From Gems & Gemology: Spring Issue Explores the Hope–French Blue Connection

CARLSBAD, Calif. – April 27, 2009 – The Spring 2009 issue of the Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) Gems & Gemology features a revealing look at the French Blue diamond, rare colored diamonds from Australia's Argyle mine, and the cause of pink zones in copper-bearing tourmalines from Mozambique.

It has long been believed that the 45.5 ct Hope diamond was cut from the 69 ct French Blue, which disappeared in 1792 during the French Revolution. A lead cast of the fabled French Blue recently discovered at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris appears to validate this theory. In “The French Blue and the Hope,” Dr. François Farges of MNHN and coauthors used the cast to create a computer model that sheds new light on the Hope-French Blue connection.

“This article reconstructs the history of the French Blue and offers implications for its fate,” says G&G Editor-in-Chief Alice Keller. “It's a significant breakthrough in our understanding of this mythic diamond and the famous stone cut from it.”

In “Gray-to-Blue-to-Violet Hydrogen-Rich Diamonds from the Argyle Mine, Australia,” Dr. Carolyn van der Bogert leads an investigation of the gemological and spectroscopic features associated with this rare color group. These features can separate Argyle diamonds from goods of similar color that may be treated or synthetic.

The issue’s other articles explore hackmanite/sodalite from Myanmar and Afghanistan, radioactive solution-related pink zones in blue to blue-green copper-bearing tourmalines from Mozambique, and the identification of endangered pink-to-red Stylaster coral by Raman spectroscopy.

The Lab Notes section features purplish pink spinel from Tajikistan, cubic zirconia reportedly coated with nanocrystalline synthetic diamond, and more. Among the many Gem News International reports are new play-of-color opals from Welo, Ethiopia; gem-quality rhodochrosite from China; and amethyst from Morocco.

Two special features are the announcement of this year's Dr. Edward J. Gübelin Most Valuable Article Award winners and the G&G Challenge, a multiple-choice quiz based on articles from the 2008 issues. Subscribers who successfully complete the G&G Challenge can receive a GIA Continuing Education Certificate and recognition in an upcoming issue.

PDF copies of this issue are available at http://gia.metapress.com. To purchase a print copy of the Spring 2009 issue or to subscribe to G&G, visit www.gia.edu/_webapps/gg/orderform/, e-mail martha.rivera@gia.edu, or call toll-free (800) 421-7250, ext. 7142. From outside the U.S. and Canada, call (760) 603-4000, ext. 7142.