Madagascar Part 3 - More Gem Buying and Saying Farewell

After I had been in Madagascar for four days, the brokers started to get to know my taste in gems, called their vendors in return and produced nicer pieces for me.  You see the broker is only the middle man (or woman in this case).  Some brokers know a lot, some don't.  But they are told to make a high price and then see.  If you come back with reasonable offers (not trying to rip them off but also recognizing when the offer is too high), they get a sense of who you are.  How much you buy tells them how serious you are as well, and what you reject tells them what you don't like.  My friend Jochen gets stuff saved for him for when he comes because the sellers know his taste.

The Brokers are Waiting for Us

The Garden Hut Where we Made our Purchases

Also, in the beginning, you are shown a lot of old inventory that nobody wants so the broker can see if they can finally get rid of it.  Then only if you don't want those things are you shown better stuff.  Also you need to expect to be shown the same pieces by different brokers on different days, when the gem owners try another broker to push the merchandise again.  So it helps if you have a good memory.

In the morning, I saw a gorgeous 4 ct pink cushion tourmaline but the price was "American Standard." - I could have bought it in NY for that amount and I said as much.  I said I would decide on the last day but by the last day I had run out of money so the point was moot.  There is no way to get money in Madagascar. There are hardly any banks or bank machines, and those that do exist do not give you more than maybe $100 at a really bad exchange rate, and that's if they spit out anything because most do not have agreements with American banks.  The credit card system is virtually unknown in Madagascar.  Our hotel didn't take credit cards, neither did our restaurant.  Nobody even steals credit cards because they are totally useless.  So there is just Western Union, and they pay out in local currency.  That means you have to know how much you need, or you have to exchange it back at a really bad rate.  Transfers to a local bank account take a week and that's if someone has an account in the first place.  Irene, our broker, didn't have one, and neither did anyone else we knew.  So if your dollars are gone, that's that.  The good thing about that is that you can't really get trigger happy and pull your credit card, with the corresponding regret to follow.  You have to plan for the week, put some things off, wait to see more, buy a little here and there, and hope you have enough when something really good comes along.

Cushion Tourrmaline

Yellow and Blue Sapphire on Etsy

My dollars went quickly.  I was shown some sapphires that were pretty but not what I was looking for - a cushion that was over four carats but had yellow in it, which makes it hard to sell,  I made the mistake of making a real lowball offer.  Offers are good all day, and the brokers decided to wait all day to consider the offer.  At sundown, when I had long forgotten about making an offer, they came back and accepted.  So the deal was done.  It turned out the two men had come all the way from Tana to show me stuff (that's the capitol, 3-5 hours drive depending on the roads and means of transportation - most likely these guys had taken one of the local overcrowded buses that stop everywhere someone waves them down).  I was surprised that word about us had gotten around this far.  

When I got around to paying the guys, I realized that I had run out of local currency so the two men had to stay overnight to wait.  Having to wait is not uncommon, and the Malagasy are patient.  They wait for their money for days if needed - unemployment is so high that most people don't have much to do but wait.  The only problem we faced was the two men did't even have money for a hotel, so Irene had to give them a small advance for food and shelter until I could pay them the next morning when my money would be there.

That day, I think I looked at gems and dealt with brokers for four hrs straight until we made a mad dash out for lunch, and then I looked at gems for three hours more.  The same women came back again and again, sometimes with the same stuff, mixed in with a new piece, sometimes all new pieces.  It got very tiring saying no so often, and I made a few purchases of material I don't need just to be nice.  I got a lot of apatite, tourmaline slices, some grandidierite, color change garnet, chrysoberyl, green zircon, demantoid, morganite, yellow beryl, danburite, moonstone, aqua and more.

Here's a little video of me shopping for gems.

