Fresh Rough Alert: Nov 18 2013

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

got blue zircon, yellow appatite, and some little aquas! get'em while their hot!

Fresh Rocks: 11/08/2013

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

This is a set of odd rocks including sphene, scapolite, rhodonite, enstatite.

Sorry for the long time between rocks!  I am waiting on new glasses.  Bi-focals if you must know.  I strained my eyes putting off getting them.   For the moment, I can only post rough that doesn't require looking at it too closely.  Getting old is not for the faint of heart!

Truly Rare Gems

Jeremejevite

Photo by Kenneth Larsen-Smithsonian Collection

Over the next few blog posts we will be covering each one more in depth.  If you have any stories or photos of these gems to share, we would love to hear from you!  Do you agree with this list?  have one to add?



Black Opal

Jeremejevite

Red Beryl

Musgravite

Grandidierite

Painite

Blue Garnet

Serendibite

Red Diamonds

Jadeite

Pricey in Pink

Reuters/David Gray

Roberto A. Ferdman: "On November 13 in Geneva, Switzerland, Sotheby’s will auction off “The Pink Star,” a flawless 59.60-carat colored diamond, which it expects to sell for over $60 million, Sotheby’s said in a statement (pdf). According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the stone is the largest internally flawless pink diamond it has ever graded."

Read the rest of the story here: PRICEY IN PINK

Random Pretty Rock from the Smithsonian Collection!

Random Pretty Rock from the Smithsonian Collection!

Photograph of a large pear-cut ametrine (G9576) 

from the National Gem Collection  - Photo by Chip Clark

- See more at: http://geogallery.si.edu/index.php/en/1006972/ametrine#sthash.WUetBrEq.dpuf

Boy Finds Diamond at Arkansas' Crater of Diamond State Park

image from CNN article

Boy Scout Michael Detlaff, 12, was visiting an Arkansas park with his family on July 31 when he found a 5.16-carat "honey brown diamond" in the park's "diamond search area."

Dev went to this park and spent a day or two digging around a few years ago.  All he brought home was mud covered clothes and a t-shirt :)

Buried Treasure: The Cheapside Hoard

Museum of London

http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonydemarco/2013/08/12/a-buried-treasure-of-jewels-from-17th-century-london-to-go-on-display-in-october/

Sometime in the 1600's someone, probably a goldsmith, hide a stash of jewels in their basement and never returned for them.  What happened to him? Why did he hide the jewels?  Historians are trying to solve this mystery.  While they are sluthing, the treasure will be on display at the Museum of London.

All the the treasure tells a story.  But, I especially love this emerald watch  (above), just amazing.  If anyone is in London and gets to see the exhibit, we would love to hear about it.

Faceters! Win $50 by helping us out!

We have some new colors of synthetic corundum (and CZ coming soon) and need some sample stones cut to show what these stones look like.  You will receive a $50 gift certificate if we use your stone/photo!

We will give you credit on the photo, like this:

Rules:

1. The stone has to be pretty! Not, perfect mind you, but it should be something you take pride in.  Your name will be on the photo.  We reserve the right to reject any stone that doesn't meet our standards.
2. Only one gift certificate per faceter.  
3. Only one gift certificate per color.  The first stone/ usable photo we receive will get the gift certificate.
4. We don't care what cut you use..can be a plain old round brilliant or something you make up!
5. The stone has to be cut from rough you purchased from us. 
6. We need a stone for each color.  So check out the synthetics page to see which colors have an stone example. I will keep a list here, but always a good idea to double check there.
7. Send stones to:  PrettyRock.com PO Box 38930 Charlotte NC 28278.  Please let us know it is on its way, I am bad about checking the mail box unless I know something is being sent.  We will return your stone after its glamour photo shoot.
8. If you are sending a photo, it must look similar to the one above.  It must be very very sharp, and bright.  It is unlikely you will be able to do this with the camera on your phone!  You do not have to show the rough with the stone and I will add the text to the photo. You will NOT get the $50 if you send us a dark blurry photo.  Check here for gem photo tutorials: http://www.facetersguild.com/2009/10/how-to-photograph-gemstones/
9. We need photos for: (http://prettyrock.com/php/synthetic-rough.php )

Blue Spinel

Sapphire: 

               Medium Blue

               Dark Ruby

               Dark Pink

               Medium Pink

               Light Pink

               Dark Purple

               White

CZ:

Amethyst

Light Champagne

Cobalt Blue

White

(more colors coming)

Please ask if you have any questions!  We haven't done this before, so it's a work in progress.

