Pala’s Featured Specimens: Aquamarine from Pakistan
and Kunzite from Afghanistan

This month we feature a pair from Pakistan and Afghanistan. From the western front of the Himalaya Mountains we find a couple of exquisite crystals still carrying a chunk from the host rock.

Etched aquamarine, 12 x 10.5 x 10 cm. Price available upon request. (Photo: Mia Dixon)

This aquamarine is like a prismatic glacier poised in a bed of cleavelandite and accompanied by a quartz point. There are a of couple traces of pink apatite and possibly tantalite on the specimen as well. This aquamarine exsolved from its original form to its current etched shape, leaving a pastel-blue, gemmy, ice-like sculpture. This oddity comes to us from Shigar Valley, Pakistan.

Kunzite in matrix, 7.3 x 5.5 x 7.4 cm. Price available upon request. (Photo: Jeff Scovil)

Just across the border, in Afghanistan, we find this classic pink prismatic kunzite crystal still wrapped in the pegmatite host. It’s a classic lilac kunzite blade over 7 cm and very gemmy. It is quite a rare find to see kunzite still attached to the matrix; almost all of the specimens seem to be loose single crystals. A choice specimen for gem crystal collectors, from the Pech, Konar Province, Afghanistan.

Interested? Call or email us to inquire. [back to top]

Glass Act – Part Two

Gemstone models and specimens from Czechoslovakia

In our sibling e-newsletter last month we featured a collection of hand-cut glass crystal models, pictureed at right, acquired by Pala International’s Bill Larson this year at the Denver show. The set of models now has a place in the Virtual Museum of the History of Mineralogy.

Bill brought out three more collections, which we share here. We begin with a set of 72 glass models of faceted and cabochon gemstones from the early 20th century.

According to the enclosed table, this set is from Rovensko Pod Troskami, Semily, Czechoslovakia, early 20th century. Seventy-two colored glass gemstone models (size ranging from 1.10 to 1.95 cm), attached hand-tinted legend, loose Tabulka (table, 47.5 x 31 cm) compiled by P. Homola, teacher training school in Turnov, in chamois-leather, linen lined inner lid and faux leather covered case (36.5 x 25 x 2.5 cm). Click images to enlarge. (Photos: Mia Dixon)

The enclosed table lists Name, Species, Color, Crystal System, Density, Hardness, Refractive Index, Refraction, Circular Dichroism, Locality, Shape Cuts, Application Note. Click images to enlarge. (Photos: Mia Dixon)

The second collection, also from the early 20th century, contains 24 models of faceted and cabochon gemstones.

Unsigned, from Czechoslovakia, 24 colored glass gemstone models (size ranging from 1.5 to 2.4 cm) with German-language labels in chamois-leather, silk-like lined inner lid and black leatherette case (21 x 17.5 x 2.4 cm). Click images to enlarge. (Photos: Mia Dixon)

Lastly, a set of 24 gemstone specimens from Bohemia.

Unsigned, 24 gemstone specimens in individual cardboard boxes, secured by cotton or glue with a loose glass lid (size ranging from 0.6 to 5 cm) with Slovak-language labels and affixed writeup by V. Lejsek, Kozákovské drahé kameny (Kozákov gemstones), in hard cardboard and black faux leather covered case (37.5 x 31 x 5 cm). Added label: “Collection of Czech Gemstones/ North Bohemia Region/ Bohemia, 19 th. [sic] century.” Click images to enlarge. (Photos: Mia Dixon)

[back to top]

Medusa Emerald at Natural History Museum

(Photo courtesy Library of Congress)

In 1907, George Gibbs, above, published his novel The Medusa Emerald. His illustrations appeared in many magazines as well as his own books. Today we have the opportunity to see the real Medusa Emerald on display at London’s Natural History Museum. This unique specimen is being presented in the museum’s Green Zone exhibition area known as The Vault. The specimen was mined in Zambia in 2008 and sent to The Collector’s Edge in Colorado to be cleaned of its quartz matrix.

