All That Glitters in San Diego Through April 2012

As we announced in February, the San Diego Natural History Museum has developed and designed an exhibition, which opened May 15: All That Glitters: The Splendor and Science of Gems and Minerals. The centerpiece of the show is gems and minerals of California, with San Diego County’s tourmaline well represented, alongside spessartite garnet, kunzite, topaz, morganite, aquamarine, quartz, opal, scheelite, colemanite, covellite, sphene, herderite, and jade. The rare state gemstone, benitoite, also is featured.

Glitterati. Carl Larson and a poster of his own tourmaline specimen, from the Stewart Lithia Mine in San Diego County.

A spectacular specimen on display comes from the same mine as our feature this month—the famous Jonas Mine of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The “Flor de Lise” crystal is considered to be one of the world’s finest rubellite tourmalines.

Blue and gold. Above, California’s state gemstone, from Gem Mine, San Benito Co.; specimen 2.4 x 2.1; stone 3.53 carats. Below, gold on quartz, 10.6 x 8.2 cm., from De Maria Mine, Placer Co. (Material courtesy of Irv Brown and SDNHM, photos: Tom Spann)

Gem and jewelry lovers also will have much to grab the eye. According to the museum’s press release:

Exquisite gem carvings include a Faberge grey chalcedony pig with diamond eyes, a jelly fish opal brooch by Mauboussin, Cartier diamond panthers and tigers, and a never-before-seen collection of 13 butterfly brooches set with rare gems such as alexandrite, flame spinel, sphene, rhodochrosite, Mexican fire opal, pearls from Baja California, topaz, rainbow moonstone (transparent labradorite), and sapphire from Montana.

Objets d’art also abound, with “The Carousel Egg,” a jeweled enamel egg containing a miniature replica of the carousel outside the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park. Intarsia boxes include a “butterfly” box inlaid with malachite, sugilite, tourmaline, and gold with teakwood. (See “The Splendor” for photos.)

See this May 12 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune for an overview of the show. More than 80 pieces on display in “All That Glitters…” are from the collection of Pala International’s Bill Larson, who is quoted at the end of the article about his career and collection. [back to top]

Palaminerals.com

Website now live

Pala International commemorates its 40th year of business—June 26, 2010 marks the start of the 41st!—with a new website for the mineral enthusiast: Palaminerals.com.

The new site retains features familiar to users of both Palagems.com and Pala’s sister retail site, CollectorFineJewelry.com. (The mineral specimen catalog eventually will be phased out of the latter.) But there are some new features as well…

• Proportional Thumbnails: Gone is the gotcha! of clicking the thumbnail of a short, squat specimen only to find it’s actually spindly. Using on-the-fly thumbnail creation, the new website renders each thumbnail proportionally. Of course, this may mean longer loading for slower Internet connections, but we hope it’s worth the wait.
• In-Place View Swap: Swap views of a single specimen by clicking the detail thumbnails to the right of the large view; no more scrolling.
• Autosuggest in Mineral Search: Enter two letters of a Country or Locality and our Mineral Search autosuggest does the rest. Even if we've used a spelling variation that doesn’t match yours, you should receive a useful list to choose from. (Note: Unlike Google’s autosuggest, clicking a suggestion from the list does not submit the search—in case you wish to enter info in multiple search fields.)
• Running Shopping Cart Total: The total displays on every page.
• Selections from Catalog and More: New features and old...
  • The Hot Spot: New finds fresh from the field
  • The Classics: Specimens from classic localities
  • The Vault: World class minerals from Pala’s collection
  • Seize the (mineral of the) Day
  • The Mineral Gallery: The complete catalog
  • The Bargain Bin: More than 400 specimens for under $500
  • New In Stock
  • Featured Mineral Specimens: Three years of bi-monthly choices from our Pala Mineralis e-newsletter

Articles relating to minerals are now posted on Palaminerals.com, as are Links, Wants: Ours and Yours, Shows, and, of course, News.

