US Sanctions Lifting on Myanmar (Burma)????

 Obama declines to lift US sanctions on Myanmar

Washington: President Barack Obama on Thursday extended the US sanctions against Myanmar, warning that despite progress on human rights and governmental reform, a political opening in the country remained "nascent."....  Read More

The owner of All That Glitters, Mr. Brown,  was on the phone the other day talking to his American friend and associate who lives in Thailand and was visiting the states.   This dealer had indicated he heard from another dealer that the sanctions/embargo on the importation of Ruby and Jade had been repealed.   Mr. Brown hadn't heard this and in doing some research on line, it seems that some sanctions will be lifted and others will remain in place.  Where the embargo on Ruby and Jade falls with regard to sanctions, is still to be seen.  The previous loophole prior to the more recent embargo of 2008, was  that Burmese (Myanmar) goods could be imported into Thailand, faceted, reworked, set into jewelry and then be imported into the US via Thailand, whereas the rough or faceted material was banned from entering the U.S. directly from Burma.  With the law changing in 2008, Ruby and Jade from Burma, regardless of whether it came from Burma or reworked elsewhere, was not allowed into the United States.

It does look like sanctions/embargoes related to Burma will eventually be lifted, but it may be sometime as politics within Burma continue to change.  Key Republican Senator John McCain called Monday on the United States to suspend most sanctions on Myanmar.

All That Glitters Website and Info Changes for May 2012!

Continuing to promote the ATG Challenge:  Take the  
All That Glitters Challenge and Save 50% or Much More - GUARANTEED!!   (Link was broken in last months email, but the page was available from our Main Page)

This Months Special:    Large Fine 4.17ct Ethiopian Opal!

This is one gemstone where the purchaser should take the All That Glitters Challenge and see the Savings!  We would like to promote Ethiopian Opal to our customers before prices go up too much...

This Months Gem News:  Large Pink Diamond Found at Argyle Mine in Australia

A massive rough pink diamond has been unearthed in Rio Tinto's Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia, CNN reports....Read More at the above link.

Newly Faceted or Photographed Gemstones: 

A recently worked matched pair of very fine Lapis Lazuli pieces have come back from
the cutters - rough was purchased in Thailand back in 2007!  (Note these are in transit and photos will be posted

as soon as they arrive)
This same cutter has also finished some California material sent to him about 7 months ago.  It includes Red and Yellow Agate - found in Yuba County, California.

New items from last month include the following:

Two Pink Tourmalines from the Famous Stewart Mine in California have faceted as well as a large round Orange Tourmaline from Africa, all faceted by one of our U.S. Cutters.  A unique and wonderful large 78+ct Ocean Jasper from Madagascar is now available.  We haven't seen anything quite like this. 

A large 1339+ct 9"x5" Slab of Nicely Colored/Patterned Spider Web Agate from Arizona is now in inventory!

A few items have been reposted on our New Page after having obtained an accurate weight of the Burmese Jade Lizard Carving (1563cts and currently selling at only $1/ct!), and we have added Giclee Museum Quality UV Protected Stretched Canvas Prints for some mineral specimens.  Learn more about these high quality prints and see the natural beauty of these specimens when one gets up close and personal!  (Giclees may be purchased separately, but most of the natural minerals that were photographed for these prints are still available for purchase and each comes with one Giclee Canvas included in the price of the mineral!)

New Pages!  (Also noted in Aprils Monthly Email)

Take the All That Glitters Challenge!  http://www.atggems.com/ATG_Challenge.htm

Our Certified Diamonds page has been missing from our Photo Gallery and has been added back in!

http://www.atggems.com/Photos_Diamonds-Certed.htm 

Purchase Museum Quality Giclee UV Protected Stretched Canvas Prints of some of All That Glitters beautiful

naturally occurring items on the following page:

http://www.atggems.com/Photos_Giclee-Prints.htm  

 All That Glitters arrrives back in NE Headquarters:

We have transitioned back to our East Coast Headquarters.  Essentially all of our inventory is available with a few exceptions, as some items are back on the West Coast.

All That Glitters Website and Info Changes for April 2012

We are starting off our monthly email with a very special new page:

Take the All That Glitters Challenge and Save 50% or Much More - GUARANTEED!!

