(IDEX Online) – Greenland Ruby, Greenland’s only miner of ruby and pink sapphire, has announced that Hartmann’s Jewellery, a Danish luxury brand, is introducing a collection of jewels using Greenlandic rubies and pink sapphires.

The Hartmann collection features more than 50 pieces of Greenlandic ruby and pink sapphire jewelry using a total of approximately 300 carats of rubies and pink sapphires. It was designed by Hartmann’s design team, and the prices range from $1,500 – $45,000. The collection is currently available in Scandinavia, Greenland Ruby said in a statement.

“Though other designers have worked with our gems, Hartmann’s is the first jewelry brand to create an entire collection,” said Greenland Ruby VP Sales and Marketing Hayley Henning. “We’re especially delighted to welcome a Danish retailer as our first full partner, given Denmark’s long relationship with Greenland.”

Ulrik Hartmann, founder and owner of Hartmann’s, visited Greenland Ruby’s Aappaluttoq mine near the southeast coast of Greenland in August, with Danish television cameraman Michel van Steenwijk, to record his visit. Hartmann’s campaign to introduce Greenland Ruby’s rubies and pink sapphires this fall includes video and still photography of the pristine arctic scenery he experienced on his visit, which he is sharing on his website and social media.

Hartmann traveled to Aappaluttoq by water from Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. The four-hour boat journey is only possible in summer, due to Greenland’s arctic climate.

“The idea that corundum formed beneath this incredible landscape three billion years ago intrigued me,” says Hartmann. “Introducing this new source of ruby and pink sapphire, while also honoring its isolated, rare, and unique setting, will be a pleasure.”

Hartmann’s is known for its special and deep expertise in natural diamonds – especially colored diamonds. It is one of only three retailers in Europe to carry the title, “Argyle Pink Select Atelier,” for its Argyle Pink Diamond Collection, and it hosted the world premiere of the Argyle Pink Diamond Tender in 2016, showcasing some of the rarest diamonds in the world. Hartmann’s, a retail member of the Natural Color Diamond Association (NCDIA), is also the sole distributor of Boucheron’s luxury branded jewelry and timepieces in Scandinavia.

In addition, Hartmann’s plans to focus on the fact that Greenland Ruby gems are mined by adhering to strict ethical, social, human rights, and environmental laws and responsible practices, where local mining and gem sorting work forces enjoy all the protections and working conditions guaranteed by Greenlandic law.

Greenland Ruby gems come with a certificate of origin authorized and issued by the government of Greenland, guaranteeing that the gems are mined in a country that has an excellent human rights record, is environmentally responsible, and boasts a stable government and economy.

Hartmann’s Greenlandic rubies and pink sapphires can also be tracked along every step of their journey, from the mine to the store. The brand also supports Greenland Ruby’s Pink Polar Bear Foundation, an initiative created to support international polar research in all disciplines, especially protecting the inhabitants (animal and human) of Greenland, who are affected by climate change and accompanying cultural changes.

“Greenland is fast becoming known internationally as a responsible source of gem quality ruby and pink sapphire,” said Greenland Ruby’s CEO Magnus Kibsgaard. “Our team has spent 2018 meeting with prospective clients, attending gem and jewelry trade shows around the world, and hosting visits like Ulrik’s to our mine site in Aappaluttoq.”

Greenland Ruby’s other hosted mine visits have included journalists for InColor, a publication of the International Colored Gemstone Association; and the magazines Journal of Gemmology and Gems & Jewellery, both produced by the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. Gemologists’ visits to Aappaluttoq have included personnel from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the Gübelin Gem Lab, and Lotus Gemology.

(IDEX Online) – A new book about Myanmar’s remote Mogok gems valley, the source of some of the world’s finest rubies and sapphires, is being launched at the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair.

“MOGOK, The Valley of Precious Stones”, published by the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS), is an exploration narrative, as well as an ethnographic reportage and scientific reference book, according to a statement.

The book was produced by renowned gemologists Emmanuel Fritsch, Franck Notari, Thomas Hainschwang, and Candice Caplan, along with reporter/photographer Jean-Baptiste Rabouan.

“We conducted five expeditions of unprecedented scale and scope, enabling us to travel through the entire valley, visiting normally inaccessible mines, and collecting precious samples,” said Executive Editor Kennedy Ho, Chairman of AIGS. Many of our observations and conclusions are discoveries that are published here for the first time.

“Experts, teachers and students of gemology will find in this work previously unavailable, often surprising, yet highly precise information on the incredible ‘natural gemstone factory’ that is the Mogok Valley.”

The book is also a plea for socially equitable and environmentally sustainable mining, Kennedy Ho added.

Mogok has a tradition of small-scale mining operations that are currently under threat from mechanized techniques.

The book conveys the beauty of Mogok and its gems. “The photographs taken in the field as well as the laboratory images created using electronic microscopes, reveal an array of unique mineral wonders, including rubies, spinels, peridots, sapphires, and even the mysterious johachidolite, less well-known, but no less resplendent,” Ho said.

The team provides insights into their work, including quality assessment and valuation of rubies, sapphires, spinels, peridots and other treasures of Mogok. 

