GE Money's luxury program offers AGTA members consumer financing options
AGTA
The American Gem Trade Association and GE Money, a unit of General Electric Company that offers a range of financial products including private label credit cards, have joined together to provide AGTA retail members consumer financing with the GE Money Luxury program. AGTA members can click here to enroll online, or call 866-209-4457 for more information.More

CIBJO adopts AGTA disclosure codes for colored gemstones, brings major trade organizations in sync on nomenclature for gemstones
AGTA
As the 2010 CIBJO Congress, the annual conference of the World Jewellery Confederation, came to a close in Munich, Germany, CIBJO announced it had adopted the disclosure codes for colored gemstones as formulated by the American Gem Trade Association and the International Colored Gemstone Association. This decision also incorporated CIBJO's commitment to modify the CIBJO Gemstone Book, specifically the integration of the disclosure codes for the modification (treatment) of colored gemstones into the Gemstone Book.More

Inside emeralds
Color-n-Ice
Emeralds are so prone to natural inclusions, or jardin as experts call them, that a flawless green emerald is looked upon with suspicion. While the branch-like fractures are common with this verdant beryl variety, some of them could have been avoided. Different gemstones have their individual method of recovery.More

U.S. jewelry prices up 1% in January
Rapaport
The consumer price index for jewelry in the United States dropped back from the recent highs recorded during the month of January, according to statistics provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The January reading of 155.92 points was 1.1 percent higher than the level achieved one year ago, while the CPI shed 4.6 points from the December 2009 reading.More

Etienne Perret's Gem Ceramic: A new way to set stones
Luxist
For thousands of years there has been one main way to set gemstones for jewelry: by using metals. One jeweler is testing that with a new method. Etienne Perret has begun using gem ceramic to create gemstones and jewelry. Etienne's Gem Ceramic is made of Zirconia ceramic, which is said to be hard as sapphire and practically scratch and shatterproof. It's the same sort of material that is used in the ceramic knives I covet every time I see Ming Tsai using them on his cooking show.More

Gemfields finds 6,225-carat Zambian rough emerald
National Jeweler
Gemfields has announced the discovery of an "exceptional" 6,225-carat rough emerald at its Kagem mine in Zambia, a piece that the company expects will yield a number of significantly sized cut gems. The emerald was recovered during normal mining operations Feb. 5. Since then, experts for London-based gemstone producer Gemfields have been examining the piece to determine its value and significance before deciding upon its future, the company said in a press release issued Feb. 22.More

World of Gems Conference II to be held Oct. 9 to 10
AGTA
Gemworld International Inc., publisher of the GemGuide to wholesale diamond and colored gemstone pricing, announces the second international gem conference to be held in Rosemont, Ill. (Chicago O'Hare). This major gemological conference is dedicated to providing the latest research and market trend data from the laboratory and gemstone industry perspectives.More

Olympic rings of another sort
Firstwater News
Fashion designers have the luxury of last-minute changes, thanks to the transportability of a needle and thread. Not so for jewelry designers, who must rely on expensive, immobile equipment and other highly specialized tools. So when Canadian jewelry designer Myles Mindham learned that the gown Measha Brueggergosman was scheduled to wear to perform at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games had been nixed, he knew that a challenge of Olympian proportions lie ahead.More

Gem and jewelry seek 2-year tax holiday
Rediff Business
The gem and jewelry industry in India is one of the fastest growing sectors in India with an annual growth rate of 15 percent. India also is emerging as the world's largest trading center for gold targeting $16 billion by 2010. India is the world's largest manufacturing center for gems and jewelry, and the domestic market is estimated to be about $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2009.More