“Clouds veil an emerald sky, leaves scattered in yellow dye. Waves rise in autumn hues, blending with the cold mist and green views.” This poem by the renowned poet Fan Zhongyan from the Song Dynasty beautifully captures the autumn scenery of blue skies, yellow leaves, and the chilly mist mingled with the gentle sunlight.

To celebrate the arrival of autumn, Paloma Sanchez, The Art of Jewelry, hosted an Autumn Party on September 29th. All the guests enjoyed a delightful afternoon filled with pleasant weather, beautiful music, and, most importantly, exquisite collector-grade gemstones.

As a gemologist, Paloma Sanchez got inspired by autumn colors and below is all her selection for the gemstones, as well as her creative jewelry pieces.

A sunburst explosion of color and light is created in this imperial topaz .

Natural, untreated topaz typically occurs in pale yellow, brown, colorless, or gray. Other hues such as pink, green, blue, and violet can be found in nature, though these colors are rarely vivid. While blue is the most popular color of topaz, the most valuable varieties are the orange, pink, red, and purple tones, collectively referred to as Imperial topaz, which reflect the beauty of autumn sunsets.

**Ring. “Navette” cut imperial topaz (11ct) from Brazil, diamonds, 18kt yellow gold.**

Golden south sea pearls are among the most desired pearls. They are grown in the gold-lip variety of the oyster Pinctada maxima, which gives them thick nacre and warm, golden tones.

**Ring. South sea golden pearl (15mm), diamonds, black jade, 18kt yellow gold.**

We usually think of sapphire as blue, although sapphire comes in all colors and shades. Yellow, brown, golden yellow, are the true colors of Autumn. The intense light to medium pinkish orange to orange-pink of Padparadscha sapphire is the rarest.

**Ring.** Yellow, green and orange sapphire, 925 silver rose gold plated.

Fire agate is a variety of chalcedony, a micro- or cryptocrystalline quartz. Characterized by its swirling flares of orange iridescence and striking streaks of brown, yellow, and green, it lives up to its evocative name. This gemstone forms in a botryoidal structure, resembling a cluster of grapes, and is a stunning example of the iridescence phenomenon found in chalcedony.

**Earrings. Agate from Montana, USA, carved citrine quartz, diamonds, 18kt gold. Carving by master American gemstone cutter S. Walters. AWARD Collection.**

Agates showcase rich autumnal hues of orange, brown, and yellow, often displaying intricate layers or bands of color. Massive deposits of agate were discovered in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in the 1800s and were shipped to Idar-Oberstein for cutting. Today, Brazilian agate remains a favorite among gem carvers for its exceptional depth of color.

Gemstone varieties are often named for something they resemble such as fire opal and fire agate, all colors in the autumnal spectrum.

Fire opals are found in a range of warm hues – red, orange and yellow. They can be transparent, translucent or opaque, usually with a vitreous luster. The majority of opal worldwide comes from Australia, Mexico and Ethiopia.

The Autumn Party - September 2018