF ™(Grande Poobah Faceter) after their name on all official faceting documents.

Details of the competition here:
http://www.prettyrock.com/2011facetingcompetition.htm

Entry form here:
http://www.prettyrock.com/2011entryform.pdf

July Coupon for PrettyRock.com!

2010-07-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Receive $10 off any order of $50 or more! coupon code: firecrackerBL

Valid 7/1/10 to 7/31/10 One per customer. Discounts can not be combined. Can not be used on Ultra Tec Machines.

4th of July Celebration this weekend!

2010-07-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

Join us for our 4th of July Celebration!
July 2, 3, 4, and 5th on our forum!
Games! Prizes! Contests! Discounts!
AND the new PrettyRock.com Faceting Contest will be announced!

We are having our Second Annual 4th of July Celebration this weekend. It's a little different this time. Instead of lasting for a few hours, we are spreading it out over several days. This way folks will have a chance to participate even if they are out partying on the 4th! There will be lots of games and contests like rock trivial pursuit, name that inclusion, a message posting lottery and more. Also discounts on different types of rough each day. On July 4th, we will be announcing our next faceting contest.

The party will be online on our forum: http://www.prettyrock.com/prforum/index.php If you haven't already joined the forum, just send me an email to forum@prettyrockc.om with the user name (nickname) you would like.

Meet Annabelle

2010-06-29T12:15:00.001-07:00

This is Annabelle, our newest addition to the PrettyRock team!

Helping Beth D. add rough to the website.

Napping with her big brother! He's only two months older then she is!

4th of July Celebration!

2010-06-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys! I am gearing up for out 2nd Annual 4th of July Celebration!

Just a little different this time. We will be having the celebration over 4 days, July 2, 3, 4, and 5th on our forums. That gives everyone the long weekend to participate in the games and contests even if they have plans for the 4th of July or they are in say... Australia.

AND we will be announcing our next faceting contest! More that later :) *evil grin* bahahahahaha

Our new helper!

2010-05-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Meet Chief! He's our new helper here at PrettyRock.com. He's a 4 month old Maine Coon. Yes, he will be a big boy, but he's going to be lugging rocks around so he needs to be!

Announcing the Winners of the PrettyRock.com Faceting Competition

2010-03-31T09:11:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who entered! We had over 30 contestants, some of whom entered 3 or more stones! We were thrilled with the turn out for our first contest.

The judges had a very difficult time deciding winners, and it was a close call in several categories. We had a total of 6 judges, from a complete novices to experts. They were asked to pick their favorite stones in each category and then their top 3 stones over all.

and the envelope please...

Best in Show - Ivan Smith - Aqua CZ - $250 gift certificate for rough
Second Place Over All - Edward J Maidl - Aqua CZ - $150 gift certificate for rough
Third Place Over All - Charles McCoy - Lavender CZ - $50 gift certificate for rough

Winners of goodies package:

Best of Lavender - Charles McCoy
Best of Yellow - Lance Andrus
Best of Amethyst - Harold Schmidt
Best of Golden Yellow - Michiko Huynh
Best of Lavender Color Change - Jonathan Rolfe
Best of Ruby Synthetic - Jeff Steele
Best of Pad Synthetic - Jeff Steele
Best of Emerald CZ - Ivan Smith & Mark Barber (Tie)
Best of Aqua Blue CZ - Ivan Smith & Lance Andrus (Tie)
Best of Grass Green - Ivan Smith
Best of Rhodo - Mark Barber
Best of Pink - Charles McCoy

We wanted to show our appreciation to everyone who entered, so we are going to send everyone a t-shirt! Thank you!

I will get your stones back to you as soon as I can. I still need to take the photos, and we are waiting on the t-shirts to come in from the printers.

And stay tuned..we will be announcing our 2011 contest at the 4th of July Party!

St Patrick's Day Party this weekend!

2010-03-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that our St Patrick's Day part is this weekend. 12 - 9 pm EST, online on the forum! We will have games, prizes, contests, and more! I hope you will stop by and join in the fun!

Link to the forum: http://www.prettyrock.com/prforum/index.php

St Patrick's Day Party!

