Thursday, June 28, 2012

Christies Set New Auction Record for Price per Carat for Ruby!


View the Christies Auction Catalog Entry and Photos:  
Ruby Record  >


There are a number of interesting things to note on the link/page above.  It does mention the Ruby Embargo (still in place for Burmese Rubys); prices paid previously for fine quality large Rubys; a quote from Tavernier regarding Ruby Pricing (see below); and much, much, more!



'When a ruby exceeds five carats, and is perfect, it is sold for whatever price is asked for it.'   - 
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Travels in India, Vol II (1676) pp.78-79

All That Glitters Website and Info Changes for July 2012



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

This Months Special:  20% off Two Pear Shaped Sapphire
Trying something new again this month - offering two pear shaped Sapphires at 20% off their listing price.  Customer can purchase both, or just one of the two.  This yellow is believed to be natural.

This Months Gem News:   Christies Set New Auction Record for Price per Carat for Ruby!
New record set for a Ruby set in a ring surrounded by diamonds.  See the auction catalog page that describes this piece and much more...

Newly Faceted or Photographed Gemstones: 
We have re-photographed a Neony Green Mozambique Tourmaline Oval (Certed).
Somewhere along the way, a previously listed piece of rough/polished Mookaite disappeared from our website.  This has now been corrected.
There was an issue on the table of one of our extraordinarily fine Tsavorite Garnets.  Our Master Cutter took care of this issue as well as tweaked the culet.  Because of this change, we have added it to our Newly Photographed Page.
Also, we have photographed one of the largest Zincite Crystals we have seen, weighing in
at over 2,200 carats!
We got a call from the cabber who was supposed to have a package into the mail 3 months ago. Apparently, it is on its way, so our customers should be seeing these shortly: 
A matched pair of very fine Lapis Lazuli pieces - rough was purchased in Thailand back in 2007!   This same cutter has also finished some California material sent to him about 9 months ago.  It includes Red and Yellow Agate - found in Yuba County, California.

Gemstones in Cutting:
We are faceting that gorgeous Natural Kunzite Crystal from the Big Kahuna area of the Oceanview Mine!   Will be some incredibly intense colors in these gems when faceted.  Of course, our Award Winning Master Cutter is the only choice to facet these important gemstones.  We anticipate some of the finest Kunzite every seen, with a color that is a bluish purple pink.  It should stabilize to a deep pink, but Kunzite is known as an evening gemstone; keep it out of the sun and bright lights, and the color is pretty much stabile.  Irradiated Kunzite being sold by Brasilians, was selling at $200/ct wholesale for dark pinks.  We should be able to provide better color, gems in smaller sizes and the BEST cutting available, as our Master Cutter is doing the faceting!

Gemstones Sent to GIA for Gem ID and Origin:
A number of our gemstones have been sent to GIA for Gem ID as well as Origin.  This is the first group of two, with this initial group costing about $2,000.  We have certs on most of the gemstones in this certing process within GIA, but because they are very important gemstones, we want THE authority to make the judgement call so our customers will know exactly what they will receive.  We have typically certed the gemstones initially while traveling internationally, and the gem labs we utilize in Bangkok are known for their accuracy.  We are not anticipating any issues and believe all will cert by GIA as we have described on our website.  We have requested Origin reports on some of the more important Burmese Rubys.  As a reminder, with or without certs and whether via GIA or another gem lab, we have two outstanding return policies in the gemstone field/business, so our customers are always fully protected:
We have been in business for over 30 years.  You have our 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee as well as our Lifetime Guarantee - you can check out our website to learn more. 
All That Glitters Facets the Largest Synthetic Alexandrite from Our Rough:
A 55.88ct Synthetic Alexandrite Oval has recently come back from our cutter.  It was a custom faceted SuperNova with a ratio of 1:1.25, Length to Width.  Our customer was very particular in the facet arrangement and design, as well as the ratio.  Our Award Winning Master Cutter was responsible for this beauty.  This is the largest Synthetic Alexandrite faceted from our rough, with only one larger one being faceted by one of our other customers, and weighed in at over 70 carats.  At just about 56cts, this SuperNova Oval was not overly saturated andhad all kinds of colors flashing internally and externally.  Yes, we do custom cutting of this particular rough!