Emerald Update

Well, we've been having a rough time here in the Land of Gementia. Equipment breakdowns have us behind on orders and waaaaaaaay behind on the emerald necklace. The 116-carat stone is finally getting some polishing time now that we have a new rotary polisher - our old one started having electrical current issues, which got so bad that it was eventually unusable. We had several orders in progress that had to be finished before Gem could get back to work on the emeralds, but the smaller stone is now beginning to shine and should be ready for setting soon.

Another glitch in the works - there will be no trip to Burma for ruby-hunting after all. The present embargo prohibits any rubies from being taken out of Burma, and as hard as she tried, Misha was unable to find a way to get around the regulations. So, there are no current plans for a ruby expedition to Burma or elsewhere at present, and Misha is considering Australia and opal-hunting for her next adventure. There have been some flat-out fabulous finds at Coober Pedy recently, so we have high hopes for some truly great stones.

That's all for now, but expect another update in the coming two or three weeks with photos of the 116-carat emerald, both before and after it gets set in the necklace. We also have some wonderful suggestions for the name, which Dr. Robi is considering. We should have her final choice for you at about the same time the photos are published.

Till next time,

Stephanie

Happy 2010 !

Hope you all had a safe and happy Christmas and New Years' Eve! For Gementia13, it was a hectic and busy one, but a good one all the same.

There are some changes in the Land of Gementia at the start of 2010, one of which is ME! (That's me, the eager beaver below, getting my desk set up - like my wallpaper? I like it too.)




My name is Stephanie, and I'm Gem's new assistant. I help her with things like updating the blog here, searching for new inventory items to buy (including all the items on the Personal Shopper list), keeping the inventory organized, answering customer emails, and listing items. Basically, my job is to free up some time for her to work on jewelry by doing those things that take her time and attention elsewhere. Christmas season found both Gem and Marcus overwhelmed with custom orders, and since that side of the business is growing rapidly, Miss Misha (CEO and founder of the company) decided it was time that Gem had some help with the administrative tasks. So, on the 4th of January, I started working at Gementia13 as Gem's administrative assistant. Also on the 4th of January, the G13 shop moved into a larger area (still on the same property, just in a different place) as the old shop was getting pretty cramped and wouldn't have had room for another person. Now there's room to get up and walk around, something that was impossible in the old shop. It was just too tiny. There's even a little area for the coffeemaker and water cooler and a few corners that are still empty and up for grabs!



We know you've all been anxious for news about the emeralds, and the news is very good. The pear-cut emerald is almost finished! There was another delay due to a flare-up of Gem's carpal tunnel syndrome, which kept her from working on it for about a week, but she's now back to polishing and says it should be finished within the next week or ten days. She hopes to have it set in the necklace (which is AMAZING) by the 5th of February so that it will be up for sale before Valentine's Day. We've had several suggestions for names, which have been forwarded to Dr. Robi Ludwig for consideration. We'll do our best to pull it all together and have it listed for sale by the first week in February.



We will be offering more of our own pieces in 2010, including replica necklaces of both the new emeralds as well as the Northern Light. We will also be offering some new "Heart of the Ocean" style necklaces; large CZ pendants; emerald pendants, necklaces, rings and bracelets; opal pendants and rings; marble cabochon pendants and rings; and Fenton glass slag pendants. There are ideas on the drawing board for other items too, but we'll keep those on the hush until we have them available to order.



There's more news, but we'll let the rest wait until the next update. Right now I have to help Gem set up her new work station so that all her tools are close at hand - she's moving to the wall opposite Marcus's new wet saw and bench grinder so that she won't be right in the midst of all the rock dust. Then it's off to the post office for some supplies, and back to the new shop to help organize the inventory.