We welcome feedback: send to info@palaminerals.com. [back to top]

The Recycle Bin

Here we point to an item from Pala’s Gem News that pertains to mineral enthusiasts…

Lawrence Stoller’s “Eye”

A damaged phenacite as artist’s muse

Two weeks ago, Pala’s Bill Larson received an intriguing note from award-winning artist Lawrence Stoller, who included photographs of “a phenacite that I was asked to ‘do something with.’” We found ourselves entranced by what we saw, and wanted to learn more. “So much to occupy the eye,” we told Stoller, before learning the name given to the piece.

“Eye of Matter,” carved by Lawrence Stoller. “The base is made of bronze,” said Stoller, “and has a whimsical quality that seemed to draw from the character of the stone,” (Photo: Gary Alvis)

The story begins with a damaged 98-gram phenacite specimen obtained this year at the Tucson show by John Van Rees, of Exquisite Crystals. “He showed it to me,” Stoller told us, “and said he was considering having it cut into a traditional faceted stone. John and I are friends, so he didn’t take it personally when I told him I thought that was a crazy idea.” Phenacite isn’t common, and this crystal had both size and character. “My thinking was that by faceting it, this rare phenacite would look like a piece of faceted quartz or any other colorless crystal.” Indeed, the mineral was named from the Greek word for “imposter” by Finnish mineralogist N. G. Nordenskiöld, due to the ease with which it often is mistaken for quartz. (Nordenskiöld was responsible for another, famous, appellation—demantoid—for the rare variety of garnet.)

What’s the matter? Nothing, as far as we can see. In in this carving of what was a damaged phenacite specimen, we can see afar… (Photo: Gary Alvis)

“So John asked me what I would do with it, and I really didn’t have a good answer on the spot,” but Stoller said he’d preserve the specimen’s size and distinctive etched surfaces. One wrinkle: Stoller had never cut phenacite before. While the cutting and caving were “relatively straightforward,” as he told us, “getting a good polish on the large surfaces was another matter entirely. The crystal acted much like a large topaz behaving badly. After the 1200 [grit] stage it wanted to scratch itself.” Stoller’s assistant Ingrid Mrencso spent many hours polishing out the large, flat surfaces—roughly 15 times longer than a comparable piece of quartz—to bring out the brilliant finish captured in the photograph by Gary Alvis.

Remodeled without being remade, and surrendering but eighteen of its original ninety grams, the finished piece was given the name, “Eye of Matter.” The specimen, appropriately, hails from the “Shining Stone” Mine (Okuta-didan in the Yoruba language), an alluvial deposit at the Jos Plateau in central Nigeria. The finished size is 43 x 35 x 24 mm.; the stand measures 7 x 4 in.

For more about Lawrence Stoller and the breadth of his artistry, see his CrystalWorks website. See also this blog entry by metalsmith Carla M. Fox for the description of a photo shoot by Gary Alvis. [back to top]

Geologists Sound Alarm:
“We May Be Slowly Running Out of Rocks”

Leave it to The Onion to peel away the layers of a startling and troubling story, from its May 1 issue.

Rock conservation is in its infancy, at least here in the U.S., but all that may change, thanks, once again to America’s Finest News Source. [back to top]

— End June Newsletter • Published 6/2/10 —

Houston Fine Mineral Show: April 30 – May 2, 2010

The Houston Fine Mineral Show is an exclusive show highlighting over 50 top mineral dealers. Pala International’s Bill Larson and Will Larson will be attending this year’s show.

Event: Houston Fine Mineral Show
When: April 30 – May 2, 2010
Where: Embassy Suites Hotel, Houston, TX

Visit the Houston Museum of Natural Science

The Houston Fine Mineral Show allows us to promote one of our favorite museums and its stellar collection of mineral specimens: the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The museum’s Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals “houses the world’s finest display-quality collection of gems and minerals,” according to its own website—and that’s no exaggeration. The hall’s display cases employ fiber-optic lighting and offer 360-degree views of more than 750 specimens that simply must not be forgotten while you’re in H-town.

