History, Death, Destruction, & Spinel

This week’s episode has been long anticipated. I mean, we had been teasing it for two weeks now…

So to go along with this riveting Pod are some visual representations of what the heck we are talking about!

 

That insane crystal structure of Spinel is evident here. Like two pyramids stacked on eachother.

http://www.geologyin.com/2014/11/deep-red-crystals-of-spinel-set-atop.html

 

Spinel color ranges- you can probably see why it might have been seen as quite the “impostor”

https://gem2000.com/news/tag/color-gemstones/

 

The black Prince’s Ruby is front and center on what must be the lighter version of the crown. Try nodding off during a coronation wearing this

http://www.thepracticalgemologist.com/jewelry-history-1/2016/10/28/not-what-it-seems-the-black-prince-ruby

 

A true queen! But really, between the hat and her neck dazzle she must really have a strong spine!

http://www.fabulagems.com/blog-ishimoto/2016/8/31/super-special-spinel

 

Cobalt Blue Spinel- drool worthy color

https://www.google.com/search?q=cobalt+blue+spinel&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7pLOt8vTcAhVUCTQIHZfBDDwQ_AUICygC&biw=1725&bih=850#imgrc=FUhlSxXoKPxMFM:

 

Some Spinel displays asterisim, but isn’t know as “Phenomenal Gem”

Photo courtesy of: https://www.jtv.com/library/gemopedia/star-spinel

Here is a sneak preview of the Parlé Spinel line coming to you 2019!

This ring will be available to purchase on our website!

 

Perido or Peridon’t

Hey Junkies, here for your weekly dose? Well we have something that’s subtle, yet special. You probably know by now we mean Peridot! Lets go on a little journey to a time long, long ago, and to a place far, far away from Idaho.

1st Stop:

Zagarbad, the mysterious, “disappearing” island where Peridot can be found.

Photo courtesy of 

Next we visit a time in history where there was enough space in the world to “cast away” our enemies, and literally never hear from them again, (I mean could you imagine?!)

Pharaoh casting away all of the snakes

 

Next we take you on a ‘wild’ color wheel ride where you can see this particular type of gem is limited in color variation. Everyone has a crazy green lady in their family, right?

Photo courtesy of https://ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/ancient-snake-deities-gods-ancient-mythology-006282

 

Color range of Peridot

This next one is for Brecken, who insisted i include the lily pads, and well, they are pretty.

Photo courtesy of https://jewelry-secrets.com/Blog/peridot-gemstone-august-birthstone/

 

Brecken’s fav Lily Pad inclusions.

Photo courtesy of http://theonlinejeweller.org/lily-pad-inclusions-peridot/

 

This is what they mean by “nodules”- pockets per say where you can find smaller amounts of Peridot all nestled up.

You can find Peridot in small amounts in the nodules of Basalt rocks

Photo courtesy of https://hiveminer.com/Tags/olivine%2Cperidot

 

Alright, this is pretty metal. Looks like something they would right ANOTHER super hero movie about. Can we ever get enough super hero movies? (yes)

Jonathan’s fav peridot in a meteorite

Photo courtesy of https://reddit.com/r/woahdude/comments/1u676k/pallasite_metorites_contain_olivine_also_known_as/

 

Last stop but not least, Parle’s vault where I found a more than worthy piece of Peridot jewelry to photograph. They really are beautiful.

 

The Tanzanite Diaries

Welcome to the Tanzanite Diaries

Take a peek at all of the pictures from this week’s episode.

 

 

How Tanzanite usually looks coming out of the ground before it has been heated.

Photo courtesy of Venus Tears https://www.venus-tears.jp/sg/blog/2016/06/30/tanzanite-the-fifth-king-of-the-gem/

 

After it is heated you can notice the shifts in colors from shades of brown and yellow to violet and blue. 

Without any heat treatment this type of Tanzanite will appear violet, blue, and green. We call it Peacock Tanzanite

The saturation of color depends on how large the gem is, the larger it is the more color it displays, and the richer the color is. 

Ruby in Zoisite- We said it was a cute elephant!

 

You can find Tanzanite in only one locale- Tanzania, specifically in the Merelani region where you can also find our Mint Garnet.