Diamonds are BS?

image from huffington post article

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rohin-dhar/diamonds-are-bullshit_b_3708562.html

I know that if I had it to do over again, I would ask for a ruby or blue sapphire!  What do you all think?

Summer 2013 Coupon!

New Stones June 3 2013

See all the newest stones posted here!

From our Tucson 2013 stash...

Just a few from the listing:

 44.65ct Aquamarine

6.45ct Tanzanite

229ct Peach Topaz

Sleeping Beauty Turquoise!

See all the newest stones posted here!

These are beautiful stones, a gorgeous color!  Devin says they are sky blue, I say they are robin's egg blue.  We were told the mine was closed in June 2012 and they are now just pulling from the leavings outside the mine.  

Just a few from the listing:

59.8ct Sleeping Beauty Turquoise

58.85ct Sleeping Beauty Turquoise 

106.25ct Sleeping Beauty Turquoise

Tiny Crystal Flowers! Amazing!

Not the kind of crystal for faceting, but still so very cool!

"Scientists at Harvard have coaxed microscopic crystal flowers to form in a beaker of fluid.

When one thinks of the word "crystal", you think, perhaps, of wedges of quartz stone, ice crystals and salt — not organic, flowing forms or flowers. But, by manipulating chemical gradients in a beaker of fluid, postdoctoral fellow Wim L, Noorduin at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has managed to control the growth of barium carbonate crystals to form very controlled sculptures of flowers, with petals, stems and leaves."

Read the rest of the article here:
Tiny crystal flowers grow in a beaker!

Diamond Heist!

31 Suspects In 3 Nations Nabbed In $50 Million Diamond Heist

Big diamond heist! Sounds like a plot from Oceans 11.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/05/08/182204886/31-suspects-in-3-nations-nabbed-for-50m-diamond-heist?utm_source=NPR&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=20130508

Spring has Sprung!

New wallpaper! http://www.prettyrock.com/free-wallpaper-minerals.htm

Keep an eye on the new rough section!  We will be posting some of the treasures we found in Tucson over the next month.

Get $20 off your next order of  $100 or more!  Just use the coupon Code:  LuckyRock in the coupon box at check out.  Valid until 4/30/2012.  Discounts can not be combined. Sorry, no cash value and can not be used on Ultra Tec machines.

Stunning new Rhodochrosite Rough!

7ct Rhodochrosite

5.5ct Rhodochrosite 

5ct Rhodochrosite

A new app makes it easy to navigate Tucson Gem Shows | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona

A new app makes it easy to navigate Tucson Gem Shows | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona

Heading to Tucson!

I hope to get a better Tucson pic this year!

Dev and I are going to Tucson this year!  woot!   What do you wish PrettyRock had more of in the way of rocks?  Let us know, we are making up our shopping list.

$300,000 gold nugget found in Australia

According to the article, "The man, described as an amateur explorer who wants to remain anonymous, unearthed a 5.5 kilogram golden nugget 60 centimeters in the ground outside Ballarat, a city about an hour and a half drive west of Melbourne."  Way to go rock hound!  read more here:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/18/business/australia-gold-nugget-discovery/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

Giant Star Sapphire in the News

October Discount! $20 off orders over $100!

Wallpaper for this image available click here.
     

Coupon Code: HappyFall  (code is case sensitive)

Just place the coupon code in the discount coupon box at the bottom of the check out page (the shopping cart.)

Valid 10/1/12 to 10/31/12  Discounts can not be combined. Can not be used on Ultra Tec Machines.

