Cultivation
Pearls are produced naturally in the body of salt and freshwater mollusks, such as oysters and mussels. When these animals sense an irritant, such as a grain of sand, they produce a soft coating of calcium carbonate substance around it. The result is a pearl. Because perfectly round, naturally produced pearls are so rare, a process known as cultivation was developed by Kokichi Mikimoto in the early 1900s. A small bead of polished shell, the nucleus, is used as an irritant and delicately inserted into the mantle of a mollusk. It takes approximately 20-24 months of intensive husbandry to cultivate a saltwater pearl and somewhat less time to cultivate freshwater pearls. The harvest usually takes place during the months of June and September.

The Earth Star - No Picture

The Earth Star was found in the Jagersfontein Mine in 1967. It was cut from a raw stone of about 248.9 carats into a Pear shaped stone weighing 111.59 carats. At the time it was considered the largest faceted brown diamond in the world. This particular stone shows a degree of brilliance that is not usually found in gems with such a strong color. It was sold in 1983 to Stephen Zbova of Naples for $900,000.

Eureka Diamond

An Emerald Cut diamond is a diamond that has been cut to a rectangular or square step cut with diagonally cut corners. It usually has 2 to 4 rows of parallel facets to the center of the stone. A very popular style of cut used for Emeralds hence the name. What makes this cut unique is the large flat face (table) when viewed from the top.

This flat face highlights the clarity of the diamond so only high quality diamonds are cut to this shape. The lack of impurities and inclusion in the stone will increase the price so emerald cut diamonds are usually more expensive than other cuts with the same caret weight.

Jewelry in western civilization may have begun as beads of mourning, according to research done by Char, at collectiblejewels. Queens of England, and sometimes even their court, had to stay in full or half morning for several years. Jet black stones at Whitby flourished throughout early centuries, producing brooches, necklaces, earrings and bracelets in vast numbers. (I have even seen an unusual black stone necklace, worn by Queen Victoria in mourning, when I was recently in England.)

The first wave of gem-quality manufactured diamonds hit the market late in 2003. Man-made diamonds is nothing new and the technology has been available since the mid 19th century. Small diamond crystals were created for industrial purposes such as grinding wheels, drill bits and saw blades. What is new is that a Florida based company can now produce rough 3-carat gem-quality diamonds 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at a cost of less than $100 dollars.