Spring Cleaning Your Favorite Spring & Summer Gems via Chan Luu (Infographic)

Cleaning most faceted gem jewelry is no real mystery most is easily accomplished using warm soapy water and a soft brush....but what about those softer opaque gems.

It is Spring and we are pulling out our Turquoise, well thanks to the fabulous Jewelry Designer Chan Luu we have a beautiful new resource.

See the latest from Chan Luu:   https://www.chanluu.com

Successful 2nd Annual Jewelry Industry Summit Closes....

via the Jewelry Industry Summit Website

2017 Final Summit Report

March 25, 2017  /  Jewelry Industry Summit

Firstly, we want to thank everyone that attended for making the second Jewelry Industry Summit a success! Nearly 150 people from 14 different countries came together to continue the work begun in New York in March of 2016, to take collective action towards strengthening our sustainable and responsible supply chain.

The goals of the second Summit included the development of a shared vision for key segments of the industry supply chain that support the broader industry vision for sustainable business and responsible sourcing.  Another important goal was to develop practical tools and strategies that are easily accessible, allowing businesses to make progress through continuous improvement.

Building on existing efforts and generating new initiatives, participants at the Second Jewelry Industry Summit engaged in dynamic and innovative ways to make their mark on the responsible jewelry movement. The initiatives created touch on a broad range of the jewelry supply chain and reflect the creative ways that anyone can participate in advancing the Summit mission, including some of the following:

• The Small Jeweler Ethical Toolkit: A virtual toolkit to aid small jewelers in understanding the issues and existing standards in the jewelry industry. It also aims to provide resources and tools to help small jewelers on their ethical journey.
• Sales Associate and Consumer Training: Getting the message out! This initiative exists to provide training and knowledge on responsible practices for retail associates in the jewelry industry. By educating those selling the products, the message and story of responsible jewelry can be further disseminated to consumers and the public.
• The Bahia Golden Rutilated Quartz Mine to Market Sustainability Model: A model to guide sustainable development in mining, environmental stewardship, value-added activity, parallel activity in organic agriculture, and geo-ag tourism. This model highlights and exemplifies the positive global impacts made possible by committing to responsible and ethical jewelry practices.

Many existing and new Initiatives are well on their way to impacting widespread positive change within the industry, and if you're not yet involved, please contact us at jewelryindustrysummit@gmail.com to find out how you can lend support. These Initiatives will be implemented throughout the coming year by a group of industry volunteers energized by their attendance at the Summit who are committed to ensuring that these projects succeed!
[To read the full report, click on the image below.]

  

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#JWLV NEW Date Patterns Announced for JCK 2017 Las Vegas Show #JCKLV

From a Press Release

NEW Date Patterns Announced for

JCK 2017 Las Vegas Show 

As previously announced to their customers, JCK and LUXURY will shift their date pattern in 2017. The shift is due to the Shavuot Holiday which is observed by several hundred of JCK's and LUXURY's customers. LUXURY will open Friday, June 2 – Sunday, June 4 to invited retailers then continue to all retailers with the opening of JCK Las Vegas on Monday, June 5 – Thursday, June 8 at Mandalay Bay Convention Center. 

These dates are a shift to the traditional day pattern of years past. LUXURY will now open on Friday, June 2 and continue through the weekend as JCK opens on Monday, June 5 and closes on Thursday, June 8.

"First and foremost we wanted to acknowledge and respect our community of observers," commented Yancy Weinrich, Senior Vice President of Reed Jewelry Group. "Additionally, in our conversations with retailers there was support for moving off of Memorial Day weekend, which we hope will allow those with scheduling conflicts around the holiday weekend to attend."

Moshe Klein, Director of Sales of Julius Klein commented on his overwhelming support for the date shift. "As a long time exhibitor at LUXURY, we appreciate the thoughtful decision the JCK Events team made in order to accommodate observing the holiday of Shavuot. The new date pattern will allow the Jewish community that participates to observe the holiday without taking away from the important business that happens at JCK. We look forward to having a successful show and believe the date shift is a refreshing reminder that at JCK, it's not just business, it's personal. We have already seen overwhelming support behind this decision from our staff and many customers."