After and before. Above, the Medusa emerald after being released from its matrix, below. (Photos courtesy The Collector’s Edge)

The Medusa began its one-year exhibition on July 20. Also in The Vault are:

• The Devonshire Emerald, at 1,383.93 carats, one of the largest uncut emeralds in the world
• The Tissint Martian meteorite, which fell near the Moroccan village of Tissint in the summer of 2011
• The Esquel pallasite, a meteorite embedded with gem-quality olivine crystals, found in 1951 in Argentina
• The rare Dar Al Gani meteorite, from the Moon, found in 1998 in Libya

[back to top]

Below are four recent items from our sibling publication, Palagems Reflective Index, will be of interest to mineralophiles.

Mad for Munich

Pala International loves to have had the opportunity over the last two years to have floor space at the Munich Show. This year, Pala also contributed to the show’s themed exhibition, “African Secrets.” Several Pala people were caught in the camera lens of fellow Southern Californians Eloïse Gaillou and Alyssa Morgan, members of the Mineral Sciences staff of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, who attended the show. Behind-the-scenes shots and more are included in Gaillou’s Minblog post.

Quartet No. 1. Trapiche emeralds from Colombia at the Munich Show. For a look at this phenomenon in other material, see “Trapiche Tourmaline from Zambia.” (Photo courtesy Eloïse Gaillou)

Quartet No. 2. Left to right, dealer Christophe Gobin, photographer Jeff Scovil, dealer Alain Martaud, and your host of her virtual tour on MinBlog, Eloïse Gaillou. (Photo courtesy Eloïse Gaillou)

And Pala pix…

The photos below are included, with ten more, in “Munich 2012” on Palagems.com.

Escargot mignon. Here’s Christophe Gobin again, holding “The Snail.” Rarely, in a photo, do you get a sense of scale for the little snail. (Photo: Bill Larson)

“He what?!” Bill Larson, reacting to news that Christophe dropped “The Snail.” (Photo: Bill Larson)

Will Larson was quoted in Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany’s most popular national daily newspaper. We provide a rough translation of a excerpt below.

The darling of German windowsills, “The Snail” is an approximately fist-sized rhodochrosite, shaped like a black worm with a red “house.” “I like the shape,” says Will Larson, a young man dressed in a purple shirt, and as he says it, he shows almost childlike enthusiasm. Will’s father [Bill] said the specimen was discovered* from the South Africa N’Chwaning mine during manganese removal. The Austrian dealer and collector Rudolf Watzl estimates the value of the specimen at about ten million euros. [Implying that it is invaluable,] he says, “This is your possession, but not with money to offset,” looking longingly at the glittering red. These minerals show that, in the Larson home, value is put into curious shapes, such as Will’s “Mickey Mouse” and “deadmau5,” precious stones in orange [olmiite] and green [prehnite], which strikingly resemble their namesakes.

“The value of the pieces is not calculated in price,” says Will Larson, who works day-in-day-out with mineral specimens: “It is the love of their beauty.” And that is there to be seen—if the grandeur of the stones is reflected in the eyes of the beholder.
_______________
*The German-language version of the article states, inaccurately, that “The Snail” had been “smuggled” (geschmuggelt) from the mine.

[back to top]

Gems & Gemology Features Pala Pieces

Pala International is cover star of the current Gems & Gemology journal, issued last month by GIA. The specimen and stones, photographed by Robert Weldon, herald the featured article, “Gemstones from Vietnam: An Update,” by Dr. Le Thi-Thu Huong and a team of coauthors. The article discusses the country’s major gemstones, highlighting recent production and new finds. New information is included on the gemological properties and chemical composition of ruby, sapphire, spinel, tourmaline, garnet and peridot from the major localities. Other stones also are reviewed.

The luscious jumble of a ruby specimen pictured above is from Luc Yen, in northeastern Vietnam. It’s in the collection of Bill Larson. Luc Yen produces a host of gemstones and minerals, as listed in this Mindat entry.

The three faceted gemstones, from Pala International, also hail from northern Vietnam. Left to right, they are a 1.97-carat blue spinel, a 5.07-carat red spinel, and a 2.27-carat ruby.

