A master eye for gems … born or made? Coming from four generations of jewelers undoubtedly piqued my interest in this great business. But one needs to constantly train their eye by looking at gems – the more you learn, the better you will be at identifying and pricing gems, as well as being an effective salesperson and well-rounded businessman.

Something most people don’t know about you. GIA is what brought me to Christie’s. After studying in Santa Monica, I attended a GIA Career Fair where I had my first interview with the company.

Ok. Definitely a story there? I started work when I was 17 and five years into it, I thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know … until I enrolled at GIA. The Institute’s meticulous training and high standards exposed me to a whole new world of expertise.

Ultimate sales edge … emotion or expertise? Jewelry is an emotional shopping experience, but expertise plays a decisive role. It’s wonderful to show people a brilliant diamond, but it means more when you can follow up with a skillful explanation of the 4Cs exemplified in that particular gem.

Lean economy. Less jewelry? At the nexus of the downturn in late 2008, we sold the Wittelsbach Blue Diamond for $24 million, a world record price back then for any gem ever sold at auction. When you have great gems and jewels, the money makes itself available.

Any advice to the up and coming? Don’t lose the passion that brought you to this business, and above all, keep learning every day.

Sooner or later, the world’s most extraordinary gems will cross paths with

RaHul KadaKia. Here, Christie’s Senior VP, Head of Jewelry Americas,

shares priceless insight into the jewelry business and the value of an expert education.

GIA gratefully acknowledges those who use our resources to further world expertise in gems. Invest in your success at www.giA.eDU

GIA ICA_FNL_2013.indd 1 2/20/13 11:56 AM

SPRING 2015ISSUE 28

SPRI

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Identifying Global Pink Diamond Sources

Oiled Gems Lab Update

A Journey Into Ethiopia’s Black Opals

A RAINBOWOF SAPPHIRES

MONTANA’S MININGGOES COMMERCIAL

PWK

Paul Wild_Anzeige_GoPink_ICA_210x280mm_SchriftinPfade.indd 1 06.03.2015 10:30:20

PWK

Paul Wild_Anzeige_GoPink_ICA_210x280mm_SchriftinPfade.indd 1 06.03.2015 10:30:20

Exceptional Gemstones

info@bandbfinegems.com | 800.662.8440

AGTA GemFair Tucson Booth 501

AGTA Gemfair Las Vegas Booth 305

June Hong KongGrand Hall A12

September Hong Kong AWE Fine Gem Pavilion 9E38

4 InColor ׀ Spring 2015

SPRING 2015ISSUE 28

CONTENTS

A master eye for gems … born or made? Coming from four generations of jewelers undoubtedly piqued my interest in this great business. But one needs to constantly train their eye by looking at gems – the more you learn, the better you will be at identifying and pricing gems, as well as being an effective salesperson and well-rounded businessman.

Something most people don’t know about you. GIA is what brought me to Christie’s. After studying in Santa Monica, I attended a GIA Career Fair where I had my first interview with the company.

Ok. Definitely a story there? I started work when I was 17 and five years into it, I thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know … until I enrolled at GIA. The Institute’s meticulous training and high standards exposed me to a whole new world of expertise.

Ultimate sales edge … emotion or expertise? Jewelry is an emotional shopping experience, but expertise plays a decisive role. It’s wonderful to show people a brilliant diamond, but it means more when you can follow up with a skillful explanation of the 4Cs exemplified in that particular gem.

Lean economy. Less jewelry? At the nexus of the downturn in late 2008, we sold the Wittelsbach Blue Diamond for $24 million, a world record price back then for any gem ever sold at auction. When you have great gems and jewels, the money makes itself available.

Any advice to the up and coming? Don’t lose the passion that brought you to this business, and above all, keep learning every day.

Sooner or later, the world’s most extraordinary gems will cross paths with

RaHul KadaKia. Here, Christie’s Senior VP, Head of Jewelry Americas,

shares priceless insight into the jewelry business and the value of an expert education.

GIA gratefully acknowledges those who use our resources to further world expertise in gems. Invest in your success at www.giA.eDU

GIA ICA_FNL_2013.indd 1 2/20/13 11:56 AM

SPRING 2015ISSUE 28

SPRI

NG

201

5

ISSU

E 28

Identifying Global Pink Diamond Sources

Oiled Gems Lab Update

A Journey Into Ethiopia’s Black Opals

A RAINbowof SAPPhIRES

MONtANA’S MININGGOES COMMERCIAL

COVER.indd 1 14/04/2015 13:33:35Cover image: Polished Sapphires from Potentate Mining’s Rock Creek Mine in west-

central Montana. All sapphires are natural (not heated) or heat-treated ranging in size from 0.65 carat to 5.70 carats. Included is a 4.70-

carat round natural blue sapphire and a 3.04-carat cushion-cut natural blue sapphire and a 0.65-carat Padparadscha sapphire. (Kenneth Lutz Collection. Photograph by Jeffrey Scovil)

