Minerals On Postage Stamps

(via Mineral Digest Vol. 1, 1972) Franklin R Bruns, Jr writes:

In the fall of 1594 the Spanish galleon San Pedro, en route home with treasure from the New World, was wrecked on the north Bermuda reefs, and went down to the bottom. There it lay for more than three hundred years, until Teddy Tucker, a Bermudian diver, salvaged much of the treasure, including jewels, gold and artifacts. Valued at more than US $560000, the treasure was sold to the Bermuda government in 1961. Part of it is now on display at the Museum of Natural History in Flatts Village.

The finest single item from Tucker’s salvage is an emerald-studded gold cross that is three inches long, with a 11/4 inch traverse bar set with seven Colombian emeralds, the cross alone is valued at US$75000. One Dutch jewelry expert said it might take ten years to match at set of perfect emeralds like these, if indeed they could be matched at all. Colombian emeralds are, of course, at their best, second to none. It is believed that the jeweled cross was made by South American Indians, probably under the supervision of a Spanish jewelsmith.

In 1969, Bermuda issued a set of four colorful stamps portraying the emerald-studded cross from the San Pedro. Each stamp bore the identifying legend. “1594 Treasure from the sea.” The four postal items were in denominations of 4d, 1s/3d, 2s, and 2s/6d.

Since the cross was recovered from the sea, it seemed rather fitting that artist V Whiteley should have used a sea fan background for two of the stamps and coral reefs on the others. Of course, Bermuda was not the only country to feature emeralds on its postal issues. A Colombian airmail stamp of 1932-39 showed a large emerald on two high values. In the same period Colombia released a regular postage set with an emerald mine, a platinum mine, gold mining scene, and a scene of oil wells.

However, with thousands of new postage stamps released each year, it is rather surprising that so few designs relate to, or picture, minerals. Plainly, this area has not been exploited philatelically, as have flowers, birds and fishes.

With the technological advances in stamp printing, and the increasing output of brilliantly colored issues by many nations, it should not be long before a number of well awaken and stress the breadth of their mineral resources on their postage stamps. The United States, for example, has not issued a single stamp with a mineral design, or even a mineral theme, unless one considers the commemoration of the first American oil well as celebrating a national mineral asset.

A few years ago, there was a move to persuade the post office to issue mineral stamp to mark the presence of a mineralogy convention in Washington D.C. The design was to feature a brooch that was mounted with gems from each of the states. Unfortunately the move was unsuccessful, although the brooch was made and was presented to Lady Bird Johnson, later to be turned over to the Smithsonian Institution.

Perhaps the closest the United States has come to include any mineral or gem on a stamp is the instance of the $1.00 value stamp in the 1893 Columbian Exposition series which shows Queen Isabella pledging her jewels. Items of jewelry may also be seen in the illustrations on other stamps in this series: Columbus Soliciting Columbus Describing his Third Voyage.

In 1898, the United States also showed a Western Mining Prospector; the “Golden Spike Ceremony” marking the completion of the trans-continental railroad systems; the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill; a gold miner; and one for silver.

Now that Postmaster General Winton M Blount has approved a revival of the conservation stamp program, perhaps there may, one day, be stamps that depict our rich mineral resources. The conservation stamp program, initiated under former Postmaster General Arthur E Summerfield, employed pictures of wildlife, soil, forest, water and range conservation.

Stressing the importance of water conservation, France and Andorra, incidentally, recently released single stamps with a droplet that is a diamond to indicate the preciousness of water. Although Canada has immense mineral wealth, she, too has been remiss here in the field of philatelics. One Canadian stamp shows a miner with pneumatic drill and another miner panning gold. But there have been no Canadian stamps to call attention to the incredible variety of her minerals, not even her asbestos or uranium sources.

Of course, Canada, with its British heritage and association, has often shown jewel bedecked royalty and the great crowns of Britain frequently have appeared on her stamps. Indeed, there have been crowns aplenty on postage stamps. For Canada alone, one can cite the ‘young and old Victoria’ jubilee design of 1897; the Princess and Prince of Wales, later King George V and Queen Mary; Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII; King George V and Queen Elizabeth; and Queen Elizabeth II.

