Pala at Dubai ICA International Gem Show
October 13–15, 2008

Pala International will be at the ICA International Gem Show, which is billed as “the first luxury B2B gem show tailored especially for the loose colored gemstone industry featuring the world’s 120 most prominent colored stone merchants.”

• When: Oct. 13–15, 2008
• Where: Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai
• Hours:
  Mon.–Tue.: 10 a.m.– 9 p.m.
  Sun.: 10 a.m.– 7 p.m.

We are pleased to announce that we will be sharing display space with our good friends, the Gobin brothers (who we recently visited at the Sainte-Marie show). Pala will be bringing a selection of our finest colored stones and a collection of exquisite gem crystal specimens. For more information visit the International Gem Show website.

Visit the Pala International Show Schedule for future events. [back to top]

Grand Lobby of the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, site of the ICA International Gem Show. (Photo © 2007 – Rotana Hotels)

Terra Mineralia: October 28–November 2

Saxony Mining Academy Hosts Huge Exhibition of Rare Specimens

Mineral enthusiasts will have six days to view a remarkable exhibition of specimens later this month. “Terra Mineralia,” which is to be mounted by the famous Technical University of Freiberg in Saxony, “presents for the first time the world’s largest private mineral collection of Swiss foundress Dr. Erika Pohl Ströher,” according to an exhibition press release (in German). The collection, amassed over 60 years of collecting, will be on permanent loan in Germany due to the efforts of Prof. Georg Unland, currently Minister of Finance of Saxony.

Petrified pincushion. Kustos Andreas Massanek equips a showcase in the “Schatzkammer” (treasure chamber) with an antimonite (stibnite) from China. (Photo: Wolfgang Thieme)

More than 5,000 minerals, jewels, and meteorites will be displayed in what organizers are calling “a mineralogical voyage around the world.” Indeed, four continent halls—Africa, Europe, America, and Asia—are being filled with over 140 custom-built showcases. Two thirds of the specimens in the exhibition will have no duplicate on display, according to an August 1 press release.

Noble opal from Australia, 6 x 5 cm. (Photo: Jörg Wittig)

The Museum Castle Freudenstein, site of the exhibition and recently renovated, is itself a work of architectural audacity, as can be seen by this portfolio on AFF Architekten website. The 3,000 square meters of exhibition space, which was completed in January, have been painstakingly crafted since the collection was transferred in 2004 and stored on seven floors of a secure “comprehensive depot.”

Crystal clear. Above: Denise Hennig of Institute for Mineralogy at the university, regards a rock crystal specimen. (Photo: Detlev Müller) Below: Prof. Gerhard Helde examines a 100-kg. “bred” fluorite crystal. (Photo: Eckardt Mildner)

Also on display will be a 100-kilogram synthetic, “water-clear” fluorite crystal, created by Schott Lithotec, a developer and supplier of optical components used in lithography technology.

Calcite on zinc from U.S.A. is admired by Manuela Wagner of the university’s Institute for Mineralogy. (Photo: Detlev Mueller)

The show will include a 3.5-ton meteor exhibit from what is presumed to be the largest impact crater at Vredefort in South Africa. Eight plates of polished “friction-melted” earth from the crater will be on display.

Vault video. Above: Watch as exhibition staff and craftsmen prepare display cases and specimens. Below: Bold new architecture finds its place in the renovated 12th century Castle Freudenstein, site of “Terra Mineralia.” Its interior was gutted during the Seven Years War and had been used only for storage until the makeover, completed just this year. (Photo: AFF Architekten)

For more splendid specimen photos see this Spiegel Online article (translated by Google; original German here).

Also making its debut is Via Mineralia, “a pervasive museum explorative game,” developed by the university’s Virtual Reality and Multimedia Research Group. [back to top]

Diamond Crystal Unearthed

Lesotho Diamond Weighs in at 478 Carats

On September 8th a 478-carat rough diamond crystal was discovered in the southern African kingdom of Lesotho. The diamond was unearthed at the Letseng Mine in the eastern Mokhotlong district of the tiny country, which lies completely within the boundaries of the Republic of South Africa.

(N)ice… Once it is faceted, this diamond crystal has the potential to be a record setter. (Photo courtesy Gem Diamonds)

The Letseng mine has a rich history of oversized diamonds being pulled from its depths. Since 1920, four of the twenty largest rough diamond recorded have been found at the Letseng mine. It also has been one of the most productive mines throughout its history. This new diamond rough has a chance to set a world record for the finest-quality cut diamond over 100 carats. The color and clarity have been analyzed, revealing a possibility of having a 100-carat-plus D flawless gem.

We will have to wait see what the final faceted stone actually yields.

Swing shift. Nighttime drilling takes place in the satellite pit at the Letseng Mine in Lesotho. At 10,000 feet above sea level, it is the highest diamond mine in the world. (Photo courtesy Gem Diamonds)

The Letseng mine is operated by Gem Diamonds in a partnership with the Lesotho government. It suspended production after De Beers withdrew in 1982. The current operator, Gem Diamonds, acquired the mine in 2006, after it had reopened in 2004 under management by JCI. A Gem Diamonds press release about the unnamed 478-carat rough states that the mine is expected to yield for another 45 years.

