Hallmarked diamond by BIS- Is it a great idea??

Bureau of Indian Standards are going to grade diamonds soon. It is great that government is taking good steps to standardise our diamond grading system, but little they know that it requires tremendous patience, dedication and efforts to even think of going in these lines. The infrastructure to grade diamonds should be handled by professionals and the work taken on hand should be relieved asap .It cannot give a laid back attitude like they show in other fields. All the best folkes!

The article goes like this....


Next time when you buy sparkling gems from a jewellery shop to cherish that special occasion, make it a point to ask for the gems inscribed with the BIS hallmark, like the one in gold and silver ornaments. Because, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has for the first time established the Indian standards on the quality parameters and grading of the polished diamonds in the country. read more

Tanzanite- The new found gemstone

Origins and General Information
Tanzanite is one of the most recently discovered gemstones and is coveted by specialists as the 'gemstone of the 20th century.

The stone’s discovery has an interesting history attached to it. The belief is that millions of years ago, crystal deposits were formed during the metamorphic process of schists, gneisses and quartzites and completely hidden to the human eye. Then, more recent narrative suggests that in 1967, Ali Juuyawatu, a local Maasai tribesman, found a piece of translucent crystal at a ridge near Merarani and at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. Fascinated by its blue-violet hue, he shared his find with Manuel D'Souza, a tailor by profession and prospector by passion, who was looking for rubies in the region. Realising that the mineral was not olivine (peridot) the stones found their way across the continent to New York at Saks. The Gemological Institute of America identified the samples as a variety of the mineral zoisite and similar observations were made by other leading museums and universities. However, the first person to correctly identify the stone was a Tanzanian government geologist in Dodoma.
Saks got two of the samples facetted and showed them to Henry Platt of Tiffany & Co. who was impressed with the beauty of the gem and coined it ‘tanzanite’, in honor of the country of its origin and thereby making the stone more marketable to the public.


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Refund for your diamonds

If you bought a diamond in the last 14 years you could be eligible for a refund.

De Beers, the world's largest rough diamond supplier, recently settled a $295,000,000 class action lawsuit. Several businesses and customers accused the company of monopolizing the supply of diamonds and controlling prices for years. De Beers denied the allegations but agreed to the settlement.

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Pearls-How to take care!

Pearls are very delicate gems and can be easily damaged by the surrounding conditions. Thus it is extremely important that proper care must be taken while using pearl jewelry. If proper care is taken then the gems will go on without damage for centuries.

1) When pearls are worn very often and close to the skin they get eroded or damaged due to the mildest of acids given out by the skin. So use of pearl necklaces ,pearl rings or pearl earrings very often in humid places is not advisable.

2) Pearl jewelry should not be kept in cotton wool as it contains small amounts of acids that may damage the pearl in the long run.

3) Pearl jewelry should not be kept in polythene bags also as there isn’t enough moisture for the pearls which will create a water loss and damage the outer surface of the pearls.

4) The best way of storing pearls would be to keep them well wrapped in white linen cloth or pure silk.

5) Cosmetics and perfumes must never come in contact with pearls as the acids and chemicals most certainly will damage them.

6) Restringing of pearls that are very often used, is a very good idea as many a times the string of pearls may absorb the perfume of cosmetics used and in turn damage the pearl. The stringing ( if it is done in silk ) by itself may worn out may break causing loss of your valuable pearls. It is advisable to restring regularly used pearls once every six months.

7) The best way of stringing pears is to have a knot at the end of each pearl so in case of breakage only one pearl is lost and the pearls dont scratch and spoil.

So next time when you buy some pearl jewelry keep in mind the following tips. If you take care of pearls with love and care it can last longer than a life time.

www.gehnabazaar.com launched finally!

After months of hard work, our dream project on diamonds, gemstones and jewelry industry website http://www.gehnabazaar.com/ has finally launched. We were very excited at first, but now looking at the amount of work involved and response from people we feel its just the begining. And with the addition of our son to this team its become all the more exciting... God bless all!