The World's Most Useful Gem & Jewelry Monthly Newsletter
Written by Carolyn Doyle for customers of The Dorado Company and other visitors to the
azgem.com website who subscribe.
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To enquire about gems or jewelry...
Usable Gems... and a little opinion.
Madagascar Gems
Madagascar gems have captured the attention and imagination of the gem industry.
Madagascar began to produce colored gems on a commercial basis less than 30
years ago, and is now a major supplier of gems to the world.
Madagascar gems were known to exist several centuries
ago... but the quality, quantity, and variety of gems is just now being realized.
In 2006 my husband and I partnered with our suppliers in
Madagascar to form a new enterprise, appropriately named... Madagascar
Gems. This company supplies rough gem material to the gem industry.
As you read this we are in Tucson selling our wares to the
many gem traders congregating there for the world's largest gathering of gem
dealers, the Tucson Gem Shows.
This year most of the 30 or so gem shows will open to
buyers on or about February 1, but we're here for the exhibitor to exhibitor
commerce known as the Jump Start.
We'll be here several more days to do more business and
see old friends.
And now you know why I decided to tell you more about
Madagascar and its gems in this issue.
Madagascar is an island nation off the coast of Africa's
Mozambique. You probably know something about Madagascar's lemurs, hissing
cockroaches, and pirate history. But, contrary to the movie there are no African
animals (except crocodiles) or penguins.
This island nation was originally settled by Polynesian
peoples from what is now Malaysia and Indonesia about 1500 years ago.
Click on the box...
and have Google start putting money in your bank account!
Beginning
in the 1600's Britain and France sought to conquer Madagascar. In 1896
Britain abandoned their designs on the island and Madagascar became a
French colony. Independence was regained in 1960.
Madagascar is the world's forth largest island. It is just more than
a half-million square kilometers, or about the size of Arizona and New Mexico
combined. (I looked it up, the three larger islands are Greenland, New Guinea,
and Borneo.)
A tropical island, Madagascar features rain forest and
plantations in the coastal lowlands. Forested mountains run north and
south, forming the island's backbone. In the west and south, Madagascar
is somewhat flat and arid.
Madagascar has three good roads (some people say four). In general
the island is poor and underdeveloped. After centuries of isolation,
colonial rule, several decades as an independent socialist
country... things are beginning to improve. A capitalistic, honest
government now is investing in schools and infrastructure.
A large piece of the development plan is to exploit and develop the
gemstone resources to fuel improvements.
Madagascar produces an amazing array of gemstones. The gems mined here include...
Ruby
Sapphire
Emerald
Tsavorite
Spessartite
Hessonite
Rhodolite
Apatite
Pink (morganite), yellow (heliodore), blue
(aquamarine), white (goshenite), and green beryl
Rare gems are also found here. Sphene, kornerupine, and yellow
orthoclase, and others.
Perhaps the rarest of all is the world's only known blue garnet. In
addition to being blue, this vanadium-containing gem is a color
change gem.
We can continue this discussion next month. There's so much to
tell... traveling in the bush (pronounced boosh), Two room hotels,
cowboys, and gangsters to be included.
A Google search for the keyword phrase madagascar returns a number of listings and ads for
some other information and photos.
What are the gem photos featured above (top to bottom)?
Ruby
Neon blue apatite
Green apatite
Aquamarine
Morganite (pink beryl)
Gem Industry News...
Tucson Show Guide
Colored Stone Magazine's Tucson
Show Guide website has been updated and the printed edition has been mailed
to subscribers.
Many dealers are here in Tucson now, and thousands more will be coming and
going during the next couple of weeks.
Many educational, social, and charitable events are scheduled, in addition to
all of the business that is being conducted.
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JCK Las Vegas
The 2007 edition of the JCK Show - Las Vegas will be held in two
locations: The Sands Expo and Convention Center/The Venetian Hotel
Resort & Casino and, for the first time, the Las Vegas Convention
Center.
This show is for jewelry store operators, and is a huge show held in
early June of each year. Maybe this year JCK will enter the 21st century
and allow internet jewelry retailers to attend.
And if they don't, there are other shows held in Vegas a couple of
days before. You can meet many of the same manufacturers at the other
shows.
Jewelry
Dealers
Are
you attending the Tucson shows? Send us an email... maybe our schedules
will permit us to get together.
This is your opportunity to see what's new and what's expected to be hot in
the coming year.
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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.
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Beginning
in the 1600's Britain and France sought to conquer Madagascar. In 1896
Britain abandoned their designs on the island and Madagascar became a
French colony. Independence was regained in 1960.
Are
you attending the Tucson shows? Send us an email... maybe our schedules
will permit us to get together.