This Months Special: Matched Pair of 13x9mm Oval Gold in Quartz Pieces

This Months Gem News: New Sapphire Find in Sri Lanka

One of the largest finds in Sapphire in Sri Lankas gemstone history has been discovered.

All That Glitters was contacted by our Sri Lankan associate regarding the story prior to the news traveling around the world. Associates of our have purchased plots to dig on and are currently removingsoil to get to the gem producing layer. Read More....

Newly Faceted or Photographed Gemstones:

http://www.atggems.com/Photos_New.htm

Two Pink Tourmalines from the Famous Stewart Mine in California have faceted as well as a large round Orange Tourmaline from Africa, all faceted by one of our U.S. Cutters. A unique and wonderful large 78+ct Ocean Jasper from Madagascar is now available. We haven't seen anything quite like this.

A large 1339+ct 9"x5" Slab of Nicely Colored/Patterned Spider Web Agate from Arizona is now in inventory!

A few items have been reposted on our New Page after having obtained an accurate weight of the Burmese Jade Lizard Carving (1563cts and currently selling at only $1/ct!), and we have added Giclee Museum Quality UV Protected Stretched Canvas Prints for some mineral specimens. Learn more about these high quality prints and see the natural beauty of these specimens when one gets up close and personal! (Giclees may be purchased separately, but most of the natural minerals that were photographed for these prints are still available for purchase and each comes with one Giclee Canvas included in the price of the mineral!)

Gemstones in Cutting:

We have a matched pair of fine quality purple blue triangular cabs of Lapis Lazuli, as well
as some California Jasper cabs currently in the cutting process.

New Pages!

Take the All That Glitters Challenge!
http://www.atggems.com/ATG_Challenge.htm

Our Certified Diamonds page has been missing from our Photo Gallery and has been added back in! http://www.atggems.com/Photos_Diamonds-Certed.htm

Purchase Museum Quality Giclee UV Protected Stretched Canvas Prints of some of All That Glitters beautiful naturally occurring items on the following page:

http://www.atggems.com/Photos_Giclee-Prints.htm

New Important Sapphire Find in Sri Lanka

Police and special forces in Sri Lanka are reportedly being dispatched to an area about 220 kilometers southeast of Colombo to secure a massive deposit of blue sapphires that reportedly has been discovered. The area is located near the ancient town of Kataragama, which is better known a pilgrimage site that draws Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and indigenous Vedda people from across Sri Lanka and South India.

According to a local weekly, The Sunday Leader, the blue sapphire discovery was made along the Kataragama-Lunugamvehera road on February 15. The chairman of the National Gem and Jewelry Authority (NGJA), Prasad Galhena, said that it could be worth as much as $330 million, making it, in the words of the newspaper, "the largest ever gem pit found in one place in the entire world."

"We believe that the blue sapphires that were found here are of more worth than the famous Burmese blue sapphires and the Kashmir blue sapphires. We want these sapphires to be named Kataragama blue sapphires and for them to be recognized internationally," Galhena said.

Galhena said that team of experts the Gemological Institute of America are already in Sri Lanka at the invitation of NGJA to research the newly discovered blue sapphires and were expected to stay in the country for a period of three weeks. They would help provide a preliminary report on the chemical composition of the soil in which the gems are located and also provide a gemological profile of the sapphires.

"They will take some of these gems to the USA for further research as we do not have a sophisticated research institute in Sri Lanka," Galhena told the newspaper.

Reportedly a second gem pit was discovered in the Kataragama area about 10 days after the first find. Residents in the area identified the stones as topaz, and said that police had cordoned off the area.



Comments from our associate who helped the owner of All That Glitters during his November 2011 visit, had the following to say in an email earlier this year:

"The blue sapphire clear crystals which are supposed to be the best found in Sri lanka so far was detected in a mine down south of Colombo. There was so much of people trying to mine this area illegally and finally the government took it over immediately and auctioned 49 plots of the land for a record of US$2.25 Million."

Another one of our important associates and negotiators did indeed purchase a plot and we are awaiting the results. Hopefully, All That Glitters will be able to obtain some fine Blue Sapphire in the future from this very new important strike!