See our story on a visit to the Cullen Hall by Pala’s Gabrièl Mattice in 2006; the snapshots she took will give a taste of what’s in store. And the gemstone enthusiast will want to catch the special exhibit “Fabergé: Imperial Jeweler to the Tsars,” which features the McFerrin Collection. [back to top]

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Council’s 25th Anniversary Gala to Feature Bill Larson

Museum Group’s May 2nd Event Is Open to the Public

The following notice was received this week. Congratulations to the Gem and Mineral Council’s on its first 25 years!

The Gem and Mineral Council of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a gala event on Sunday, May 2nd, 2010. Billed as “An Evening to Remember,” the event will include dinner and drinks, silent and live auctions, historical photo essays, special museum tours—all in the beautiful setting of the museum and its world renowned Hall of Gems and Minerals.

The evening will culminate with a fascinating retrospective of the past 25 years in the world of gems and minerals by one of its most dynamic “players,” the inimitable Bill Larson.

The Natural History Museum has nearly 100 years of its own history. See this 95-year overview of gems and minerals at the museum. (Photo courtesy Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County)

The public is invited, with a special invitation to past members. Tickets are $50 for members and $75 for non-members. RSVP required; contact Jean Brandt, 213.763.3326 by April 24th.

The Gem & Mineral Council, a members' group at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, offers its members opportunities to advance their knowledge and enjoyment of gems and minerals within the unique context of the museum, including a varied schedule of activities including exciting field trips, educational lectures, and exclusive social events. More information on membership is available at the Council website. [back to top]

The Recycle Bin

Here we point to items from Pala’s Gem News that pertain to mineral enthusiasts…

Tourmaline from Nuristan, Gemstones from Pakistan

A follow-up on our last edition’s story

In our previous edition of Pala Mineralis, we featured a photo essay, “Tourmaline Mining in Afghanistan,” contributed by a correspondent in southwestern Asia.

Coincidentally, via a mutual friend, we received a reply on that story from another correspondent, in Pakistan, who we hadn’t heard from in some time. (He had last notified us about a December 2005 avalanche in a peridot-mining region of Kohistan, in the North West Frontier Province border region and had commented on the state of the gemstone industry in Pakistan at the time.)

From Paprok, Nuristan. This tourmaline from Afghanistan consists of four prominent attached crystals. Good luster with glassy terminations. It measures 6.6 x 4 x 2.4 cm. Inventory #18086. (Photo: John McLean)

Read his remarks on the tourmaline mining in the general area of the Mawi pegmatites in Nuristan Province.

And Pakistan?

Turning to another subject, and another country, we asked our contributor for a new assessment of Pakistan’s gem and jewelry industry. Four years ago, he’d admitted to being an optimist, but in the face of a reality that called for skepticism. Now, things are “still a little ‘rough’ but improving.” (Select the link above for the full story...)

From Shigar Valley, Baltistan. This specimen features a gemmy upper half and measures 11.4 x 2.6 x 2.3 cm. Inventory #18087. (Photo: John McLean)

[back to top]

“It’s all about the people…”

Cornell collaboration will involve Pala’s Bill Larson

We recently caught up with Elise Skalwold, gemological curator at Cornell University. Our readers may recall “Viking Compass and the Usambara Effect,” which we cherry-picked from her website last June. Well, when she’s not festooning that website with streaming video of growing hydrothermal sapphire in a diamond anvil cell, for the past year she’s been working on a gem and mineral project that remains under wraps. When the curtain is pulled back, however, it will involve among other things a publication featuring photographs by Jeff Scovil, and will include a foreword by Pala’s Bill Larson, who also has kindly provided ad hoc advice along the way.

Classic Jeff Scovil “rough & cut” portrait. A 1.19-carat cut gem alongside its natural sister, a 1.70-cm. double-terminated crystal. Both originate from the Wah Wah Mountains, Beaver County, Utah (Cornell University gem and mineral collection). This appears in John S. White’s “U.S. Gemstones: An Overview” in the January/February issue of Rocks & Minerals. (Photo: Jeff Scovil)

Leaving the mystery aside, we were taken by Elise’s description of the work involved in the ongoing project—a series of collaborative connections. “The context is gems and minerals,” she tells us, “but it is all about the people and the process.” She is honored to collaborate and be co-author with her dear friend and leader of the project, Cornell’s William Bassett, professor emeritus of geological sciences, and recipient of the Mineralogical Society of America’s highest award, the Roebling Medal. Oh, and “one of the pioneers of diamond anvil cell high pressure research,” she reminds us. But then you would have gathered that when you visited the link above.

