This gorgeous green stone is smaller than a quarter, yet it’s worth more than a house…and it’s not even a diamond! This breathtaking stone is the world’s finest, largest Demantoid garnet from Russia with amazing intense green color and high dispersion (which makes it hard to take a good photo). The price tag of this stone, $308,000.00!
So why is this small stone so valuable? Demantoid garnets are generally quite small, in fact, anything over 1-2 carats is considered to be really huge. So this 11.24 carat stone is gigantic for a Russian demantoid.
Demantoid was discovered in the mid-1800s in the Western Urals and became very popular accent stones in high-end jewelry pieces. But production ceased during the Russian Revolution and demantoid fell out of popularity. In the late 1980s mining operations began once again with the reopening of the Soviet Union. The stone you see here is one of the stones that came out of the mine more recently.
You can find this piece among others at our National Gem and Mineral Collection at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC
Author: Michelle M. Rahm is a GIA-trained Graduate Gemologist and is President of Colorado’s Mile High Chapter of the GIA Alumni Association. She has been selling gemstones and jewelry online since 1997. Visit her websites JewelryImpressions.com and OurCustomWeddingRings.com
This story caught my eye this morning so I thought I’d share it with you. A 25 pound faceted green beryl has surfaced and is going up for auction soon. It is being called the largest faceted emerald in the world. The controversy is whether or not this is truly an emerald or just a white beryl that has been dyed green. 
This interesting Harry Winston diamond brooch actually holds a 44.03 carat polished spherical diamond in the center. 
I hope everyone had a blessed holiday season. I wish you prosperity and good health for the new year. 
Sometimes faceted gemstones from different species can look so similar to each other that it’s difficult to tell them apart. It’s much easier to tell gemstone species apart in the crystal form because different species form in different crystal systems…and show particular crystal shapes.
Did you know citrine and amethyst belong to the same gem species? Both citrine and amethyst are members of the mineral species, Quartz. The color is the most obvious difference between citrine and amethyst. Citrine ranges in color from yellow to orange to brownish orange, while amethyst ranges in color from strong bluish-purple to purple to reddish purple. Citrine shows very weak pleochroism while Amethyst shows weak to moderate 
It is with heartfelt thanks that I write today to address the men and women of our armed forces. Your sacrifice and bravery is appreciated more than words can say. You put your lives on the line to keep our country safe and to uphold the freedom of our great nation. 
There are two birthstones generally recognized as birthstones for November: Citrine and Golden Topaz. Citrine is the orangish yellow variety of quartz, while golden topaz is the yellowish golden variety of topaz.
Pink tourmaline shares the honor of being October’s birthstone with opal. Tourmaline comes in every color of the rainbow, but generally pink tourmaline is considered the October birthstone. 
What: Back by popular demand just in time for the holiday season: Jacques has a refreshing knack for taking a serious topic and making if fun, interesting and humorous. Retail store profit margins are under attack in the age of the Internet. Consumers used to come in with a Rap sheet in their back pocket. Now they come in with printouts from Internet e-tailers. Do you agree to meet the price, and kill your margin? Do you preserve the margin and not make the sale? Is there a third option? Yes, there is. Learn how to avoid the “will you meet this price” trap. Learn what you need to say to completely change the conversation, and earn the customer’s loyalty. Most importantly, learn how to preserve your profit margin.