All That Glitters Website and Info Changes for March 2012!

Here are the changes to look for on the All That Glitters Website for March 2012:

This Months Special: 6 Pieces of Faceted Zircon - 12.09cts

6 pieces totaling 12.09cts - Beige, Rosy, Orangy, Yellowish, Burnt Pink Tanzanian Zircon. Selling off a parcel below cost.

This Months Gem News: All That Glitters Invited for Personal Tour of the OceanView Mine

Our contacting the Smithsonian, the San Diego Museum of Natural History, as well as the Carnagie Museum regarding our important faceted gemstone from the Famous Big Kahuna II Pocket of the OceanView Mine,prompted emails to fly through cyberspace as people were checking to verify that this gemstone and ourbusiness were on the up and up as they say. This put the OceanView Mine Owner and Salesman direclty into contact with All That Glitters. An expected short conversation ended up lasting an hour, and by the end of that phone call, the owner of All That Glitters was invited to have a personal and private tour of the OceanView and the adjacent mine! (and though museums would love to have a U.S. gemstone from a famous mine/pocket and faceted by an award wining cutter, they tend to request 'donations')

Newly Faceted or Photographed Gemstones:

3 Nice Ying Yang Jaspers - Been looking for sometime but prices were too high on any found

Rare Find of Agatized/Fossilited Bamboo or Reed segments

Large Burmese Peridot

1.70ct Fine Red Unheated Ruby

Large Reddish Pink/Salmon Spinel

Super Dispersive Diamond-like Grossular Andradite Round Garnet

Matched Pair of 13x9mm Oval Gold in Quartz

Wonderful Pinfire Opal and Unique Dark Banded Opal

Oregon Opal with Humpback Whale Carving

2 Great Tanzanite Crystals, one being incredibly clean

Two Doubly Terminated Quartz Clusters with OIL! (as seen in Gems and Gemology GIA article)

Purple Sapphire Crystal on Matrix - Great Luster

Two Cabs of Fine Blue Pietersite

35+ct Clean Yellow Beryl Crystal with Super Etching

Large 1100+ct Terminated Tourmaline Crystal Cluster with Terminated Quartz Crystals

3 Pieces of Very Nice Petrified Wood Slices (2 pcs of 7" and one large 14+ inch across)

6 Sets of Gold and Diamond Crystals for Collectors

3 Pieces of Interesting Agate, 2 from Oregon

3 Slices of Amethyst Cactus or what some call Stalagtites

2 Wonderful Tourmaline Specimens

3 Spodume Crystals from both the Pala Chief Mine and OceanView Mine in California

Petrified Wood from Eden Valley (destined to be carved if not sold)

One of a Kind Unique Tektite from China

3 Pieces of Chinese Carved Grape Agate

New Find - Bumblebee Jasper from Indonesia

Large Eclipse Jasper Piece

3 Wonderfully Etched Large Ametrine Crystals from the Anahi Mine

Terminated Yellow Scapolite Crystal

Amethyst Scepter Cluster from famous Indian locality

2 Pendants and 1 Bead consisting of Framed Chinese Chalcedony

Gemstones in Cutting:

We are faceting an example of an Orange Tourmaline from an associate in Africa as well as two pieces of Calfornia Stewart Mine Tourmaline (sure to be of interest for those who seek CA or US gemstones!)

New Pages!

We have broken up the Other category in the Photo Gallery, to be Minerals/Specimens and Other items. Minerals/Specimens will be just that. Other Items are related to Natural History items including Antiquies and pieces that pertain to the gem trade, mining, etc. You can find these new categories and pages on the following page:
http://www.atggems.com/Photo_Gallery.htm

A Tourmaline Crystal is the thumbnail photo representing the Minerals/Specimens pages and a Fossil Fish represents the 'Other' pages.

All That Glitters Visit to the Oceanview Mine - Jan 2012!

Every one of our page links on our Photo Gallery Page has an associated thumbnail photo that indicates what one will find on that page. The link next to the the photo of a faceted Tanzanite will bring you to the All That Glitters Tanzanite page, and the link next to the glowing blue faceted Sapphire thumbnail will place you on our Sapphire page, etc. So what does a pink gemstone have to do with a mine in Southern California that sits in the middle of a famous mining area, whose names such as the Tourmaline Queen, the Tourmaline King, The Stewart and others are well known to those who collect minerals and gems? The answer is simple - Everything!