Read the full story here. [back to top]

“Elephant” Emerald Unearthed in Zambia

The “elephant” has entered the room. A massive 6,225-carat rough emerald crystal has been pulled out of the Kagem mine in Zambia. The local Bemba people named the oversized green jewel “Insofu,” which translates as “elephant.” This remarkable specimen was found on February 5 and announced by the gemstone producer Gemfields. Evaluation of the true quality of this piece has not been released, but even from the simple picture below, one can see the strong color and high clarity. No doubt we will be seeing some mammoth faceted emeralds out of this very gemmy-looking piece of rough.

The “elephant” was named for its size, but also in honor of the World Land Trust’s “Wild Lands Elephant Corridor Project.” Promotion of the project will include the creation of “a bespoke collection of emerald jewellery, designed and created by the very best jewellers from around the world,” according to this International Colored Gemstone Association news item. See also this compelling preview of a forthcoming documentary on Asian elephants. (Photo courtesy Gemfields)

Zambia has become an important source for emeralds as the world’s thirst for these green jewels grows. Other major producers include Colombia and Brazil, which have produced some record-settling emeralds as well. Colombia unearthed a 7,025-carat emerald crystal that actually held the record, but Brazil supposedly found the largest uncut emerald in 1974 that weighed 86,136 carats, according to The Daily Telegraph (UK) and Mindat.

For an overview of gemstone mining in Zambia, see this 2007 briefing paper prepared by the NGO groundWork.

Ron Ringsrud on the Elephant and El Itoco

Our friend Ron Ringsrud, author of Emeralds, A Passionate Guide, had this reaction to the Zambian find: “I am so impressed with the transparency of the ‘Elephant Emerald.’ It is astounding. It reminds me of the gem-quality transparency of the Itoco emerald.”

Ron should know; he facilitated the Itoco’s display last year at Southern California museums, as we reported. [back to top]

— End April Newsletter • Published 4/2/10 —

Mineral Artists: Hildegard Könighofer and Gamini Ratnavira

Among several mineral portraitists to be featured at Tucson

The Tucson shows this year will offer exhibitions and a panel presentation by prominent mineral artists.

Sample portrait from the book by Hildegard Könighofer. (Image courtesy BlueCap Productions)

Westward Look will host the panel on Sunday, February 7. Panelists Eberhard Equit, Hildegard Könighofer, and Susan Robinson will join moderator Wendell Wilson for an overview of their work. The traditional pre-event cocktail hour will allow attendees to browse the work of several other artists, in a concurrent exhibition to feature Chris Hughes, Gail Spann, Fred Wilda, Gamini Ratnavira, Steve Sorrel, Brandy Naugle, Sarah Sudowski.

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show exhibition of the four panelists’ work takes place February 11–14. According to the show brochure, the artists will “display some of their most impressive work next to the stunning gems and minerals that inspired them” and will spend time there to meet attendees.

We preview the work of two artists, Hildegard Könighofer and Gamini Ratnavira.

Hildegard Könighofer

A participant in both the Westward Look panel and TGMS exhibition, mineral portraitist Hildegard Könighofer will celebrate at Tucson the publication of a new book, The Mineral Art of Hildegard Könighofer. Accompanying 149 pages of the artist’s paintings are nine articles authored by twelve contributors on topics such as “Science vs Aesthetics,” “Appropriation and Reproduction,” and examinations of notable localities. The articles are presented in German and English, with German captions.

Two editions are available, but are likely to go quickly. At left is the gray-leather limited edition, which includes a slipcase. The book is offered exclusively in the U.S. by BlueCap Productions.

