Red & Pink Coral - An Inorganic Gem

Who can resist an exotic orange color jewelry found at the market during a trip to Caribbean or Mediterranean Sea?  Without thinking, I may buy one as I have known coral jewelry is far more expensive in my country.  People, the same as me, have been lured to an exotic orange color coral for centuries.  We adore it and use it in jewelry.

Coral was known as a precious inorganic gem far back to ancient era.  Greek mythology also has a story of Perseus. Having petrified Cetus, the sea monster threatening Andromeda, Perseus placed Medusa's head on the riverbank while he washed his hands. When he recovered her head, he saw that her blood had turned the seaweed (in some variants the reeds) into red coral. (From wikipedia.org)

coral

At the beginning of the Christian era, there was a great trade carried on in coral between the Mediterranean and India.  There was great demand from Asia as it was very rarely seen even in the regions which produced it.  Among the Romans branches of coral were hung around children's necks to preserve them from danger, and the substance had many medicinal virtues attributed to it. A belief in its potency as a charm continued to be entertained throughout medieval times; and even early in the 20th century in Italy was worn as a preservative from the evil eye, and by females as a cure for sterility.  Coral has been traded considerably among the Mediterranean communities of Europe.  Presently, coral industry is centered in Italy, especially in Naples, Rome, and Torre del Greco.

Red and Pink coral are the most valuable and have been used in jewelry for thousand of years.  Unbelievably soft with hardness of 3-3.5 on the Mohs scale and its vitreous lustre, coral still used to produce jewelry in the present day.  People may not realize that corals are living creatures.  Corals are made up of the skeletal remains of marine animals called coral polyps.  These tiny creatures live in colonies which form branching structures as they grow, eventually forming coral reefs and atolls.   A coral structure is actually composed of hundreds or thousands of tiny animals.  It is one of the most biologically rich and economically valuable ecosystems on Earth.

Consumer demand for coral in jewelry making contributes to increased problems of coral reefs extinction.  Apart from shallow-water coral reefs and deep-sea corals that are threatened by climate change, overfishing from rising in population, and pollution.

Coral may be imitated by porcelain, stained bone, glass, plastic, or rubber and gypsum mixtures.  A synthetic dyed red bamboo coral looks similar to natural coral.  Fire opal, orange spinel, orange sapphire, or chalcedony is an alternative gem for people who prefer a real gem.  Corals produced by Gilson also look similar to natural corals.

The picture of coral tiny animals popping out to catch a pray is still in my mind.  Should I see coral offered for sale again, I will rethink about buying it.

Tanzanite Diamond Ring

Tanzanite is a desirable gemstone for people who love blue colored gemstones. Its rivals in term of color saturation and hue are the best of Kashmir sapphires or Burma sapphires. Customers who have an eye for beautiful blue gems may not resist a temptation to buy a fine quality tanzanite at first sight. A strong intense mixture of blue and violet hues with a slight reddish tone is unusual and is a mixture of colors not comparable to any gem in the world.

Gem collectors and dealers may prefer rich velvet royal blue Kashmir or Burma sapphires. Admittedly, who can pay an exorbitant price for a Kashmir or Burma sapphire? Moreover, Kashmir or Burma sapphires in big sizes are barely available to the gem market. Blue tanzanite is definitely daring to jewelry designers and buyers.

Fine quality tanzanite is not hard to find in the gem market or in auctions. Tanzanite ring in the picture above will be auctioned at Phillips De Pury on 19 April, 2012. Tanzanite weighs approximately 14.67 carats, flanked on either side by a half-moon diamond, within a pavé-set diamond surround, gallery and shoulders, mounted in 18K white gold, size 6 1/4.
ESTIMATE $10,000-15,000

Green Diamond Ring

How natural radiation give diamond a green hue one may not know. Green diamond's exorbitant price is well know and justified. The presence of green color if in the entire diamond is really one of a kind.

A Fancy Light Bluish Green Diamond Ring set with a cushion-cut natural fancy light bluish green diamond, weighing approximately 4.21 carats, with a pavé-set diamond surround, gallery and half hoop, mounted in 18K rose gold, size 6 1/2. With report no.5121934549 dated 6 January 2011 from the Gemological Institute of America, stating that the diamond weighing 4.21 carats is Natural Fancy Light Bluish Green color, VVS1 clarity
ESTIMATE $210,000-250,000

Isn't it beautifully rare treasures?

Spessartite Garnet Ring

Some seller says an orange red spessartite garnet commands highest price. Other sellers say mandarin garnet indeed commands the highest price. As far as I’m concern, an orange mandarin garnet is far better in demand and price than red spessartite garnet.

Anyway, I can hardly resist this magnificent orange red spessartite garnet in 18k yellow gold ring. The look & colors of this spessartite is superb. The ring style is contemporary. The spessartite garnet weighs 21.49 carats.

This ring is offered by Nigel Milne in 1stdibs.com at $8,400.
http://jewelry.1stdibs.com/jewelry_item_detail.php?id=44465

Now I understand why some seller prefers an orange red spessartite garnet.

Teodora Emerald

In a couple days, we will know the price tag of the world's largest cut emerald. The rough-cut opaque emerald looks like watermelon was appraised at $1.15 million. The emerald will be auctioned on January 28, 2012.

The emerald weights 57,000 carat or 11.5 kilograms. It is named 'Teodora' and rough translation is 'God's Gift.'