This story begins with the owner of All That Glitters meeting up with a California rough dealer in mid-July 2011 at a show in Massachusetts.....

To Read and Learn More, Visit the following page:
< ATG Oceanview Mine Vist/Tour >

All That Glitters Website and Info Changes for February 2012!

Here are the changes to look for on the All That Glitters Website for February 2012:

This Months Special: 11.09ct Chrysoberyl Crystal from Ratnapura, Sri Lanka

A Unique Specimen showing good crystal habit, color, clarity and terminations.

This Months Gem News: US/Burma Relations Thawing

Relations between the United States and Myanmar (Burma) warm as the

political climate within Burma changes...

Newly Faceted or Photographed Gemstones:

http://www.atggems.com/Photos_New.htm

Our Master Cutter has returned the 3 gemstones sent him for recutting, obtained from our month long trip abroad. They include a Ruby, a Sapphire and Blue Tourmaline.

Recent Arrivals from our trip abroad:

Many Certed Gems

Ruby - Fine Examples

Sapphire - All Colors

Tsavorite (Green Garnet - miscellaneous shapes and versions of green)

Color Change African Garnet (blue green to purple)

Incredible one of a kind Natural Alexandrite - super in every way!

Sphene - two different colors; very dispersive!

Sapphire Crystals

Sapphire Crystals on Matrix

Chrysoberyl Crystal

Eye Agate

Fossilized Coral

Fossilzed Sharks Tooth WITH Serrations!

Agatized Coral

Opal - Ethiopian

Fire Opal

Several Demantoid Garnets from Namibia including a PAIR!

Spessartite Cabs (2) look like gum drops, very clean

Hackmanite (an important variety of sodalite) exhibits unusual phenomenon known as reversible photochromism

Reddish Orange Spinel from Burma

Red Spinel (fine color) from Burma

Unheated Tanzanite

10mm Blue-Purple Tanzanite

Namibian Blue-Green Tourmaline

Purplish Mozambique Tourmaline Cab

Unusual and Rare Blue Zircon

Unique Example of Broad Flash Fire Agate

Black and White Zoned Agate Cab

Included Quartz with large Breadcrumb inclusion with Tourmaline needles

Chinese "Year of" bracelet

1500+ct Carved Lizard - Jade (could be much heavier - we don't have a scale that weigh it!)

Three Brasilian Naturally Terminated Tourmaline Crystals

3.59ct Yellowish Pyrope-Spessartine Garnet

Gemstones in Cutting:

Three gemstones are currently being refaceted by our Master Cutter. They are a certed Ruby, an unusual Teal Sapphire, and a nice deep Blue Namibian Tourmaline! We thought that the beauty of these gemstones could be improved by being tweeked eventhough the cost of recutting and weight loss willbe costly. We hope to have them available on line just before the next monthly email is sent out.

===> These have been received back from our Master Cutter and can be seen on the Newly Photographed page:

Tucson Gem Show is here....

We will be at the Tucson Gem Show, which we believe is our 26th year in attendance.

New Page!

We have a decent inventory of Fine Tsavorite (Green Garnet) and so we have added a New Page dedicated to this Grossular Garnet.
http://www.atggems.com/Photos_Tsavorite.htm

This page can be accessed in two places within our Photo Gallery Page:

http://www.atggems.com/Photo_Gallery.htm

A Few Photos From Our Trip to the Ratnapura Gem Pits

Living conditions and mining tools haven't changed much is many decades of mining in Sri Lanka...

http://www.atggems.com/Photo_Gallery.htm

(Ratnapura Gem Pit Photos located near the bottom of this page)

All That Glitters Website and Info Changes for January 2012!

The Latest All That Glitters Website News for January 2012 includes the following:


Monthly Special: A New Price on a Large Interesting Quartz with Pyrite Inclusions!


