Jewelry is a fashion accessory, and like the rest of the fashion world, the market is always screaming for something new. Market forces and shifts from traditional buying trends have put the industry into a position to offer affordable jewelry that meets stringent consumer demands. Jewelry designs are now using more created gemstones because it is getting increasingly difficult to afford and find the real thing, retailers consider it easier to work with created gemstones, and larger sizes of real gemstones are rarely calibrated. Still, the thirst for fashion accessories such as jewelry remains.

            New gemstone finds are rare, but new colors are making their way to the market with improvements in created gemstone technology. Common methods for creating gemstones are the flux, flame fusion and hydrothermal processes.

            The hydrothermal process has been bringing created gemstones to the market for 20 years. It is a method that, until recently, has not been aggressively marketed, with very few manufacturers using the process, according to Walter Barshai, chairman of Pinky Trading, a joint venture company with Tairus. Leading hydrothermal manufacturers, such as Byron and Tairus, have been utilizing hydrothermal technology in recent years o create emeralds.  Tairus, however, is the only company making hydrothermal corundum, now available in “all the colors of the rainbow”, said Tim Tumey, managing director of Pinky Trading.

            Pinky Trading now has two hydrothermal processes available. The newer technology offers created gemstones with no visible growth lines, even under a microscope, said Barshai. Although the process takes eight weeks versus four, it is a cleaner process, he said. “What we do in four weeks with one process and in eight weeks with the other took nature millions of years to produce. The growth process is very intense,” Barshai said. Another difference between the two hydrothermal processes is the longer process produces different and richer colors, he added.

            For Pinky Trading, production costs are dropping slightly while orders are increasing. Barshai says the future for hydrothermal looks promising because it is becoming the most cost-effective method of creating gemstones. Pinky Trading has also started producing synthetic diamonds, a good supply of which will be available by the end of this year, said Turney.

            The news for synthetics isn’t all good. In his quarterly newsletter from last fall, Thomas Chatham, president of Chatham Inc, said he toured many shopping malls throughout the US, only to find that while created stones are finding their niche in the market, cheaply produced flame-fusion corundum is being marketed as created ruby and sapphire. Consumers realize, however, there is much more to a jewelry purchase than knowing what they want. Consumers are becoming better informed, as traditional purchases give way to a willingness to try something different.

            One significant new find that test marketed well in Japanese and US markets is almadite-spessartite. Gem Source has the exclusive distribution and marketing rights on the new color. It will be marketed as champagne garnet  because of its pinkish color.

            The source of the new color is central Madagascar, and is being mined by Pattni Co.,Ltd. Said Jeffery Bergman of Gem Source.

            “There is a steady demand for the five kilos of champagne garnet rough coming to us each month,” he said. Bergman describes the new champagne garnet as a lovely, clean and bright color that is ideally priced for today’s market.

            “We feel it’s something exciting for the industry. We’ve put samples of the champagne garnet out in the US and Japanese markets with a good response,” Bergman said.

            The smaller calibrated sizes are priced at $10 per carat, whereas the larger sizes are at $30 to $40 per carat. The biggest size cut so far is a three carat gemstone, Bergman said.

            For now, Bergman sees the US and Japanese test markets very capable of consuming Gem Source’s current supplies of the champagne garnet. “When demand exceeds supply, we’ll make the request to increase production. For now, there’s no problem getting the rough we need,” Bergman said.

            A gemstone that is enjoying popularity is ammonite. The fossilized sea shell sold well at the March Bangkok Fair for Thomas Banker, of Gem Essence. “We’ve sold about half of what we brought to the fair. People here are interested in it because this is its first time in Asia,” said Banker.

            Another new gemstone for Asia from Gem Essence is the leopard opal from Mexico, the sole source. “It’s brand new, we’re just getting it started here. We can get a lot of rough. Right now we are working out the kinks in polishing it. It’s relatively inexpensive, and is good for uses in earrings, pendants and brooches,” Banker added.

            Ammonite and Mexican opals have also been polished at Lambert Holding Co, Ltd, according to David Glickman. “We’ve had some ammonite, but we made it into triplets to strengthen it. It’s very beautiful and parallels opals, because it’s not hard and very colorful. I didn’t know it was becoming popular,” said Glickman. He added the Mexican opals being cut at Lambert are in the matrix, some of them in cabochon form.

            Glickman says Lambert is polishing a new bright orange, or mandarin, garnet from Namibia. Supplies are scarce, making it a very costly gemstone. There is a also scarcity of Sri Lankan blue sapphires, according to Glickman, but more and more gemstones are being found in Madagascar, he added.