2010-02-03T15:33:00.001-08:00

We are going to have a St Patrick's Day Party! Saturday March 13, from Noon to 9 pm est, right here on the forum! Games, prizes and lots of rock talk!

In Remembrance...

2009-11-11T08:40:00.001-08:00

Dev and I both have family in the military. My nephew just currently at boot camp for the army. He's going to be a medic. We both worried and so very proud of him!

Opal Yawah Nuts and a chance to help a friend

2009-11-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay.. first check out this video!

http://www.outbackgems.com/Devin/Devin.htm
THIS STONE IS SOLD!
Hopefully Dev will share his story about the purchase of the first half of this opal.

Devin came home from Tucson one year and told me all about this wonderful opal lady he met. He couldn't say enough nice things about Barbara. We so saddened to learned that she is in stage 4 cancer treatment.

This was her message in the current issue of The Opal Express:

"To my AOS friends,
As many of you have probably heard, the big C stage IV is wrestling me about. I'm not going down without a fight but am wise enough to know that I need to put my inventory out there quickly. Inventory such as special specimens of both the Ridge and Yowah and Koroit opals that I tucked into bookshelves, back of drawers, and in special velvet bags for my viewing and fondling pleasure over the years. However, co-pays demanded before treatments make it necessary to sell. I can not think of a more appreciative group of opal lovers who would be insterested."

I hope you will keep Barbara in your prayers, as I know she will be in ours. And if you can help her out by purchasing an opal or two, that would be wonderful.

Things that make you go ..hmmmmmmmmm

2009-11-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

http://www.firstwaternews.com/feature/718-1-Ice-diamonds-included-diamonds-rough-diamonds-industrial-diamonds-Carol-Besler-de-Grisogono-Nina-Runsdorf-Todd-Reed-De-Beers-

So now they aren't included diamonds, but "icy" Now that is some brilliant marketing...

Announcing the 2010 PrettyRock.com Faceting Competition!

2009-11-04T09:55:00.000-08:00

Details here! http://www.prettyrock.com/2010facetingcompetition.htm

We hope you will join in the fun!

Contest: Guess the number of rocks!

2009-11-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

We started this contest at our Halloween Party. Since no one answered correctly, we decided to just keep going until someone wins!

The person who correctly guesses the number of rocks in the photo wins! In the case of a more than one correct guess, the winner will be drawn at random by Diva.

Yes, we know.. you can't see all the rocks! This is our version of guess the number of marbles in the jar. You have to make an educated guess!

You are welcome to discuss the contest here, but please email us your "official" guess to amethyst@prettyrock.com

The prize: $50 gift certificate.

Winner will be announced on the forum and in the newsletter next week.

Image below, or you can enlarge it as your wallpaper http://www.prettyrock.com/free-wallpaper-minerals.htm

PrettyRock.com Halloween Party!

2009-10-31T06:12:00.000-07:00

Come on in and join us for the games, contests, discounts, and more! Join the fun here: www.prettyrock.com!

Just a Quick Reminder: You are invited to our Halloween Party!!

2009-10-26T08:04:00.000-07:00

Just a Quick Reminder: You are invited to our Halloween Party!!

Saturday Oct 31 2009 Drop in anytime between 11 am and 11 pm to join in the fun. There will be games, contests with great prizes, 20% off all rough, and more! Also, we will be announcing a very special contest that day... faceters stay tuned for more! Many of the games and contests are run through our forum. Sign up now by sending us an email with your preferred user name (nickname), and be ready to play: http://prettyrock.com/prforum/index.php

New Facet Rough posted 10/25! -gorgeous stones, including a 42ct Green Tourmaline! There are still a few of the $5 rocks Dev posted last week left. Remember these specially priced rocks are one per customer per week. Keep an eye on this page for the latest facet rough postings: http://www.prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-all-recent.php

ET Gems!

2009-10-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091018141608.htm

" According to a new study by geologists at the University of Toronto and the University of Maryland, the wealth of some minerals that lie in the rock beneath the Earth's surface may be extraterrestrial in origin."

