Chrysoprase Chalcedony: Marlborough District,
Queensland, Australia
Chrysoprase is a form of green cryptocrystalline quartz referred to as chalcedony or chalcedonic quartz. Chrysoprase chalcedony is highly prized in the Asian market and among gemologists worldwide.

Cautious Buyers Find it Hard to Resist the Rare and Unusual at Intergem 2008
Opening its doors Oct. 3, on the heels of news about the Wall Street collapse, most of the Intergem exhibitors had low expectations for sales. Yet Intergem, often seen as a barometer for business in the gem industry, fared much better than expected at the 2008 show.

Spring Fashion ’09: Soft Looks for a Soft Economy
In what at times seemed like a 180 degree turnaround from last year, fashion was reflecting a suddenly tenuous global economic climate. And designers were doing their best to change the mood from gloom to glam in their spring ’09 collections.

The Red Scare is Real: Andesine-Copper Diffusion
For more than a year, gemologists and dealers have suspected so-called natural red andesine was, in reality, colored using copper diffusion. Now research physicist John Emmett has proven these suspicions are quite possible.

Blue Topaz Has the Blues
A year ago, when the NRC decided to enforce its long-ignored health and safety regulations for irradiated blue topaz, most retailers stopped selling this very popular gem until licensed testing facilities could be opened. Now six facilities are open—and no one seems to be using them. Why?

No Green to be Seen: The Diopside Dilemma
Tashmarine, the luscious green diopside from China that Columbia Gem House introduced in 2001, has two plusses in its favor: high brand recognition and unquenchable consumer demand. There’s just one problem. No one can find any more of this gem.

Sunstone Hunting in Tibet
It was to have been the scoop of a lifetime—being the first reporter to visit Tibet’s new, much-ballyhooed andesine mine. There was only one problem: No one in Tibet had ever seen or even heard of it.

From Cropland to Outcropping: Vietnamese Pink Tourmaline
As soon as gem trekker Dudley Blauwet saw the dozens of motorbikes parked in the corn field at Khai Trung, Vietnam, he knew the locals had switched from farming to gem mining--in this case, pink tourmaline.

Opals Along the Tequila Road
Mexico has become the world's second most important producer of opal after Australia. So we sent our trusty travel correspondent to visit the country's main beehive of mining and buying activity.

Emmy Stars Show Best in Color
Attendees at the American Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ annual soiree Sept. 21 embraced color in both their garb and jewels, making fun and fanciful fashion statements.

Desert Storm: Royal Saharan Jasper
At Tucson 2009, Colored Stone will launch its first-ever jewelry exhibition devoted to showcasing the finest picture jasper ever discovered. You don't want to miss this collection of loose and set Sahara Desert splendors from North Africa.

Feldspar Fury: Entrance Strategy
It isn't easy to force copper into feldspar. So when gemologist Robert James said copper diffusion was the real cause of red and green in Mexican feldspar sold as natural on TV, and made the official gem of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, no one took him seriously - until he started snapping pictures to prove his point.