Jungle-Gems March 2002 Newsletter
"Bringing Minas Gerais Brasil directly to you"
Finally, we are happily back to work in Teofilo Otoni. We will be introducing our new monthly newsletter beginning this month. It is a new concept to bring you news and opportunities on a regular basis.
Hello from Teofilo Otoni, Minas Gerais, Brasil. In our new monthly updates we plan to bring you gemstone related news and trading opportunities, as well as gossip, tidbits, rumors and more from the gemstone trading capital of Brasil.
Most of the local gemstone dealers are all back home now after a so-so Tucson Gem & Mineral Show. After speaking to many of those dealers, few are saying they had a great show. However, I think overall most dealers felt it was better than they expected.
We saw some outstanding top quality flawless faceted aquamarine this week. Superb color. Nice sizes, up to 8x10mm ovals. It is new production from Rio Grande do Norte. Available at US$400/ct.
There is some nice specialty quartz coming out of the Padre Paraiso area. We just obtained over 125 nice quality quartz scepters, some with Topaz on the quartz This is the same area that recently produced some top quality smoky lasers.
Here are photos of a nice parcel of Cruzeiro rubelite tourmaline. There are 15pcs., 258gr total weight, most nicely terminated, all with great color, and they are all a nice size. Available for US$1750.00
The rains are abating in the Amazon basin after a wet rainy season, allowing operations to resume in many areas. Coming soon, we expect to see new production of diamond, gold, topaz, amethyst and possibly ametrine and our own Amazon Opal.
On a sad note from early February, Teofilo Otoni declared a “Public Calamity” after heavy rains caused extensive flooding and the death of over a dozen people. I heard as many as 5,000 people were left homeless. We lost three bridges right in the middle of town. There is no date forecast for when they might be repaired. Things are only now returning to something approaching normal.
Emeralds are still plentiful, as they have still not recovered from the downturn in sales of the last couple of years and production has remained fairly constant. The quality of the Nova Era production just keeps getting better. Many fine gemstones are currently being produced.
The Gem Show in Belo Horizonte, our State Capitol of Minas Gerais, begins Mar 6 until Mar 9 at the beautiful 5-star Hotel Ouro Minas. This is the 6th year for this show, and we expect visitors from around the world, once again.