The British crowns naturally appear on postal issues of the United Kingdom and the countries within the Commonwealth. However, other bejeweled items in the state regalia, including those that hundreds of thousands have seen and marveled over at the exhibit in the Tower of London, have not been featured on British issues. Bejeweled crowns have, of course, been utilized widely in stamp designs of other lands. Two instances are Czechoslovakia’s altarpiece with the 14th century crown of St. Wenceslas, and far for Iran the coronation attire of Queen Farak of Persia. The great crowns worn by royalty have been adorned with fabulous gems from various parts of the world. Since these were generally mined before they were cut and polished, it is fitting that the part played by mining should be recognized. The collector of minerals on postage stamps may therefore include mining, and also metallurgy. Victor J Van Lint of the American Topical Association, specialist in mining on postage stamps provided the data for the following:

Surface mining, as depicted by a miner panning gold, for example, on a Canadian stamp is the first step in the many processes concerned with the wrestling of wealth from the earth. Next comes placering. Here water supplies are required, since, gold, platinum or precious stones, are caught behind riffles in a sluice box while a swift current of water carries off the dirt, clay, and gravel. Such a sluice is shown on a British Guiana (now Guyana) stamp. Dredge mining is shown on a Malaya stamp.

Underground mining may be pursued via three methods: by tunnels, inclined shafts, and vertical shafts. An example of a tunnel mine is on a Bolivian stamp, while a Chilean stamp shows an inclined shaft. A vertical shaft appears on a Czechoslovakian stamp.

Other postage stamps illustrate equipment used in mining. On stamps from Austria, Germany, the Saar, and Russia are shown headframes over mines, lamps used by miners, loaders, and, of course, miners with hammer, chisel and pickaxe, as well as the more modern pneumatic airpick. The Federal Republic of Germany recently issued a quartet of stamps that covered the mining operation graphically: a young miner and lamp, a miner with drill, a miner and conveyor, and a miner and coal elevator.

Romania has issued stamps showing a miner in dress uniform and also in work uniform. In 1949, Czechoslovakia marked the 700th anniversary of its mining industry, and the 150th anniversary of its miner’s laws by featuring early miners, a contemporary miner, and a mining machine. In 1952, it marked Miner’s Day—Sept. 14—with a 17th century mining tower.

While fairly comprehensive collections can be formed on mines and mining, the same cannot be said of gems and minerals. Happily for the mineral collector who is not particularly interested in postage stamps except as they feature minerals, there are a number of postal issues that present attractive minerals in crystals or groups. Here Switzerland has been the leader, natural in a sense because the Swiss have always valued the fine specimens found in their Alps. Over a four year period, from 1958 to 1961, this country issued numerous semi-postal stamps, showing fine minerals. (Semi-postal stamps have two values, one for the postage; the other to indicate the amount set aside for some worthy cause, in this instance, to benefit needy mothers.)

The first Swiss minerals set, released in 1958, displayed Fluorite, Garnet and Rock Crystal. The set also included Ammonite. Ammonite, of course, is a fossil, but it is not unusual for fossils to be included in postal issues devoted to minerals, not because so many mineral collectors also acquire fossils but because fossils, too, are found in the earth.

In 1959, Switzerland’s second set showed Agate, Tourmaline, Amethyst and Fossilized Salamander. In 1960, the subjects were Smoky Quartz, Feldspar, Gryphaea Fossil and Azurite. In 1961, to close the Swiss mineral program, came Fluorite, Petrified fish, Lazulite and Petrified fern. Also in 1961, Southwest Africa showed Tourmaline and Topaz. And, in 1963, Mexico, which has vast mineral resources, pictured Crystals.

In a set marking the bicentennial of the famous Mining Academy in Freiburg, the German Democratic Republic included stamps showing splendid Proustite crystals and Sulphur crystals. Other values showed an old furnace and ancient miners, both illustrations based on early woodcuts. More minerals appeared on a fine set of six stamps issued by the German Democratic Republic in mid-1969. The subjects were: Fluorite from Halsbrucke, Erythrite from Schneeberg, Galena from Neudorf, Smoky Quartz from Lichtenberg, Calcite from Niederrabenstein and Silver from Freiburg.

