Tucson Time – January 31–February 11, 2007

Following the holidays, make your plans for the world’s greatest gem and mineral show in February. Pala International will be represented, as follows.

Event: AGTA GemFair
When: January 31–February 5 , 2007
Where: Tucson Convention Center
Booth: 1016–1018

Event: Westward Look Mineral Show
When: February 2–6, 2007
Where: Westward Look Resort
Suite: 236
Website: Official show website

Event: 52nd Annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show
When: February 8–11, 2007
Where: Tucson Convention Center
Booth: Aisle 5 East

We look forward to seeing our many friends there. Visit the Pala International Show Schedule for future events. [back to top]

Denver Show Pix

Mike Wise (above left) a Geologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, with Jeff Post, the museum’s Curator-in-Charge. Below, Pala International’s John McLean with Palagems.com webmaster David Hughes, in the Pala sales room at the 2006 Colorado Mineral & Fossil Show.

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Mineralientage München
43rd Munich Mineral Show
November 3–5, 2006

Azurite specimen (Bisbee, AZ) from the special exhibit.

Pala International’s Bill Larson will attend this major mineral show.

• When: Nov. 3–5, 2006
• Where: Munich Trade Fair Centre, Main Entrance West Halls B1, B2, B3

This year’s special exhibit is titled “Masterpieces: Rembrandts and Picassos of Nature.” It will include a 2000-ct. topaz and the biggest emerald crystal of North America, courtesy the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

For more information visit the show website. See the Pala International Show Schedule for future events. [back to top]

IMA General Meeting, Kobe Japan: A Report

By Marcus J. Origlieri, Ph.D.

The International Mineralogical Association (IMA) formed in 1958 to “further international co-operation in the mineralogical sciences and to promote wider community awareness among international groups having Earth Science interests.” The association currently has members from 38 different countries. The work of the IMA includes the operations of the Commission of New Minerals Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC). The CNMNC sanctions the publication of new mineral names and decides on the appropriate nomenclature for minerals.

Will Larson (right) distributes Pala International’s Minerals from Japan reprint to Japanese mineralogist attendees.

The IMA holds a General Meeting every four years; this year the meeting took place in Kobe, Japan. The opening ceremony of the meeting, held in July, included a personal message from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. In honor of the meeting, schools in the Kobe area had a special “mineral appreciation” day.

Publications of Note

A Catalogue of Japanese Minerals

Two new publications on the mineralogy of Japan appeared during the conference. The first of these was published through the auspices of Pala International (see previous Mineral News). This publication, entitled Minerals from Japan, consists of a collection of reprints published in the Journal Rocks and Minerals. The articles discuss mineral collections, mineral shows, and field collecting in Japan, by John Rakovan (University of Miami, Ohio), Masao Kitamura and Osuma Tamada (Kyoto University), and Alfredo Petrov (Peekskill, New York).

The second publication, prepared by Satoshi Matsubara and Ritsuro Miyawaki, is titled A Catalogue of Japanese Minerals (Tokai University Press). Both these authors work as mineralogists at the National Science Museum in Tokyo. Matsubara began publishing catalogues of the mineral species of Japan in 1982. This book is the sixth edition, the first to be illustrated. Dr. Matsubara has issued numerous publications on topographic mineralogy of Japan, and for these contributions collaborators have named matsubaraite in his honor. The second author, Dr. Miyawaki, solves crystal structures of minerals, and has participated in the description of several new minerals from Japan.

Presentation Highlights

There were many contributions of interest to the mineral collector and gemologist. Frank Hawthorne (University of Manitoba, Winnipeg) presented a talk about amphibole nomenclature, wherein a group of IMA members is proposing a new nomenclature. This has an effect on the naming of certain gem materials, especially tremolite, actinolite, and pargasite.

Michiaki Bunno, Director of the Geological Museum (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology), delivers his presentation, “Mineral Collections and Mineralogical Museums in Japan – A Review.”

Professor Downs from the University of Arizona discussed the RRUFF Project (see our story below), which intends to obtain Raman spectral data for the entire mineral kingdom. The data collected for this endeavor is available to the public at www.rruff.info. These data enable the rapid identification of gems and minerals with a Raman spectrometer.

A session on gemstones began with a paper by Dr. James Shigley of the GIA on “HPHT-treated colorless and colored diamonds,” indicating that spectroscopy enables the distinction of treated from untreated stones. Emmanuel Fritsch discussed a specific mechanism of brown coloration in diamond. In an interesting talk on emeralds, Carlo Aurisicchio indicated that trace element chemistry allows determination of emerald origin. The session culminated in a talk by Ahmadjan Abduriyim on LA-ICP-MS analysis, which allows the detection and quantification of beryllium diffusion in corundum.