$5 Rocks!

2009-10-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

Dev had fun on the last batch of rocks he put up and marked them all $5!

http://www.prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-all-recent.php

Finding Aliens (aka another use for your spectroscope!)

2009-10-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, maybe not *your* spectroscope.. but a really really big spectroscope!

http://www.ted.com/talks/garik_israelian_what_s_inside_a_star.html

And if you haven't discovered the TED talks yet.. take a look around, great stuff out there!

From GIA eBreif- Name that Inclusion

2009-10-06T05:59:00.000-07:00

This is the new G&G brainteaser. I have no clue what it is, but maybe one of our readers does!

Name That Inclusion!

Nature has fashioned an image in this diamond better than any laser could. What is this inclusion? Send your answer to tom.overton@gia.edu no later than Oct. 19, and one lucky entrant (with the correct answer) will win a free G&G 1-gigabyte flash drive preloaded with the 1934-2008 subject and author indexes.

New Synthetic Rough Available!

2009-09-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

We have bunch of new synthetics available. A couple of new synthetic corundum colors, and a whole boat load of CZ that we are offering for the first time!

Check it out, and get yourself a hunk to play with!

http://www.prettyrock.com/php/synthetic-rough.php

The image above is available as wallpaper:
http://www.prettyrock.com/free-wallpaper-minerals.htm

Old Gold!

2009-09-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

(Photo from CNN)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/09/24/staffordshire.uk.gold.hoard/index.html

An amazing find by an metal detecting hobbyist! You know.. maybe I should dust off that metal detector out in our garage. Not that we will find a Anglo-Saxon gold hoard in NC, but there just maybe some pirate treasure left on the Outer Banks!

Be sure to check out the other photos.

The Hope Diamond - 50 Years at the Smithsonian

2009-09-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

Image from the Smithsonian Channel website, showing the Hope under ultraviolet light.

The Smithsonian is has a wonderful page up on the history and science of the Hope Diamond. They are celebrating its 50th anniversary at the museum by having the stone set in a new setting voted on by readers. The new design will be announced September 23 (Wednesday!)

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/site/smithsonian/hope.html

Wire Wrapping Newbie!

2009-09-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Today I took a wire wrapping class sponsered by the Charlotte Gem and Mineral Club I have never done wire wrapping before and always excited to learn a new craft (because I need another hobby! ha!) Our teacher is Linda Simon, and she did a wonderful job of both helping the beginning students and answering the questions of the verteran wire wrappers. We had a great time and did a design called "stick man."

I know that sometimes all we see are the very best of the best of a craft like wire wrapping and that can be intimitating! So, I am going to share my first attempts here, realizing that they are a bit wobbly and off kilter :) I want to show that some designs are less complicated, and if I can do it, you can do it!

Julie the Rockhound

2009-08-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

We have a new children's book in stock.

When a young girl finds a shiny quartz crystal, her dad shows her how to dig for minerals, and she becomes Julie the Rockhound.
This book has beautiful color illustrations and learning pages in the back of the book. The perfect gift for the young rockhounds in your life!

Written by Gail L. Karwoski
Illustrated by Lisa Downey
Signed by the author
-Fiction
-For ages 5 to 9
-Paper Back
-8.5 x 10 inches
-16 pages

The Ratters of Lightening Ridge by Richard Holmes

2009-08-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

Devin and the author, Richard Holmes

Over the weekend, Dev and I attended a small show put together to support the Charlotte Gem and Mineral Club. At the show, we were fortunate enough to meet Richard Holmes, the author of The Ratters of Lightening Ridge, and Bryan Cook, his illustrator. Richard was kind enough to show some of the gorgeous opals that he has cut. They are just stunning. In facet, I had a hard time concentrating on the conversation, I was too mesmerized by the opal in Richard's pendant. (See picture above)

His book, The Ratters of Lightening Ridge, is a fictional novel that draws on the author's life for inspiration. Ratters is not only an entertaining story, it is chocked full of information about opal and opal mining. It is also a great way to learn Aussie vocabulary for opals! The expressive line drawings by Bryan Cook lend a great charm to the book.