Austrian artist Hildegard Könighofer, along with her partner Dietmar Jakely (a contributor to the new book), is a mineral collector, and has illustrated her own specimens as well as those of the Naturhistorisches Museum Vienna, Landesmuseum Joanneum Graz, and many prominent local collections, according to this Mineralogical Record profile. Like Gamini Ratnavira, Könighofer also paints botanical subjects.
 

Gamini Ratnavira

Sri Lankan Gamini Ratnavira, whose life and work we profiled in December, is a close, close friend to Pala International, and in fact has his art studio and bird sanctuary on the Pala grounds. His paintings have focused on tropical plants and wildlife, but he has branched out into the world of mineral art with the help of Bill Larson’s choice subjects. He will be in Tucson, joining the group of mineral artists at this year’s Westward Look Show on Sunday evening.

A sample portrait by Gamini Ratnavira. Euclase from Colombia. (Illustrations courtesy of the artist)

Growing up near the Sri Lankan mines of Ratnapura (“city of gems”), Gamini developed an eye and appreciation for minerals and began painting tourmalines in the 1990s for a forthcoming book by Bill Larson. (Sixty out of a projected 100 of the paintings have been completed.) Additionally Gamini has painted dozens of originals for the renowned mineral dealer Dr. Rob Lavinsky and appears annually at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show. Internationally collected, his artwork can be visited at his website and at his gallery on BlueCap Productions.

[back to top]

Palaminerals.com

Pala International to debut website devoted to mineral specimens

Pala International will soon debut a new website, for the mineral devotee: Palaminerals.com. The website aims to offer the existing catalog (currently available from CollectorFineJewelry.com) in an updated format and with enhanced search capability.

We’ll notify both groups of our subscribers—minerals and gems—just as soon as the website goes online.

Will Larson, webmaster David Hughes, and Fallbrook IT pros Stephen Calia and Brent Dussia have guided the project through design and scripting phases. Features that users have come to rely on, via the sister site, Palagems.com, will be integrated into the site, including Mineral News from Pala International, which receives its new title and masthead, Pala Mineralis.

Why “Pala Mineralis”?

The literature of mineralogy predates the printing press of Johannes Gutenberg, himself a goldsmith and gem-cutter. Medieval mineralogical works, such as those by 13th century polymath Albertus Magnus, were some of the earliest to see the transition from manuscript to printed page, with his De Mineralibus Libri being published in 1476—only twenty years after the famous 42-line Bible. As stated in a bibliography by the late Curtis P. Schuh:

With Albertus Magnus' mineralogy, the study of minerals begins to emerge from its embryonic period into a full fledged science. The tradition of magical and curative powers in gems still permeates the text, but one feels the author fighting the superstitions of the ancient beliefs, and seeing the world in a new, more skeptical and practical view.

Although the coming renaissance would lead, as suggested above, to the Age of Reason, even Isaac Newton, as a scientist of his day, delved into alchemy and other esoteric investigations. And while the great age of the illuminated manuscript had since passed, illustrated manuscripts continued to be produced. One such work—perhaps at first glance more compelling for its arcane subject matter than its awkward imagery—is Cabala mineralis, a curious ~17th century alchemical treatise.

Alchemy was (is) concerned with investigation and, of course, transformation. And so it is both the curiosity-compelling and transformative power of nature’s creations, as we behold them, to which we pay homage in our echoing—rhyming, twinning—of a long forgotten alchemical text. Pala Mineralis. (Dulce et decorum est.)

The Virtual Museum beckons…

If the above discussion generates a jones for musty mineralogical tomes, a return visit to the Virtual Museum is in order.

Big Al. Yes, the Virtual Museum has a copy of De Mineralibus Libri; colophon: Patavii, Petrus Maufer for Antonius de Albricis, 20 September 1476.

It’s been some time since we looked at the Virtual Museum of the History of Mineralogy. According to the December 2009 Museum newsletter, the most recent additions to the collections have been in the categories most viewed by visitors to the virtual displays: goniometers and crystal models.

Since mid-summer, nine of the instruments have been added, as well as a mid-19th century set of twinned feldspar crystal models—a gift from a prominent Berlin collector to a prominent Berlin crystallographer. Also added was a lovely set of indicators for specific gravity measurement, circa late 19th century.