The full list of scientific sessions is available. The next General Meeting will be held in Budapest in 2010.

 
Marcus J. Origlieri, a longtime friend of Pala International, also was a presenter at the IMA General Meeting in Kobe, on the topic of “Crystal structure and bonding in the new mineral AsSbO₃.” [back to top]

Pala’s Featured Mineral Specimens: Malachite and Fluorite

In this edition of Mineral News we feature two small, exquisite cabinet specimens.

The first is a classic old Tsumeb pseudomorph of malachite replacing azurite. This is an exciting piece; as can be seen, the view angle is good from either side. The specimen was exchanged from the Gene Meirans collection. Mounted on a custom Sunnywood lucite base, it is a fine show-quality piece for the advanced collector. Price: $5500.00

Malachite after azurite from Tsumeb, Namibia, 7 x 5 cm. (Photos: Wimon Manorotkul)

Our second featured piece is a vivid Moroccan fluorite on barite. This wonderful, bright, unusually colored specimen is very different from most Moroccan fluorites we have seen. Mined in 2004, it comes from the Taourirt Mine (near Taourirt, 108 km. south of Oujda, in the Oriental Region). It is very well priced at $400.00.

Fluorite on barite from Taourirt, Morocco, 8 x 7.4 cm; the largest cube is 1.8 x 1.3 x 1.5 cm. This specimen has been sold. (Photo: Wimon Manorotkul)

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A Project in the RRUFF

A group of researchers at the University of Arizona (UA) and Caltech, known as The RRUFF™ Project, has been quietly developing an online database for mineral identification. Their aim: “creating a complete set of high quality spectral data from well characterized minerals and... developing the technology to share this information with the world.”

Data search. Screenshot of the RRUFF™ data lookup form.

Remember the Tricorder?

Star Trek fans are familiar with the “tricorder,” operated by waving over material to identify its chemical composition. Recent breakthroughs in miniaturization of spectroscopy instruments (known by the name of Raman after the Nobel prize winner, C.V. Raman) hold the promise of bringing such hand-held spectral identification to reality. Such a device is being developed by the UA team, but “[t]o use the vibrational spectrum as an identification tool, one must reference against a previously established database,” a project brochure explains. “The RUFF™ Project is developing such a database...”

Raman spectrometer. Dr. Downs conducts spectral analysis as part of the RRUFF™ Project. (Photo: Downs laboratory, UA)

So for the first time, using instruments constructed from off-the-shelf components such as presentation pointer-type lasers, mineral and gem enthusiasts will able to compare their findings against reference ID entries—plural. As the RRUFF™ brochure points out, the database provides:

• easy retrieval of multiple data sets for a given sample
• expansibility to include data from alternative analysis and characterization
• linked documentation and references.

Sample detail. Screenshot of one of four sample detail records returned on a search of “Tourmaline.”

The database work is being performed by research groups of Drs. Robert T. Downs, M. Bonner Denton (UA Departments of Geosciences and Chemistry, respectively), and George Rossman (Caltech Geological and Planetary Science). The project is being sponsored by gemstone connoisseur Michael Scott.

IMA to House the Database

At the July meeting of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) [Note: This links to a PDF], held in Kobe, Japan, it was decided that “IMA will move ahead with plans to become the home of the mineral database known as the RRUFF project.”

How to Help

Thumbnail samples of very rare minerals are still needed to complete the project library. Gem and mineral collectors, dealers, and enthusiasts are urged to contact The RRUFF™ Project. [back to top]

Moon Over the Pamirs: Richard Hughes et al. in Tajikistan

In July, Richard Hughes, Vincent Pardieu, Dana Schorr, and Guillaume Soubiraa ventured to Tajikistan to see for themselves the source of rubies appearing in Bangkok and being offered by email from Uzbekistan.

A handful of sapphire and garnet crystals offered to Hughes and company in the Wakhan Corridor, including one on matrix. (Photo: © Richard W. Hughes/RWH Publishing)

Their travels and bureaucratic travails take us from the relative European splendor of the capital Dushanbe, to Khorog (headquarters of the restricted spinel mining area), to the Kuh-i-Lal mines—some of the oldest in the world—on the Panj River at the Afghanistan border. What they’d heard, however, didn’t jibe with what they saw: no red spinel.