What is a ratter? From the book:

Ratting comes in many forms. A miner rats on a friend. A neighbor rats on his neighbor's claim by mining into it. People come in secret by day or by bight and gouge out opal ratting a friends claim. A miner rats on his partner. Maybe a miner finds opal and never lets his investment partner know, or just shorts him with the hunk opal and none of the good stuff. A miner can be out of money and have to sell his good opal to someone who says it is cracked and worth nothing. There is no end of the ways people dream up ratting for valuable opal when it come into their possession.

The book is available here. (This would make a great gift for any rockhound!)

Back from William Holland

2009-08-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

Dev and I went to William Holland Lapidary School for the last week in August. We had a great time as always. We try to pick this week because the Spruce Pine NC Rock Show is the weekend before and the Grassy Creek Show is the weekend after. I took faceting 1 and Dev took advanced opal cutting. I got all of one rock cut and that was actually a marble. I refer to it as a non-copper bearing, "Paraiba" type marble...sounds so much better that way. Dev cut some beautiful opals! See below:

4th of July Celebration!

2009-07-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

We are having a 4th of July celebration to thank our wonderful customers for their support!

Games!

Prizes!

Lots of Rock chat!

Special Discounts!

Check out the main page: http://www.prettyrock.com/ for more details

Get'm While Their Hot! BATTWings!

2009-06-05T12:27:00.001-07:00

No.. they aren't deep fried crispy wings of a bat.. they are the new laps from the maker of the BATT™ Lap. They have two sections allowing for prepolish and polish on the same lap..saving you time and money! Check them out here!

From the Gem Collection of Dr Edward Gubelin

2009-06-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

New Rocks Posted 6/01/09

2009-06-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-all-recent.php

New Rocks Posted 5/25/09

2009-05-29T05:06:00.000-07:00

Oops! Forgot to post this one! check out the new rough: http://www.prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-all-recent.php

Faceted Quartz Box by the Van Pelts

2009-05-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

Made by Harold and Erica Van Pelt Lapidary (photos from 2007 Tucson show)

Two-part faceted quartz box with dendrites in quartz top, and 18 karat gold frame and hinge

Edward Erickson Gem Sculpter and Faceter

2009-05-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

Another display from Tucson 2007.

Information displayed said:
Edward "Bud" Grant Erickson sculpted, hand-cut, faceted and polished all the "Super Gems" in this exhibit.

the boules were grown under *** by Dr. Milan Kakas at the Union Carl*** in Wasbegal Washington, specifically for Mr. Erickson's work.

Over a 38-year career Bud lead state of the art solids state *** associated electro-optic development.

***can read this word from photo, I should have gotten a better close up of it!

New Rocks Posted 5/18/09

2009-05-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-all-recent.php

French Fried Tourmaline

2009-05-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

What happens when tourmaline gets just a tad too warm...
http://gringa-gem-news.blogspot.com/2009/05/french-fried-tourmalines-in-teofilo.html

(BTW this is a great blog, check out the rest of it while you are there.)

Pearls in the news...

2009-05-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601093&sid=afP5QnoYfINQ&refer=home

best quote: “Squeeze the goo like a pimple and the pearls pop out,” says Montfort-Jones.

oooo just what every woman wants to wear around her neck :)

More Opals..

2009-05-12T07:04:00.001-07:00

An opal display by True Blue Opals at the Tucson Show:
Painted Ladies and Boulder Opal
Belemnite fossils (same family as modern squid)
Pineapple (Pseudomorph of Opal after Ikaite) These are just too cool...

PrettyRock.com : New Rocks Posted 5/10/09

2009-05-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-all-recent.php

Cool Pyrite

2009-05-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

Looks like a snowy day...

Journey to the Center of the Earth

2009-05-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

Amazing video from the TED talks.

Wanna go?

Mike & Mary Jaworski Mineral Collection

2009-05-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

This display is from the Tucson 2007 show is part of Mike and Mary Jaworski's Mineral Collection. Try not to drool on your keyboard...

