Summer 2016 ISSUE 32
MOGOK Mining Beauties and Beyond
Perlas del Mar de Cortez: Cultured Pearls From Mexico Evolution of the Inclusion Illusion Sannan Skarn from Pakistan
ISSUE 32: SUMMER 2016
Summer 2016 ISSUE 32
Summer 2016 ISSUE 32
MOGOK Mining Beauties and Beyond
Perlas del Mar de Cortez: Cultured Pearls From Mexico Evolution of the Inclusion Illusion Sannan Skarn from Pakistan
COVER IMAGE: The Buddhist monk statues at the Daw Nan Kyi monastery in the Mogok region; the town visible in the background is Kyatpyin. (Thomas Hainschwang)
CONTENTS Foreword 22
Industry News
6 8 9
Update on Gemfields’ Latest Global Multi-Color Gemstone Developments Jewelry Among Exotic Valuables Found in Ancient Grave in Cyprus Rio Tinto Sells AU$1M Gold Coin Set With Red Diamond
Gemology
26
10 13 16 22 26 33 34
Mediterranean Conference Spotlights Traceability of Gems Stable Enhancements and Unstable Treatments of Colored Diamonds Improving the Color of Diamonds Through HPHT Processing Evolution of the Inclusion Illusion Perlas del Mar de Cortez: Cultured Pearls From Mexico Much Ado About ‘Trapiche’ Pezzottaite Looks like Maw Sit Sit: Sannan Skarn from Pakistan
Cover Feature
38 34
Mogok: Mining Beauties and Beyond
Jewelry Trends and Designs
51
An Extravagant High-Jewelry Season in Paris
Trade Shows
57 60 55
4 InColor Summer 2016
Sri Lanka Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Leading Trade Show Color Everywhere at JCK and Couture Shows in Las Vegas
FOREWORD
ISSN: 1158934X To subscribe to InColor, go to www.gemstone.org/incolor or write to incolor@gemstone.org To advertise in InColor, write to incolor@gemstone.org or call 1-212-620-0900 Fax: 1-212-352-9054
InColor Editorial Committee Clement Sabbagh - Chairman Jean Claude Michelou - Editor-in-Chief Gary Roskin Managing Editor Albert Robinson Marketing and Sales incolor@gemstone.org InColor Bureau USA Claudiu Margarit claudiu@gemstone.org [1] (212) 620-0900 Fax: 1-212-352-9054
Published by ICA (International Colored Gemstone Association Ltd.) Hong Kong Office: Unit 311B, 3/F, Heng Ngai Jewelry Centre, No. 4 Hok Yuen Street East, Hung Hom, Hong Kong Telephone: (852) 2365 9318 Fax: (852) 2365 9371 New York Office: 30 West 47th Street, Suite 201 New York, NY 10036, USA Tel: 1-212-620-0900 Copyright Contents of InColor are copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of the publisher. InColor makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes. Opinions expressed in this magazine are the sole responsibility of their authors.
ASIAN MARKETS: The Start of a
Gems and Jewelry Blockbuster?
W
ith the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc becoming increasingly important on the global economic stage, the traditional gemstone and jewelry center of Thailand has the opportunity to further cement its role as a main market, and one that connects and provides services to the region while also serving as a bridge connecting it to the wider world. The ASEAN grouping includes Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Thailand serves as a jewelry trading center, while the combined power of the ASEAN bloc allows it to reinforce its position vis-à-vis regional tigers such as China and India. Modeled loosely on the European Union, the ASEAN group already counts more than 650 million people, almost double that of the United States, and beyond the approximate 520 million population of the European Union. In addition to a huge consumer market, the region also has the third-largest number of workers in the world, with only China and India having more. This common market allows for the free circulation of people and goods within member states, as well as agreements on issues as diverse as social and environmental protection and security. Research shows that the ASEAN grouping, if it were a single country, would be the seventh-largest economy in the world, with a combined Gross Domestic Product of more than $2.5 trillion. That figure is, of course, far less than those of the world’s four biggest economies, but it nonetheless illustrates the size of the joint economy which is predicted to become the fourth-largest in the world by 2050. And the trading and economic zone will be extended to China, India, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand under the planned Regional Economic Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). This would create an enormous trading zone with a huge consumer potential estimated at more than 3.4 billion people and with a combined GDP of close to $22 trillion. At the heart of the ASEAN bloc, Thailand has huge advantages as the main gem and jewelry center, with decades of experience as a trading, manufacturing and gem labs hub. And the Thai government is working to further expand the country’s gemstone and jewelry industry which is estimated to account for around 5 percent of the country’s exports with its involvement in the organization of the September Bangkok Gem and Jewelry Fair. Thailand, with Bangkok and Chanthaburi, is set remain as the top gems and jewelry hub in the ASEAN bloc where gem-mining countries such as Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia are also located. As recently noted by CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri, Thailand, with its import /export gemstone procedures, large inventory of goods and being a reputed laboratory and research center, is already perceived as the natural exchange platform for the gems and jewelry industry in the area. Curiously, Sri Lanka, the other growing colored gemstone and jewelry hub in the region, is not part of the ASEAN or RCEP groupings. Nonetheless, the government is working hard to develop economic treaties with countries in the region. The Sri Lankan gemstone community has also been extremely successful in regulating and branding its sapphire and other gem-mining resources, as well as strongly increasing direct sourcing of rough stones from mining regions across Africa. As a result, it has reinforced its position as an important hub for international buyers. Traditionally, the region has been dominated by the Jaipur gems and jewelry community. However, it is clear that competition for pole position in a global economy where Asian countries will grow dramatically in importance will include China, India and their huge and expanding domestic markets, accompanied by the gem trading and manufacturing platforms of Thailand and Sri Lanka. Recent developments in the international colored gemstone industry, together with the fact that the ICA’s 2017 Congress will be held in Jaipur next year, illustrate the positioning and power challenges within the global gems and jewelry trade with each of these four gems and jewelry centers having hosted two ICA congresses. By Jean Claude Michelou Editor-in-Chief
www.gemstone.org
InColor Summer 2016 5