My Upcoming Las Vegas Show

Given how successful – and fun – the Tucson show was for me, I have decided to tackle the next largest U.S. gem show, the upcoming JCK and AGTA show in Las Vegas.  I’ll be there 5/27-6/2 while my dad is holding down the fort here in NJ (he’s visiting for a couple of months, and in between baking apple cakes and cheesecakes, he is enjoying learning about the jewelry and gemstone business).

The JCK show in Vegas is wholesale only and there’s a bit of a registration process, but in the end it wasn’t hard to get in since my business has grown quite a bit.  The show takes place at the Mandalay Bay Resort and is known for its opulent jewelry – I’ll try to take some photos but many sellers are very protective of their stuff.  Some jewelers consider this show to be the main jewelry event of the year.  The AGTA (American Gem Traders Association) piggybacks with its own show in the same place. 

The JCK show has hundreds of participants, and I already checked for some of my favorite dealers that are not in NY, many of which will be there. 

Here’s the show website: http://lasvegas.jckonline.com/Home/

And here’s the link for the AGTA Gem Fair, which starts a day earlier: 

http://www.agta.org/tradeshows/gemfair-las-vegas.html

Vegas Strip

Gem dealers take a long time to prepapre for these types of shows.  Dealers who don’t have show rooms or websites collect their best gems for months and display them only at these shows.  They hope to make revenue in the hundreds of thousands, since they may only do a dozen shows a year, which are intended to generate their main income.  Markups are low in this industry, but turnover and volume has to be high to justify this.  The gem trade is a very competitive business with many well kept secrets.  Who buys where and who trades with whom is something few gem dealers share.

My main goal at the show is to score some new sapphire material from Dudley B.  He is the one from whom I get all the well cut Ceylon material (no heat).  He also had some cobalt spinels, I got the demantoids from him, and a few of the Luc Yen pieces.  I am happy to take suggestions for what else I should look for.  My Mahenge and Mint Garnet source is in NY, so I won’t be going to Vegas for anything specific in that regard.

If you want me to buy something at the show, there are some things you should know.

1. For me, gem purchases have no returns (this explains why I offer you such a short return period). I can sometimes memo material but not all suppliers allow this (I can’t memo at a show).  Memo deals require a well developed relationship between buyer and seller. Terms are strict and usually short unless you are specifically borrowing to sell on someone’s behalf.

2. Desirable material moves quickly and I don’t like to aggravate the sellers I work with, so I don’t haggle or argue.  I take what I need and check out, or I browse for a day or two, then buy.  I take some photos but only for serious buyers because I run around a lot in a short period of time.  I get great prices because I am a low maintenance shopper, so I have no reason to push for further discounts.  In turn, almost none of my buyers argue with me over prices, for which I am eternally grateful.

3. Gem shopping is time consuming.  It is fun, lots of fun, but can be overwhelming too.  If you want to help me find you the right thing, tell me exactly what you want, what your budget is (a range is ok).  Cut, color, size, acceptable treatment, sample photos.  The earlier the better so I can make a list, and/or tell you if you are looking for unicorns – I am a good unicorn search predictor at this point. 

4. Most importantly, as you probably already know, the gem trade involves a great deal of trust.  My suppliers trust me to pay, pay on time, trust me not to haggle (because they usually make me their lowest offer anyway and haggling at that point is offensive), and they trust me to know my stuff or ask when I don’t.  Many of the best deals are made without any paperwork (or with paperwork coming later on).  The sellers themselves usually trade before the show and pay after the show with the money they made.  I’m not in that category because I don’t exhibit at these shows, I am considered a small buyer but a safe one.  I do have a reputation in the industry, and one I am proud of.  So I make sure not to disappoint.

By the same token, when I sell to you, I need to you be honest, direct, when I buy for you at a show you need to be quick, and when you can’t afford it, let it go.   You can’t have gems for lunch anyway and it is often hard to recover ones expense if one is in financial trouble (the longer you can wait to sell a gem the more likely it is that you can make money).  I rarely buy for myself and I pull myself together not to push you.  In fact, I am often concerned that a trigger happy buyer gets himself or herself into financial trouble, which can backfire for them and for me.  Since there are no returns for me, a return of a large purchase made on your behalf can be a setback for me and prevent me from purchasing again.  I will bend over backwards to get you the best for your money, but understand that I have to live off this trade.  :)

Tourmaline: Heated or Unheated?