The 2017 schedule includes:

LUXURY

Friday, June 2 – Thursday, June 8, 2017
(by invitation only June 2 - June 4)
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
For more information, visit: jckonline.com/luxury

JCK Las Vegas

Monday, June 5 – Thursday, June 8, 2017
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
For more information, visit: jckonline.com/lasvegas

Swiss Watch

Sunday, June 4 – Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Mandalay Bay Suites
For more information, visit: jckonline.com/swisswatch

AGTA GEMFAIR

Sunday, June 4 – Thursday, June 8, 2017
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
For more information, visit: www.agta.com

JIS Exchange

Monday, June 5 – Thursday, June 8, 2017
Tropicana Las Vegas
For more information, visit: jisshow.com/exchange

For more information or to register for JCK's future events, visit: reedjewelrygroup.com.

About JCK:  JCK is a trusted partner connecting jewelry retailers and manufacturers/suppliers with trends, news, products, education, and partners to build business. Whether attending face-to-face events, building inventory with online and onsite sourcing, or obtaining authoritative news and insights from JCK Magazine — the leading industry publication in print & online - JCK offers a suite of tools and events to deliver sound solutions, innovative opportunities, and essential information. For more information on JCK Events, visit reedjewelrygroup.com.

April 5th - WJA Boston and Harvard Museum Host "Do Diamonds Matter?" #WJA #Diamonds

From Press Release

WJA Boston and Harvard Museum 

Host Panel Discussion on Diamonds on April 5

"Do Diamonds Matter?" 

features a distinguished group of scientists and industry experts

The Women's Jewelry Association's Boston chapter, in collaboration with the Mineralogical & Geological Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, is hosting a special event, "Do Diamonds Matter?" on April 5, from 6-9 pm. The panel discussion will take place in the museum's auditorium at 24 Oxford St., adjacent to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Including a range of internationally known experts representing the diamond industry, museums, and academia, the panel will explore the future of the world's hardest precious stone. The discussion, which includes a Q&A session, begins at 6 pm, with a reception to follow at 7:30 pm.

Gems, jewels, and specimen from the collection of Mineralogical & Geological Museum, Harvard University. 

Photo courtesy of the museum.

Among the experts on the panel are: Raquel Alonso-Perez, Ph.D., FGA, curator of the Mineralogical and Geological Museum, Harvard University; Alan Bronstein, president of the Natural Color Diamond Association (NCDIA); Brandee Dallow, president of the international board of the Women's Jewelry Association; Alan Hart, FGA, CDA, CEO, Gemological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A); Adonis Pouroulis, chairman of London-based Petra Diamonds; Gary Roskin, G.G. (GIA) FGA, executive director of the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA); and Jennifer Schloss, physics Ph.D. candidate, Harvard University. The discussion moderator is Emily Stoehrer, Ph.D., Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator of Jewelry at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Panelists will consider the continued popularity of the diamond, and its future as an engagement ring gem, as well as the growing popularity of colored diamonds and other gems. The panel will also discuss diamond's fascinating role in a variety of industrial and technological fields, and the introduction of lab-grown diamonds in the jewelry market.

Do Diamonds Matter?

April 5, 2017, 6-9 pm

Mineralogical & Geological Museum, Harvard University

24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

To RSVP for this special free event, go to: http://www.womensjewelryassociation.com/ev_calendar_day.asp?date=4/5/2017&eventid=119

#InMyInbox - #DIAMONDS SEEM TO BE GETTING FRIENDLIER....

So, you may already know this but I am a big fan of memes - #InMyInbox translates to "my Inbox is overflowing"!  I am bundling some stories that I think you will enjoy or that I think you should know about....enjoy!

Diamonds, they say, are a Girl's Best Friend....maybe not so much, lately they seem to be attracted to the men!

You're all familiar with the Crater of Diamonds Fee Dig in Arkansas....

An Arkansas teenager hit the jackpot Saturday when he found a 7.44-carat diamond at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.

Story & Photo from the AP
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/17/teen-finds-744-carat-diamond-arkansas-park/99296000/

AND THEN.... 

A pastor has unearthed a massive gem in eastern Sierra Leone.  Pastor Emmanuel Momoh, who also works as a miner, discovered the 706-carat diamond in Kono district, the government said in a statement.