 

Shades of Tanzanite

 

Shop our Tanzanite Jewelry

 

 

Thanks for listening to the POD! Let us know if you have any questions, and check out our new FB Group where we post all of these images, Podcast updates, and Parle shares. We want to create a community of Gem Junkies and share our love of gemstones and jewelry to help designers, retailers, and enthusiasts alike!

 

Until next week- Gem Junkies

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho, Off to Mine Tourmaline We Go.

Welcome fellow Gem Junkie!

This week we discussed Tourmaline, and as we have said before this is a complicated and beautiful gemstone that comes in every color, and sometimes more than one! Have a look.

 

 

Like we said, everything but the kitchen sink. Photo courtesy of http://navneetgems.com/tourmaline-wholesale-multi-pink-green-indicolite/

 

 

The most commonly found Tourmaline- Schorl- ‘Skroll’- photo courtesy of https://www.crystalclassics.co.uk/product/schorl-tourmaline-with-albite-and-quartz/

 

Watermelon Tourmaline- Don’t forget the rind! Photo courtesy of https://auction.catawiki.com/kavels/14965741-beautiful-polished-watermelon-tourmaline-slices-14-25-ct-3

 

The coveted Paraiba Tourmaline- Photo Courtesy of https://www.gemselect.com/other-info/paraiba-tourmaline-info.php

 

As promised, the Namibian Tourmaline Jonathan picked up.

A Parle one-of-a-kind Bi-color Green Tourmaline piece. 

Shop our Tourmaline Jewelry

Cleopatra- Girl Loved Her Emeralds

 

Rough Emerald in an elongated 6 prism structure 

Picture courtesy of https://www.minedirect.com/EnlargedPages/FacetCabbingRough/Emerald/Emerald-12.html

Map of Emerald locations world-wide

Picture courtesy of http://amazonpueblo.org/emeralds-for-amazon-stories-from-jungle/

Jose Elias Vallejo has been a barequero in the ravine of the mining river for more than 40 years. He lives in Matadecafe, an informal settlement of shanty towns in the vicinity of the Muzo mines.

Picture and caption courtesy of https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2017/03/green-land-emerald-mining-colombia-170306110821882.html

Emerald Cut

Cabochon Emeralds

A final Parle product

Shop our Emerald Jewelry

 

 

All Hail The King

Rubies- Every one knows them, but only the fierce don this power gemstone. Are you one of the few?

Find our cover photo https://www.instagram.com/thirdcoastgems/

 

The Corundum Family

How did you react when you found out Sapphires and Rubies are siblings?

 

So where is Ruby found?

While not perfectly drawn, (I am no historian or geographer) this does touch many of the locations that we know of today as the Ruby Sources. See for yourself below!

Including the Inclusions

I won’t take any of his pictures off the website, but if you want to see some cool shots of inclusions on Rubies, and other gemstones you should check out https://www.instagram.com/microworldofgems/?hl=en

 

Rubies & their sources


East African Ruby

Madagascar Ruby

Mozambique Ruby

 

Shop our Ruby Jewelry

 

Got any questions Rubies, gemstones, jewelry, and otherwise? Please write to us! Let’s get our nerd on and talk gemstones!

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opals, Queen Victoria, & a Sassy Shoulder

To go alongside our SECOND PODCAST that introduces the complex world of Opals are some images to help wrap things up for you!

If you still haven’t listened to the Podcast then you can get the episode here http://bit.ly/2KbDobb

Subscribe to our Pod to stay up-to-date on all things colored gemstones! You can subscribe on:

Stitcher:

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/gem-junkies?refid=stpr

iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/gem-junkies/id1383312938?mt=2

Soundcloud:

http://bit.ly/2KbDobb

 

Opal Sources Worldwide

 

In order for Opal to have the precious play-of-color Silica molecules must settle in such a way for light to pass through.

 

Australian Opal Mines

 

Pieces of Opal Rough. Also included is a variety of Opal types with different background colors and transparency levels.

 

Promise Opals have plenty of Good Luck remedies too!

 

To see any of our Opal pieces please go to https://www.parlegems.com/collection.php?id=1&collection=Opal

Out of the Family- The Lotus Garnet Story

Hey, thanks for listening to our Podcast! At least that’s why I am assuming you are here. If you haven’t you should check us out under “Gem Junkies” in the itunes store, or on your podcast app! 

