Sri Lanka is world famous for its gem wealth, but the actual extent of the deposits has never been determined.

After almost 75 years of inactivity, the deposits of boulder opal in Queensland, Australia, began to attract new interest in the 1960s and 1970s.

Blue diffusion-treated sapphires have become a subject of considerable controversy since their introduction in significant quantities a few years ago.

Strongly etched prismatic crystals of yellow, green, and pale blue gem beryl have been quarried from a pegmatite dike in Luumäki, Finland.

Diamond production’s future appears to belong less to Africa and more to Australia, Canada, and the Russian Federation, according to this overview of geologic trends in the industry.

Verifying the gold content of karat-gold jewelry is a problem for the entire industry.

Burma, now named Myanmar, has for centuries been considered the world's preeminent source of fine rubies.

The "bleaching" treatment of jadeite jade has become prevalent in higher- as well as lower-quality material.

The East African nation of Tanzania has great gem wealth.

The gemological properties of a new ruby imitation, produced by dyeing natural colorless to pale-colored corundum, are described.

The stony-iron meteorites known as pallasites are famed for the areas of yellowish green olivines they contain.

The Ponderosa mine is now producing commercial quantities of the gem-quality labradorite feldspar known as sunstone.

Gem-quality rubies and pink to purple sapphires are being recovered from the Luc Yen and Quy Chau mining regions of Vietnam.

Today, only by combining different gemological tests with years of practical experience, can a conclusive determination of the origin of a sapphire be made.

In addition to its rich history, the Dresden Green offers an opportunity to gain information about how to distinguish natural from laboratory-irradiated green diamonds.