For Valentine's Day gift, forget diamonds: try ichnusaite

PARIS - Far rarer than diamonds or emeralds, some minerals on Earth are known only from thimbleful samples, according to a first list of 2,550 obscure minerals on Friday that could have future uses, ranging from industry to exotic Valentine's Day gifts.

Ichnusaite, fingerite, amicite and nevadaite are among truly rare minerals - defined as those known to come from five or fewer places worldwide - and form only under extremely unusual conditions, the scientists wrote.

"Diamond, ruby, emerald, and other precious gems are found at numerous localities and are sold in commercial quantities, and thus are not rare" alongside those in the study, they wrote in the journal American Mineralogist.

"If you wanted to give your fiancee a really rare ring, forget diamond. Give her Sardinian ichnusaite," Robert Hazen, a co-author of the study at the Carnegie Institution, wrote in a statement.

Ichnusaite forms from thorium and lead-like molybdenum and only one tiny whitish crystal has ever been found, in Sardinia. "Some of the other rare minerals are also only known from a thimbleful," he told Reuters.

Of 5,090 minerals known worldwide, fewer than 100 make up 99 percent of the Earth's crust. Most are from common elements such as oxygen, silicon and aluminium.

Some of the 2,550 rare minerals defined in the study might have commercial properties, from electronics to batteries, if they could be manufactured, the authors said.

Laser pointers, for instance, used to require rubies, but the rubies are now commercially manufactured. Artificial diamonds are also widely used, from industry to jewels.

The authors said some of the rare minerals required exact temperatures to grow, others formed only with rare elements, others can dissolve easily, or only occur in dangerous locations such as in volcanoes.

"They form in a perfect storm of conditions," Jesse Ausubel, co-author at the Rockefeller University, told Reuters.

The authors estimated 1,500 types of mineral were still to be found on Earth. "There are some master jewellers who would love to work with the rare minerals tiara of the 21st century," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Sotheby's appraises Imelda Marcos' rare pink diamond

A rare barrel-shaped pink diamond was among the items in Imelda Marcos's jewelry collection appraised by Sotheby's on Friday in Manila.

A jewellery specialist from Sotheby's, Brett O'Connor, said the pieces, made of gem stones like diamonds, rubies and emeralds, were of high quality and good manufacture. Some appeared to be custom-made, while others were from a jeweller's stock, he said.

Manila may decide to auction the collections after the two leading auction houses -- Christie's and Sotheby's -- appraise three sets of jewellery confiscated from the Marcoses almost three decades ago.

"I think it bodes very favourably. It's a very wide and varied collection. So there's no reason to believe that it wouldn't do well at auction," O'Connor said, while refusing to disclose the recent valuation of the collections.

In 1991, the jewellery collections were valued at $6-8 million. O'Connor said some of the valuations may have increased or decreased based on fashion trends, colour and price of diamonds.

The collection appraised on Friday was seized in Hawaii, where the Marcos family was exiled.

Among the jewels was an pink diamond 24mm (15/16 inch) in diameter.

"Pink diamonds are always rare, rarer than white diamonds. The rarest is red, and then blue and green, and then pink, and then yellow, and then white. Yes, it's a rare thing, and it's a very large size, and it's a lovely old stone," O'Connor said.

Other items included a Cartier tiara, and full necklace-ring-earrings sets encrusted with precious stones like rubies, sapphires and emeralds.

The government tried to auction the jewellery in 2005, but the former beauty queen contested the move, claiming ownership of two of the collections -- one found in the presidential palace after the family's hasty departure in 1986 and the one confiscated in Hawaii.


Marcos, an elected member of Congress and best known for leaving behind more than 1,200 pairs of shoes when her family fled in 1986, has vowed to recover the family's seized assets. The government also confiscated a collection of paintings including Monets and a Picasso and is hunting for 200 missing art works.

Proceeds from a possible auction could go to human rights victims claiming compensation who filed cases against abuse under the Marcos regime, the Presidential Commission on Good Government said.

"I guess in a way it can be some sort of justice. Of course, it can never compensate what has happened to them (human rights victims). But one way or another, after 30 years, slowly, we're getting back what was taken from us."

Imelda's husband, Ferdinand, was president for nearly two decades, before he was ousted in an army-backed uprising in 1986. The dictator, who died in exile in 1989, was accused of amassing more than $10 billion while in office. The family denies their wealth was ill-gotten.

The government allowed the press to see and film some of the 750 pieces of the three collections, which were kept in a vault at the central bank.

Christie's and Sotheby's were invited by the Philippine government, and carried out the appraisal free of charge.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com