 MJSA and the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) announced that MJSA's EXPO West will be returning to the AGTA GemFair Tucson, Feb. 2-7, 2010. The EXPO West Pavilion will be housed in the Ballroom on the Galleria level, along with the Spectrum of Design Pavilion. Exhibitors will feature manufacturing equipment, tools, supplies, contract services, and the latest in new technologies. The pavilion will also include MJSA's At the Bench Live, a series of bench demonstrations showing the latest techniques for bench jewelers. "Many of our GemFair attendees are manufacturing jewelers," said Douglas K. Hucker, CEO of AGTA. "So, it is important to ensure that they have products and services available at the show and live demonstrations to help them work more efficiently." "We are delighted to have EXPO West return to the AGTA GemFair Tucson," said David Cochran, President and CEO of MJSA. "It's an important venue for our members in that region, and we look forward to further developing it and expanding the rich blend of tools, technology and information available for manufacturing jewelers there." |
Friday, August 28, 2009
MJSA Expo West Returns to AGTA GemFair Tucson
Monday, August 24, 2009
Lattis Designs wins "Best Gold"...
The pictured bracelet "Verve" was chosen by a panel of judges as a finalist in the June "Best of Gold" jewelry contest sponsored by National Jewelers Network.
"Lattis Design was named a finalist for it's "Verve Bangle Bracelet" an 18 karat adn 14 karat gold design accented with channel set rings of yellow and blue sapphires. Inspired by aerodynamics and patterns in nature, the design is a complex system of moving links." View the full article: http://.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/contentdisplay/fashion/jewelry-reports/e3i449839ed4a8362b6f85e844f08932e9e
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Hope Diamond Anniversary Marks New Chapter...
Today marks a new chapter in the history of the famous diamond. The New York-based jeweler Harry Winston, the firm who donated the Hope to the museum, has drafted three new, modern settings for the stone. All three designs, exquisitely rendered by two of the firm’s top designers, illustrate the Hope enshrined in baguette diamonds.
The decision to reset the diamond came on the heels of the 50th anniversary of Harry Winston’s donation. “As we were thinking about the anniversary, we came up with a theme of giving the public a chance to see the diamond in a way they’ve never seen it before,” says Jeffrey Post, curator of gems at the National Museum of Natural History. “How often do you have a 50th? We needed to have a celebration.” The celebration, they decided, would be to display the Hope in a new way.
The museum announced today that just one of the three Harry Winston settings will be crafted. The Hope will be temporarily housed in the new setting and put on display this spring for a limited time, after which the setting will return to Harry Winston.
But which setting will be chosen? In an unusual move, museum officials say, the selection will be decided by the public, in a first-ever popular vote.
Between now and September 7, visitors will vote for one of the three designs through an online poll, hosted by the Smithsonian Channel, whose new documentary “Mystery of the Hope Diamond” is in production and due out next spring.
Alas, the new setting, unlike the diamond, isn’t forever. After a limited-time, the diamond will be returned to its original, historic setting. Even the team at Harry Winston can’t argue with that logic. “I think the setting is part of the heritage, it’s part of what the Hope diamond is today,” de Laage says.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
LAST DAY!!! Minerals Harder Than Quartz
40 specimens of minerals have been placed in our current theme auction. The focus this week is on minerals with a
hardness greater than that of quartz. Please feel free to take a look at:
http://auction2.mineral-auctions.com
FYI, the measure of minerals hardness is generally given using Mohs Scale. This was devised in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs using 10 commonly available minerals. Because of this, it is usually easy to find the 10 reference minerals (with the possible exception of diamonds). There is a good summary to be found at:
http://www.allaboutgemstones.com/mohs_hardness_scale.html
It includes a graphical comparison to absolute hardness. The numbers refer to the ability of one mineral to scratch the surface of another. This can get confusing when some harder minerals tend
to crumble (we might call themfriable), have strong cleaveages (it is easy to cleave topaz even though it is quite hard), or have different hardness in different directions (kyanite). So, have fun looking and think a bit about how you might use hardness to identify
an unknown mineral.
One interesting usage of the harder than quartz question is whether or not a mineral is suitable for use in a ring. Since quartz is a common component of dust, you might not want to choose something softer than quartz as it will get scratched over time.
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Thanks once again Keith I love these themed auctions and the information that comes along with it!
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