 

Since listening to the podcast you were probably curious to see what the great, big Garnet family looks like. We also promised pictures of the color range & shift of our Lotus Garnet and what the mines look like! Well, we have all of that here. Scroll down to see our charts, and check out the gallery at the bottom! Let us know if you have any questions.

Email us at [email protected]

 

 

 

From left to right:

  1. Lotus Garnet Featured Pieces
  2. Garnet Family Display
  3. Lotus Garnet color range in shade
  4. Lotus Garnet color range in sun
  5. Lotus Garnet color range in shade
  6. Lotus Garnet color range in sun
  7. At the alluvial mine site in Tanzania 
  8. At the alluvial mine site in Tanzania
  9. Lotus Garnet rough
  10. Lotus Garnet rough size

[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”11″ exclusions=”77,81,82,83,84,85,86,91,79,80″ sortorder=”77,81,82,79,80,83,84,85,86,91,96,78,87,88,89,90,92,93,94,95″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_thumbnails” override_thumbnail_settings=”0″ thumbnail_width=”120″ thumbnail_height=”90″ thumbnail_crop=”1″ images_per_page=”20″ number_of_columns=”0″ ajax_pagination=”0″ show_all_in_lightbox=”0″ use_imagebrowser_effect=”1″ show_slideshow_link=”1″ slideshow_link_text=”[Show slideshow]” ngg_triggers_display=”never” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

 

 

Shop our Lotus Garnet Jewelry

A Mandarin in the Sun

 

       Likened to the color of the sky while the sun is grazing across the horizon on the plains of Africa, the Mandarin Garnet embodies the color range from a subtle bright orange-yellow, to an almost rust-like, dark orange color. Upon its rediscovery in the Serengeti of Tanzania, our Mandarin Garnet, also known by the species name, Spessartine Garnet, has become a designer favorite due to its striking orange color.

       Spessartine garnets carry Manganese- one of the rarest elements found naturally on Earth-  and is the defining factor in this stone’s striking orange color. The lack of pleochroism in this stone becomes a favorable asset for it, as it displays the same rush of color from every direction, and can hold many faceted shapes favorably. Mandarin garnet is naturally beautiful, and does not go through any treatments.

     Our Sharing The Rough Collection is a way for us to share with you elements of the Earth in all it’s beauty. Each gemstone personifies, not only the story of the rough that it came from, but the story of all aspects of mother nature that sculpted it into existence. The colors are vivid, the stones are rare, and every gem is responsible for weaving stories together.

     So, whether you prefer to catch the sunrise or the sunset- the ombré of red, orange, and yellow that cascades across the sky embody the color spectrum of this stunning gemstone. These colors can evoke a sense of jubilant warmth,  and symbolizes what is at the heart of nature- the sun.

 

Mint of the Merelani

 

     Nestled up in the foothills of Africa’s largest Mountain, Kilimanjaro, is the world’s most famous green Grossular mine. Merelani Hills, Tanzania, is home to some of the most rejuvenating green Garnets; green Garnets that can match up to the reputation of voluminous Emeralds and Tsavorites, reign from deep within a Tanzanite mine. All by accident the Mint Garnet was discovered and has been captivating gemstone enthusiasts and jewelry designers ever since. With only a limited supply from a small part of western Africa, Mint Garnet has not only enchanted everyone with its beauty, but also its rarity.

    This gem might draw you in due to the pastel green that differentiates it from its Tsavorite counterpart, but this gem has another secret. The cool bluish-green fluoresces into a pinkish-orange under UV light thanks to the rare and valued mineral chromium that is present in this family of garnets.

     Like the shadow that a lush mountain casts as the sun rises over it on a bright spring the morning, Mint Garnet’s color reflects that of calmness. The gentle green offers a renewing sensation, like that of a new day or the start of a new spring. If you close your eyes you can almost get the impression of a cool drop of mint water at the back of your throat or the feeling of morning dew on lush grass.

     We value how close to nature this piece feels and want to preserve the aspects of it’s beauty that strike you from its most raw form. The luster it gives off is preserved with meticulous stone cutting techniques. We offer both tumbled and faceted styles that both captivate the brilliance and uniqueness of each piece that is unearthed. Nothing this valuable is underappreciated by our designers, and we make sure to take care that every gemstone is given the platform it needs to share its story.