On my last day in Antsirabe, I was invited to Irene's house for lunch.  I had mentioned to them that I had wanted to see a house from the inside, so she cooked for us.  Or rather, her cousin cooked for us.  Since there was only one car in the (extended) family, and Irene was with us, therefore with the car, she couldn't also go shopping or cook.  Veggies and meat have to be bought and made and eaten the same day. The only fridge was at her sister's house, a 10 minute walk down the road.

Irene's House and Her Daughter's

Irene's Family and Jochen

Irene's Calcite Production

The food was fresh, made with the vegetables in season at the time.  I should point out that the Malagasy would probably laugh at us for eating "local" and buying at the "farmer's market".  Hardly any food is imported into Madagascar in the first place, so if it doesn't grow there, they haven't had it.  And there aren't supermarkets (there's one, that's it) so of course one would buy at the market.

Our lunch consisted of tomato salad, cucumber salad, carrot salad, rice, pork shoulder chops and pork sausage.  Everything was absolutely delicious by the way.  And probably a holiday meal for them.  The kids were really excited, I could tell right away. I would have felt guilty that Irene was putting out for such a great meal, but I knew Irene  did well on the commissions of the sales, and so I think she was happy to share on her end.  I loved Irene at first sight, she was pretty, smart, generous, and one of the kindest people I have ever met.

The Local Market

   

Irene's house was made of brick and had two stories, like most of the houses there.  The living room was downstairs, and it had a sort of cooking area on the other side (a small room from what I could see).  The family had running water and electricity but no shower or bathroom.  The "facilities" are outside, and Irene and her daughter Maria would shower at our hotel because they loved the hot water there, and the fact that the shower was indoors. Upstairs is an eating area, separated from the bed with a curtain.  I noticed there was little to no "storage room."  But who needs that when there's nothing to store - there just aren't many possessions.  

Irene did have a lot of shoes, and when I remarked on that she said they are always bought them used and when you get a good price, you buy more.  To be honest, I saw not a single store that had anything new there - clothes would arrive in big piles and be offered out at the local markets.  There were little huts with things in them but just a few things here and there.  There was nothing where you would go "inside" and look around.  

Now, there was one supermarket, a Shoprite, which is a South African company here.  I asked to go to inside and see what they have.  The store is like a slightly larger 7/11, with a pretty good selection, mostly imported products from Europe.  Outside there are armed guards to keep out the hungry.  Inside there are guards in every aisle.  Inside there were a few white people but locals had to ask to go in. I hardly saw any white people in Madagascar anyway so this was by far the largest concentration.
There are a few older French here and there who are left over from the colonial days which ended in 1960 (France annexed Madagascar in 1896).  The wealthy people, the few that there are, live in houses that are surrounded by gates that are hard to break into.  Even Irene, who is far from rich, had to build a brick wall around her property because the chickens would always get stolen at night.

Local Shops

I bought some croissants at the store for the travel ahead (we had to get up at 6 a.m. when everything was still closed).  Two little boys flanked me when I walked back to the car.  Please, a piece of bread, one of them said.  Jochen wondered the next morning how so many got eaten.... I managed to save only two.

A Silk "Factory"

This brings me to a final issue: helping, and giving.  Of course I wanted to give everything I owned away before we left.  Jochen cautioned me.  It's a bottomless pit, he said.  You need to choose whom you help, and it is best if you help by boosting the economy - paying for goods and services, not just freebies.  We brought chocolate, small items like little zipper bags useful for storing gems, I left all the gem jars there which was much appreciated. Next time I will bring pens too, because those are important and they were regarded with significantly more respect here than they are here at home.  The best thing, however, is to pay a fair price and bring business to the country by purchasing goods like gems or rough or crystals.  Some of the larger gem dealers that reside here have also built roads and improved the infrastructure.  Everyone can profit from that.

We did make some larger gifts.  Jochen told me before we came here that electronics were much needed and very expensive (in fact, brand name phones do not seem to get exported to Madagascar). My mom donated two old flip phones, I took my old iPhone and that of my friend Roberta.  Phones are crucial because they are really the only means of long distance communication.  Cars cost too much, even buses are expensive so people walk.  Without phones we could not have seen so many nice gems because people needed to be called all day.  Computers are rare but phones can be used for internet and for texting.  Everyone uses sim cards that can be recharged, so you can buy a little internet here and there, when they have extra.