Then east on the Pamir highway, bedding down with (well not with) Kyrgyz hosts in what Hughes calls “Yurtisan” (after the portable dwellings—complete with East Coast-style radiators), and on to Murghab and the ruby mines of Snijnie on the Chinese border. They were not disappointed this time. While they were denied viewing or purchasing samples, they saw evidence of ruby in the marble matrix, and were told that the largest fine crystal was 200 grams.

A miner rests during lunch at Tajikistan’s ruby mines near the Chinese border. (Photo: © Richard W. Hughes/RWH Publishing)

Then back to Dushanbe (via the Wakhan Corridor—and Kuh-i-Lal), and after much haggling with the mysterious “Gubjemast Company,” finally to view ruby samples.

Read the full story on ruby-sapphire.com and fieldgemology.com. [back to top]

August 16: Ste-Marie Specimens Added

We’ve added several new specimens obtained at the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines show.

Pala at Colorado Mineral & Fossil Show
September 13–17, 2006

Fluorite-rhodochrosite from Silverton, Colorado, 11.2 cm. (Photo: Jeffrey Scovil)

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

• When: Sept. 13–17, 2006
• Where: 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.

Visit the Pala International Show Schedule for future events.

East Coast Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

This East Coast show is scheduled for August 11–13, 2006, in Springfield, MA. Get all the details here. [back to top]

GIA Symposium Features Pala Crystals, Presentation
August 27–29, 2006

Panel Presentation: “In the Jungle:
Locality of Origin – Does It Really Matter?”

Pala International President Bill Larson will present at this year’s Gemological Institute of America Symposium, to be held August 27–29, 2006. Larson will share a panel with Lore Kiefert (AGTA lab director) and Christopher Smith (GIA NY lab research manager), moderated by Gary Roskin (Jewelers’ Circular Keystone Senior Editor).

• When: August 28, 2006
• Time: 4:00–5:30 p.m.
• Where: Manchester Grand Hyatt, One Market Place, San Diego
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This blue cap tourmaline will be on display. (Photo: Harold and Erica Van Pelt)

Exhibition: “Celebrating Excellence in Gems and Jewelry”

In time for the Symposium, and extending through November, GIA will unveil a new display setup in the rotunda of the main building of its Carlsbad campus.

The inaugural exhibition, “Celebrating Excellence in Gems and Jewelry,” will include “super fine” local tourmaline and Burma ruby crystals from the collection of Pala’s Bill Larson as well as a centerpiece display by Symposium Premier Sponsor The Steinmetz Group, according to GIA sources.

The display system will use state-of-the-art fiber optic lighting, said the sources, and the exhibition’s “excellence” will merit the publication of a catalog, something rarely done by GIA.

Symposium attendees are urged to make time to view the show because, while it runs through November, a limited number of items will be on display only during the run of the symposium itself, GIA sources said. More information will be available, including an exhibition brochure, later in August. [back to top]

Pala’s Featured Mineral Specimens: Kunzite and Aquamarine

For our “revival” issue of Mineral News, we’re excited to offer a single kunzite crystal along with a pair of aquamarines (priced separately).

Kunzite crystal from Paprock Afghanistan, 12.2 x 10.7 x 1.3 cm. Inventory #13795. (Photo: John McLean)

This is a classic-form kunzite (above), from Paprock, Afghanistan. It is a complete, wonderful single crystal with no damage. Even the base is complexly terminated. The color is fine pink-purple down the “C” axis. Note the extra-sharp faces at the top of the crystal. An excellent cabinet specimen. Price: $2800.00.

Double-terminated aquamarine crystal with feldspar orthoclase, 8.6 x 2.4 x 2.2 cm. (Photo: John McLean)

Above, an aquamarine from Shigar Valley, Pakistan. A beautiful and perfect specimen, with good color and proportions, doubly terminated. Brought to us in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines directly from Pakistan by a good friend of Pala International. Price: $2400.00.

Double-terminated aquamarine crystal with feldspar orthoclase, 9.9 x 2.3 x 2.1 cm. (Photo: John McLean)

A second aquamarine from Shigar Valley, Pakistan. As with the above specimen, this is an exquisite, undamaged, doubly terminated specimen, delivered to us in Sainte-Marie from Pakistan by our friend. Bill Larson: “I love the termination complexity with the single rising above the base termination by a centimeter or so.” Price: $2400.00.

Interested? Email us or give us a call. [back to top]

Report from Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 2006

By Bill Larson, Pala International

This show remains one of my favorites, nestled in the charming village of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, in the Valley of Silver (val d’Argent), near Strasbourg, France, and in the middle of the Alsace wine region with charming restaurants featuring foie gras and other local specialties. Is there anything else missing? Oh yes: mineral specimens and gems. These are showcased by 650 international mineral dealers and 350 gem and jewelry dealers in booths filling two sections of the town’s streets and in several indoor halls.