About that ruby specimen…

Will Larson shares a remarkable memory regarding acquisition of the specimen.

When I was 12 years old my father took me on a Southeast Asia tour visiting Burma, Thailand and Vietnam. Vietnam was our last stop and was an amazing experience. I remember flying into Hanoi, and my father pointed out the Russian-made planes, which looked rusty and old. He said we will not fly on those because of safety issues, and sure enough a few days later one crashed trying to land at Siem Reap Airport in Cambodia. After clearing customs we arrived at the house of my father’s contact, Sun Ta. The architecture is different, as they are very narrow but tall, three-story homes. What I probably remember most was that Sun Ta had a side business making T-shirts, like the ones you see at the store for fifteen dollars with cheap print on them. It was cool, I thought, to make your own T-shirt and being at the age of 12 I was fascinated with how it all worked. I played around and I was allowed to stamp my own shirt that I still have to this day (although a little small). We checked into our hotel and then got some shut-eye because we had to leave late that night to make it to the Luc Yen Women’s Market by 5:30 a.m. when it opened. The trip was about 225 km on many dirt roads, today an estimated 3 hours and 32 minutes on Google Maps, but on our trip took us closer to 7 hours. The trip was bumpy and I was so sleepy it was painful. The guy in the back of the Mitsubishi Pajero was riding in the trunk clutching an AK-47; I’m sure it was even more uncomfortable for him.

Aquamarine from the collection of Will Larson, acquired when he was twelve years old. (Photo: Wimon Manorotkul)

I couldn’t wake up for the Women’s Market, as I had passed out in the back seat of the car, but at 6:30 the Men’s Market opened and my dad came back just before to wake me up and show me what he had purchased at the Women’s Market. I was able to purchase a few things: small spinels and tourmalines including an aquamarine crystal I still own. As we walked around the village the people of this area had not seen a Caucasian child before and found me very curious. At one point in the mid-afternoon I had about 300 people following me just to get a closer look and of course they loved to touch my hair, as it was good luck. I was also asked when I would marry by many of the young girls who seemed to be around my age and already had a two-year-old child. Farming villages are very different in Vietnam than here; it was quite a culture shock back then. I started thinking about what I should do for marriage and when I should have children. Ha! I was a cute and confused twelve-year-old. We stayed for just part of the day, as we had an appointment with the doctor on the return back to Hanoi that evening.

Our trip back was full of adventure. The first thing we saw was a small open-pit in the middle of a rice paddy field. They were in fact digging for gems and allowed my father and me to see what they were doing. I found a few small bits of ruby in the stream that they let me keep. The farmers who were digging brought us a few pieces they had found earlier that had promoted the digging. It was unfortunately nothing too exciting, but there was a cute little spinel. Regrettably due to some circumstances they were unable to sell us the piece, so we moved on to continue our journey.

It’s no “deadmau5,” but it’s not everyday that you find a Mogok ruby crystal (Inv. #19383) that mimics the Venus of Willendorf. (Photo above: Mia Dixon)

We stopped off to visit a doctor that, rumor had it, owned a few great ruby crystals from Luc Yen. We were greeted warmly and treated to some very good hot tea. The doctor then brought out his collection of ruby and it was amazing because we had never seen this kind of quality before. Out of everything we saw in the Women’s and Men’s markets, his collection was far better. The problem was he was not really interested in selling any of the pieces from his collection piece by piece, as he loved them all. Ruby is very good luck in Vietnamese culture. He did tell us that if he was able to get enough for these then he could perhaps purchase the condo he wanted, and this was in 1997 so condo prices were about the value of his rubies. So he said he would maybe work it out. We of course wanted to buy it all but didn’t have enough money on us. As we negotiated and negotiated we were forced to call my mother at midnight in the U.S. so that we could do a money transfer. Unfortunately we found out there was really no way of transferring the money to Vietnam without using a Visa card that had heavy fees associated with it, but it would be done quickly. Luckily the doctor was able to negotiate a better price on the condominium and this allowed him to reduce the price of his collection so we could then finalize the deal. One of the crystals from that deal is on the cover of Gems & Gemology.

