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.
Tanzanite Is A Rare Gem
Tanzanite is a rare gem, and it's wildly
popular. That's part of the reason the price continues to climb.
(Yes, tanzanite was mentioned in the December,
2006 newsletter, but
this gem stone is in demand and there is always more of the story to tell.)
There are many factors contributing to the price of this
gem... rarity, beautiful color, mine depletion, regulation, and demand.
In 1966, a man from the nearby city of Arusha, Tanzania,
discovered a deep blue-violet stone in the Merelani hills, home to the Maasai
people. Gemological testing proved the stone was not a sapphire as suspected,
but an unknown variety of zoisite.
This new blue zoisite gem (as it was labeled) was
brought to the attention of Tiffany and Company within a short time. Tiffany
introduced the new gem to the world, after renaming the stone for the country of
origin.
Would tanzanite have become just as popular as it is now
if it had continued to be known as blue zoisite? Possibly. It is a gorgeous gem
by any name.
Tanzanite is known to exist in only this one place in the
world. Other place names in the area are well know around the world. Places like
the Great Rift Valley, Mount Kilimanjaro (photo
below), the Serengeti Plain, Lake Victoria, Nairobi, Zanzabar, and Dar Es Salaam
evoke thoughts of exotic locations.
It is possible to travel to the mining area to buy gem rough
from independent miners and brokers. You need to hire a four
wheel drive vehicle and driver/interpreter to get you from the
airport to the mining area.
The process of inspecting and buying this rough in the bush
is highly practical, and highly stressful.
Upon arrival, the vehicle is quickly engulfed by shouting,
pushing sellers. The driver opens his window far enough to
allow one seller's hand into the vehicle.
In the hand are a few pieces of rough. The driver takes the
rough and hands it to his buyer for inspection... holding on to
the seller's hand until the transaction is completed. The
driver interprets during the asking and offering price negotiations. The
rough or the money is then put into the seller's hand. In this
way, there is no question as to the seller's identity.
This process continues until the buyer gets enough rough,
runs out of money, or otherwise wishes to leave. It is very
much a mob scene.
There are mine owners and dealers in Arusha, where buying
rough is much less stressful,but more costly.
Tanzanite is worth bringing to market however it's done. Our
customers really like it. We can supply it to you in a variety
of qualities and shapes. Send
me an email
to tell me what size, shape, and/or quality you want.
Click on the box...
and have Google start putting money in your bank account!
A Google search for the keyword phrase tanzanite gems returns a number of
internet listings and ads with additional information and photos.
Gem Industry News...
Yellow Gold Jewelry
The World Gold Council website reports...
"Jewellers at the international jewellery fair in
Vicenza have spoken of their belief that this year promises to
see a splurge of demand for yellow gold.
Designer Paladino Orlandini stressed to news agency Reuters
that yellow gold resonates with a "warm message" to
consumers, highlighting its popular place in the jewellery
market.
In addition, there is currently a tide of demand from Europe
and the US for styles of yellow gold jewellery that harps back
to by-gone eras such as Roman and Ancient Greek times.
Demand for jewellery is up per se, according to the World
Gold Council (WGC) which discovered that March this year saw a
38 per cent increase in demand for jewellery worldwide on the
corresponding time period last year."
Las Vegas Shows
The Las Vegas Jewelry and gem shows will begin at the end of
May and extend into early June. Let me know if you plan to
attend. I'll be there.
Jewelry
Dealers
Father's
Day and graduation are coming. These can be great sales opportunities.
You just have to work at it a little.
We should also be focusing on
building inventory. And, we must continue servicing our customers, recruiting new customers, and generally growing our respective businesses.
The AZGem Gems Newsletter is now distributed
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buying
rough is much less stressful, but more costly.
Father's
Day and graduation are coming. These can be great sales opportunities.
You just have to work at it a little.