The most striking of the Russian issues relating to mineralogy appeared in 1963. Naturally, they emphasized the precious stones from the mineral-rich Ural mountains. Shown were Topaz, Jasper, Amethyst, Emerald, Rhodonite, and Malachite. In 1968, the USSR offered a 6 kopek stamp with a Crystal and the emblem of the 8th Congress for Mineral Research.

In 1969, Hungary issued a fine series featuring both fossils and minerals. Four portrayed, individually, native Copper coated with Malachite, Cuprite, a group displaying Calcite and Sphalerite with the uncommon Greenockite, and a fine Quartz crystal group. South Rhodesia pictured emeralds in 1964, but a large number of postage stamps have featured the Diamond. Sierra Leone, especially, has emphasized its role as the Land of Iron & Diamonds. Incidentally, this West African country utilizes printed and embossed self-adhesive stamps that are cut in various shapes, and are attached to peelable paper backing which may carry different advertisements.

A faceted pear-shaped Diamond was chosen for the design when Sierra Leone marked the 75th anniversary of its Bay Scout movement with a special postage stamp. This self-adhesive commemorative was released December 3, 1969. Late in 1965 Sierra Leone released three airmail stamps in unique form. The self-adhesive stamp was cut in the shape of a faceted Diamond, with a reverse-embossed design of an elaborate Diamond necklace. The name of the famous American jeweler Harry Winston was on either side of the bottom apex of the Diamond.

Other self-adhesive issues from the Land of Iron & Diamond appeared in 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967. These had the shapes of a map of Sierra Leone, a cola nut, an eagle and a round coin. In 1961, when statehood was attained, one of the first traditional Sierra Leone stamps showed a Diamond miner. In 1961, Tanganyika featured a Rose Diamond and a mine. In 1966, Central African Republic depicted a Diamond grade. Other stamps showing Diamonds were issued by Southwest Africa in 1961-62, and South Africa in 1965.

Twice Belgium featured Diamonds. A handicrafts issue included a Diamond in 1960. In 1965, a commemorative stamp featured a woman’s hand with a large round Diamond on one finger and a huge pear-shaped Diamond held between two fingers. The latter was issued to publicize Diamontexpo, a Diamond exposition held in Antwerp July 10-28, 1965. In 1954, France linked jewelry with goldsmith’s work on a stamp. In 1966, Dahomey featured jewelry, as Czechoslovakia had done in 1956 and 1965. The first of the Czech stamps marked that country’s second 5-year plan, the other publicized a costume jewelry exhibit at Jablonec.

Israel has not emphasized minerals on its stamps, but in 1968 it did issue one high value airmail stamp with a large faceted diamond to celebrate its important export trade in cut stones. The same set also included postage stamps as a major Israeli export. Earlier postal issues in Israel showed ancient glass vessels from the 1st to 3rd centuries A.D., a bronze panther of the 1st century B.C., a gold calf’s head earring of Ashdod from the 6th to 4th centuries B.C., and a gold ram’s head drinking horn of Persia from the 5th century B.C. Such archaeological treasures are becoming more common in philatelics. The collector of minerals on postage stamps may include them, if he chooses, as examples of ancient metals.

Russia, too, depicted its ancient treasures on postage stamps. In 1964, one issue showing items from the Kremlin Museum included a helmet, a saddle, a jeweled fur crown, a gold ladle, and a bowl. Two years later, the USSR presented treasures from the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad; a 6th century B.C golden stag from Scythia, a Persian silver jug, and a Malachite vase from the Urals.

The above indicates how far governments have gone in celebrating their minerals and mineral wealth on their postage stamps. Collectors who limit themselves to the mineral area have only the Geology Unit of the American Topical Association to guide them. This Geology Unit has been dubbed Geolately or Geo-Philately. Whatever it may be called, it covers minerals, waterfalls, volcanoes and the oil industry.

So, minerals available on postage stamps are relatively few. However, the increased worldwide interest in minerals will undoubtedly influence many governments, including perhaps our own, to pay more attention to the design possibilities for their postal issues.

Ray Movie

Memorable quote (s) from the movie:

Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx): Who is it?

Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong): Mr. Charles, my name is Ahmet Ertegun. May I have a moment of your time?

Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx): What do you want? I'm at church.

Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong): I'm sorry. I'll come back later.

Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx): You're here now, what do you want?

Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong): Mr. Charles, my company, Atlantic Records, has just acquired your contract from Swingtime. I'd like to discuss your future.

Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx): Hold on, man. Don't jive me now. I ain't for sale.

Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong): May I sit down? You see, Mr. Charles, it seems that Jack Lauderdale has found himself, shall we say, a little over extended and has had to unload some of his talent. When your name came up I jumped at the chance to work with you. I'm a big fan.

Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx): What if I want to go to another company? There's a guy out there right now that'll pay me seven cents a record. Can you do that?

Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong): Man, I could promise you fifteen cents a record but you won't get it. Anymore than he'll pay you seven. What I will do is promise you five cents a record and pay you five cents a record. You think pennies, Mr. Charles, you get pennies. You think dollars, you get dollars.

Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx): I like the way you put things together. Omlet, you're alright with me.

Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong): Ahmet.

Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx): Ahmet. What kind of a name is that anyway.

Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong): I'm Turkish.

Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx): Well, Ahmet, it looks like Jack Lauderdale's bad luck is my good fortune. I always knew Atlantic was bigger than Swingtime. You do great work there. I dig Atlantic.

Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong): You could have fooled me.

Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx): Well, I gotta keep my eye on you city boys. Back home they call it country dumb.

Pearl Diver’s Luck

By Clarence Benham
W W Norton & Company Inc
1950

Clarence Benham writes:

This is a story of pearl diving, as experienced by me, during a brief period of my life, in the waters of Torres Straits, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Solomon Islands. It depicts the nature of the work, the rough conditions, rude men, and some of the dangers that may be met.

The principal pearl fisheries of the world are those of the Persian Gulf and Ceylon (Sri Lanka); the Gulf of California, once fished by the Aztecs; the Paumotus; and Australia. The greatest pearl production is that of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), but the shell is the most valuable, and the largest of all pearlshell, one kind (Pinctada maxima) growing to a diameter of twelve inches and a weight of seven pounds.

Captain Banner, in the brig Julia Percy, is reputed to be the first to bring the news of the Torres Strait pearl beds to Sydney some time in the sixties of the nineteenth century. For a long time all the vessels out and sailed from that town, simply because there was no other suitable place nearer at hand.

All of the divers were swimmers in those days, the dress not being introduced until 1874. The divers and crews were brought from various South Sea Islands, and from the northern parts of the continent. Very often the natives were shanghaied. In any case they were paid only a few shillings worth of trashy trade goods a month, and were forced to work willy-nilly. In 1872 an Imperial Act was passed for the protection of the natives and in order to show that the government meant business, several vessels were seized and forfeited. Thursday Island was selected as the seat of authority and settled in 1878, but the conditions generally continued to be very tough for a long time afterwards.

When the dress was introduced many white divers, and sometimes white crews, were employed. Shell brought up to 400 pounds a ton in Sydney, and white divers commonly earned 500 pounds a year. Gradually, as more shell came on the market, and the price dropped accordingly, the earnings of the white divers decreased so that they were no longer attracted to the life. At the time when I was there, some forty years ago, no more than half a dozen remained.

Thursday Island s about thirty miles nor’-west of Cape York, the most northerly point of the great continent of Australia, and is the one of the many other islands in Torres Straits. With the exception of the soldiers in the Fort, and a few gold miners on neighboring islands, the resident population depend upon those engaged in fishing, of one kind or another, in the same way as people in a goldfields town live on the earnings of the miners and the production of the mines.

It will be incomprehensible to many people that any normal young man should voluntarily submit himself to the privation and discomfort, apart from the dangers, experienced by the writer and described in this book. On the other hand, it is difficult for others to comprehend how any healthy young fellow can put up with a pampered, petted life in town, meeting the same people, and doing the same things day after day for the whole of his life.

Today, as throughout the history of mankind, and as I hope it ever will be, young fellows seek the untrodden wilds, or the unusual. It is not easy not to do something that no other has done, but the spirit of adventure beckons and heedlessly we plunge into something that has excited our imagination. When whalers call at Hobart they have no difficulty in signing on additional hands for a voyage to the bitter Antarctic. There will always be volunteers to go anywhere and do anything, no matter how perilous and rough the task may be. If they were called, thousands would offer themselves for a journey to the moon, or into the space; in fact, they would proffer big sums of money for the privilege of being one of the lunatic crew.

