The Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act, awaiting President Bush’s signature, will close a loophole in the current act by banning Burmese gems, including rubies and jade, from reaching the United States through third-party countries, such as Thailand, where most of the gems are processed.

The bill is designed to take aim at Myanmar’s ruling military junta, which profits from state-run gemstone auctions but has received much negative attention for its documented history of human rights violations. Tensions flared up last year when Burmese monks were victims in the military’s violent crackdown against protestors. The country’s rubies were being called “blood rubies” in the press, with First Lady Laura Bush among those pushing for a complete U.S. ban of the stones. Currently 90 percent of the world’s rubies originate in Myanmar.

Time will tell how this affects the gemstone trade in the industry, but for the short term I expect to see quality rubies become less available.

The American Gem Trade Association Gemological Testing Center (AGTA-GTC) and American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) have discovered a surface treatment for tanzanites to improve their color. It was discovered after a light repolishing of the stones resulted in a noticeable loss of color.

The treatment is not permanent and is not immediately obvious when examined. Testing pointed to cobalt in the coating which is easily detected using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy Lore Keifert, director of AGTA-GTC said. Additional evidence showed in abrasions, or scratches, and the facet junctions and culet where the coating had been worn off.

While heat treating for color has been around for years for tanzanite, this newly discovered treatment seemed to focus on smaller, calibrated, gems that are not normally tested due to their size and relative value.

How cool would it be to go out for lunch, order some clams, and bite in to a pearl potentially worth thousands of dollars?

A Lake Worth, Florida man was spending a day at the beach with his wife when he decided that a nice meal at Dave’s Last Resort was a good idea. About half way through his meal he discovered just how good of an idea it really was. He bit down in to a rare purple pearl.

Natural pearls are rare and finding one of such a color makes it even more so. For a $10 lunch his find could be worth thousands, so the Brocks plan to have the pearl appraised and have said they will sell it if it is valuable.

All I know is that I’ll have what he’s having.

It’s not often old eggs are sold for very much, but when it’s a 105 year old Faberge Egg covered in pink diamonds there may be an exception. The egg, which also features a miniature clock and a rooster flapping his wings, drew a final price of a staggering $18.5 million, shattering the previous Faberge Egg record of $9.6 million sold in 2002.

Originally created in 1902, this particular egg was purchased by an unnamed Russian collector and it marks a continued return of Russian art to it’s original home in Russia as more and more Russian collectors have he ability to recover them.