Glittering Stones News,Diamonds news,Gems and jewelry news

Semi Precious Stone Topaz

Although gemstones are among the most durable of substances, they do need some care. Following a few general rules will make sure that they last for generations still looking like the day you bought them.

First of all: keep them clean! Rings in particular tend to collect dust and soap behind the stone, particularly if you wear them all the time. To clean transparent crystalline gemstones, simply soak them in water with a touch of gentle soap. If necessary, use a soft toothbrush to scrub behind the stone.

Even the hardest gemstone variety can be vulnerable to breakage if it has inclusions that weaken the crystal structure. Exercise common sense: if you have a ring set with a softer gem variety or an included stone, take it off before strenous exercise.

Diamonds are very hard but can shatter in two with a single well-placed blow. Rubies and sapphires are the toughest gems but even they can chip if hit sharply.

Think twice before putting gems in an ultrasonic cleaner. Diamonds and rubies and sapphires will be fine but many other gems may not be: when in doubt, leave it out. Diamonds, rubies and sapphires, and other single-crystal gems can be cleaned with a touch of ammonia in water to remove all films and add extra sparkle.

Opaque gemstones like lapis lazuli, turquoise, malachite, require special care. Never use an ultrasonic cleaner and never use ammonia or any chemical solution. These gem materials should just be wiped clean gently with a moist cloth. These gemstones can be porous and may absorb chemicals, even soap, and they may build up inside the stone and discolor it.

The reason why these materials need more care than transparent gemstones is that these materials are essentially rocks, not crystals of a single mineral. Think about it: when you put a rock in water, it absorbs the water and is moist all the way through. A single crystal gem like sapphire will not absorb water: all the molecules are lined up so tightly in the crystal that there is no room for water to enter.

Opals also require special care. Never use an ultrasonic, never use ammonia, and avoid heat and strong light which can dry out the water in opals.

Organic gems like pearls, coral, and amber should only be wiped clean with a moist cloth. Due to their organic nature, these gems are both soft and porous. Be careful about chemicals in hairspray, cosmetics, or perfume: they can, over time, damage pearls in particular.

Store each piece of gemstone jewelry separately so that harder stones don’t scratch softer ones. Almost every gemstone is much harder than the metal it is set in. Gems can scratch the finish on your gold, silver or platinum if you throw your jewelry in a heap in a drawer or jewelry box.

Semi Precious Stone Pearl Sheal

A 101.27 carat diamond the size of a squash ball will be sold by auction house Christie’s in Hong Kong next month and is likely to fetch up to $7.5 million.The gem is the largest colourless diamond to show on the auction market in 18 years and one of only three colourless diamonds of over 100-carats to have ever been auctioned, Christie’s said.

The gem, which is internally faultless but rated VVS1 (very very a little imperfect 1st degree) for simplicity is expected to fetch upwards of $6 million — a relatively low per-carat price. A 39.34-carat “D” color, flawless diamond sold for $6.87 million at a Christie’s New York sale earlier this month. While rare sophisticated diamonds achieved all-time highs per carat at sales in Geneva late last year, a much-hyped 72.22 carat “D” flawless white diamond failed to sell at a Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction earlier this month, suggesting demand for top stones may be waning due to a weakening world economy.

The 101-carat “shield-shape” stone was cut from a 460-carat hunk of rough precious stone and mounted on a tiara, rather than a choker or pendant given its extraordinary thickness.

“With Asia becoming such a vibrant market, it is fitting that this rarest gem should be offered … to the growing number of collectors in the area,” said Francois Curiel, Christie’s chairman of jewellery, in a statement.

Naming rights for the gem will be granted to the buyer, who Christie’s said might come from Russia or the Middle East.

Other items to feature in Christie’s May 28 sale include a coloured diamond ring set with a fancy green diamond estimated to be worth $3 million, as well as a rare emerald and diamond ring set with a 14.31 carat emerald that could fetch $800,000.

The core of the spectacular globular cluster Omega Centauri glitters with the combined light of 2 million stars. The entire cluster contains 10 million stars, and is among the biggest and most massive of some 200 globular clusters orbiting the Milky Way Galaxy. Omega Centauri lies 17,000 light-years from Earth. Astronomers at the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany and the University of Texas at Austin have reported on the possible detection of an intermediate-mass black hole in the core of Omega Centauri.

The result is primarily based on spectroscopic measurements obtained with the Gemini South observatory in Chile which suggest the stars are moving around the central core of the cluster at higher than expected velocities. Among the possible explanations for these speedy stars — and the one favored by their study — is that an intermediate-mass black hole of approximately 40,000 solar masses resides at the center of Omega Centauri. Its powerful gravitational field speeds up the motions of stars near the core. Hubble images taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys were used in key areas in support of this study: to help pinpoint the center of the cluster, as well as to measure the amount of starlight at the cluster center. Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Paranal, Chile, team members Eva Noyola and Karl Gebhardt are planning to obtain follow-up observations to help confirm the existence of an intermediate-mass black hole. The Hubble images were taken in June 2002.

Burmese Gemstone

Since a long time, the only Burmese gemstone present on our Chanthaburi market was ruby, with sporadic apparitions of some other material like jade, blue sapphire and peridot.

Since a few weeks a big pocket of Myanmar peridot found its way to Chanthaburi.

Plenty of clean stones in good color over 10 carats and even some pieces over 40 are available. We still don’t know how long this supply will last. But for sure we will see competing soon Chinese cut and local Thai cut material in the 3 to 5 carats range.

Some very nice rubellite cabs lots from the same source are also in town. This milky material is of even and very attractive pinkish red color. Some single stones in big size have been seen.

All our Chanthaburi staff wishes happy Thai New Year (Songkran) to all of our faithful readers.

The cultured pearl industry has experienced a dramatic transformation during the past 15 years, from a single commodity dominated by one country to a multi-colored array of goods and an ever-expanding group of producers.

Japanese Dealers Relinquish Control

For many decades after pioneering the cultured pearl in the early twentieth century, Japanese companies maintained tight control over its technology, production and distribution (figure 2). In the 1960s, however, large, white South Sea cultured pearls from Australia and black cultured pearls from French Polynesia began entering the market alongside the traditional white Japanese akoya.

The French Polynesians initially struggled to gain acceptance for their products, as many believed they were treated-color. A breakthrough came in the early 1970s when GIA researcher Robert Crowningshield determined their black color was indeed natural. Meanwhile, the South Sea cultured pearl was becoming a branded fashion item, though the Australians still marketed their output solely through Japanese wholesalers.

The real changes began in the 1990s, when the nearly century-long grip of the Japanese loosened due to a combination of factors: aggressive marketing efforts for South Sea and black French Polynesian pearls; the rise of lower-cost, fine-quality Chinese freshwater cultured pearls

The Australians and the French Polynesians (now selling under the “Tahitian” banner) began marketing their products as distinct from Japanese akoyas: the South Sea goods as luxury items that were not subjected to treatments, the Tahitians as exotic fashion pieces. Producers of both types of cultured pearls embarked on multi-million-dollar consumer campaigns to promote their goods and the images they wanted them to convey.