Rocks in the News Jan 2 2009

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?

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

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

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

*ouch*

Carving Tutorial by Hans Meevis

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

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

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

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.

Read more here:
http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/Confidence-trickster-set-up-fake.4740096.jp

PrettyRock.com: New! Darkside Faceting Lap

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

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

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

(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

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

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

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

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

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

Light Sensitive Minerals

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

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

Visit on Australian Sapphire Mine...online!

http://aussiesapphire.com.au/VirtualTour/html/virtual_tour.html

This is a great virtual tour created by Aussie Sapphire. This way you can check out the mine without getting your feet dirty...

Take a Virtual Trip to the Smithsonian's Gem and Mineral Exhibit

http://www.mnh.si.edu/earth/main_frames.html

Not quite as nice as being able to see it in person, but still very cool! This is a online version of the Smithsonians Natural History Museum's Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, & Minerals. Check it out and bring your kids along