It has been a while since I blogged about a particular type of gemstone, but having heard some new and interesting things about tourmaline, I thought I’d share.

As many of you have noted, a lot of gemstone prices have risen sharply in the last couple of years.  But tourmaline?  Isn’t that a common gem?  Yes, it is, but world demand for this gem has gone up, especially the bright pink variety called “rubellite,” which is very popular in China.  But green tourmaline is also popular, and prices have risen correspondingly.  For green tourmaline, I would say roughly speaking, prices have doubled in the past couple of years, and for rubellite, prices have tripled.  The indicolite variety, especially brighter colors, has nearly vanished from the market.  And brighter, less sooty green and blue-green gems, demand a premium.  Anything that is bright green – even a tiny bit neon – is super expensive. 

What about tourmaline treatments?  As most of you know, most of the rubellite variety is heated to intensify color by brightening the gem.  But the green variety is heated also.  Heat treatment cannot be done at home, it requires special equipment (a ceramic oven) and it takes a few days.  The heat is kept low, about 500-700F, and it has to be steadily increased over hours or days, with a longer cool down period at the end.  For this reason, labs have a hard time telling if a tourmaline is heated or not. High heat treatment in gems leaves traces in the crystal structure, low heat does not.  Most labs, including GIA, will not certify tourmaline as unheated, so unless you know where your gem is coming from or you own the rough, you should assume that the gem is heat treated.  Guesses can be made but that is all they are (the same is true of aquamarine, the more greenish variety is less often heated than the more intense blue but labs are unlikely to provide a certificate for an unheated aqua).  One way you can guess, by the way, is by looking at how clean the gem is.  Gem dealers who routinely heat tourmalines told me that if the gem is not squeaky clean, it can break or at least fracture during the heating process, and then it becomes worthless.  So gems with inclusions are much less likely to have been heated.

Results of heating a tourmaline vary.  I found a neat entry on PriceScope where you can see photos of the change of a pink tourmalines:

http://www.pricescope.com/forum/colored-stones/description-heat-treatment-process-nigerian-tourmaline-t158728.html

For greens, I can provide some photos below.  Below is a batch of green tourmaline from an undisclosed mine “somewhere in Africa.”  Next to it photos of some gems from the same batch after heating.  As you can tell from the photos, the gems got brighter but their color also changed.  The hues of blue are all but gone and the gems take on a grassier and warmer color.  They are also brighter.

Left: Unheated Tourmaline; Right: Heated Tourmaline

 Here's how the rough looked before cutting:

From Rough Stone to Cut Stone: Part I

The journey from rough mineral to finished faceted gem has always fascinated me.  As a relative novice in the area, there are mostly surprises, but even the more seasoned cutter or gem expert can’t always predict the outcome.  On average one loses 60-80% of the gemstone material during cutting. Sometimes more, sometimes less.  One has to decide where the cleavages are that will open up during cutting, and one has to determine where the culet and table should be located.  The properties of the gem itself usually dictate this, though opinions on how to cut often vary nevertheless.

And so, when I saw a parcel of rough Winza sapphires at the Gem and Mineral show in Edison, NJ, this month, I decided to have some fun with it.

Winza Sapphire

In this little video, you can meet Don Thomson from Quest Minerals.  Don specializes in Tanzanian goods and he is also a gem cutter.  I was fascinated by his collection of crystals and rough as you can see.

Meet Don Thompson and his collection of gems and minerals.

As you can see, I discovered the parcel of sapphires and another of rubies at the very end.  With my curiosity peaked, I first looked at some pieces with a loupe, and then recorded a little video using my newly discovered phone scope (you can buy it at safepub.com). 

Parcel of Winza rubies magnified through a phone scope.

