My latest gemstone interest in Andalusite. Andalusite is a beautiful gemstone that has recieved little attention in the past and is seldom seen in jewelry. It has recently started to gain in popularity and could be a great investment!
Most jewelry buyers stick to the gemstones that they know and so many rare and beautiful gems are ignored. Andalusite falls into that category. Its most notable characteristic is its unusual coloring. It is pleiochroic, which means that it displays different colors when looked at from different angles. It is green, brown and red all at the same time! Most pleiochric gems are cut in a way to minimize the effect and show the one best color. A well cut andalusite, on the other hand, is cut to accentuate the pleiochroism. When cut properly they show a fabulous play of color across the face of the stone as it is moved in the light! They are sometimes called the "poor man's alexandrite", referring to the very expensive gemstone known for its color-change properties. Andalusite is a durable stone, making it useful for any type of jewelry. The rich, earthy colors are well suited to men's jewelry as well as women's.

Here's a picture of that Andesine that I have available. It's 7.02cts., about 12.5x10mm. Its very clean. From an angle, you can see some slight striations. I would call them more of a phenomenon than an inclusion. Face up it looks totally clean. It is for sale now at $770. It should be up on my website, www.palmbeachgems.com in a couple of days.
Brett

I spent a couple of hours this morning trying to understand the difference between red labradorite, andesine and sunstone. I guess I wasn't the only one confused. I found a variety of different opinions and pages of bulletin boards filled with discussion and debate on the topic. The concensus seems to be that the difference between red labradorite and andesine has to do with the relative percentages of calcium and sodium. 50-70% sodium with 50-30% calcium is andesine whereas 50-70% calcium to 50-30% sodium is labradorite. Apparantly there are small differences in the refractive indices and the specific gravities, but the only way to know for sure is to send them to a lab for chemical analysis. Where andesine and labradorite are scientific names, sunstone is more of a trade name. From what I can gather, sunstones usually fall more into the labradorite category. They are all feldspars. So maybe just calling them red feldspar would be simplest. Whatever you call them, they are rare and beautiful gemstones. I hope to have some pictures of some to post in a few days, along with some more information on these facinating stones.

I've just joined a new auction site called IBidFree. Its one more of many small sites trying to give eBay a little competition. Who knows, sooner or later one of them might just catch on. EBay needs some competition. I try other auction sites from time to time hoping to find an alternative to eBay. So far none come close in terms of traffic or sales. Overstock Auctions looked promising for a while, but lately things have really slacked off there. IBidFree has one very nice feature. No fees at all. No fees to join, no fees to list and no fees when you make a sale. They hope to make money selling ads on their site. It will be great if it works and it costs nothing to give it a try.

This is a 3.86ct. Tri-color Watermelon Tourmaline that we have for sale. It is approx. 11x7.5mm. Visit my website www.palmbeachgems.com for price and details.

I have been interested in rocks and gems most of my life. I started making jewelry and selling it at craft shows and then about 6 years ago began selling on the internet. I still make some jewelry, but have expanded into selling gemstones and beads and jewelry made by others.

Visit my website www.palmbeachgems.com. I've got a variety of gemstones, beads and jewelry for sale and a "gemstone information" page that has a lot of articles and tables having to do with gems and jewelry. There is information there on grading gemstones, gemstone treatments and more.

I also have several Squidoo "lenses" dealing with gemstone and jewelry topics. They are:
"Gemstones", "Amethyst", "Tourmaline", and "Jewelry Making". These pages contain information and pictures about the subjects and also many valuable links to other related sites.

I have items for sale, as well, on eBay. My eBay store is also called PalmBeachGems.