Acknowledgment is hereby made to the Melbourne Herald, which has printed some parts of this story, and to Mr Simmonds, the Editor, for his kindly encouragement. All the characters in this book are now dead, or fictitious, or both, except me.

Bling'd: Blood, Diamonds and Hip Hop

"Bling'd: Blood, Diamonds and Hip Hop", is a new diamond documentary produced by Article 19 Films in co-production with Raquel Cepeda, director, for Djali Rancher Productions and in association with VH1 and UNDP.

The movie highlights the diamond trade in Sierra Leone, West Africa, and the poverty in the mining communities; the evolution of diamond-obsessed hip-hop community and their unintentional link in the country’s civil war.

More info @ http://www.vh1.com

Inexperienced Gem Dealers In Gem Markets

New findings suggest that gem dealers if they are young and inexperienced can be fooled and laminated. Younger generations are always lured in because the perception is gemstones always bring in money. They are overconfident with little or no product knowledge, tech savvy with low attention span, laidback with less patience and perseverance; ignorant, fearful, absentminded, greedy and more likely tend to be deficient in CS (commonsense). The younger gem dealers deviate from established concepts by luring in the inexperienced consumers and general public creating more bubbles. Trust and values are replaced with bluff and deceit. With time underperformance gets worse. The gem market is never compassionate. Gem dealers come and go, but gemstones live on. Somewhat surprisingly the older gem dealers know how to avoid the gas bubble trap. They have had more experience and lived through bad years. They keep a low profile and chose customers and friends selectively. They live a simple life. This tends to make them more cautious. Unfortunately the general public and consumers do not take time to look at history. They have short memory. Learning comes by doing. At the peak, the inexperienced consumers in gemstones end up stocking a significant portion of gemstones and may have the leverage to sway prices. The concept of gemstone business is a combined behavior of millions of people responding to information, disinformation and misinformation.

American Splendor Movie

Memorable quotes from the movie:

Harvey Pekar: My name is Harvey Pekar - that's an unusual name - Harvey Pekar. 1960 was the year I got my first apartment and my first phone book. Now imagine my surprise when I looked up my name and saw that in addition to me, another Harvey Pekar was listed. Now I was listed as "Harvey L. Pekar", my middle name is Lawrence, and he was listed as "Harvey Pekar" therefore his was a - was a pure listing. Then in the '70s, I noticed that a third Harvey Pekar was listed in the phone book, now this filled me with curiousity. How can there be three people with such an unusual name in the world, let alone in one city? Then one day, a person I work with, expressed her sympathy with me, concerning what she thought, was the death of my father, and she pointed out an obituary notice in the newspaper for a man named Harvey Pekar. And one of his sons was named Harvey. And these were the other Harvey Pekar's. And six months later, Harvey Pekar Jr. died. And although I've met neither man, I was filled with sadness, 'what were they like?', I thought, it seemed that our lives had been linked in some indefineable way. But the story does not end there, for two years later, another 'Harvey Pekar' appeared in the phone book. Who are these people? Where do they come from? What do they do? What's in a name? Who is "Harvey Pekar"?

Hug Your Customer Philosophy

Europa Star writes:

Jack Mitchell, CEO of Mitchells of Westport & Richards in Greenwich, California, USA, and author of best selling book “Hug Your Customer, The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results,” explains why customers are very important in any business.

The US$65 million third generational business is now run by his 7 sons and nephews. He explains, “We get to know each and every one of our customers individually, we know their birth dates, their anniversaries, and we let them know every chance we can, how much we appreciate them.”

He also explains how his sales associates, his tailors and his office staff go above and beyond what other retailers are doing. “They give out “hugs” both physical and emotional ones. It’s the little things from remembering a birthday to sending a personalized note of thanks from the CEO to sending an unexpected give like an orchid plant. By building personalized relationships, we have been able to expand our business,” added Mitchell.

“We know that we could not grow our business without the people who truly believe in our philosophy. We hire people who are honest and open, have positive attitudes, are competent and self confident, have passion and are genuinely nice people,” said Mitchell. “I know this sounds basic – but so many retailers don’t follow these rules.”

