March/April 2003 • Giving Orange a Bad Name • Tucson Sales Surprisingly Solid • Chalcedony: A Gem for the Ages • News & Updates • In This Issue

Tucson Sales Surprisingly Solid

By Morgan Beard · Editor-in-Chief

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An exceptional 1,372.10-ct. fluorite from Terra, photo by Jeff Scovil.

TUCSON, AZ — The annual gem and jewelry shows in Tucson, held during the first and second weeks of February, wrapped up with a lot of smiles despite fizzling sales.

Sandwiched between a slumping January and fears of impending war in the months to come, by and large exhibitors trekked to Tucson expecting nothing. What they found was a strong attendance and relatively good sales — in most cases, comparable to 2002.

The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) GemFair at the Tucson Convention Center posted a healthy 16 percent jump in attendance to 9,600, while the Gem and Jewelry Exchange (GJX) across the street held steady at just over 13,000. Anecdotal evidence suggested that traffic was steady or up slightly at two of the other biggest shows, one at the Pueblo Inn and the other at the Holiday Inn/Holidome.

Exhibitors said the bulk of the buyers were Americans, but some saw Japanese clients returning who had been absent for several years. Regardless of where the buyer was from, though, caution was the watchword.

"There's still reasonable selling to be done," commented Marc Freeman of Freeman Pearl Co. "Buyers are cautious rather than acquiring everything they normally would during the fair. We sense that they are going to be buying moderate amounts throughout the year. There is business, but it's not as strong as we would have hoped."

Chalcopyrite beads from Zimbabwe, a new look for this year. Gems courtesy Robert Bentley Co.; photo by Morgan Beard.

"People tended to be more cautious in terms of price this year," said Gloria Olson of Donald K. Olson & Associates. "They're not buying as much, but there were more people," which made it a good show for her company.

That kind of wariness has been typical of retail jewelry buyers over the past two years, ever since the U.S. economy took a turn for the worse. Now, suggested some vendors, retailers just need to replenish their inventory.

According to Jacob Aminoff of M. Zar & Co., "[Retailers] have adjusted to [the economic situation] now, and accepted that they need stock."

"The buyers who made the effort to come were coming with buying in mind," confirmed Neal Litman of Neal Litman Co. "I think people have not been buying during the year as much. They're looking for something unique and different to set them apart from the crowd, and that's why we had a successful show."

Typical of previous years, though, the buyers weren't interested in spending a lot of time shopping. The busiest days at the AGTA show and GJX across the street were the first days as buyers came in, got what they needed, and left.

"People came knowing what they were coming for and boom, they were out of here," observed lapidary artist Mark Gronlund. "Every day it was a new group of people. When people found what they wanted [they said] 'I'll take this and this and this,' and wrote a check and bought it."

"The first day of the show [at the Pueblo Inn] was our strongest ever," said Sid Tucker of Tucker Gems. "There were more volume buyers — maybe not a big group buying, but those buying were buying more from us."

Cat’s-eye morganite from a new deposit in Madagascar. Gem courtesy Kaufman Enterprises; photo by Robert Weldon.

The Trends
Caution in terms of spending money translated to short-term buying. Generally, retailers either brought a list of things they'd had calls for or spent money only on the things they were sure would sell.

Typical of slumping markets, demand was polarized — buyers retreated either to the high end of the market, where there's always money, or the low end, where the prices are so low that retailers don't have to tie up money in inventory. That polarization was even clearer at this year's shows than before.

"The people who came looking for tanzanite were looking for fine goods," said Michael Avram of tanzanite specialist Gemtech International. "They're buying what they really need, what they think they're going to sell. They'd rather buy goods for a short-term sale than have it in the store and not moving."

"Buyers are being cautious, but also being more traditional," commented Patricia Stoecklein of Bernie's Gems. "Usually we sell a lot of the unique stones, but not this year. Not even the less expensive stones that are oddball are selling. What has surprised me, though, is that they're buying the high-quality goods almost to the exclusion of the inexpensive goods."

"They're staying away from the different stuff this year," agreed Jerry Gyldenvand of Cut for the King Gemstones. "Ceylon sapphires have been my mainstay since the [economic] crunch."

Generally, conservative buying meant a high demand for ruby, emerald, and sapphire. Ruby and emerald especially benefited from this trend, because the supply of high quality is limited and the value was expected to increase. Emerald dealers rejoiced in the higher demand, evidence that the market for the gem is finally recovering.

Others said that they were doing well with unusual items, particularly inexpensive materials. As in previous years, quality was an important factor, as was the "look" of the gems.

Chinese freshwater pearls keep getting bigger and better. 12-mm to 13-mm multicolor Chinese freshwater pearls. Photo by Morgan Beard.

"Americans want something that looks like they have a chunk of something on their finger," said Joe Menzie of Joseph M. Menzie Inc. "All the stones you never heard of four years ago were more popularized. You can put something together that's more affordable on the retail level."

In terms of color, pink gems were hot sellers, especially pink sapphire. Some vendors said pinks like morganite or kunzite did well for them.

As always, blues sold briskly. Aquamarine did well because of increased supply — a new mine in Brazil — and greater availability of dark colors. Blue zircon was a success for much the same reason, with more deep blues coming out now than previously.

