Is Much of the Morganite on the Market, Glass???
In one of the trades lapidary threads on line, a known lapidary had the following to say about Morganite:
"A friend in the Hong Kong show told me there was so much glass being sold as Morganite that they had to individually test every stone they looked at and almost all were glass... I could go on..."
All That Glitters has seen faceted gemstones as well as rough Morganite on the market within the past few years. In over 25 years in the business, we have never had a Morganite in stock! This is because we have sought a deep color in smaller sizes - say 5-10cts. This type of material is fairly rare. All That Glitters seeks those gemstones that are unique. In the case of Morganite, the uniqueness would come in a smaller size but with intense color. These darker stones were only occasionally available. Aquamarine also has a similar problem - in order to show fine color, the gemstone is faceted in very large sizes. Over the years, we have only had a few deep blue Aquamarines in smaller sizes. (Currently, we have several 5x7mm ovals of very deep color - so deep that jewelry stores think they are Blue Zircon because they have never seen color like this in smaller Aquamarine!) The drawback is the very issue that causes such a nice color - it is generally too big to be used in jewelry. When one finds an Aquamarine, Morganite or a Kunzite in a smaller size with intense color, that is something to behold. That is also a gemstone that we would like to have in inventory and we would be proud to offer it to our customers. This would also be a gemstones that would also deserve to be photographed for a magazines or book.
There has been a decent amount of Morganite cut and rough on the market over the past few years. There seems to have been a number of finds in Madagascar and possibly other places. Brasil has been selling both faceted and rough Morganite also. We have been told that it is Brasilian, but it could also be Madagascan material being sold as Brasilian. It is rumored that some of the material on the market has been enhanced and that with time or under bright light, it will fade. The rough that we had seen had nice color, but the faceted sizes would be on the large size - 30cts. We passed on any of this rough.
A very fine quality Morganite was seen by us in a Bangkok office during our visit in November 2006. We would have purchased it, but there was a small chip that we would have to correct.
Again, though tempted, we passed on it.
The quote about much of the Morganite actually being glass could very well be true, especially when the gemstones are being sold directly to the public and not the trade. The public cannot necessarily test the gemstone. Synthetic Amethyst has been in the market for years, and synthetics such as White Sapphire and other gemstones can be sold as natural.
It always helps to establish a good rapport with a gemstone dealer you can trust.
All That Glitters offers our customers not only a 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee, but also a Lifetime Guarantee.
100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee
http://www.atggems.com/Guarantee_Satisfaction.htm
Lifetime Guarantee
"A friend in the Hong Kong show told me there was so much glass being sold as Morganite that they had to individually test every stone they looked at and almost all were glass... I could go on..."
All That Glitters has seen faceted gemstones as well as rough Morganite on the market within the past few years. In over 25 years in the business, we have never had a Morganite in stock! This is because we have sought a deep color in smaller sizes - say 5-10cts. This type of material is fairly rare. All That Glitters seeks those gemstones that are unique. In the case of Morganite, the uniqueness would come in a smaller size but with intense color. These darker stones were only occasionally available. Aquamarine also has a similar problem - in order to show fine color, the gemstone is faceted in very large sizes. Over the years, we have only had a few deep blue Aquamarines in smaller sizes. (Currently, we have several 5x7mm ovals of very deep color - so deep that jewelry stores think they are Blue Zircon because they have never seen color like this in smaller Aquamarine!) The drawback is the very issue that causes such a nice color - it is generally too big to be used in jewelry. When one finds an Aquamarine, Morganite or a Kunzite in a smaller size with intense color, that is something to behold. That is also a gemstone that we would like to have in inventory and we would be proud to offer it to our customers. This would also be a gemstones that would also deserve to be photographed for a magazines or book.
There has been a decent amount of Morganite cut and rough on the market over the past few years. There seems to have been a number of finds in Madagascar and possibly other places. Brasil has been selling both faceted and rough Morganite also. We have been told that it is Brasilian, but it could also be Madagascan material being sold as Brasilian. It is rumored that some of the material on the market has been enhanced and that with time or under bright light, it will fade. The rough that we had seen had nice color, but the faceted sizes would be on the large size - 30cts. We passed on any of this rough.
A very fine quality Morganite was seen by us in a Bangkok office during our visit in November 2006. We would have purchased it, but there was a small chip that we would have to correct.
Again, though tempted, we passed on it.
The quote about much of the Morganite actually being glass could very well be true, especially when the gemstones are being sold directly to the public and not the trade. The public cannot necessarily test the gemstone. Synthetic Amethyst has been in the market for years, and synthetics such as White Sapphire and other gemstones can be sold as natural.
It always helps to establish a good rapport with a gemstone dealer you can trust.
All That Glitters offers our customers not only a 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee, but also a Lifetime Guarantee.
100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee
http://www.atggems.com/Guarantee_Satisfaction.htm
Lifetime Guarantee
posted by All That Glitters at 5:27 AM
0 comments