It was a long, bouncy, and slow ride back to Hanoi and we were all exhausted. It was about 6 p.m. when it started to get dark and I was nodding off trying to get some sleep. I remember waking up to a large bounce, undoubtedly caused by a big pothole. Soon after, we drove over train tracks when a loud bang and then shouting occurred. A motorcycle had hit us from behind and the driver appeared to be quite drunk. Our contact told us to keep our heads down and to not show anyone we were foreigners. Being twelve years old I just couldn’t help myself and I popped my head up as far as I dared to sneak a look. I remember watching our driver get out of the car, walking to the back by the motorcycle and was very calm as he approached the motorcyclist. In my memory I imagine him talking off aviator sunglasses, but I know he wasn’t wearing them since it was too dark, but what he did do was take out something from his pocket and flash it real quietly. I never got to see what it was, but as soon as it was out the driver of the motorcycle turned around and ran away, leaving behind his motorcycle and the crowd that had now grown around the drama. Later I found out he was working for the CID (central intelligence agency) in Vietnam and the guy who hit us obviously didn’t want to mess with that. After that our journey back to Hanoi continued without any problems. A few days later we headed home with the Southeast Asia trip concluded. [back to top]

Haut Heels from Chanel

From Cannes to Munich to La Jolla, mineral crystals are gracing the display windows and cases of Chanel and J. Crew, courtesy Brice Gobin and Larsons Jeanne, Bill, and Will.

Brice Gobin spotted this display in Cannes last month, on the Promenade de la Croisette. The mannequin even has amethyst eyebrows, he told us.

Jeanne Larson noticed a similar display, in Munich. She told us that the quartz matrix and gray beryl of the heels actually are rendered in plastic. We liked the contrast of the (also plastic) oversized crystal terminations and the reflected windows and doors.

Bill Larson spotted this image in the Bangkok airport. The ad’s model features slabs of Brazilian agate.

Storefront of the J. Crew in La Jolla, where Pala’s Will Larson saw…

…display cases of jewelry perched on quartz crystals.

[back to top]

Mineralientage München 49th Munich Mineral Show
October 26–28, 2012

Pala International will be in Hall A6 Pavilion Booth 27

Pala International will be offering fine mineral specimens at this year’s Munich Show.

When: October 26–28, 2012
Where: Munich Trade Fair Centre
Hours:
   Friday, October 26: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM (Trade only)
   Saturday, October 27: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
   Sunday, October 28: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Booth: Hall A6 Pavilion Booth 27

This year’s special exhibit is titled “African Secrets,” which will feature more than 300 pieces from private collections as well as those of museums in London, Paris, Milan, Johannesburg, Brussels, Los Angeles and Luxembourg. Localities and minerals represented will be vanadinites from Mibladen in Morocco, malachites and wulfenites from Congo, tanzanites from Tanzania, and tourmalines, aquamarines, fluorites and more from Erongo and Tsumeb in Namibia. De Beers will exhibit one of its largest octahedron diamonds at the show. This exhibit will be covered in the debut of the Theme Book, a high-quality hardcover, which will be published in addition to the show catalog. Both publications will be delivered from the show store beginning October 1.

Zoisite, whose blue and violet varieties are known as tanzanite (below left, Inv. #20398), comes in a range of hues, as shown below right (Inv. #19328). The yellow-green crystal pictured above has hints of blue at opposite angles, with the lower quarter sporting a lavender color. Inventory #19245 from Palaminerals.com. All items from Tanzania. (Photos: Above, John McLean; below, Mia Dixon)

As usual, there are many activities for the junior set, such as gemstone faceting, but another activity is available to children of all ages—if you are visually impaired, that is. The “Comprehending Stones” exhibit, presented by Mr. and Mrs. Schwinghammer, is hands-on, “from the edgy surface of a pyrite to the soft texture of a soapstone.”

For more information visit the show website. See the Pala International Show Schedule for future events.

See our ad in this year’s program. The specimen is now in the collection of Ron Gladnick. For more on the collection, see Pala Presents below.

