By contrast, the pearls sometimes labeled as “Chinese akoyas”, “baby akoyas”, or “freshwater akoyas (AK)” are freshwater ...

Lapis lazuli is an aggregate of several minerals. Lazurite grains provide its characteristic blue color, while golden flakes of pyrite can add attractive contrast. Lapis lazuli is a rock, which means ...

Natural pearls grow in the wild without human intervention. They are very rare, and most natural pearls in the market today are antique. Cultured pearls are grown in pearl farms, and are the direct ...

Figure 1. The color zoning of amethyst from Boudi often displays a characteristic hourglass shape. Photo by Abdelghani El Harfi and Salahaddine Mouaddib. For 25 years, the Moroccan locality of Boudi ...

A new diamond imitation, synthetic moissanite (silicon carbide), is now being produced by C3 Inc. in near-colorless form for jewelry purposes. With refractive indices of 2.648 and 2.691, a dispersion ...

Consumers now, more than ever, have a heightened awareness of sustainably and ethically sourced products. The GIA Diamond Origin Report uses scientific evaluation to provide confirmation of a ...

Diamonds have a long history as a premier gemstone—a natural consequence of their beauty, rarity, and superlative physical properties such as extreme hardness. Diamonds that are mined for use as ...

The Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana, owned and operated by Lucara Diamond Corp., has gained international recognition for producing large, high-quality type IaB or coexistence of IaB with IIa diamonds ...

Gem-quality synthetic or laboratory-grown diamonds are more available in today’s jewelry marketplace than ever before, causing both interest and concern about lab-grown diamonds and whether ...

Descending into Peshawar for the first time, a foreign tourist might be surprised to learn that amid the clutter of buildings in this historical city lies an important gem trading center. This market ...

Diamonds are known for their hardness – their ability to resist scratches and abrasions. But diamonds are not impervious to damage, since their hardness is uneven along different crystal directions.

Figure 1. Strands of Nigerian beryl in assorted colors. Photo by Kevin Schumacher. During the JCK show in Tucson, GIA had the opportunity to meet up with Amina Egwuatu, founder of Mina Stones. Mrs.