Written by Carolyn Doyle for customers of
The Dorado Company
and other visitors to the azgem.com website who subscribe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Share this newsletter with friends and co-workers by printing or forwarding it to them in its entirety.

+++++

Sign up for a free subscription to the AZGem Gems monthly newsletter.

+++++

Back issues of the AZGem Gems newsletter can be accessed by clicking here.

Usable Gems... and a little opinion.

February Birthstone Is Amethyst

The February birthstone is amethyst.

This month we continue our series on birthstones that will provide answers to questions like...

"What is my birthstone?"

"What if I don't like the color of my birthstone?"

"What if I can't afford my birthstone?"

Amethyst is one of America's most popular gems. The beautiful, rich royal purple of amethyst appeals to almost everyone... including the guys.

Rarely, amethyst may exhibit flashes of red.. or even flashes of blue and red, within the stone's rich purple body color.

Some societies decreed that only royalty could own amethyst.  And some religions restricted the wearing of amethyst to church leaders.

Amethyst is a great gemstone. If its your birthstone, I consider you fortunate.

At the Dorado Company we have a large selection of amethyst gems from Arizona and Zambia, and earrings... and more earrings. 

Follow this link to learn more about Birthstones, Modern and Traditional.

A Google search for the keyword phrase amethyst lore or amethyst+gold jewelry returns a number of interesting listings and ads. I do not guarantee the accuracy of the information on these sites, but they can be interesting. 

Gem Industry News...

2006 Tucson Gem Shows

The Tucson Gem Shows have come and gone... and so did we.

Its always rewarding to visit our favorite shows and see old friends and industry acquaintances from around the world.

The photo below was taken from between the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) show and the Gem and Jewelry Exchange (GJX) show across the street. There is a constant flow of pedestrian and shuttle bus traffic between these shows and the new Worldwide Gem and Jewelry show, which is about a block off to the right, in the Hotel Arizona.

All three of these shows feature loose gems and pearls, plus some fine jewelry and related supplies. These shows are wholesale only, and restrict admittance to members of the trade only.

There are several other important gem trade shows around town as well. 

In addition, there are several shows selling a mix of fossils, meteorites, mineral specimens and mineral crystals, jewelry, and gems. These mixed shows generally admit the public.

In all, there are more than 30 shows that make up the Tucson Gem Shows each February.

The photo below shows a portion of the booths in one of the larger gem shows.

If you're in the trade, you should make plans to attend next year. It's an education.

We're fortunate that Tucson is only two hours south of us, so we don't have to travel half way around the world as many who attend do.

Jewelry Dealers

Have you and your inventory recovered from the Christmas season yet?

Now's the time to be building up that inventory again.

The price of gold shows no signs of going back down, so if you weren't able to hedge by buying up mountings and findings a couple of years ago, you probably should be buying what you need now..

Jewelry Dealers Program

Do you enjoy jewelry and gems?

Do you enjoy talking with friends and co-workers?

Take a look at our great Jewelry Dealers Program.

Carolyn Doyle

Back   Home

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to change the e-mail address at which you receive this newsletter?

Want to (gulp) unsubscribe?

Send an e-mail to carolyn@azgem.com and let me know what you want to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The AZGem Gems Newsletter is now distributed through RSS, as well as by e-mail. Use the appropriate button below to add the azgem.com feed to your RSS service.

Subscribe to my RSS feed

What's an RSS feed?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~