Foreword

Industry News6 Tanzanians Acquire Tanzanite One’s Stake In STAMICO8 Zambia Raises Mining Royalty Tax Despite Miners’ Complaints11 GemfieldsPosts57%JumpinRevenue12 GILCDiscussesWideRangeofIssuesatTucsonShow16 SSEFOpensState-of-the-ArtLabinBasel

Gemology18 LotusGemologyLabAlertforOiledGems24 JustifyingGemTestingReports28 ReviewingTheGemmoRaman-53232 TheWorldofPinkDiamondsandIdentifyingThem42 PackingLight:MakingTheMostofPortableGemInstruments

Cover Feature46 TheRockCreekSapphireMineofMontana

Mining58 TheMinesofTheNewBlackOpalFromEthiopia

Jewelry Trends and Design62 New-BornPassionForGemstonesLeadstoTie-PinRange64 ParisGalleryHostsTheUnionJacktoFeatureUKDesigners

Auctions67 SalePricesSoaratSotheby’sLondonSale

Trade Shows72 BaselWorld 2015: Global Problems Reduce Demand76 ColoredGemsTransformJeweledTimepieces80 HongKongShowFallsShortofExpectations

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5 InColor ׀ Spring 2015www.gemstone.org

FOREWORD

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InColor Editorial CommitteeClement Sabbagh - Chairman

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Richard Hughes

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CopyrightContents of InColor are copyright. No part of this publication may be

reproduced in any manner without the permission of the publisher.

InColor makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it

publishes. Opinions expressed in this magazine are the sole responsibility

of their authors.

ISSN: 1158934XLaboratory Harmonization: Dreams or Reality

Oneofthemostdiscussedissuesinthecoloredgemstoneindustryforthelasttwodecadeshasbeentheharmonizationoflabreportswhereit

comestothedeterminationoforigin,treatments,andtheuseofcommercialterms,suchas“PigeonBlood”redor“RoyalBlue.”Onthesurface,thismakessense–bothfortheindustryand,critically,forconsumers.Iftherewasanagreedupon,orharmonized,standard,thengemstonegrading,andallthatitentailsforourindustryandconsumersales,wouldbesimplifiedwhileensuringconsumerconfidence.

Effortsinthisrespecthavebeenmade,ofcourse.TheLaboratoryManualHarmonisationCommittee(LMHC)wasestablished,andiscomprisedofrepresentativesoflabsfromacrosstheglobe.TheseincludetheCGLLaboratoryinJapan,theCISGEMlabinMilan,theDSEFGermanGemLabinIdarOberstein,theGIA,theGIT-GemTestinglabinThailand,theGübelinGemLab,andtheSwissGemmologicalInstitute–SSEF.

OriginallyestablishedattherequestoftheGILC,theLMHCisnotformallyconnectedtoanytradeorganizationanddrawsontheindividualexperiencesofitsmembersinordertocreateageneralphilosophyforpropernomenclatureanddisclosureforlabsandtoinitiateandsuggestpreferredlanguagetobeusedbythetrade.TheLHMC’saimis,ofcourse,tobringabouttheharmonizationofgemologicalreportsandprocedures.

Whyisthisimportant?Becausealackofharmonizationbylabscreatesapotentiallydangeroussituation.Contradictoryreportscreateconfusionforthefinalclient.Itcanalsoleadtothecancellationofsaleswhendoubtsarisefromsuchsituations.

Moreover,dissatisfiedtradersfeeltheycanseekamore“appropriate”gradefromadifferentlab.Nevertheless,thislowersthecredibilityoftheindustryandoflabreportsintheeyesoftheend-buyersandpotentiallythreatensconsumerconfidence.

Isharmonizationactuallypossible?Theoretically,thisremainsanaim,butinpracticeitseemsanimpossibletask.Gemtestingisbasedonpersonalobservationandinterpretationofgemstonesusingstateoftheartscientificequipmenttoreachfindings.Andbecausetheexerciseisperformed,ofcourse,byhumanbeings–albeitwelltrainedandexperienced–theresultsareinevitablysubjective.

Furthermore,labsarealldifferentandsincetheyarecompetitors,providingadifferentserviceanddifferingpricesandalllookingforcustomersandbusiness,thismakestheideaofharmonizationevenmoreproblematic.Gradingisbasedoninterpretationnotjustscience.Itisworthbearinginmind,thattherearemanylabsthatarenotinvolvedintheharmonizationdiscussioneventhoughtheyareprominentintheirfield,bothintermsofwheretheyarelocatedandtheirgradingcapacity.

AndcommunicationbetweentheLMHCandtheICA,AGTAandothernational,tradeorganizations,iswidelyconsideredashavingbeeninsufficient.

However,thereareadvantagestotheharmonizationdebate:byaddressingissuesrelatedtogemologytreatmentsornewfindingstheLMHC,hascomeupwithnewdetailsthattheindustryhadnotbeenawareofpreviously.Theharmonizationpanelshouldbeanongoingdiscussionplatformwithalllabstakingparttotryandreachunderstandingsbackedbyscientificfactsforthebenefitoftheentireindustry,includingboththelabsandconsumersintermsofreducingconfusionandincreasingconfidenceanddemand.

Editor-in-Chief Jean Claude Michelou