Don't forget to check out our new cab selection! 

Diamond Hill Mine - Bryan Major

We had a wonderful chat with Bryan Major (www.Ultrarocks.net) about the Diamond Hill Mine in South Carolina at the Grassy Creek Gem and Mineral show this weekend.  He showed us some wonderful pieces of quartz and amethyst he had mined himself.

We added this stunning amethyst cluster to our private collection

Devin and I are hoping to get to Diamond Hill this fall to see what we can dig up.  Diamond Hill allows for digging by reservation only (910) 547-0427 or dhmine@rocketmail.com.

Above and below are iron oxide coated quarts from the Diamond Hill Mine.

Devin was drooling over this gorgeous smokey amethyst cluster:

©Bryan Major - photo

and here's a video of it: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RLGnW97zKk

Below are some greatYoutube videos of some of the Diamond Hill finds!

Digging Amethyst & Quartz Crystal Clusters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ta9UBof8Sw

Digging Quartz Crystals at Diamond Hill in South 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkXAanRHfGo

HUGE Amethyst Crystal Cluster found at Diamond Hill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ta9UBof8Sw

Egg Collection

I collect stone eggs.  It's started as a way to entertain myself while Dev spent hours pouring of each and ever piece of rough in a parcel at a gem show.  I pulled them all off the shelve today to give them a bath, and thought they made a nice picture drying on their towel.  There are quartz of all kinds, marble, lapis, tourmaline, aqua, opal, turquois, garnet, topaz, jaspers, and more.

Photos of 2012 PrettyRock.com Faceting Contest Winners!

Here they are:
http://www.prettyrock.com/2012-PrettyRock-Faceting-Competition-Winners.htm

2012 PrettyRock.com Faceting Contest Winners!

This years entries are gorgeous!  As always, there were some tough decision making for our judges.
The material for this year's contest was rutilated quartz.
_______________________________

-Best Over All -  Michiko Huynh  - Grand Prize of $500 worth of faceting rough (winner’s choice)
Stone description: 3.7 ct (10 mm x 7 mm) Amaryllis (orginal design)
_______________________________

-Cabbing -

First Place - Ivan Smith -  $150 worth of faceting rough (winner’s choice)
Stone description 19.6 ct (16 x 20 mm ) oval cab

Second Place - Scott Holmes -  $100 worth of faceting rough (winner’s choice)
Stone description  20.15 ct  (20 x 27 mm ) freehand pear cab
________________________________

-Faceting -

First Place - Charles McCoy -  $150 worth of faceting rough (winner’s choice)
2.19 ct  (10 x 8 mm) oval

Second Place - Richard Moriyama- $100 worth of faceting rough (winner’s choice)
12 ct (14 x 10 mm )  eight-sided round

________________________________

I will add photos soon.  We wanted to let the winners know as soon as it was final.

The Synthetics are here! The Synthetics are Here!

The synthetic corundums (ruby, padparascha, pink, sapphire blue, white) are all back in stock!  Also the cz in many colors including a few new ones.   Check them out here.  http://www.prettyrock.com/php/synthetic-rough.php

Check out this sapphire...it looks like a candy corn.  I would love to see how someone can cut to get the most out of those gorgeous lines of color! More pics here

Lots of new rough going up this week!

Come check it out!

Large Pink Diamond Found

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/slideshow/rare-pink-diamond-worth-12-million-2165601

Won't this make a pretty stone! Not sure where you could ever actually wear it... Inaugural ball?  Oscars?

A follow up on that big emerald!

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120128/bc_emerald_auction_120128?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

Looks like the owner was up to no good!


Don't forget to mail your entries for the faceting contest.  They are due March 1st.  It has been exciting seeing all the beautiful entries this year!  Details for the contest here:
http://www.prettyrock.com/2012facetingcompetition.htm

And the winner is...

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

Congratulations!

Giant Emerald

Beautiful or giant door stop?

January 2012 - Free Shipping and a Give Away!

Click here to check out our recently added rough!

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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.)

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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!)

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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

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!

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!)