So Roberta's iPhone stayed with Irene, I gave mine to Gael, our driver just when we got to the airport.  I sort of snuck it over to him with a little paper that had my passcode on it (I wiped the phone clean before I left of course).  Gael, 27, whip smart, cute, and also incredibly generous, kissed my hand to show me his gratitude. He was so happy I almost cried.  I will cherish that moment forever.

I just wish I'd had more phones...

If anyone would like to donate an old phone, or a gaming console, or another electronic item that can be used, please contact me.  Jochen is going back in December (I wish I could go) and he can take things.  It is best not to ship anything, I'm told it just gets "lost" in the mail.

Aerial View of Madagascar

My Trip To Madagascar - Part One

We arrived safely in Antanarivo, Madagascar, after a few hiccups: baggage not checked through, plane delay, long lines upon arrival and a nail in the tire on the way to Antsirabe.  We got to the airport at 2 a.m.  The airport is small and a big plane from Italy arrived before us - too much for the police to handle so it took a while to get through all the lines.  Our arrival party, Jochen's friend Irene and her cousin Gael had waited for us for two hours, which is rare in such a tiny airport.  They deposited us at a small a local hotel to catch a few hours of sleep because we had been traveling 8 hrs from Amsterdam, and 3 from Nairobi with a 5 hr layover.  I barely remember getting to sleep.

Immediately after breakfast, we set out on our trip to our final destination, Antsirabe, with Gael's uncle's jeep.  Antsirabe is about 100 miles south of Antaraive on a single lane paved road which is (somehow) shared with traffic in both directions.  It took an hour to cross Antanarivo, the capital of Madagascar.  My immediate impression of the country, I admit, was the poverty.  Dust everywhere, hundreds of people walking barefoot, carrying heavy goods on their heads, small overcrowded shops, and small huts for houses.  The countryside was beautiful, however.  Madagascar has very reddish looking dirt which is used for making bricks, and everywhere you see the terraces built for planting rice.  Bricks and rice are among the most important goods produced here.  I'm told there are over 10 different varieties of rice in Madagascar alone.  The trip was supposed to take 3 hrs but we took a road side pit stop after which the jeep decided to stall.  People are nice here - so another vehicle packed with people stopped to help (I didn't know this many people fit into a vehicle but few have their own cars so they pool or take overcrowded small buses).

Rice Fields in Antannrivo

After some helpful stares under the hood, much discussion in Malagasy, and a few phone calls the jeep decided to comply on its own and started up again.  We drove to the nearest gas station, where it was decided we need an oil change and water.  It was lucky we stopped because that's when we saw the giant nail in the rear tire.  So Irene, her six month old baby, Jochen and I set out to find a restaurant while Gael stayed behind to get the jeep into shape.  We found a place pretty much only white people could afford, and the three of us had duck with vanilla sauce, duck with pineapple sauce, as well as curry chicken for a whopping $22.

Refreshed, we set out for the other half of the trip and arrived, three hours late, but without further incident, at our hotel where we were greeted by a small group of women that had been eagerly waiting for us so they could show us their gems.  My visit had been announced weeks in advance and there was much anticipation about what I would buy or how much I would spend.  Despite the interesting collection of gems Madagascar has to offer, there are surprisingly few foreigners who come here to shop.  Perhaps this is because those without connections don't get good prices - approximately the same as in the US.  Luckily for us, Irene is a well known and respected broker, and she had placed dozens of calls ahead of time on our behalf.  All the selling would take place here at the hotel, and people lined up to see us all day.