The Letseng Mine is in the Mokhotlong District of eastern Lesotho. (Map courtesy Lesotho Government, Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology)

• Watch this Reuters video clip on the 478-carat rough diamond
• For a look at the Letseng Mine in 2005, see this Mining Review Africa article
• See also this brief, illustrated report on an August 2007 visit to the mine by a South Africa Student Chapter of the Society of Economic Geologists

A view of the Letseng satellite pit. The gray material is kimberlite, whose dykes and pipes host the diamond crystals. (Photo courtesy Gem Diamonds)

[back to top]

“oryctics” Discussion Group

Virtual Museum Starts a Virtual Conversation

Last week we received a note from Paul Tambuyser, co-“curator” with Claude Hootelé of the Virtual Museum of the History of Mineralogy, announcing the launch of the “oryctics” discussion group, hosted by Google Groups. The group is “devoted to the history of mineralogy and crystallography.”

Topics include antiquarian mineralogy and crystallography books, publications and manuscripts, crystallographic goniometers and other antique crystallographic and mineralogical instruments, crystal models, and anything else related to the history of these sciences.

The Virtual Museum houses many treasures…

• Mineralogy and Crystallography Books: Dozens of rare titles from the 15th–19th centuries are listed, and include photos of the binding, title page, and representative illustrations
• Goniometers: The history of the development of instruments used for over a century to measure angles between crystal faces
• Optical and Non-Optical Instruments: A collection of microscopes, blowpipe sets, and more
• Crystal Models: It was an incidental discovery during crystal modeling that identified the constancy of interfacial angles in crystals, now known as Steno’s law

Also offered is a list of selected links, and classified ads for such items as that copy of Steno’s De Solido intra Solidum Naturaliter Contento that you always meant to pick up. [back to top]

— End October Newsletter • Published 10/9/08 —

Pala at Colorado Mineral & Fossil Show
September 10–14, 2008

Rhodochrosite from Sunnyside Mine in Colorado, 5.4 x 8.6 x 4.9 cm. This specimen is available. (Photo: John McLean)

Pala International will be at the Colorado Mineral & Fossil Show.

• When: Sept. 10–14, 2008
• Where: Holiday Inn Denver–Central, 4849 Bannock St.
  • Room 183
• Hours:
  Wed.–Sat.: 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.
  Sun.: 10 a.m.– 5 p.m.

We look forward to seeing our many friends there. For more information visit the show website.

Visit the Pala International Show Schedule for future events.

Note: We are exhibiting the Risse Collection specimens for the first time at this show. [back to top]

Pala at Dubai ICA International Gem Show
October 13–15, 2008

Pala International will be at the ICA International Gem Show, which is billed as “the first luxury B2B gem show tailored especially for the loose colored gemstone industry featuring the world’s 120 most prominent colored stone merchants.”

• When: Oct. 13–15, 2008
• Where: Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai
• Hours:
  Mon.–Tue.: 10 a.m.– 9 p.m.
  Sun.: 10 a.m.– 7 p.m.

We are pleased to announce that we will be sharing display space with our good friends, the Gobin brothers (who we recently visited at the Sainte-Marie show). Pala will be bringing a selection of our finest colored stones and a collection of exquisite gem crystal specimens. For more information visit the International Gem Show website.

Visit the Pala International Show Schedule for future events. [back to top]

Tailgating—French Style

Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 2008 – Bill Larson Reports

It was June 2008 and time for Bill Larson’s favorite European show, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. This year they were a group of five men—Bill, his two sons Will and Carl, friend Ben Sobczak, and Bill’s friend and fellow gem dealer Mark Kaufman. 

Parked. Will Larson (in stunner shades), Ben Sobczak, and Carl Larson discuss their next moves on the parquet floor of the local theatre, in which the finest specimens are on offer in l’Espace Prestige. (Photo: Bill Larson)

The show’s highlights included:

• Bill’s purchase of a single crystal of Chinese calcite, so fine it may be featured in a local mineralogical journal
• A featured exhibit, the mines of Chessy, in the Rhône region of France, to which Bill contributed 14 pieces from his own collection
• A “great green fluorite from Namibia…on a large quartz that has color-center phantoms—truly superb and new to my eyes"
• Larger-than-normal jeremejevite crystals from Erongo, Namibia

That’s just Day One. Read the full story here. (And find out what’s behind the title of this feature.)

An aesthetic copper crystallized wire, reminiscent of coral. (Photo: Carl Larson)

[back to top]

Pala’s Featured Mineral Specimens: Pyromorphite, Tourmaline on Quartz, and Rhodochrosite

Culled from the Gabriel Risse Collection

This month we feature three new specimens from the new Gabriel Risse collection acquired by the Larson boys at this year’s Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines show in France.

Pyromorphite specimen, 3.9 x 3.4 x 2.5 cm. Price upon request. (Photo: Wimon Manorotkul)

The first piece is a superb miniature pyromorphite specimen from the Bunker Hill Mine in Kellogg, Idaho. Classic rounded barrel hopper crystals with cavernous centers. Vivid greenish yellow color with one main crystal surrounded by various size intersecting crystals. This is a specimen you just keep spinning in your hand to see all the great angles and details.