"It's not unusual for gemstones to sell a lot higher than their appraised value, just depending on who wants to possess the largest emerald in the world. Really the sky's the limit," Western Star Auctions owner Mike Odenbach.

Ready for writing a check? May be you are one of collectors who like to chase the Guinness world record things.

Renowned gem and jewelry expert Antoinette Matlins, whom I rather base opinions in gem and jewelry on, said the stone "appears to be heavily included with numerous surface reaching fractures."

Personally, I prefer smaller natural top-notch blue green color emerald in very good clarity that not gone through treatment. And in this economic climate, 1 million dollars may be well spent in gold or precious metals. Let's hope one day the emerald will find its place in some museum so that anyone can enjoy this natural beauty.

(photo by Western Star Auction)

Gemstones Perceived as an Asset Class

From Economist.com
THAT nervy investors pile into gold is well known: the price of the yellow metal breached $1,900 an ounce again this week. But growing numbers are also venturing farther afield, into gemstones such as rubies, sapphires and emeralds. Although coloured stones are a hotch-potch of an asset class, anecdotal evidence points to surging values.

Dealers say prices for high-quality rubies are up by 50% this year and have doubled in the past two years. Top-notch sapphires that in 2009 would have fetched $65,000-80,000 per carat (a unit of mass equal to 200 milligrams) now change hands for $150,000 or more, says Joe Menzie, a former head of the International Coloured Gemstone Association. In a recent auction to wholesalers, African emeralds sold for 63% more per carat than higher-quality stones fetched last December. Even stones of average quality are up by 20-25% this year, says one dealer. The boom has also boosted semi-precious stones, such as rubellite and red spinel, worn by those who can’t quite stretch to a ruby. “Some semi-precious stones are now priced as if they were precious,” says Guy Clutterbuck of CGM, which sells to retailers.
In this section

There are several forces driving the price rises. The strongest is surging demand from faster-growing economies, particularly China and India. Both countries have a long-standing passion for coloured stones, some of which are seen as bringing good luck (yellow sapphires in Hinduism, for instance). Their new rich flaunt them as status symbols at dinner parties in Shanghai and Mumbai. One American dealer reports difficulty getting hold of tanzanite, a blue semi-precious stone. He can sell it for $300 per carat and will thus pay up to $280, but cannot compete with Chinese wholesalers willing to pay $350 so they can sell to domestic clients for $400. A contributing factor is the rise of the yuan against the dollar, the denominating currency for gemstone prices.

A second force is economic insecurity. Like gold, gemstones are seen by some as a tangible store of value in turbulent times. Dealers are increasingly being asked to put together collections for wealthy Americans who want to diversify away from paper investments. “Wall Street types are reading the auction results and picking up the phone,” says Edward Boehm of RareSource, which buys stones from mines.

A third factor is supply shortages. Unlike the artificial constraints imposed on diamond supply by big sellers, gemstone shortages are real. Good-quality coloured stones are hard to find in the ground at the best of times. The outfits digging for them tend to be tiny compared with the diamond giants: one of the biggest emerald miners, Gemfields, has a market value of just $66m (though it is growing smartly). “It is much more a business of mavericks” than diamonds is, says Mr Clutterbuck. Local politics have contributed to shortages. In 2008 America banned imports of gemstones from junta-ruled Myanmar, a major source of rubies. Madagascar has sapphire deposits but its politics are dysfunctional and its infrastructure poor.

Read more: http://www.economist.com/node/21528623

An intelligent Investor diversifies his portfolio by put money in stocks, bonds, gold, real estate, or cash. He shuffles in and out of these assets from time to time. Some may venture into new asset classes such as wines, diamonds, arts, antiques, a new start up business, or other high risk investments. It's no wonder one may venture into invest in gem quality colored gemstones. A savvy investor may invest in natural & rare gemstones in large carat sizes. As these gemstones have well acceptance in the international auction houses. Same as stocks, bonds, real estate, or gold, their prices are reflected from supply and demand mechanisms.

Investing in colored gemstones may be perceived as a high risk investment for some old school of thought, as colored gemstones is not wildly traded as stocks in stock market. Gem quality natural colored gemstones increase in price as time pass however a savvy investor must do some works before starting to buy gemstones.

For example, he must do some research for which gemstone to invest, find some reliable and trustworthy dealers, and most important is request a third party or an international accredited lab certification when buying a gemstone.

Gemstones investment may be a new idea for a western investor. People in India, China, and Asian perceive gemstones as personal adornment and investment. In some countries that face inflation risk, holding good quality gemstones may put the owner in better position than holding paper money. In disturbing or falling apart countries, quality gemstones can buy a way to escape to a third country.

For a savvy & well preserved wealth investor, investing in gem quality colored gemstones not only increases his purchasing power in the future, have inherited jewelry for his family but also have an admiration from his wife for an extraordinary piece of jewelry.

Fire Opal Antique Jewelry

One might be wonder to see an antique fire opal jewelry as we often see other precious gems such as ruby or sapphire used in antique jewelry. Interestingly, fire opal has been admired and used in jewelry embellishment since ancient times.

This fire opal jewelry is offered by A La Vieille Russie, a antique dealer in New York.
Fire opal is named for its warm and fiery color. Usually, they are orange to red in color. A reddish fire opal is sometimes called cherry opal.

Fire opal is a gem stone that gives its wearer courage, stamina, will-power and energy. Along with tourmaline, fire opal is the birthstone for October.