Monthly News: A Few Photos From Our Trip to the Ratnapura Gem Pits


Newly Photographed - Approx 150 Newly Photographed items available
Many Certed Gems
Ruby - Fine Examples
Sapphire - All Colors
Tsavorite (Green Garnet - miscellaneous shapes and versions of green)
Color Change African Garnet (blue green to purple)
Incredible one of a kind Natural Alexandrite - super in every way!
Sphene - two different colors; very dispersive!
Sapphire Crystals
Sapphire Crystals on Matrix
Chrysoberyl Crystal
Eye Agate
Fossilized Coral
Fossilzed Sharks Tooth WITH Serrations!
Agatized Coral
Opal - Ethiopian
Fire Opal
Several Demantoid Garnets from Namibia including a PAIR!
Spessartite Cabs (2) look like gum drops, very clean
Hackmanite (an important variety of sodalite) exhibits unusual phenomenon known as reversible photochromism
Reddish Orange Spinel from Burma
Red Spinel (fine color) from Burma
Unheated Tanzanite
10mm Blue-Purple Tanzanite
Namibian Blue-Green Tourmaline
Purplish Mozambique Tourmaline Cab
Unusual and Rare Blue Zircon
Unique Example of Broad Flash Fire Agate
Black and White Zoned Agate Cab
Included Quartz with large Breadcrumb inclusion with Tourmaline needles
Chinese "Year of" bracelet
1500+ct Carved Lizard - Jade (could be much heavier - we don't have a scale that weigh it!)
Three Brasilian Naturally Terminated Tourmaline Crystals
3.59ct Yellowish Pyrope-Spessartine Garnet


Gemstones in Cutting:
Three gemstones are currently being refaceted by our Master Cutter. They are a certed Ruby, an unusual Teal Sapphire which will be a Radiant, and a nice deep Blue Namibian Tourmaline! We thought that the beauty of these gemstones could be improved by being tweeked eventhough the cost of recutting and weight loss will be costly. We hope to have them available on line just before the next monthly email is sent out.


The Tucson Show is around the corner....

All That Glitters Website and Info Changes for November 2011!

Here are the changes to look for on the All That Glitters Website for November 2011:

This Months Special: Two Pieces of Very Fine Mushroom Jasper - Cab and Bead

This Months Gem News: Flooding in Thailand Continues...

Newly Faceted or Photographed Gemstones:

A nice smoky orange 0.35ct Round Diamond, former possession of the owner of
All That Glitters.

An unusual piece of Opal with Dendrites, with an internal landscape - visible only when hydrated!

Two super Watermelon Slices - decades old and removed from our vaults.

Large piece of Mookaite from Australia, with one side being polished and the other, natural.

The Kunzite from the OceanView Mine (Big Kanuna II) is faceted - 18.85cts; museums have been contacted but

unforunately, they tend toward donations vs. purchases! One person from GIA whom we sent the photo to, had the following to say - "What a beautiful stone! I have been following the Oceanview story, and am quite pleased to see such a nice kunzite cut from the recent production. "

Two Nice Pieces of Mushroom Jasper - one cab and one tablet which can be strung.

Due to our traveling abroad for about a month, please be patient with email inquiries. Phone calls to our main office will go unanswered during our time away, but if you wish, you can leave a message. We would recommend email as we hope to have an internet connection every few days. Sales will be based on the date/time stamp of emails or via payments received using PayPal.

No December Email or Changes(?) to the Website due to Buying Trip - Thailand and Sri Lanka.

In preparation for our trip abroad and to turn inventory into cash, we have offered a number of items on our website to those in the trade. Normally, the trade will look at items on a regular basis or find us via search engines. The trade is welcome to make purchases when they see items of interest on our website. The website is designed more for the public and we don't necessarily offer all of the stones found on the website to the trade - we have several thousand items and it is easier to show stores/goldsmiths items that have not been photographed so that the website does not have to be updated. The trade has been quite active by purchasing many of the pieces recently offered to them, so you will see many items that are currently marked as Sold, and there will be more to follow as payment is received.

On a related topic of the above - Many of you might have noticed that SOLD items and their associated photos haven't been removed from our website for a number of months. We will update all pages and clean up the SOLD items by the end of the year or just into the New Year. We used to remove sold items after 30 days, but have been asked to leave photos/descriptions longer so that people can see unique pieces that we have sold and that had been previously available.