The Cullinan mine produced what experts are calling an "exceptional" white diamond, which Diacore, a diamond manufacturing and cutting firm paid an extraordinary amount of money for. Why would they pay $65,577 per carat?

When Petra Diamonds Ltd. lucked upon the stone, they found that it was a Type IIa, D color diamond. This means that the diamond had absolutely no nitrogen impurities. Not only does a diamond of this nature have high color, it is also high in clarity. It looks more like an ice cube than a diamond, to give you an idea of the color and clarity.

The Cullinan mine seems to be a lucky mine to search around in, as it has also recently produced a 29-carat blue diamond, as well as a 122-carat blue diamond.

The new coating that is being applied to conch pearls has been causing damage that is not only visible, but also totally irreversible, warns the Swiss gemology lab, Swiss Gemmological Institute.

The conch pearls that were investigated had been handled with care, worn only a couple of times, and kept in a safe. After an analysis performed with scanning electron microscope, it was concluded that the pearls had been coated on the surface with an artificial resin that was carbon-rich, and the de-gassing of this coating was the cause for the corrosion that occured even below the surface.

More information about this subject, and a more in-depth conclusion can be found here, in the original article. Also, the SSEF.ch website includes more information about conch pearls and appropriate treatments, as well as an online advanced course on pearls.

If a ruby has been filled with glass, CIBJO’s Coloured Stone Commission has made it clear in the report that they released that the gemstone cannot be classified as a ruby, but rather needs to be classified as "Ruby and Glass".

Additionally, the description for the gemstone would change to "manufactured/composite material or product", the Coloured Stone Commission president stated at the 2013 CIBJO Congress.

For this new classification to fit within current gem terminology, the meaning of the word "composite" in the CIBJO's Gemstone Book also had to be altered. Now, the meaning of composite is: "artificial products composed of two or more parts or layers assembled by bonding or other artificial methods. Their components may be natural and/or artificial".

It doesn't matter whether the ruby is made of more glass and less ruby or more ruby and less glass. If the ruby includes any glass, this new classification is supposed to be disclosed. This new classification is also going to be applied to sapphires.

If you are in the business of selling jewelry, you should look into developing your own jewelry app. "Why?" you ask. Apps have become the new way of promoting your brand, your company, and whatever you are trying to sell. If you don't have an app yet, you are quickly falling behind your competition.

Here are a few more reasons you should develop your own jewelry app:

1. Marketing Tool - Search the Internet for any type of app you can think of, and you will find articles with lists and lists of recommended apps. Once you have an app developed and on the market, you can reach out to PR professionals and they will essentially spread the word for you, hence sparking up conversation and interest in not only your app, but also your services and goods.

2. Increase advertising and branding - If you come up with an app that is unique and spectacular, you could grab the interest of your target market with a totally different means of advertising and branding.

3. Extra revenue - Whether you incorporate ads in your app or in-app purchases, you will be immediately creating a new source of extra revenue for your business. App lovers cannot help it, they are addicted to purchasing those 99 cent in-app purchases! Just make sure that whatever you are charging for will make your app users happy and wanting more.

As we've already said above, you may already be behind your competition. If they have an app, they have that extra edge over your business, because they are reaching out to target markets (iPhone users and Android users) who may not be paying close attention to the Internet anymore. If your competition doesn't already have an app developed, what are you waiting for?