Tourmaline on quartz specimen, 6.5 x 6.5 x 3.5 cm. Price upon request. (Photo: Wimon Manorotkul)

The second piece is a completely unique tourmaline on quartz from Paprok, Afghanistan. The two tourmaline crystals are so gemmy, with a neon greenish-blue hue, that it would make any cutter drool with temptation. One crystal is doubly terminated with a subtle gradation from bluish green to greenish blue with a frosted pyramidal cap. The other crystal is thicker with a cleaved pink-and-white bottom and an upper half that is virtually flawless. If that weren’t enough, the two beautiful tourmalines are naturally attached to a doubly terminated quartz crystal.

Rhodochrosite specimen, 4.1 x 3.1 x 2.8 cm. Price upon request. (Photo: Wimon Manorotkul)

The third specimen is an exquisite rhodochrosite from N’Chwaning, South Africa. Reminiscent of “The Snail,” this miniature is a radiating cluster of individual scalenohedron rhodochrosite crystals. The specimen glows from the heart with an intense red hue when backlit, almost revealing its near-flawless interior.

Interested? Email us, or give us a call (telephone numbers below). [back to top]

The Gabriel Risse Collection

Pala acquires 130 fine mineral specimens

The Larson boys—Bill (left), Will, and Carl (not pictured)—sort through the flats evaluating and calculating the feasibility and desirability of the collection. (Photo: Carl Larson)

Bill Larson recalls meeting Gabriel Risse twenty years ago when Risse was a ripening 18-year-old mineral collector in Europe. Their sporadic relationship over the decades culminated at this year’s Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines show in France.

Gabriel Risse checks his list to see if the Larsons’ offer will suffice. (Photo: Carl Larson)

Since those early days of collecting, Gabriel had amassed an exquisite mineral collection with over 150 pieces, mostly in the small cabinet to miniature sizes—all beautifully representing the best formations and aesthetics from most of the great localities around the globe. From gem crystals to metals to carbonates, this full-spectrum collection seems to focus on crystal perfection, unique morphology, and artistic form.

Will Larson, momentarily distracted from the matter at hand. (Photo: Carl Larson)

The collection encompasses many species and highlights fine examples within each category: pyromorphite from Idaho to vanadinite from Morocco…calcite from Sweden to rhodochrosite from South Africa…tourmaline and kunzite from Afghanistan to epidote from Austria…aegirine from Malawi to hemimorphite with willemite from Malawi…carrolite from Congo to calcite from Kazakhstan…ilvaite from Russia to topaz from Pakistan. See this month’s featured specimens and Wimon Manorotkul’s FotogFocus for a sample.

A venture through the Gabriel Risse collection is an in-depth and colorful ride through the realm of exquisite mineral specimens.

Old rocks out; new rocks in. Gabriel Risse smiles from enjoyment following the first purchase of his new collection. (Photo: Carl Larson)

The deal went down in a hotel room in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. Bill hand-carried the thirty most fragile specimens back, and Gabriel took a special trip to San Diego, delivering the last 100 pieces, finalizing the deal, and checking out the Pala operations.

We are now processing all the specimens, getting them ready for an unveiling in Denver. [back to top]

FotogFocus: Wimon Manorotkul – In Love with Aesthetics

A look at the artist behind the camera

Title: Self-portrait with serviette. Wimon Manorotkul will get a well deserved rest when she leaves Pala International next month.

Wimon Manorotkul has been photographing gemstones and mineral specimens for Pala International ever since Richard W. Hughes developed Palagems.com, which debuted in late February 2000. At first the photographs simply filled a need: if you’re going to offer an online catalog, you better include photos of what you’re selling. So prior to the launch of Palagems.com, Wimon set about photographing the inventory.

As a gemologist—she’s an FGA (elected to the Fellowship of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain)—enjoys gem testing and photomicrography. “I just love the aesthetic qualities of gemstones at high magnification,” she says.

Departure(s)…

Now, after seven years of helping Pala clients in their quest for that perfect gemstone, Wimon Manorotkul is leaving Pala, and together with her husband Richard W. Hughes they are going home—to Wimon’s native Thailand, where the couple first met. We wish both of them all the best, but before she leaves us, we’re pleased to feature Wimon Manorotkul as the third artist in our occasional series, FotogFocus.

Still life. This rhodochrosite “blossom,” 3.5 cm. tall, is from the Wolf Mine, Betzdorf, Siegerland, Germany. (Photo: Wimon Manorotkul)

In this installment of FotogFocus, we get to know Wimon a little better, but we also see the most recent efforts of her talent. Included are photographs, just taken, of selected specimens Bill Larson acquired at this year’s show at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, from the Gabriel Risse Collection: a lovely Peruvian selenite and the snail-like adamite from Mexico.

Also included are photographs taken by Wimon for the sixth annual John Sinkankas Symposium, held in April. The subject of the conference was garnet, and Wimon’s images show the spectacular variety of this species. See it all in FotogFocus. [back to top]

— End August Newsletter • Published 8/7/08 —