After having seen the poverty on the ride to Antsirabe, I had lowered my expectations considerably as far as the hotel was concerned.  But I was in luck because Jochen had found one of the nicest spots in town on his first visit about 13 years ago.  Hotel Greenpark consists of a little more than a dozen individual round brick "huts", spacious and reasonably well equipped by American or European standards.  The huts are surrounded by a botanical garden planted by the owner of the hotel - it has a few ponds, bridges, shadowy seating areas and local trees and flowers.  You can hear the birds sing all day. 

 Our Hotel in Antsirabe

I didn't get much of a chance to enjoy the scenery, however.  The brokers, many of which have known Jochen for more than a decade, were eager to show their wares.  After throwing my bags into my hut and taking an extremely brief shower (I was so rushed I didn't realize that towels hadn't been brought to my room yet), I joined the group in the yard.  Irene had arranged a system by which each broker had received a number according to which they would be received.

After four hours of sleep, I was in less than perfect condition to think about prices but I gave it a try.  I was so curious what they had.  In fact, Irene had already provided me with samples during the ride and had arranged that I would get to see the things that interested me most.  From what I was able to learn so far, the system goes like this: in Madagascar, foreigners are not allowed near the mines.  Therefore, one has to go through a broker, who either borrows from a dealer or is a dealer him or herself.  Many dealers don't show their gems themselves because they don't want others to know what they have and where they live.  Getting robbed is always a distinct possibility.  So the broker, who gets a commission, is needed. 

Upon arrival, the brokers place their goods on the table, one by one (usually small boxes with one or many pieces).  They go slowly unless you insist to see everything more or less at once - that's usually the better idea because otherwise it takes too long.  Each person has maybe 20 boxes.  You look, you can open, you select what you like, you ask for a price.  You expect it to be a first offer intended to figure out how you react.  Less experienced brokers just read off prices and have to call the dealer to confirm.  Others know their prices and can negotiate.  You have to assume the first offer is too high, sometimes way out of whack and sometimes reasonable.  That depends on the broker and/or your relationship.  I had an idea of what items to expect and so I made sure I knew my stuff beforehand.

Money has to be in local currency, Ariay, cash only, or cash at the end of the journey if you have a good helper like Irene who is respected.  Or, if you really have "street cred", money wired via Western Union after you leave (bank accounts are not common here).  But no credit card, no foreign currency - credit cards are virtually unknown.  The problem this creates is that currency is 1 to 3000, so there are literally plastic bags with bills changing hands.  You need a calculator at all times and some initial help so you don't miscalculate.

The first offers I was made were way too high.  I counter offered, the dealer was called. I was honest (too much money, not nice, window, no clients, etc - whatever reason belongs to the set of true answers), but I also made some smaller good faith purchases, for more or less the right price. That way people didn't think I was just "eye shopping" or had no money or didn't like the merchandise.  French being the language most people share except for the local Malagasy, I had to dig out all my high school French to be able to communicate.  After a day or two, I was doing ok with that.

At sundown, the selling ended - for the obvious reason, no light.   

Of course you want to know what kinds of gems I saw and what they have here.  So here goes:

Beryl -  lots, blue, clear, greenish, some pinkish (no heat, just about all of it).  Even some emerald, but the price for that is too high because the thinking is, it's emerald and so that's very special.  The emeralds I saw were included and small, and I passed.  There was some nice big size aqua though.  

Sapphire - Madagascar is famous for those, but I saw fewer purple ones than I expected.  I bought a small lot (parcel) of pinks to be nice.  I asked if there were larger purple ones.  Most of what I saw was blue, blue green, yellow, bi color blue and yellow.

