New Sapphires!

New Rough up! Nice sapphire in this lot :)

NY Diamond District

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!

Devin added over 100 rocks over the weekend!

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

Beautiful Opals!

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...

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

Gemology Kitty

She helps with homework...

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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!