New Rocks Posted 5/03/09

2009-05-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-all-recent.php

Trip to Meteor Crater, AZ

2009-04-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

While we were in Tucson, Dev and I took a side trip to the Grand Canyon, and Sedona. We stopped by the Meteorcrator. It was pretty darn cool. You can learn more about it here:http://www.meteorcrater.com/index.php

And yes, that white stuff is snow. We had snow at the Grand Canyon, too.

These are the attack ostriches that grabbed Devin feed cup and made a run for it. No, they don't roam the crater, they were at the ostrich farm out side of Tucson on the way back. One of the best parts of the whole trip If you are heading that way, check it out: http://www.roostercogburn.com/

Big Red: The Rhodochrosite Chrystal

2009-04-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

This a big ol' rhodochrosite specimen from the Tucson 2007 show:

PrettyRock.com's First Annual America Rocks Marathon

2009-04-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

Hey sneak preview for you all...gonna have an online party on the weekend of the 4th of July. We are calling it PrettyRock.com's First Annual America Rocks Marathon. Gonna have online games and prizes, rough going up every hour, what ever else we can think of to do. More info to come!

PrettyRock.com: New Facet Rough 4/26/2009

2009-04-27T09:18:00.001-07:00

http://www.prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-all-recent.php

Tree of Life Opal Carving

2009-04-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing opal carving!

Great site for ruby and sapphire inclusion photos

2009-04-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.gemresearch.ch/inclusions/

check these out!

Star Trapiche Emeralds

2009-04-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

Another find from that set of photos from Tucson 2007:

Hiddenite Emeralds

2009-04-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

I was digging around in my computer and saw these photos from the 2007 Tucson show. They are of Jamie Hill's collection of emerals from Hiddenite NC.

Watch for Rocks!

2009-04-16T16:24:00.001-07:00

Dev and I saw this sign on the road from Sedona to Tucson for the big show :)

McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center.

2009-04-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

If anyone is near New Hampshire, this looks like a great place to explore: McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center. Dev and I just sent their education center a little care package from PrettyRock.com. They are new and need all the help they can get, this is a hard time to be getting a new program up and running. Go science! :)

http://www.starhop.com/

Gemstones Found Only in One Location

2009-04-11T14:10:00.000-07:00

Imperial Topaz found only in Ouro Preto, Brazil

I am working on a list of gemstones found only in one location. This is what I have so far. Please share if you know of any other or if any of these are wrong, let me know. This is all just off the internet, so who knows if it is right or not :)(Using the term gem loosely here.)

Tanzanite - Tanzania
Red Beryl - Wah Wah mountains of Utah (Bixbite)
Imperial Topaz - Ouro Preto Brazil
Larimar - Dominican Republic
Benitoite - San Benito County, California
Blue and green amber - Dominican Republic
Moldavite - Czech Republic
Fanta-coloured mandarin garnet - Namibia
Fire Opal - Mexico
Chrome diopside - Sakha (formerly Yakutia) in Russia
Charoite - Chary River in Russia
Mawsitsit - northern Myanmar (Burma)
Spectrolite (high-grade labradorite) - Finland
Diaspore - Turkey’s Anatolian Mountains
Petoskey Stones - northern beaches of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron
Michigan Green Stone - "Isle Royale" of the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan
Lodolite (variety of quartz with inclusions of chlorite, iron and calcite) - Minas Gerais, Brazil

The First of the Brazil Pages

2009-04-07T18:22:00.001-07:00

are up! This is still a work in progress. Dev won't be able to add the video until his paper is done in a week or two.http://www.prettyrock.com/brazil-2009-introduction.htm

Back from Brazil! Moss Inclusions in Quartz?

2009-03-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

We had an incrediable, fantastic, amazing experience in Brazil! We will be putting up a diary of the trip on the site...hopefully starting tomorrow. I pick this up while I was there. It was just laying in a tray of other included quartzes, such as you would see for wire wrapping at any rock show. I notice this one was different from any inclusion that I had seen before. Any thoughts on what it might be?