Earlier, during the first six months of 2009, the museum’s curators Paul Tambuyser and Claude Hootelé nearly doubled the size of the book collection, adding two dozen a month. View the images from Christian Ernst Wünsch’s 1781 Briefwechsel über die Naturprodukte... and then take me to task for my remarks above about “awkward” illustrations. The stuff is glorious. As are the other volumes featuring illustrations (highlighted in the museum’s July 2009 newsletter). These surely will accelerate anticipation of this month’s Mineral Artists Show at Tucson.     — David Hughes

[back to top]

The Recycle Bin

Here we point to items from Pala’s Gem News that pertain to mineral enthusiasts…

All That Glitters: San Diego Museum Launches
Two-Year Exhibition

Pala International to provide 100 gems and minerals

Previews. Above, a promotional piece for the upcoming exhibition. (Images courtesy San Diego Natural History Museum)

The San Diego Natural History Museum is opening an exciting new exhibit for all those gem lovers out there. “All that Glitters: The Splendor & Science of Gems and Minerals” will include mineral specimens, faceted gemstones, and designer jewelry. It tells the story from the formation of gems within the Earth to Man’s creations employing all the wonderful gem materials. The exhibit will appropriately focus on the fascinating array of gems and minerals found in San Diego County, along with a wide variety from major gem producing regions around the Earth.

Over 100 gems and mineral specimens will be provided by Pala International. Prominent names in the industry like Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, and Cartier will provide a wide range of original jewelry pieces. Harvard University, the Smithsonian, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston all will be adding to the extravaganza with more jewels and mineral specimens.

The exhibit opens May 15, 2010 and is scheduled to run through April 2012. “In addition to demonstrating the ‘splendor and science of gems and minerals,’ All That Glitters will have a playful side,” says Exhibition Curator and Graduate Gemologist Elise B. Misiorowski. “Jewels and carvings incorporating natural-history themes will give children as well as adults delightful surprises to hunt for. How many jeweled butterflies, birds, and flowers can you find? Which case contains the Faberge carved pig with diamond eyes?”

See the exhibition website for a look at the efforts underway to construct display installations as well as some of the pieces that will be included in the exhibition. The show’s inaugural week will culminate with the All That Glitters Gala. “The All That Glitters exhibition will seduce visitors with the beauty of these precious objects and fascinate them with the science of their formation, and the Gala will delight revelers with exquisite food, beautiful ambience and fantastic entertainment,” said Ellen Zinn, museum board member and Gala Chair, according to a press release containing more Gala details. [back to top]

Mineralogical Almanac to Feature Bill Larson Article

Russian journal’s next edition planned for Tucson

In December, we featured Will The Younger’s report on the phenomenon of Mineralientage München. This month, another world-class venue, Tucson, will feature the appearance of the elder Larson’s take on the Munich show, courtesy of the Russian journal, Mineralogical Almanac. If all goes as planned, the Almanac’s Ludmila Cheshko and Michael Leybov will have copies in tow, at the show.

We’ve seen a proof of the nicely illustrated article, which shines the spotlight on the Indian Exposition, the centerpiece of the 2009 Munich show. Munich this year featured some colossal mineral specimens. “It’s amazing to see the many tons of relatively perfect Indian mineral specimens which would be somewhat common if not for their enormous size,” Larson writes. “There are Stilbites, Quartzes, Quartz geodes, Calcites, Apophyllite in large formations rarely seen.”

As we stressed in our pre-show news item in October, the Munich show has much to offer fans of colored gemstones. A companion article by Jacques Touret, of Paris’s Musée de Minéralogie–Ecole des Mines, includes a page of faceted and sculpted beauties: luscious Mahenge spinels, 25–40 carats, and two aquamarine carvings—a 15–20-cm gold-beaked, sapphire-sighted falcon perched on a ruby-topped pedestal of gold and jasper, and a “frozen” aquamarine, which, at 15,950 carats, surely melted the hearts of its viewers.

See Mineralogical Almanac for more information. [back to top]

— End February Newsletter • Published 2/5/10 —