[back to top]

California Mining and Mineral Museum Robbed

Last Friday afternoon, a robbery occurred at the California State Mining and Mineral Museum in Mariposa. According to a State Parks press release, “a number of display cases, doors and other items were damaged by the approximately two suspects who entered the museum and stole an undetermined amount of precious minerals.” The parks agency was in the process of conducting an inventory of missing items, per the October 1 release. A Los Angeles Times story estimated the stolen loot to be worth as much as $2 million. That story claimed that the remaining valuables have been moved off site for the inventorying.

Any leads regarding this robbery should be given to the California Highway Patrol – Central Division Investigative Services Unit at 559.277.7250.

[back to top]

Crystal Set

In our last edition of Pala Mineralis, we called attention to outsized Mickey Mouse ears of geodic amethyst from northern Uruguay, courtesy of Sergio Aramburu, of Uruguay Amethyst (see website). This time around it is rabbit ears from a Stone Age television…

Wired. Above, a quartz crystal formation in a “V” arrangement. Below, amethyst with calcite. (Photos: Sergio Aramburu)

Mesa de las montañas. Calcite with varieties of colored quartz, including amethyst. (Photo: Sergio Aramburu)

At last month’s show in Denver, collector Gene Meieran, center, is made an honorary member of Uruguay Amethyst, for his support and help. Sergio Aramburu is second from right. (Photo courtesy Sergio Aramburu)

[back to top]

Exhibition of Ron Gladnick Collection

By Will Larson

With Pala Presents, we offer selections from the library of Pala International’s Bill Larson, who will share with us some of the wealth of information in the realm of minerals and mineralogy. The present article happens to be from the pen of Pala’s Will Larson.

During this year’s Westward Look Show in Tucson, the mineral collection featured on Collector’s Day was that of Ron Gladnick. In this year’s third edition of Mineralogical Almanac, Will Larson takes us through the metamorphosis of Gladnick’s collecting focus, which didn’t begin with fine mineral specimens.

We are pleased to reprint the article, “Exhibition of Ron Gladnick Collection” in our Pala Presents series.

From the Collection… Kunzite. 7.3 x 5.5 cm. Pech, Konar Province, Afghanistan. (Photo: Jeff Scovil)

[back to top]

Two recent items from our sibling publication, Palagems Reflective Index, will be of interest to mineralophiles.

University of Arizona’s Virtual Geology

The University of Arizona has a thriving mineralogy program, and is host to the RRUFF Project, an integrated database of Raman spectra, X-ray diffraction and chemistry data for minerals. Two UA geoscientists also are involved in NASA’s Curiosity rover. Prof. Bob Downs and graduate student Shaunna Morrison are “primary data downlink leaders,” members of a team charged with IDing the minerals that come Curiosity’s way on its two-year journey on Mars. Read all about the high technology behind the project here.

Hmm…

[back to top]

Bill Larson to Present at Dallas Symposium:
August 25, 2012

The theme of this year’s symposium is “Expeditions to Bring Out Mineral Specimens from Around the World.” Pala’s Bill Larson will present on “Burma’s Ancient Valley of Gems and Rubies,” regarding travels to the source in Mogok. Herb Obodda will discuss “Dangerous Beauty: Minerals of the Hindu Kush,” regarding the opening of Afghanistan and Pakistan for mineral specimens, 1969–present. Mineral cleaning and preparation technology will be handled by Jon Voelter. Rock Currier will look at “Exploring the Mines of Dal’negorsk, Siberia,” and Les Presmyk will discuss “Bisbee, Arizona: History, Significance and Treasures.”

Two sessions will address “Science for the Collector.” Dr. David London, of the University of Oklahoma, will speak on “Gem-Forming Pegmatites: How Nature Makes Big, Clear Crystals.” Dr. Peter Megaw, president of IMDEX/Cascabel, will present on “Formation of Open Pockets of Collectible Crystals in Carbonate Replacement Deposits – Tsumeb , Dal’negorsk and Milpillas.”