Richard Hughes of Pala International reported that the remote province of Ratanakiri is now producing blue zircon in addition to the existing deposits in the same general region. "[There's] a hamlet of maybe 20 houses, and each house has a family, so there are a couple hundred people involved [in mining in some way]. It's pretty deep in the bush," so getting the material out is difficult and time-consuming.

In addition to blues and pinks, earth tones were selling. Spessartite garnet was in uncharacteristically high demand, and some dealers also did well with rhodolite garnet and peridot.

Chinese freshwater pearls (left) are beginning to rival the size and quality of Australian South Sea pearls (right). Pearls courtesy King's Ransom; photo by Morgan Beard.

Pearl sales were a mirror of the overall market, with either the high or low end in strong demand. At one end of the market, buyers gravitated toward the high-end black Tahitian pearls — especially in bright, multicolored strands — and white South Sea pearls. At the other, strands of inexpensive Chinese freshwater pearls were much sought after, especially pearls of high quality for a good price.

Continuing a trend from previous shows, there was a lot more finished jewelry on offer, particularly at the AGTA GemFair. But this year jewelry sales were lukewarm; while there was a definite demand for finished goods, they appeared to take a back seat to loose gems.

Andesine, a feldspar said to be from a new deposit in the Congo. Gem courtesy Exotic Gems; photo by Morgan Beard.

Tucson has always been a place to launch new materials, and while there were no major finds hitting the market this year, some new gems were sparking attention.

One such gem was andesine, a feldspar that in its best color is deep red with just a hint of orange.

"It's the first time andesine was discovered like a gem," said Laurent Sikirdji of Sikirdji Gemfrance, who was selling a large parcel of the material in sizes from one to over 20 carats. The quantities were limited, however. "The production is all finished now. For the past several months there are no more stones coming."

Although the stone was said to be from the Congo — prompting some to sell it as "Congo sunstone" — other dealers said they had seen very similar material sold as Chinese. While some buyers were wary of the controversy, others were attracted by the unusual nature of the gem.

Another new material garnering attention was a deep pink morganite from Madagascar. An unusually high cesium content makes the material's gemological characteristics different from your typical beryl, thus attracting fans of the unusual.

Customers were looking for high-quality gems. Photo courtesy ICA Gem-Bureau/ Ya'akov Almor.

"It will most likely get a new name or classification; that's why we are not calling it morganite right now," commented Marc Jobin of MJ3 Inc.

The big flaw was that there was very little of the material available. Only a small amount of rough was allowed out of Madagascar before the government shut down the exportation of gems, and what did make it out was heavily included. While some of the rough produced very nice cat's-eyes, there were few of those and they tended to be of moderate size. Facet-grade stones were even rarer, with only a handful at the shows and those mostly under half a carat.

"It's hard to say [how much will come out], but there's been about 10 to 30 kilos of production so far," said Fabrice Danet of Le Minéral Brut. "I have no idea how much is left. There may be only one small pocket."

He added, though, that they'd seen a lot of interest in the product. "Eventually, if the quality [of the rough] improves in the future, it could be a very nice stone."

In lieu of a huge new deposit, many companies were looking to expand their offerings by stocking gems that were a bit soft on the Mohs scale, but still usable in jewelry.

One such was prehnite, a yellow-green translucent gem, in this case from Australia.

"It's been around for 20 or 30 years, but nobody's tried to cut it as a gemstone," said Jay Lennon of Jay Rock, who has been buying up the material and having it cut into cabochons and faceted stones. "The hardness is [Mohs] five, but it's very tough because it's fine-grained."

Faceted prehnite from Australia. Gem courtesy Jay Rock; photo by Morgan Beard.

The stone is found in Australia's Northern Territory, on a property recently declared a prospecting area, so commercial mining is not allowed. However, Lennon said that he has a good supply, especially for the designer market.

Smithsonite, which also sports a hardness of five, has the advantage of a fine range of colors. Donald K. Olson & Associates was selling the stone in colors ranging from gold and pink to blue-green and violet, all the product of a mine in the Sinaloa area of Mexico. While the colors produced change sporadically due to the nature of the deposit, there's a good quantity of material to choose from.

Moving down the scale with a hardness of four, irradiated fluorite was seen in a number of booths. Produced exclusively in Brazil thus far, the material starts off either colorless or pale green and then turns iolite blue or blue-purple when irradiated.

Ricardo Coelho of ARO Gemas, one of the Brazilian dealers who was carrying the material, said the fluorite that produces the best colors comes from a mine in Espiritu Santo. The material is available in very large sizes, and also comes in bright purple.

While their softness makes buyers wary, all of the above gems come in at under $10 per carat, making them appealing for jewelry makers on a budget.

While dealers were generally upbeat about their overall sales in Tucson, few expected the good times to last after the show closed. The looming war with Iraq cast a pall over the economy, and with consumers afraid to buy, the prospects for the spring looked grim. However, most felt that once the U.S.-Iraq conflict was resolved, business would return to normal.

"I think once this deal with Iraq is over somehow, then business is going to be good," said one dealer. "People have the power to spend; they just have to trust the economy."