Was offered some kornerupine but that wasn't kornerupine but diopside according to Jochen.  Not that people are dishonest.  But not everyone knows and not everything's obvious.  Anyway I passed.  Sphene - nice but included, not very green. 
Chrysoberyl - very little available but I got some. 
Demantoid - got one super nice piece, am hunting for more because that stuff is rare here and interesting, not like the Namibian or the Russian.
Ruby - mostly small stuff or included but I got one that has to go to the lab.
Apatite - galore, some green stuff too, some nice stuff at a reasonable price.
Sanidine - pretty.
Danburite -  looks identical to brown topaz, very strange.  Not like the yellow Tanzanian stuff at all. Tourmaline - lots available also but not necessarily pretty.  Lots of yellow stuff, or yellow green, windowed or included like mad.  Lots of cats eye but UGLY.  A lot depends on what is available or found that particular week or month.  And of course they all know that sapphires, rubies, emeralds, are what all the world buys.  Tourmaline is also popular.  Cat's eye sapphire here is interesting but I didn't really like it, neither did I like the stars.
Garnets - there was tons of regular red but I passed on all.  The Malaya was more interesting.  Tsavorite - rare here but not that nice.  Passing.
Unusual stuff - grandidierite, phenakite, moonstone that's local (most moonstone comes from Tanzania or India). 

Tourmaline and Morganite

On the second day in the morning, all the women and some new ones returned.  There was essentially an all day picnic in the yard, with people waiting their turns, several kids, grand kids, other friends, people hanging out on blankets and bringing their lunch.  Even though Jochen was also shopping (for tourmaline slices, rough stones, and crystals), most of the brokers had been waiting for me, as it turned out, some of them since 7 a.m.  I was shown much of the same merchandise but also new stuff.  One woman whose stuff I had rejected told me that the owner of the gems was willing to come down in price of the merchandise - by half.  Standard procedure.  The trick is - I've learned this the hard way with the old time dealers in New York - to get the buyer to make an offer.  Because if the offer is accepted, that's a deal.  Since there are no returns or exchanges, the offer is binding (unless the stone was a fake or something but even then it can be tricky - more likely you won't buy there again).  Therefore conversation goes back and forth.  After initial offers are made, one has "une discussion", or the price is "a discuter."  The broker keeps asking what I am willing to pay, I ask what a more serious price is.  I decide if I am going to make a low ball offer because I don't like the piece or the price is way off (low ball meaning maybe 20% of asking).  Or if I offer half, which is more serious - in one case, where the seller really wanted to make a little money - my offer of half was accepted immediately.  That meant I bid too high.  But that was that, the deal was made.  Luckily it was just $50.  Other goods get put aside because I say I will think about it, "je vais reflechir".  I can ask if I can choose from a lot but that rarely pays.  Mostly lots are cheaper, sometimes they are 1/4 of the price.  Those always include "dogs", stones you don't want.  And per carat prices are not on the box.  So you have to count and estimate, or weigh the contents (I did both), count out the "dogs", subtract them as a loss, and then reprice the lot price into carats, compare to what you pay at home and decide if you want it.  If you take nothing the seller won't be happy and might get pushy.  One should not take offense though because this area is so economically depressed that a sale of a few hundred dollars is a really big deal.  Even $50 is good.  At 3-5% commission for the broker, it will make a day's wages and the trip won't have been in vain. 

Goods are often shared between brokers, or one owner uses several brokers, so you can't be surprised if you see the same stuff more than once or in someone else's hands.  And don't expect them not to share with each other what you bought and for how much.  That's important information, and it has to be treated as public.

For lunch, we took a 2 hr break and went to both of the local markets (Le Circle and Hotel Diamand) to show our faces and let everyone know we were here.  Insofar as they didn't, because there are probably only about 50 booths total between both markets.  Both Jochen and I made sure to go inside each and every booth so as not to offend and show willingness to look at everything.  I arranged with Irene that if I said I liked something, she would speak to the seller, get a price, and borrow the merchandise for me to look at in the hotel.  That is common practice, and it worked well.  It saved us a lot of back and forth, and it reduced the selection down to what I was interested in.  Each booth only has 50 lots or so, which makes it fairly easy to scan.  And it helps when you know what you are looking for.  Also since the stones are all local, there isn't anywhere near as much stuff as at a gem show.