We'll try to get you another update within the week, but if not, we'll definitely have one for you as soon as the emerald is finished. We'll post photos of it by itself before it's set, and then photos of the necklace when it's all done and ready for sale. We'll also let you know what its new name will be just as soon as Dr. Robi makes her decision, which will be shortly after the stone is finished and ready to set. In the meantime, our best wishes go out to all of you for a safe, happy and prosperous 2010. Talk to you soon!

~Stephanie~

Update from Gem on the Emeralds

Hi everyone,

I know you've been asking about the status of the Howes Emerald and its little sister, so I wanted to let you know where we're at in the process. Both were cut and in the polishing process at last post, and the Howes Emerald is turning out beautifully. The smaller pear-cut stone was a bit problematic - there were some pits in the table surface that did not want to polish out. The solution, finally, had to be a re-cut. Fortunately, since the table is the last part of a stone to be cut, a re-cut of the table usually can be done without much loss of weight and without affecting the overall design. The re-cut went well, and there was very little loss of carat weight. The table is now pit-free and the polishing is coming along nicely.

I expect that the stone will be finished in a few weeks (polishing is the longest part of the process), and it should be set within a week or two after that. We are creating an entire necklace to go with the pendant - it will be comprised of transparent oval Brazilian emerald beads alternating in size, with the larger beads about 5mm x 9mm and the smaller spacer beads about 2mm x 4mm. The beads will, of course, be top quality emeralds just like the pendant. I plan to make the bale large enough that the pendant can be removed from the necklace and worn separately as a pendant if desired.

We know that you're all anxiously awaiting the unveiling of these incredible stones, and we do apologize for keeping you waiting a bit longer than planned. These delays do happen in stone faceting, though, and there is no way to know that a re-cut will be necessary until you've started polishing and can see what the finished surface will look like. Some stones are more stubborn than others, and demand additional attention before they comply with the wishes of the cutter. With stones as beautiful as these, we're just happy that they eventually do comply. :) There most likely won't be any further delays, and we should be ready to present them to the world within a month or so. In the meantime, keep saving those pennies for the sale of the smaller stone! It is going to be magnificent, and transparent emeralds of this size are very, very rare, so the price tag will undoubtedly be a big one. But what an amazing once-in-a-lifetime chance!

We are delighted to announce that our favorite customer, Dr. Robi Ludwig, has agreed to help us name the smaller pear-shaped stone when it is finished. If you have suggestions for a name, please send them to absolute.gementia@comcast.net by December 28, 2009, and we will see that your suggestions are forwarded to her. In consideration for her assistance, we will be donating five percent of the sales proceeds to the charity of Dr. Robi's choice. (We will include information on the charity in the sales listing.)

That's all the news for now. We will keep you posted!

Happy holidays,

==GEM==

Good news and not-so-good news

We know some of you have been waiting anxiously to see the Howes Emerald, so we wanted to give you an update. During cutting, we discovered a fissure in the stone. While the stone was still stable, the fissure would have been visible after polishing and would have detracted from the beauty of the stone. So, fearless, Gem decided, "I'm going to re-cut it." And before the collective gasp in the shop had even died down, she went to the lap machine and got right to it. After three days of intense, careful, and we have to say quite masterful cutting by Gem, the result was TWO beautiful stones. One, which will bear the "Howes Emerald" title, is a square step cut stone weighing 176.5 carats. The other, a pear cut stone weighing 116 carats, which our founder has decided to sell, has not yet been named. Both stones look quite clear, pre-polish, and may even be flawless. We won't know for sure until they're finished. The wonderful part is, since the rough stone had not completely been cut, the final two stones produced actually weighed in at 292.5 carats, a bit over the projected 282 carats for the single stone.

AND.....to our delight, when the matrix was removed from a large block of pyrite which showed only a few small stones on its surface, another very large stone was discovered. This stone will also be cut by Gem, en cabochon, and then, at the request of our founder, Gem will engrave the surface of the stone with one of her fabulous designs. (In the past, Gem did custom furniture engraving, and her designs are marvelous. Picture the design of an oriental rug carved into the top of a coffee table or a family crest carved into the doors of a cherry wood armoire.) We estimate the weight of the cut and engraved stone to be between 325 and 380 carats.

