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Reports from the Tuscon Show ?

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bar01

Brilliant_Rock
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Jul 13, 2004
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Okay industry experts - I just read this from the GIA site about the show in Tucson . Looks like demand for untreated blue and pink sapphires is strong as well as for Ruby and Emeralds? Tanzanite is down because prices are up so much?



What's your take on trends from the show?


P.S. - I should learn how to spell Tucson!
 

Sagebrush

Brilliant_Rock
Trade
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Nov 16, 2003
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Tucson Report


Went for two weeks. As usual, worked almost every day without taking that day or two to just walk in the desert that I promise myself every year.

Diamonds:

The Accredited Gemologist''s cut grading seminar was an interesting highlight. GIA, AGS plus a couple of minor players got up and talked about the best way to grade cut. GIA''s presentation was disapointing. Seems like after years of empirical analysis using the most up to date technology to determine such things as actual total light return, dispersion, etc we have returned to mathmatics. GIA put up a slide with their new mathmatical parmeters to use in the judgement of cut. Now it is necessary for the gemologist to measure the length of such things as lower girdle facets, a neat trick without spending 6k on a Sarin machine.

So, if your gonna buy a machine why not just get the one that measures light return and dispersion? This will eliminate the necessity of de-enshrining another set of tolkoyskyesq proportions ten years from now. Oh, and by the way GIA''s new parameters don''t stray that far from Tolkowsky.

Peter Yantzer (President, AGS Lab) then got up, delivered his wisdom, then told the audience that the new cut system would not complete the comodification of diamonds, that quite the opposite it opened a whole new opportunity for retail jewelers to demonstrate the differences between various grades. How?, when?, where?, with you folks on this website buying on the internet sight unseen? Seems to me that any such demonstration would give the average consumer a big headache and will you pay an extra 40% for 5% more light return? Then there is the problem of educating the average, da, retail jeweler who takes to education and change like a lion takes to a plate of brocolli.

Well in the words of Cap Beesley (President of AGL Lab) Anyone who thinks diamonds aren''t a commodity I''ve got an all expense ticket to Disneyworld for ya.

Colored Stones:

My sense is that high end did well. There were a fair number of European buyers who, with their high flying Euros were able to buy well and did. Yes, large demand for unheated sapphire. I bought a few myself despite the fact I''m heading for the Bangkok show. Fine untreated blues are just plain rare on the ground. Bought a couple of pinks and even a padparadadascha (never see those in Bkk) but all heated goods. Personally, I have no problem with heat treatment except when it muddies the Crystal in blue sapphire.

Well so long for now I better quit before I tell you all the secrets.

Richard
 

innerkitten

Ideal_Rock
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Aug 1, 2003
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Thanks for the info. Interesting about the European buyers. The US seems to be a place where Europeans and others come to shop these days. Off the subject of stones, I live in San Francisco and as you might know real estate prices are out of control here and still rising. I read yesterday that foreigners are buying as much as they can in SF for investment purposes because their currency is so strong against the dollar, especially the English pound.
 
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