After the gem markets we went to the local farmer's market to have lunch.  There are several large "kitchens" - areas with a tiled huge table and wooden benches where someone makes a few dishes that can be served over rice.  We had (a tiny) pork chop, rice and peas, and some tomato.  There were several kids hanging about, looking at our plates, and I was wondering if they wanted money.  That wasn't the case, after I was about 3/4 done with lunch, a little boy I had photographed earlier tugged on my shirt.  Jochen explained he wanted to know if I was finished because he would pour the left over rice and the pork bone into a tiny used plastic bag.  "They bring it home" he said, it gets cooked in a big bowl of water to flavor it and cook out the fat.  I felt bad, ordered a little more food, gave it to the boy, and added one of the bananas Gael had gotten for us while we were eating. 

The Gem Markets

The food, by the way, was surprisingly tasty.  Simple but well prepared. I shared my moist napkins after the meal - Irene who had one of her favorite foods, deep fried fish head, really needed it.  Gael was intrigued but also challenged by the packaging.  He pulled out several wipes at once but then shared with Maria, Irene's 16 year old daughter, and her child.  The wipes were definitely a hit.

Food is generally excellent here.  There's not a huge selection, and the wines are hit or miss (mostly miss), but you can have your zebu meat (the local cows which have really big horns) with freshly cut fries, fresh and well prepared veggies, or rice.  The food is French inspired (i.e. you can get foie gras) with a local touch (curries are common, or vanilla sauce or something similar).  Breakfast can be local - something called Vary Marainy - rice with a little veggies and dried pork - or French inspired continental with a Baguette,  butter and jam, coffee or tea, fresh pressed juice of local fruits (had courassol this morning but don't know what it is), and an omelet or eggs sunny side up.  The local bakery has a small selection of cheeses that can be bought separately and some sweets that look French inspired.  Croissants are available too.  Didn't try any of that yet.

On the first morning, Irene joined us for breakfast.  She looked for us at the hotel but didn't find us there since we were up early.  So she came over to the bakery - it's Jochen's local spot.  A discussion over local and chain food ensued and I explained that in America, no matter how far you drive, you can always eat the same food at a chain like McDonald's.  (That's not the case just about anywhere else in the world, and certainly not in Madagascar). Irene politely listened but I realized quickly that she wasn't understanding something.  Jochen caught on faster than me.  "Do you know what McDonald's is?" he asked Irene.  "No."  That explained it.

I don't think I have words to express how refreshing this was to hear.  Fast food has NOT taken over the universe.  Irene has a TV (though no fridge) and has finished school.  She uses the internet all the time - you have to buy it in data units though so it's expensive.  Yet McDonald's had somehow escaped her.  I was thrilled.

 So yes, not everyone has a fridge.  Since not everyone has shoes this is not a surprise.  Not everyone has a house, and most houses do not have glass windows.  This is not terrible since the climate is mild - in the winter it's about 40 at night and 80 during the day.  Heating and air conditioning are unknown.  Life generally takes place outside.  Rooms are tiny indoors, and used for sleeping, protecting from the summer rains, or watching TV if that exists.  Cooking is done outside in general, on big pots on top of charcoal.  Hence the rice with stew or vegetables.  That makes the most sense and can be consumed immediately.

I got a better sense of local living on my third day here, when I was invited to an exhumation.  This will take some explaining.  Let's see.  So in America and most places you and I know, the dead are buried or burned and then it's done and over with, save for photos and mementos. Not all places have photos or mementos though because not all countries have cameras or things.  How would you remember your family member if you didn't?  Here's a thought.  You remove them from the mausoleum in which the bodies are kept every few years, i.e. every seven in this case, seven being an important number.  You take the body of the ancestor out of the mausoleum - wrapped in a white sheet of course - and bring them outside with the accompaniment of a lot of music, speeches, and, in this case, beer.