More info @ http://europastar.com/europastar/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003542135

Semi Precious Stones

(via Mineral Digest) Louis Zara writes:

Semi precious stones don’t exist. This is contrary to one of the jewelry industry’s most cherished myths. Nevertheless, it’s true: there are no semi-precious stones. Every gemstone, if it deserves the name at all, is either precious or it is not precious—as simple as that. Semi-precious is as meaningless as semi-attractive or semi-honest.

Consider the criteria applied to gemstones: value; hardness; scarcity; beauty. This order is such that what can he had easily is not valued highly. If diamonds were only fifty cents a carat, how many girls would want one for the engagement ring? If rubies were as plenty as raisins, would anyone care to wear them? I believe, no matter how hard or rare or valuable a gemstone may be, its beauty come first.

Today the diamond is accepted as the king because it is the hardest, and therefore the most durable, of gemstones. The jeweler likes diamonds because he can, or at least in sizes under five carats, always get more for his customers. Yet, except in larger sizes, diamonds are common. Beautiful rubies, even in smaller sizes, are harder to obtain, and emeralds without flaw are almost impossible to find. Diamond outranks them for hardness and brilliance, but, to many, rubies and emeralds are more beautiful.

If hardness is the only criterion, where should we rank opal, which has such flashing red, blue, and green fire that no lover of beauty can look at it without admiration? Each individual opal displays an exquisiteness of its own: Far easier to match diamonds than to match opals. Yet compared to diamond, ruby or sapphire, the opal is soft and must be worn with care. Are opals then to be dismissed as semi-precious?

What shall we say about jade, which in the imperial green quality is as fine as the elegant emerald and even scarcer, so that a great jade necklace must rank among the world’s splendid jewels? Jade cannot be compared to diamond, ruby or sapphire, but should it therefore be called semi-precious?

The average jeweler may resent these statements; his primary aim is to sell, and he can sell diamonds more readily than rubies, sapphires, opals or jade. Yet to those of us who are interested in educating the public, opals and jade, and the many other gems now blandly classed as semi-precious, deserve more intelligent appreciation, especially since their remarkable beauty delights the millions of new gem lovers.

Another example: red garnets have been plentiful since antiquity. Yet clear red garnets of appealing size are not common, the orange garnet hessonite is scarce in large sizes, and the rare green demantoid garnet, hardly known to the public, has an appeal that rivals the emerald. Fine demantoids or rhodolites, make truly impressive gemstones. Shall these, too, be labeled semi-precious?

No gem mineral displays a broader range of colors than the tourmaline. The greens have been relatively abundant. But large reds are scarce, and sapphire blues even scarcer, while the splendid watermelon tourmalines (greens and red together) are most unusual. Are such gems, too, semi-precious?

What about the alexandrite, that astonishing variety of chrysoberyl which is green in daylight and raspberry red by artificial light? It is harder than emerald. No gem is scarcer in sizes over four or five carats. Should the alexandrite, too, be put down as semi-precious?

What of aquamarine, which is a beryl and so is kin to the emerald? What of the amethyst, plentiful to be sure, but in truly lovely violet-purples and dark reds amazingly handsome?

What we seem to come down to is an economic criterion. If a gemstone is scarce, or an artificial demand has been created, that gemstone goes up in value, and is hailed as precious. If a gemstone is abundant, it is branded semi-precious.

Maybe that was acceptable when gems were chiefly status symbols. The rich dominated the market, and the rich must have only the precious. But in the last generation or so, with wider knowledge of Nature’s large family of gemstones becoming available, the emphasis has been less on status and more on beauty—and beauty is not restricted to the traditional Big Four: diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald.

Today young people, whose horizons on gemstones have broadened, turn more and more to garnets, tourmalines, and topazes of all colors, to amethysts, and to many other gems little appreciated by their fathers. Try to sell this new generation of gem lovers that a rich blue lapis lazuli or a remarkable green jade or a delicate peach morganite is merely semi-precious!

The time has come for the diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald to share the world precious with other stones. For in the world of gems, a stone is either precious or it is not precious. Semi-precious stones do not exist.