Rocks in the News - Feb 26 2009

2009-02-26T09:08:00.000-08:00

Angelina Jolie's Emeralds had everyone buzzing the day after the Oscar's

TanzaniteOne and Gemfields duke it out and then TanzaniteOnes former head joins Gemfields and now UK's Gemfields brings Zambian emeralds to India and more on Gemfields in general

GIA cut's staff by 9% (It has also raised the price of it's classes.. but they didn't put out a press release about that.) and announced the 2009 Richard T. Liddicoat Scholarships

Times were slow at the 2009 Tucson Gem Show (not that anyone was suprised.)

AGTA issued an alert on dyed tourmaline (okay..not surprised by this one either.)

Fracture filled rubies entering the market ( or this one...there was an article about this in Gems and Gemology in 2006. )

JA Competition Winners Announced

I guess I shouldn't ignore the whole hoopla surrounding gemstone diffusion particularly tourmaline.. don't even know where to begin linking for that, don't want to give free advertising to any of them, so just do a google search if you are interested, but be sure to read both sides of the debate. Here: http://gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7556 That's the link to gemologyonline's debate on the subject. That should cover it.

Can you help? Fundraiser for Ryan

2009-02-14T11:00:00.001-08:00

http://www.for-ryan.org/
This is close to the heart of one of our fellow rock hounds. Jon (at Gearloose) has created this page for a friend of his to help off set medical costs for their child. Please help if you can.

What's your favorite gemological tool?

2009-02-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Take our poll here!

http://prettyrock.com/prforum/index.php?topic=156.0

More on our Brazil Trip...

2009-02-11T10:48:00.001-08:00

http://www.prettyrock.com/brazil-trip-2009.htm

We have added some information pages on our upcoming trip to Brazil, and a form to make requests for rough...serious or wishful thinking :)

Irradiated Blue Topaz and the NRC

2009-02-02T13:05:00.000-08:00

There is so much false information and rumors flying around the internet that I thought it would be good to post a link to the latest and greatest info from the NRC:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/irradiated-gemstones.html

Rocks in the News Jan 2 2009

2009-01-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone! We made it through the Christmas season! Wore my poor little shipping fingers to the bone.

PrettyRock's Big news! Dev and I will be going to Brazil in March!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/01/02/comet.diamonds/index.html
Diamonds linked to Comet

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/27/giant.emerald/index.html
Big rock tug-o-war!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/23/international.gifts/index.html
kinda sad that she can't at least borrow them back to wear once in a while...

GIA Cuts Staff by 11%
http://www.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/content_display/diamonds/grading/e3ie36ce5eb50d8af30097a8e5865d33824?imw=Y

Helping Jeweler's in troubled time
http://www.jckonline.com/article/CA6625858.html

Canadian Rubies?
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/True-North-Gems-Inc-TSX-VENTURE-TGX-928374.html

Cutbacks in the world of luxury
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/business/08luxury.html?ref=worldbusiness

Can't Make it to Tucson this Year?

2008-12-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

This blog will help you get your Tucson fix! Dev and I won't be going this year because we are saving up for the Brazil trip. I stumbled upon this blog:

http://tucsongemshow.blogspot.com/

What a great idea for all of us stuck at home and wishing we were in Tucson :)

PrettyRock.com : Faceter's Gallery

2008-12-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

Hello,

Just want to remind everyone that we have a Faceter's Gallery. This is a free way for all faceters to market their services or just a way to show off what you do.

This is ONLY open to faceters who do their own cutting.

http://www.prettyrock.com/faceters-gallery.htm

If you are interested in being included please email me the following:

1. Name and location (city and state is fine) and pretty picture of you (or your cat or grandkids or studio)

2. Do you accept commissions? (You don't have to to be included.)

3. Short (very short ) bio of your life as a faceter.

4. Contact info: email or address or phone Please remember this will be on the internet. Sorry, I am not going to act as a go between

5. Images of stones you have cut, about 200 x 200 dpi, .jpg format. We are limiting the gallery to 3 images of your choice of stones. However, you can post as many as you like if the rough is purchased from us These are not images of items for sale, we aren't putting up prices. They are examples of what your work looks like, you don't have to have the stone still in your possession.