Seating is limited, so see the symposium website for details.

Last year’s symposium featured luminaries from seven institutions from across the country. It’s available from BlueCap Productions. Just enter the code  palaintl when you’re asked for it while ordering. What’s Hot In Tucson 2012 and What’s Hot In Munich 2011 also are available. Click images below for more info.

[back to top]

Pala at Colorado Mineral & Fossil Show
September 12–16, 2012

Pala International will be at the Colorado Mineral & Fossil Show.

• When: Sept. 12–16, 2012
• Where: Ramada Plaza Hotel (formerly Holiday Inn Denver–Central), 4849 Bannock St.
  • Room 183
• Hours:
  Wed.–Sat.: 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.
  Sun.: 10 a.m.– 5 p.m.

We look forward to seeing our many friends there. For more information visit the show website.

Fluorite crystals, x3, from St. Peter’s Dome, Pike’s Peak, Colorado, 3 x 5.8 x 3.5 cm. Two of the specimen’s three labels: one from the Collection of T. M. Phetteplace and the other stating it was acquired in November 1946. It’s available. (Photo: John McLean)

Visit the Pala International Show Schedule for future events. [back to top]

Blues Brothers: Scott and Lavinsky Honored with New Mineral Monikers

Scientists at the University of Arizona have identified two new minerals from the Wessels Mine, Kalahari Manganese Field, in north central South Africa. The material was produced in 2011, while miners searched for the well-known gem sugilite from this locality.

The first of the new minerals is scottyite, named in honor of Michael M. “Scotty” Scott, the first CEO of Apple Computer and gem collector extraordinaire. Scottyite forms millimetric masses of cobalt-blue color without cleavage. It has the chemical formula BaCu₂Si₂O₇, and orthorhombic symmetry. The synthetic equivalent of scottyite has unusual magnetic properties, which makes it interesting to semiconductor researchers. (Before Apple, Scott was director of manufacturing at National Semiconductor.) More information and photographs are available at RRUFF. See also our 2005 profile of Scott’s collection at Palagems.com.

Blues brothers. Photographed here is a co-type specimen of both species, showing the intense blue mixture of scottyite and lavinskyite in slate-blue richterite as well as the white pectolite matrix, 2.5 cm tall. Click to enlarge. (Marcus J. Origlieri specimen and photograph)

Scottyite is associated with the second new mineral, lavinskyite, a lithium copper silicate related to plancheite. The name honors Dr. Robert M. “Rob” Lavinsky, proprietor of the mineral superstore The Arkenstone. Lavinskyite forms blue, bright acicular crystals, in association with scottyite, richterite, and pectolite. More information and photographs are available at RRUFF.

The International Mineralogical Association just approved the new mineral appellations in June 2012. Congratulations!

Michael Scott, left, and Rob Lavinsky, recently had new minerals named in their honor.

A young Rob Lavinsky pictured in Christine Pfaff’s “Spotlight on Juniors” column, Rocks & Minerals, Jan–Feb 1990.

RRUFF is an integrated database of experimental mineral information, including X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe, Raman and IR spectroscopy of minerals. More information here.

[back to top]

The Igneous Rocks of the Mogok Stone Tract

Concluding Chapters of a PhD Dissertation by Kyaw Thu

With Pala Presents, we offer selections from the library of Pala International’s Bill Larson, who will share with us some of the wealth of information in the realm of minerals and mineralogy.

In this installment, we present Chapters VII and VIII of Kyaw Thu’s 2007 PhD dissertation, which survey the petrogenesis and geochronology of the Mogok Stone Tract’s igneous rocks.

Five major sections are devoted to economic geology.

• Classification of Mogok Gemstone Deposits
• Gemstone Deposits in Pegmatite
• Gemstone Deposits in Syenite
• Peridot Deposits
• Gemstones in Skarn

The summary and conclusions are covered in seven sections.

• Objectives and Scope of the Research
• Geological Features
• Petrography
• Petrochemistry and Interpretations
• Petrogenesis
• Geochronology
• Gemstones

The Appendices consist of spectrographic images.

