The Curator's Journal

Interview: Warren Boyd of Potentate Mining

A couple of months ago, we had the great pleasure of sitting down with Warren Boyd of Potentate Mining, specializing in beautiful sapphires from Rock Creek, Montana. Watch the video here, or scroll...

Why Do Emeralds Have Inclusions? David Saad's Video Explanation.

 Transcript: Why do emeralds have inclusions?   Well, I have to tell you how emeralds are formed if I'm really gonna answer that question for you.   This is David Saad from Skyjems.ca.   Thank you...

Heated vs. Unheated Sapphires, what's the difference?

At Skyjems, we often get asked what the difference is between heated and unheated sapphires.

AGTA Amends Code of Ethics-ICA

I just got this and this is news that you need to know about if you are in the Wholesale Gemstone Industry. AGTA has made some amendments to their code of ethics. Even if you are not an AGTA member...

Garnet is SO Diverse

I was sitting down the other day to write an article about garnet, being January’s birthstone and all, I figured it made sense.  Then, as I started to do research I realized two things: Because G...

OPAL

Opal is the National Gemstone of Australia. It is a hydrated amorphous form of silica with a structure that makes it diffract light and take on many colors. Precious opal ranges from clear through ...

EMERALD

Emerald means ‘green gemstone’. It is a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6)colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Emeralds are fascinating gemstones. They have ...

TOPAZ

Topaz can be finished into an almost limitless variety of jewellery due to its versatility. It is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine. A good hardness and availability in desirable colors ...

Beryllium treated Blue Sapphires

Blue Sapphire is a variety of the mineral Corundum in blue. Other two gem-varieties of corundum are Ruby (red) and Padparadscha (pinkish orange). Although blue is their most well-known color,sa...

Garnet

Red garnet is one of the most common and widespread of gems, found in metamorphic rocks (which are rocks altered by heat and pressure) on every continent. But not all garnets are as abundant as t...