An overview of recently expanded sapphire production at the Gem Mountain mine near Philipsburg, Montana.

Advances in pearl culturing are seen in a parcel of specimens from Strombus gigas gastropods.

An exceptional ruby is discovered in Namya, Myanmar.

A translucent Brazilian emerald exhibiting pronounced chatoyancy is examined.

A necklace of Chinese freshwater bead-cultured pearls demonstrates the strides made in culturing techniques.

Baroque pearls were ubiquitous at the Tucson 2015 gem shows.

Examination of a baroque cultured pearl reveals a bonding agent, along with a damaged bead and new nacre.

An update on the nephrite jade market from the 2015 GJX show.

The Green Dragon mine yields exceptional demantoid, including a round brilliant seen at Tucson’s GJX show.

A sapphire receiving two distinct forms of treatment is seen at the Carlsbad laboratory.

The popularity of gem slices, particularly diamond, is on the rise, as reflected at the 2015 Tucson gem shows.

A hexagonal boundary, usually found in natural material, is observed in a synthetic star sapphire.

An insider’s view of the stunning world of inclusions.

A tourmaline displaying different colors of chatoyancy on opposite sides of a double cabochon is examined.

A pink sapphire bead with drill holes revealing ruby fragments is examined.

Inclusions create chatoyancy in a colorless phenakite cabochon.

A musgravite specimen’s inclusions result in an optical phenomenon unusual for the material.

A natural Fancy Intense blue diamond submitted to the New York lab shows the highest boron concentration ever reported in a natural specimen.

A carving identified as blue chalcedony shows evidence of epoxy resin treatment.