Fake Gemstones Flood the Market

TOP - Hematite ribbons in natural Indian sunstone.

BOTTOM - Hematite ribbons in red treated feldspar. Photos courtesy of Robert James.

Let's follow-up on the report earlier this week regarding Macy's cheating customers with fake rubies. Most fairly informed people understand that there are fake gemstones in the marketplace. How else can Walmart sell a diamond ring for $195.00. The amount of artificial stones in the market is now staggering. Sterling Canyon knows there are artificial gems to be had and also unscrupulous dealers out there trying to make a buck from uninformed buyers. Sterling Canyon does all it can to verify that the stones it sells are indeed true and first quality. Now it seems that buyers of Labradorite are suing dealers including Jewelry Television over suspect Labradorite. If you recently bought red or green "new-find" Labradorite on screen or on line as a natural-color gemstone, you may be in for a rude awakening. These feldspars may owe their beauty to the gemological equivalent of color implants - or, more crudely, dyeing. Take a look at these pictures above. It doesn't take much magnification to notice the bottom stone is dyed.

July Birthstone-Ruby

 Shame on you, Macy's!  Macy's was reported last week to be selling fake Rubies and not informing the customers. Macy's has been selling composite Rubies, which is essentially red glass with Ruby dust blended in.  The best are found in Burma (Myanmar) which has trade sanctions against in by the West. Otherwise, Rubies you buy at your local jewelers are from Brazil and India. Sterling Canyon chooses not to deal in Rubies because the quality in the world Ruby market is questionable at best. Here is an excerpt from the American Gem Society describing the quintessential Ruby. There’s no better way to demonstrate your love than by giving a ruby in celebration of a July birthday. Rubies arouse the senses, stir the imagination, and are said to guarantee health, wisdom, wealth and success in love. Ruby is a variety of the gems species corundum. It is harder than any natural gemstone except diamond, which means a ruby is durable enough for everyday wear. Fine-quality ruby is extremely rare, and the color of the gem is most important to its value. The most prized color is a medium or medium dark vivid red or slightly purplish red. If the gem is too light or has too much purple or orange, it will be called a fancy-color sapphire.

Vale part 2

Well, here we go with the green story of Vale do Rio Doce. As an environmentally friendly megacorporation with operations throughout the world, Vale has decided that it is in their best interest to be green - at least in home base Brazil. According to the Vale website, they are active in the Vale Florestar program which involves the reclamation or re-forestation of part of the Amazon forest. They advertise the planting of 165 million trees within a 3,000 sq.km. area. That is terrific. However the program is forced on them by the Brazilian government which has adopted the policy of preserving what's left of the rain forests. The photos below demonstrate what Vale is doing to the rain forest. They operate the world's largest iron ore mine. How to reclaim that hole and make it whole again is a mystery - most likely impossible. So they are making amends with the government to tidy up other places not directly affected by Vale. Pieces of rain forest that have been decimated by farmers and ranchers will now be reclaimed by Vale. That sure is nice of them.  Their pink diamonds are nice too. However, how does their stewardship of the land in other countries compare? Depends on the environmental policies of that particular country. I'll examine next how far Vale's volunteer environmental conscience extends.

Pink Diamonds Come and Go.

Pink diamonds from the Argyle mine in Australia are simply spectacular to look at.  The owners of the Argyle, Rio Tinto say the mine will play itself out by 2018.  Meanwhile, the 43 Argyle pink diamonds have been put up for sale and buyers from China and India have been snatching them up with the idea that hard assets are the best investment.  The top stone pictured right is 1.25 carats, the middle oval stone is 1.10 carats and the heart shaped stone is 2.61 carats pictured at the bottom.  The diamonds are pink because of the contaminant, most likely iron.  Unfortunately, this years' lot has been sold.  Better luck next time.

A Vale over Carajas

Just when we thought companies were following the lead of jewelers like Sterling Canyon, along comes a mining operation like Vale do Rio Doce that has good intentions toward the environment they work in, yet screw it up somehow. Take for instance the Amazon Rain forest near Carajas, Brazil. Near there is a Vale iron ore mine. Devastating in most cases to the environment, yet Vale has brought the area back to life.

Not much life but just the same. This picture is the area that used to be a rain forest.  Most likely a good contributor to global warming or cooling.  According to the Vale Environmental Institute, recovery is going well. Their stewardship of the land is incomparable to other concerns. You be the judge. Looks green to me!

Coyote Gold

What a lovely arm pit in the middle of Australia. This is where we get much of our gold for use in jewelry and electronics. This Coyote gold pit is producing tons of gold and the tailings are producing a headache for the Tjurabalan People whose land it sits. The amount of gold gets richer the farther the pit deepens. Would make one heck of a swimming pool when the pit is spent whcih could be many many years from now.

Tanzanite Market is Blue

The cobalt coating of the tanzanite produced an iridescence that can be seen when observing the stone’s surface in reflected light. The rectangular area near the point of this facet also highlights an area on the tanzanite where the coating did not adhere.

The folks at Sterling Canyon continue to see things that boggles our minds. The new item of interest is the report that poor quality Tanzanite is being enhanced by essentially being given a dye job to enhance its natural blue color. The only way of detecting this falsetto is to look at it under a magnifier. If you're just looking to buy something that only impresses the untrained eye, go for it.  But be cautious.  Cheap dye jobs can rub off on clothing, especially if you're sweating.   If you're looking for true blue Tanzanite, stick with Sterling Canyon or other reputable dealers.