The unprecedented exploration of the Mogok Valley, made possible by the AIGS, has unearthed fascinating new discoveries, resulting in a new reference work for scientists, devotees of precious stones and travelers seeking a unique experience.

The full-color hardcover book with 192 pages, costs US$100, and will be available at the AIGS booths at the Hong Kong fair.

(IDEX Online) – NCDIA Asia, the representative office of the Natural Color Diamond Association in Asia, will host a seminar with Alrosa at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, entitled “How the World of Natural Color Diamonds Continues to Evolve.”

Speakers from Alrosa’s polished division will include Pavel Vinikhin, general manager, along with Evgeny Tsybukov, deputy director for sales. Also participating in the seminar is Ren Lu,  a professor at the Gemmological Institute, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China. The moderator will be Avi Kravitz, senior analyst and news editor at the Rapaport Group.

Vinikhin and Tsybukov will begin by presenting basic information about Alrosa itself, along with some figures related to overall rough and polished sales. They will also explain the role of Alrosa’s polished branch and about its strategy of increased focus on natural color diamonds manufacturing. The miner will be hold a natural color diamond auction during the Hong Kong show where it will offer for sale 250 polished diamonds of various shapes and colors.

The NCDIA said that Dr. Lu is the leading scientist in China on fancy color diamonds and he will elaborate on the tastes of the Chinese market, from his perspective. Dr. Lu is currently focusing on the China gem and jewelry market.

The seminar will take place from 2-3:30 pm on September 13 in Meeting Room 201A, at the AsiaWorld-Expo.

To register for the seminar, attendees can go to https://ift.tt/2NWVDUj.

(IDEX Online) – With fewer than six weeks to go to the opening of the 2018 CIBJO Congress in Bogotá, Colombia, on October 15, 2018, the fourth of the CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released.

Prepared by the CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission, headed by Charles Abouchar, the report looks at efforts being taken to promote responsible practices in the sector, while taking into consideration the very different conditions that exist in the colored gemstone industry.

“More than 80 percent of rough colored gemstones that come into the pipeline is produced by tens of thousands of artisanal miners, at a great many small-scale mine sites around the world,” wrote Abouchar. “But it is not only the logistical difficulties that make the colored gemstone sector such a tough nut to crack. The potential of an overly cumbersome responsible sourcing system having unintended consequences is also a critical factor. Policies that could economically disadvantage artisanal or small-scale miners, by restricting their ability to be fully involved in the business, could place at risk literally millions of ordinary people whose lives and communities are currently supported by gemstone mining.”

Abouchar also outlines a project under way to produce an abridged version of the Coloured Stone Blue Book, which will be easier for retailers and their staff to understand and use. This is in recognition of the fact that, with the growing range and sophistication of gemstone treatments and artificial products, the Blue Book has become increasingly detailed, technical and difficult for the layperson to navigate.

Abouchar also reports on an initiative taken jointly with CIBJO’s Gemmological Commission to encourage gemological laboratories to separate scientific results and professional opinions on their reports. “We hope that once gemological laboratories accept this practice, consumers will better understand that parts of a report reflect the opinion of the issuing laboratory, and that such opinions may differ from one laboratory to another,” he notes.

(IDEX Online) – In a public statement on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Jewelry Guides, the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) said it welcomes the release following six years of consultation with the industry.

“This document plays an important role, alongside other applicable norms and standards, in protecting consumers from deceitful communication by marketers. The DPA commits to respecting the FTC Guides – as it has always done – in its communication, and in particular as it pertains to the way it describes synthetic diamonds – diamonds created in a laboratory – and natural diamonds. We note and welcome synthetic diamond manufacturers’ public pledge to respect the new Guides.

“The DPA appreciates that the FTC still requires marketers of man-made stones to differentiate their product conspicuously from natural diamonds in their marketing communication. While we disagree with the change in the FTC’s definition of a diamond, we want to remind the industry that all other norms and standards continue to support that a diamond is a mineral of natural origin, and to clarify that the FTC Guides continue to ask marketers to qualify the use of the word “diamond” to describe any product that is not “a mined stone.”

“Furthermore, the DPA expresses deep concerns that the new Guides fail to provide the clarity required to avoid more consumer confusion and deception, instead introducing unnecessary ambiguity. In particular, the Guides support the broad use of terms which – while potentially incorrect and misleading – can be qualified through communication to avoid consumer deception. This is the basis on which the FTC approves the qualified use of the term “cultured diamonds” even though it has been demonstrated that the majority of consumers mistakenly interpret “cultured” as a description used for natural diamonds. The DPA believes that this principle, if widely applied, would open the door to yet more consumer confusion and deception and would require the agency to address a large number of claims on a cumbersome case-by-case basis. DPA had hoped that the agency would provide clearer guidelines for industry on these important issues and looks forward to engaging further the FTC on the subject.

“Finally, the DPA is surprised at the wide use of the expression “mined diamond” throughout the FTC Guides in lieu of “natural diamond”, a terminology heavily promoted by man-made diamond producers. Indeed, “mined diamonds” refers to an extraction process, and not to a creation process, and the vast majority of the world’s diamonds will never be mined, making this an incorrect qualification.”