Roberta G. a customer or mine, was with me when we played with the rough.  I first bought a nice zebra striped one – I am thinking of keeping that piece more or less as is but polishing it so you can see the stripes better.  Then I started to look at each piece with a strong flash light to see what’s inside.  Roberta recorded me as I went through the parcel piece by piece.

                             Yvonne examines a parcel of Winza sapphires for cuttable material.

Then I selected a few pieces – getting them all was going to be expensive.  Don explained to me how to cut one of them and I’m very curious about the outcome.

                           Don Thompson explains how to cut a particular piece of Winza sapphire.

Next month, I will be sending some of the pieces to India for cutting.  Others will stay here.  I may slice one, and I may just have another roughly faceted by a local friend.  Roberta wants one piece faceted as well.  We don't think that any of the material is going to come out very clean, but it will be fun to do.

I will keep you posted how the adventure ends.

New Price List Available for Rings

Here is another price list for you.  This one is for all my rings.  Or most of them anyway... not all of these rings are my own designs, so when they are not, they are not included here.   Remember, these prices do not include gemstones because the prices vary too much.  

Here are some additional notes, pretty much the same notes as last time.

1. I can cast in 10 K gold also but you do not save that much money when you do.  Labor is the same, gold is about 30% less (because part of the casting price is casting labor).  I didn’t list any of these prices for that reason but the savings averages out to something like 10%.  Ask me for individual quotes.

2. My casting service offers almost any metal, more than I can list individually: 10K yellow and rose, 14K rose, yellow, white, 18K rose, yellow, white, 18K White Palladium, Platinum, Platinum Silver, Argentium Silver, Bronze, 22K yellow.  Even brass and copper are available.  But as you know, the more gems are being set, the more expensive the piece, so for a single stone, I can see doing it in silver, but for multi-stone rings, you might as well invest in the gold.  You'll have a more valuable piece that way.

3. When you are considering custom orders, please use this list to get a first idea because some days I am so busy I lack the manpower to get all the quoting and photos done.  And my markup does not include all the time that is used for service.  The reason wholesalers have a smaller markup is not JUST to leave room for retailers.  It is also because they expect to sell more pieces and have less to no service costs.  I have wholesale markup, and I (try to) accommodate retail service.  Technically the formula doesn’t mix.  I try anyway!  Unless I start manufacturing overseas (no way!) I will have to compete with lower prices for finished goods.  It’s hard to do everything here, pay high labor costs, and offer good prices to you at the same time.  I’m not complaining, but I want to disclose how things are on my end so that you get a better sense of what to expect. 