You let the dead participate, in other words, in your world and your daily life for a day.  You then "dress them" in a new sheet which is wrapped around the old one, and after a few hours of daylight which they get to spend among the festivities - in a manner of speaking - you bring them back home into the tomb, again with a lot of spectacle, and put them back to sleep.  Many tears can be shed and the dead are kept in close company, including hugs and tears, for a few hours.

More about the exhumation and the rest of my trip in the next entry...

Working With Color

As you all know, working with colored gems is my specialty.  I love figuring out which colors go together, come up with crazy combos, and matching them to the right metal.  And I often get the following response: "I would NEVER have come up with that combo."

Actually, coming up with the right color combination is not as hard as you think.  Here are some pointers for how to do it, followed by some of my own favorite pairings.

1. Start with beads, not gems.  All gems (or just about) come as beads too.  The colors are, nearly enough, the same.  Buy an inch or two of the various gem colors you like and mix them together on a piece of white paper or a white paper towel.  Add and subtract until it is right.

Before I moved to colored stones, I did beading for a good two years.  And putting together different colors what one of my favorite things to do.  A few combos were very surprising (kyanite and spessartite), others quite obvious (pink and purple sapphire).

Mixed Bead Layout

2. Combos of 3 colors work best when 2 colors are related.  Blue and purple are related but look boring together, so for a third color use something different, i.e. green or yellow.  When you use yellow and pink, add orange or red.

3. Combos of 2 colors should have some contrast.  So pink and a strong purple is nice, but lavender and purple is more boring.

4. Consider the metal when you do your layout.  I think the rules for metal are simple.  White gold is very neutral but doesn't bring out the color of a gem.  So if the gems themselves don't have much color the piece will look a bit washed out.  If the gem is very bright, white gold might be a good choice.  Yellow gold is not neutral at all and needs to be considered a separate color when you do your layout.  You have to think about whether or not yellow will go with your gem.  Rose gold seems to be a color enhancer but itself neutral.  It works well with lighter colors that need some "umph" but doesn't run interference.

I think that pinks work well with yellow gold but purples clash.  Blues are ok, greens are ok but some strong greens (i.e. emerald) can look a bit gaudy.  In general, yellow gold can make a piece look a bit gaudy and therefore cheap.  Son don't use too many different colors with yellow gold.  If you want a very bright piece with other colors, use white gold instead.  I use rose gold a lot because I want to enhance color without the piece looking gaudy.  Rose gold also goes with most skin tones.

5. Here are some of my own favorite color combos.

Color Combo	Gems
Pink, Yellow	Tourmaline, Spinel, Sapphire, Chrysoberyl
Pink, Yellow, Orange	Tourmaline, Spinel, Sapphire, Chrysoberyl, Mandarin Garnet, Citrine
Pink, Red, Yellow	Tourmaline, Spinel, Ruby, Sapphire, Chrysoberyl
Pink, Green	Pink and Green Tourmaline, Spinel, Mint Garnet, Tavorite
Green, Yellow	Tourmaline, Mint Garnet, Tsavorite, Sapphire, Chrysoberyl
Blue, Green	Zircon, Sapphire, Aqua, Tourmaline, Mint Garnet, Tsavorite
Blue, Green, Lavender	Zircon, Sapphire, Aqua, Tourmaline, Mint Garnet, Tsavorite, Tanzanite
Blue, Yellow	All Sapphire, Zircon and Yellow Sapphire
Dark and Light Blue, Yellow	Zircon and Sapphire or Kyanite, Chrysoberyl, Yellow Sapphire
Turqoise, Green	Apatite or Paraiba, Tourmaline, Mint Garnet
Pink and Purple	All Sapphire (Cold Colors), or Tanzanite

Tanzanite and Paraiba

Lavender and Blue Sapphire

Tourmaline, Chrysoberyl, Zircon

Sapphire, Burma Spinel

Sapphire, Burma Spinel, Chrysoberyl, Mandarin Garnet

Sapphire, Burma Spinel

Sapphire, Emerald, Zircon