As for the Howes Emerald and its smaller counterpart, they are in the polishing stage and will be finished very soon. As promised, we will post photos here when they're done. And the great news for our customers is that YOU may end up being the owner of the 116 carat pear cut stone! When the polishing is finished, we will set it in a 14kt gold pendant, have it appraised, and then offer it for sale on our sites.

Keep stopping in for updates, and we will post photos when the stones are finished. We'll also keep you informed on the status of the smaller stone and will of course post an announcement letting you know when it will be offered for sale. Start counting those pennies and tightening those belts, and you may be the new owner of this fabulous emerald!

Until next time, all our best to all of you.

She's done it AGAIN!

As some of you may know, our company was founded by the original owner of the Northern Light, a celebrated 464-carat blue emerald (aquamarine) with rare opalescent multicolor dispersion. We are delighted to announce that she has acquired another fabulous jewel, which we are now in the process of cutting - a 282-carat deep green emerald that has been dubbed the Howes Emerald after our founder's father. Photos of this stunning jewel will be posted here as soon as we finish the cutting process, and we will most likely be offering reproductions at some time in the future as we have done with the Northern Light. This amazing stone was among a handful of large emeralds that she found during her most recent rockhounding adventure.

We are excited and happy to be able to share this wonderful news, and we look forward to sharing photos of the finished gem with you just as soon as we have them available. As always, our best to all of you. We'll be posting more news soon!

==GEM==

News, News, News

We here in the Land of Gementia have some wonderful new things on the horizon! We've had a great spring and summer, and this fall will be adding two new categories of items to our stores. One of these categories is sort of a sweeping antiquities/relics/amulets/talismans sort of category in which you'll see some very, very, very old (we're talking 300 B.C. sort of old here) jewels, amulets, talismans and other religious or semi-religious jewelry. We'll be starting slowly, but we've gotten some wonderful advice and education from our friend Patrick, a well-established antiquities dealer, and we can't wait to start adding to this line. The other new category is fine art, which we've been collecting for years but is a new line in our G13 inventory. We've had some small successes in our private transactions, and will be, again, starting slowly, but hopefully growing this aspect of the business over the next couple years. One thing we're sure about, owing to our experience in shipping, is that we will only be handling small items. Large items are a terrible hassle to pack and are extremely expensive to ship, so in this new line of inventory, yes, size DOES matter. :D

Our other news is that our custom orders business has been picking up recently and shows signs of growing rapidly over the next year. So far, we have had the most success with our handcrafted large synthetic stone pendants, "Heart of the Ocean" replica necklaces, and emerald pendants and rings. They've been selling as fast as we can list them, so we're trying to keep them listed for the general public while filling custom orders at the same time.

All in all, things are going well. We're starting to list our Christmas inventory (you can never start this too soon, we've found out the hard way). Our stores are growing despite unstable economic conditions, and while we (like everyone else) have our slow periods, we've also had some weeks in which items are flying out the door just as fast as we can pack them. We've acquired several more steady customers (including a couple more famous ones through referrals), and our feedback has been superb. We've been featured on several well-traveled fashion and jewelry websites. We've met most of our end-of-year goals already and are looking forward to an even better year in 2010.

Well, that's all the news for now, but we'll keep you posted.

All the best,

==GEM==

Sad News

Gementia13 is saddened by the loss of Tom Pfaeffle, a respected recording engineer, teacher, and our dear friend, who was killed Friday night. Tom worked with Heart, Nirvana, the Black Crowes, and many other bands, and also taught at the Art Institute of Seattle. He was extremely talented and very giving of his time and expertise. His contribution to the Seattle music community is immeasurable.

We will not be conducting business today, Sunday, July 19th, in observance of his passing.

Our deepest sympathy goes out to Tom's wife and two children. Our hearts are with you.