He handed it over to President Ernest Bai Koroma, who thanked him for not smuggling it out of the country. The President pledged to reward him with some of the proceeds from the sale of the diamond.

more from CNN:  http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/17/africa/sierra-leone-massive-diamond-unearthed/

Missing Journalist Finds Her Way Home.... Bead & Design Show and MORE!!! #aflyonthewall #thedailyjewel

Yes - I'm still here - Sorry for the weeks of Silence.

What have I been up to?   well,  Saturday I went the the Bead & Design Show in Costa Mesa, CA!

I tend to attend local shows about every other year because they tend to have the same vendors - this one was a surprise - I found some new things that I haven't seen before and some gorgeous cut gems.

A full report should be up on my AFlyOnTheWall Views & Reviews Blog....but here's a little teaser..

These "halo'd" beads seemed to be a huge trend and is an easy way to get the micro pave look....

I fell hard for those Chrysoprase strands

This woman's coin pearls are some of the cleanest and most lustrous I've seen in awhile. 

I need to find this vendor's name but this was extremely black labradorite - the vendor wasn't able to tell me
the source country, but the contrast is dramatic!

I LOVED this vendor - Joseph with The Good Medicine Shop - Moldavite, natural gems and some wonderful carvings

Carvings from The Good Medicine Shop....I WANT that two headed Dragon - they form a heart!!!

It seems we can't talk jewelry without talking tassels....Beads U Need had them!

 

This tassel (or bead) cap stopped me - very different from most I've seen .
It inspired me to try my hand at creating a hammered tassel cap...what do you think?

14th ANNUAL SINKANKAS SYMPOSIUM - SAPPHIRE #Sinkankis2017 #GIA

14th ANNUAL SINKANKAS SYMPOSIUM - SAPPHIRE

One of a pair of Byzantine gold bracelets adorned with silver 

ornamentation and pearls, amethyst, sapphire, glass, quartz 

and "emerald plasma," ca. AD 500–700; overall dimensions: 3.7 x 8.2 cm. 

Inv. 17.190.1670, gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917, 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Registration is now open.

Register online

This SoCal favorite is named for one of the most distinguished and revered figures in gemology and mineralogy, the Sinkankas Symposium is a one-day event featuring presentations by noted specialists working in diverse gem-related disciplines. Each year a specific gem is featured and the theme of the Fourteenth Annual Sinkankas Symposium is Sapphire.

The Sinkankas Symposium has been described as the most important gemological conference in North America by respected authorities on gemstones. Organized by Roger Merk for 13 years (2003–2015), the annual event is co-sponsored by the Gemological Society of San Diego and GIA (Gemological Institute of America), which has provided the Symposium venue every year. Bill Larson has been a generous supporter and speaker at the event since its inception. 

So clear your Calendars for Saturday, April 8, 2017

At - the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) 

World Headquarters and The Robert Mouawad Campus

5345 Armada Drive, Carlsbad, CA 92008

Space is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. 

 Registration is now open through April 2 or until tickets are sold out. 

 Registration for the one-day event includes refreshments, lunch and a copy of the 2017 Sinkankas Symposium volume, which features selected papers on Sapphire.

Registration: Register online (no paper forms, no on-site registration)

Cost: $95.00 per person through April 2 (or until sold out).

FOURTEENTH ANNUAL SINKANKAS SYMPOSIUM – SPEAKERS *

Recognized specialists in fields ranging from geology and mineralogy to history, treatment, cutting, collecting and selling will make presentations on Sapphire.

Edward Boehm – Sapphire Origin Determination: Past and Present

Dr. John Emmett – All the Colors of Corundum

Dr. George Harlow – Syenite-Hosted Sapphires – What's Going On

Alan Hart – Sapphires in the Crown Jewels

Richard Hughes – Sapphire Around the World

Carl Larson – A Collector's Perspective: Sapphire Crystals from Worldwide Localities

Glenn Lehrer – The Art and Science of Faceting and Carving Sapphire

Shane McClure – Sapphire Treatments and Their Detection

Nathan Renfro – The Microworld of Sapphires

Dr. George Rossman – Added Attractions on Color in Corundum

Dr. William "Skip" Simmons – Mineralogy and Crystallography of Sapphire

Lisbet Thoresen – Archaeogemology of Sapphire

* Speakers subject to change