We have thought about having a Jewelry Gallery, too. If you would be interested, let me know.

$108 million in Jewels Stolen from Harry Winstons in Paris

2008-12-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE4B441C20081205

*ouch*

Carving Tutorial by Hans Meevis

2008-12-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

Hans Meevis has an excellent carving tutorial on ganoksin:

http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/freeform-gem-carving.htm

He does a great job of going step by step through the process with photos of the tools and stones along the way.

I received most of the tools I need to learn to carve for my birthday this year. This was the inspiration I needed to get going and carve something... even if it is something only a mother could love :)

Marketing Handcrafted Jewelry and Gems

2008-12-03T06:57:00.000-08:00

Working on the catalog this week got me thinking about marketing. Marketing is a very important part of having a small business...something artists and craftsmen often don't want to admit. I don't make jewelry or gems (yet :)), but I do have an art background. When it comes to painting, it was probably 60% marketing, 40% actually painting. If you are really lucky you can talk someone else into doing the marketing for you or hire someone...other wise, it's you talking someone in to purchasing your work.

PrettyRock has a bit of a different business model, we are selling the materials artists use as opposed to art itself. But we do spend a good bit of time and energy (and money) marketing with advertisments on the net and in magazines, with the blog and links. We did shows for a long time, but although they were fun and a great way to meet people, they turned out not to be cost affective in terms of marketing.

What have you found to be affective? Participate in shows? Do you have a website? blog? do you advertise on the internet or in magazines?

If you are looking for ideas, ganoskin has great section of articles:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/directory/library/subject/11/1
If you find one you really like, please share the link.

This is a marketing audit directed at jewelry makers:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/marketing-audit.htm

Great way to get you brainstorming.

I'd love to hear your suggestions!

National Geographic - Crystal Caves

2008-12-02T07:56:00.001-08:00

Dev and I watch this episode a few weeks ago, it was amazing! Gave me claustrophobia just watching :rocksearch

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/expedition-week/3569/cave-crystal-giants-1#tab-Overview

Carrots are devine... You get a dozen for a dime, It's maaaa-gic! - Bugs Bunny

2008-12-01T13:39:00.001-08:00

As the saying goes...if it's too good to be true, it probably is:

A "confidence trickster" set up a sophisticated scam to dupe people into buying
fake gemstones made of concrete and glass, Northampton Crown Court heard today.

PrettyRock.com: New! Darkside Faceting Lap

2008-11-26T07:21:00.000-08:00

We've Joined the Darkside! Faceting laps that is...

Developed by the inventor of the Batt™ Lap, the DARKSIDE™ is a lightweight advanced composite polymer polish lap, made of specially developed material coated onto an aluminum baseplate, then machined both sides for flatness. 8" diameter, 1/2 center hole. This lap has gotten rave reviews from professional and amature gem cutters. Click here to read a thread on our forums for more information on how to use this lap

Imperial vs Precious Topaz

2008-11-25T10:06:00.001-08:00

Where is the dividing line between imperial and precious topaz? Got an opinion? Join in the discussion here.

Rocks in the News - November 21 2008

2008-11-21T12:39:00.001-08:00

GIA Announces New Leaders

The fight over tanzanite control continues

Record Sapphire Sale at Christie's

Big Diamonds Not Selling at Sothby's

Flawless 2 ct Diamond found at Crater of Diamonds

Saks Sues Customer of Mispriced Jewelry

Exhibit on the History of Jewelry in Baltimore

Andesine: the Cliff Notes

2008-11-20T09:13:00.000-08:00

(This is our one andesine, it's 1.2 ct, 8 x 6 mm, in case anyone hasn't seen one)

Pala International has published a good article that summarizes the whole andesine issue. http://www.palagems.com/gem_news_2008_v3.htm#andesine

Since there was never really any rough available to the rough dealers, Dev and I have not been personally involved in this issue. I think we bought one cut stone a year or two ago, just to see what all the hoopla was about. Since at the moment, we are a rock shop and not a lab, nor an investor in andesine, we promptly stuck it in a box marked "To be identified later" and forgot about it.

