Funeral Service Set For Bridges
from AGTA
A public funeral service will be held for Campbell Bridges who was murdered near his mines in Kenya last week. The service for the 71-year-old Scottish geologist and discoverer of tsavorite will start at noon at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi on Friday, August 21st. The International Colored Stone Association will host a wake following the service. More    

Mad About the Big 60s Brooch
from Color-N-Ice Blog
Blame it on Mad Men. The sexy-smart AMC series Mad Men set in New York City's early 1960s began a new season Sunday, August 16th. Devotees were eagerly counting down the hours until they can get a load of their favorite antihero brooding about some personal crisis under a cloud of cigarette smoke with a martini shaken not stirred. The attraction to sophisticated styles a la Gotham 1962 has also impacted jewelry trends. More    

The Authentic Optix® Cut Revolutionizes the Appearance of Precious Gems. Employing advanced light refraction science, Optix stones are precisely cut with concave faceting to reflect significantly more light than stones with flat faceting. The result is a stone with unmatched brilliance. Find Out More

Cultivating Success: African Women Visit Newport, R.I. to Learn Jewelry Making, Boost Incomes
from The Fall River Herald News
Members of the Zanzibar Women's Pearl Shellfish Cooperative are learning to craft jewelry from the mabe half pearls they cultivate offshore in the Indian Ocean. Six women and four men from the cooperative and their advisers are on a fellowship funded through the University of Rhode Island's Coastal Resources Center. Their trip is part of an initiative that started several years ago as a way to restore depleted shellfish stocks and provide additional income to the residents of Zanzibar's Fumba peninsula. More    

Gemfields Sells $5.9 Million in Emeralds at Auction
from Diamond World
Gemfields PLC believes its rough emerald auction in London showed positive buying outlook, as sales touched $5.9 million. Altogether, 1.36 million carats of rough emeralds were put on sale in twenty-seven lots, previously set undisclosed reserve prices. Around thirty participating companies attended from Germany, India, Israel and the U.S. More    

Colors for Fall
from The D.C. Glam Examiner
As the end of Summer approaches do you know what colors and looks to rock for Fall? This fall you will see the return of plaid, wearable leather structured garments and soft metallic colors but make sure to have your basic colors. Every season there is one must have color and for this fall it’s heather gray. More    

Nine Ways to Advertise for Free
from SmartMoney's Small Biz
When sales slump due to a slow economy, a business owners first inclination is often to cut the marketing budget. After all, one has fixed costs and cash flow can be irregular. But marketing should be the last activity you eliminate or you risk an even faster downward spiral. Advertising your business and attracting new customers should be an ongoing process, and there are many things you can do that cost absolutely nothing. More    

American Gemological Laboratories: Your Colored Gemstone and Origin Specialist America's first and most highly respected laboratory for identification, treatments and origin reporting. AGL's experienced specialists and advanced analytical techniques uncover the secrets of every stone. Our reports are accepted throughout the industry, including wholesalers, retailers, auction houses and most importantly consumers. More Info