	Description	Stone Size	Setting Style	Collection	14K	SS
1	Round Halo Ring	4mm, .8mm	prong	Classic	$445.00	$290.00
2	Cushion Halo Ring	6 mm, .8mm	prong	Classic	$545.00	$310.00
3	Halo Wedding Band	.8mm	prong	Classic	$345.00	$200.00
4	Fishtail Ring	6mm, .8mm	prong	Classic	$340.00	$125.00
5	Scalloped Halo Ring	7x5mm, 1.2mm	prong, pave	Classic	$515.00	$315.00
6	Antique Large Cluster Ring	7mm, 3.5mm	prong, pave	Classic	$650.00	$245.00
7	5 Stone Prong Ring	5mm, 3.5mm, 2.5mm	prong	Classic	$400.00	$170.00
8	Five Stone Bezel Ring	4.3mm, 3mm, 2mm	bezel	Contour	$315.00	$155.00
9	Pillow Ring	7x5mm, 2mm, 1mm	prong, pave	Gotham	$600.00	$280.00
10	Square 9 Stone Ring	2.5mm, 3mm	pave	Gotham	$465.00	$205.00
11	Small Gotham Ring Engraved	6x4mm	prong	Gotham	$385.00	$120.00
12	Large Gotham Ring with Sidestones	8x6mm, 1.2mm	prong	Gotham	$740.00	$320.00
13	Large Gotham Ring Engraved	8x6mm	prong	Gotham	$490.00	$120.00
14	Empire Daisy Ring Engraved	5mm	prong	Gotham	$500.00	$145.00
15	Antique 9 Stone Ring Square Style	3mm, 2.5mm	pave	Gotham	$545.00	$215.00
16	Antique 9 Stone Ring Diamond Style	3mm, 2.5mm	pave	Gotham	$620.00	$215.00
17	Marquis Art Deco Ring Engraved	10x5mm	prong	Gotham	$490.00	$95.00
18	3 Stone Hexagon Ring	5mm, 3mm	pave	Hexagon	$385.00	$170.00
19	Oval Hexagon 3 Stone Ring		pave	Hexagon	$430.00	$180.00
20	5 Stone Oval Center Hexagon Ring	6x4mm, 3mm, 2mm	pave	Hexagon	$360.00	$140.00
21	5 Stone Round Center Hexagon Ring	5mm, 3mm, 2mm	pave	Hexagon	$425.00	$210.00
22	Solitaire Hexagon Ring	5mm	pave	Hexagon	$375.00	$128.00
23	Octagon Ring East West	7x4.5mm	pave	Hexagon	$430.00	$120.00
24	Flower Eternity Band	1mm	pave	Petal	$480.00	$195.00
25	Sunflower Ring 6mm Center	6mm, 1.2mm	prong, pave	Petal	$440.00	$205.00
26	Sunflower Ring 5mm Center	5mm, 2mm	prong, pave	Petal	$485.00	$225.00
27	Two Flower Ring	3mm, 2mm	pave	Petal	$505.00	$250.00
28	Trillion Gatsby Ring	8mm	prong, pave	Petal	$560.00	$240.00
29	Engraved Flower Petal Ring	5mm	prong	Petal	$385.00	$120.00
30	Trillion Gatsby Ring Engraved	8mm	prong	Petal	$360.00	$115.00
31	Empire Daisy Ring	5mm, 1mm	bezel, pave	Petal	$910.00	$495.00
32	Sunflower Ring with 7mm Center	7mm, 2mm	prong, pave	Petal	$500.00	$230.00
33	Oval Sunflower Ring with Sidestones	8x6mm, 2mm	prong, pave	Petal	$520.00	$240.00
34	Camellia Ring with Sidestones	5mm, 2mm, .8mm	prong, pave	Petal	$470.00	$210.00
35	Large Oval Sunflower Ring Engraved	9x7mm	prong	Petal	$330.00	$120.00
36	Camellia Ring Engraved	5mm	prong	Petal	$375.00	$95.00
37	Smaller Oval Sunflower Ring Engraved	7.5 x 5mm	pave	Petal	$350.00	$95.00
38	Eternity Scroll Band with Bezels	1.2mm	bezel	Scroll	$330.00	$135.00

CLASSIC COLLECTION

1) Round Halo Ring

2)Cushion Halo Ring

3)Halo Wedding Band

4)Fishtail Ring

5)Scalloped Halo Ring

6)Antique Large Cluster Ring

7) 5 Stone Prong Ring

CONTOUR COLLECTION

8)5 Stone Bezel Ring

GOTHAM COLLECTION

10)Square 9 Stone Ring

9) Pillow Ring

11) Small Gotham Ring Engraved

12) Large Gotham Ring with Sidestones

13) Large Gotham Ring Engraved

16) Antique 9 Stone Ring Diamond Style

17) Marquis Art Deco Ring Engraved

HEXAGON

18) 3 Stone Hexagon Ring

19) Oval Hexagon 3 Stone Ring

20) 5 Stone Oval Center Hexagon Ring

21) 5 Stone Round Center Hexagon Ring

22) Solitaire Hexagon Ring

23) Octagon Ring East West

PETAL

24) Flower Eternity Band

25) Sunflower Ring 6mm Center

26) Sunflower Ring 5mm Center

27) Two Flower Ring

28) Trillion Gatsby Ring

29) Engraved Flower Petal Ring

30) Trillion Gatsby Ring Engraved

31) Empire Daisy Ring

32) Sunflower Ring with 7mm Center

34) Camellia Ring with Sidestones

35)Lg Sunflower Oval Ring Engraved

36) Camellia Ring Engraved

37) Smaller Oval Sunflower Ring Engraved

38) Eternity Scroll Band with Bezels