It has been very educational to see how this story has unfolded, how the different gem labs and researchers have evaluated the gems and come to conclusions (or not), and all the actions and reactions of the different sides involved. It has been a very emotional issue for some, and source of investigative detective work for others. We can only hope for those who have collected many stones, that either it turns out that there is real andesine, or that the companies they did business with will do the right thing and offer a refund.

I do think the andesine issue brought to the forefront just how influential the internet has become in gemology. On the positive side, scientists and gemologists are able to share their findings quickly, and information gets to the public more quickly. On the down side, we expect answers and we expect them now. It's hard to remember that good science takes time.

Gorgeous Faberge Egg Contest

2008-11-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

About the contest:
Forbes.com and Instructables sponsered a contest build a Fabergé-styled egg
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/10/29/innovation-faberge-contest-tech-personal-cx_ec_1029egg.html

The stunning winners:
http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/29/innovation-faberge-contest-tech-personal-cx_ec_1029finalist_slide_2.html?thisspeed=25000

GemWise post on Tanzanite

2008-11-19T06:28:00.000-08:00

Richard Wise has a great blog post on grading tanzanite:

http://gemwiseblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2008/11/in-praise-of-purple.html

My Mini Mineral Collection

2008-11-18T12:16:00.000-08:00

This is my little mineral collection...gathered from all over :)

PrettyRock.com: New Rough Added 11/15/2008

2008-11-17T16:06:00.000-08:00

Dev added some new rough this week..with a little surprise:
http://www.prettyrock.com/php/facet-rough-all-recent.php

Light Sensitive Minerals

2008-11-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

There is a great article in the November 2008 Rock & Gem Magazine, "Light-Sensitive Minerals: Why Some Specimens Lose Their Color" by Bob Jones. He discusses the chemical make up that creates the light sensitivity and how to care for and display light sensitive minerals. Some of the minerals he lists are:
Brown Zircon
Aragonite
Halite
Celestine (Blue)
Yellow Sapphire
Green Spodumene
Colored Diamonds
Smoky, Rose, Amethyst Quartz
Pink, Yellow, and Blue Fluorite
Red Spinel
Maxixe Emerald
Brown, Sherry, and Blue Topaz
And there are more.

It's very well done article, check it out if you haven't yet!

Specific Gravity Kit - Review from IGS

2008-11-14T12:53:00.000-08:00

Dev and I were thrilled to receive the following review about our specific gravity travel kit.

____________________________________________________________________

PrettyRock.com has released a new Specific Gravity Travel Kit. This is a wonderful kit with a lot going for it.
My first impression was the high quality of the pieces and how well thought out it is. First, there is a very nice scale. It is small, to go with the theme of being light and portable. However, it also comes with a built in breeze cover and measures up to 100 carats. That is as much as any portable scale will handle. PrettyRock advertises that it is good through 50 carats. That shows their modesty and conservative attitude when it comes to advertising.
The kit comes with a small, plastic cube, the lid of which serves as the water vessel for the specific gravity readings. It is also used to store the hanging aparatus and the calibration weight. In addition, it comes with a sturdy little stand, a pair of tweezers and an electronic calculator.
Now, I like sturdy, but I was surprised at how heavy the weighing aparatus is. I had assumed that it had to be light, so as not to use up much of the scale's capacity. To test it, I weighed several large stones and even the calibration weight. Once the scale is zeroed with the weighing accessory on it, it retains its accuracy to the full 100 carats.
I was impressed. I have been using a wimpy wire for SG readings - one that causes me to use my full vocabulary. This set up is much easier to use and takes a lot of the headaches, and vocal exclamations, out of taking specific gravity readings.
Specific gravity readings are still tricky and a lot of care needs to be used. (See Specific Gravity Testing.) I wouldn't recommend using toluene in the plastic vessel. If you are interested in traveling with the kit, a small bottle of distilled water with a drop of liquid soap will both do the job and is safer.
This is a wonderfully easy kit to use, plus it is small enough to fit in your briefcase. Whether you are looking for something portable or something for your lab, I highly recommend this kit.

Sincerely,Donald Clark CSM IMGPresident

International Gem Society