What the...? This sign proclaims Fux-Fuchs to be a vintner of Crémant d’Alcace, a delicate sparkling wine, cousin to the region’s better known Gewürtztraminer and Riesling, and the leading sparkling wine on the French domestic market.

I am traveling with my son, Will, and Mark Kaufman, a fine gem cutter and dealer from San Diego. The three of us were able to split up and cover a great deal of the show in a short period of time, catching whatever new was put out in the first days. Of course, to see finer things one must know the dealers, and then you’re shown things privately as in the USA.

Green velvet. This malachite (6.1 x 5.1 x 5.1 cm), acquired at the Ste-Marie show, is from Katanga, Congo. It has an incredible velvet shine on the edges.  Very showy. Price: $650.00. See more specimens from the show for sale. (Photograph: John McLean)

This year the new minerals were rhodochrosites from China. We saw these with several Chinese dealers. No one seemed to have an exceptional specimen, but many examples were very nice miniatures. These were in the 200 euros cost range. (See what we brought back. We’ll be adding new items for the next few days.)

No cheap theatrics here. A typical mineral display in the theatre at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines.

A rubellite pocket found two years ago in Luc Yen, Vietnam, was on display and priced for the first time. These tourmaline specimens were also featured in the current issue of Lapis magazine (see below), with the best matrix piece featured on the cover. This piece was excellent; it was repaired, as most larger tourmaline matrixes are, and sold on the first day.

A bold debut. Exhibited at the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines show was the tourmaline matrix specimen pictured on the cover of the June 2006 Lapis magazine.

Among the fine things we saw were many new, small, but beautiful aquamarines from Shigar Valley (Pakistan). And a few select kunzites from Paprock, Afghanistan, as well as many nice tourmalines from Afghanistan. Mark found a great selection of purple scapolites from Tajikistan that were excellent single crystals, but will probably be sacrificed to the cutting wheel due to the increased sums gem collectors will pay.

Talking turkey. Pala’s Bill Larson (left) discusses the quality of last evening’s foie gras with known connoisseur Marcus Budil—and today’s mineral purchases.

Inside the theatre—many downtown buildings, including this one are used for the show—are clustered the top-quality mineral dealers, mostly from European countries. This year the theatre’s stage had been selected for dealers with finer pieces, and so the tone inside the theatre was raised a notch. Next year it is rumored that the genius who conceived and owns the show, Michel Schwab, is going to upgrade the theatre even more to highlight the finest minerals available. He also had a few displays of interesting exhibits, including fine French fluorite specimens; I hope he will expand this excellent idea.

Class act. Looking down on Alain Martaud’s booth from the stage in the local theatre that serves as a marketplace for top-quality minerals, most from European countries.

The show was great, but not easy to find many things for a dealer, as prices were high due to the strong euro and generally higher prices than in producing countries.

Sainte-Marie 2007 is June 21–22 for dealers and June 23–24 for the public. To learn more, visit the show website. [back to top]

Minerals from Japan

Minerals from Japan, available from Rocks & Minerals is a 40-page illustrated reprint of recent articles by John Ravokan (Dept. of Geology, Miami University, Oxford, OH).

The reprint can be ordered from Rocks & Minerals, 5341 Thrasher Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45247, USA. The cost is $8 postpaid to US addresses, $14 outside the US. There is no online order form.

This important reprint collects five articles, published within the last twelve months:

• News from Japan, a four-part series by John Rakovan, with Alfredo Petrov
  • Part 1: Kyoto Mineral Shops, the Masutomi Geology Museum, and Cherry Blossom Stones
  • Part 2: The Wada Mineral Collection, Ikuno Mine, Rainbow Garnet, and Mineral Dealers in Japan
  • Part 3: Ko Mineral Collection, Osaka and Tokyo Shows, and Collecting Sakura Ishi and Rainbow Garnets
  • Part 4: The University of Tokyo (Wakabayashi) and National Science Museum (Sakurai) Collections, and a Plethora of Local Monuments and Mineral and Mining Museums
• Sakura Ishi (Cherry Blossom Stones), by John Rakovan, Masao Kitamura (Department of Geology & Mineralogy, Kyoto University), and Osamu Tamada (Graduate School of Human and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto University)

Pala International recommends this publication to any mineral enthusiast who loves locality collections or who want to learn about the state of the hobby in Japan. And don’t miss this report by Will H. Larson of the 2005 Tokyo Mineral Show. [back to top]