Figure 7.10. (a) Topaz crystal in pegmatite groundmass; (b) some big terminated topaz crystals; (c) topaz crystal penetrates in quartz with muscovite at the base; (d) unusual aquamarine cat’s eye, 90.80 carats, from Sakhan-gyi; (e) herderite crystal, 23.02 carats; (f) rough (120 g) and faceted (6.202 carats) yellow scheelites; (g) large elongated quartz crystal (10 cm in length); (h) large goshenite crystal, 8 x 6 x 4 cm, shows prism, pyramid and basal pinacoid

[back to top]

Three recent items from our sibling publication, Palagems Reflective Index, will be of interest to mineralophiles.

Dr. Shah’s Gem & Jewelry Stamp Museum

In late June, Dr. Rajnikant Shah unveiled a virtual museum devoted to postage stamps of gemstones, minerals, jewelry, clocks, coins, and gold and silver. The museum database has over 10,000 items. Visitors can easily filter down to an area of particular interest. A search function also is available.

From Kenya, this first day cover features stamps depicting galena, rhodolite, ruby, grossular, fluorite, sapphire, tourmaline, aquamarine, trona, amazonite, gypsum, kyanite, amethyst and agate. See the website for larger image. (Image courtesy Dr. R. Shah)

According to the website, Dr. Shah began collecting at school in Jaipur, India, in the year of the country’s independence, 1947. The first stamps came from his parents, who lived in Burma. Thirty years later, he found himself in the United States in his family’s profession: gemstones. The travel that the business required gave him access to stamps from a variety of countries. In his choice of philatelic themes, he brought together his hobby with his profession.

Visit Dr. Shah’s Gem & Jewelry Stamp Museum here. [back to top]

Pala’s Carranza Connection

The following was a postscript to last month’s gem news item on the Colombian emerald trade vis-à-vis the impending death of Victor Carranza, the country’s “Emerald Czar.”

Pala International has owned and sold some of the world’s finest mineral specimens. As president Bill Larson likes to muse there are no absolute criteria for what is the finest, but often a piece comes along that is certainly revered. One such is the Yamile emerald specimen. Found in the Muzo mine and named for Victor Carranza’s youngest daughter, it is now in the collection of businesswoman and philanthropist Lyda Hill, perhaps destined to grace the hall of minerals in the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. (A merger of three Dallas museums, including the MNS, will result in a new museum, opening in January, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.)

Two views of the Yamile emerald mineral specimen. Above, photographed by Rodrigo Moncada from his Colombian Jewelry – History & Art. Below, photographed by Harold and Erica Van pelt, from Thompson’s Ikons.

Pala’s involvement began with Bill Larson being shown the piece in Munich in the late 1990s. The price at that time was in the multi-millions of dollars. The interesting part for Larson was not only the two large, superb colored emerald crystals typical of Muzo, but also that the mineral specimen had been carefully removed from a pocket so that it retained perfect, large, beautiful twinned calcite crystals. Pala followed the specimen until it resurfaced a few years later, at a considerably reduced price. This time the piece was in possession of an emerald dealer who had supplied cut emeralds to Pala for years. Larson suggested a unique situation: an offer of purchasing half and leaving Carranza with 50% ownership. This deal was approved and Larson called upon his long-time friend Wayne Thompson to purchase 25%. This he did. The emerald would later be featured on page 157 in Thompson’s now-famous book Ikons: Classics and Contemporary Masterpieces of Mineralogy.

Then-GIA president Bill Boyajian holds the Yamile emerald specimen. Upon seeing it, Boyajian told author-photographer Moncada that the Yamile was the finest such specimen he had seen in his life. (Photo: Rodrigo Moncada)

Pala cleaned the specimen and had several of the broken areas trimmed to near perfection. After holding the specimen for a year, Pala sold the piece to Fine Minerals International. The profit was split among the partners. Fine Minerals took the risk and trimmed away the few remaining flaws and then later sold the specimen to Lyda Hill. Hopefully the public will be able to visit this great memory of the Muzo mines and the legend of the Emerald Czar. [back to top]