what's new at the gemdealer.com

Here we will attempt to keep you up to date with the

latest news at thegemdealer.com

04-10-10 We're headed for the mine for the season - see you again in October!

02-08-10 Added 2 new entries to the gem lore section: Cassiterite - Pearl

01-28-10 Added 2 new entries to the gem lore section: Bloodstone - Euclase

01-25-10 Three new entries to the gem lore section: Amazonite - Prehnite - Zircon - Hiddenite

01-20-10 Pat's been working on a making up some really cute Virgin Valley souvenirs. I'll post pictures soon.

01-19-10 Added two new entries to the gem lore section: Bertrandite and Dumortierite.

01-10-10 I've slowly been working my way through the gem lore section updating the entries.

12-06-09 Opened an Artfire account handling the same line as our Etsy store.

12-05-09 Opened a store front at 1000 Markets. We're blogging from this store front and now my Facebook page is linked to it: http://www.facebook.com/thegemdealer check it out.

11-23-09 Opened an Etsy store front, http://www.etsy.com/shop/thegemdealer. Most of the items in the store were migrated from our site store but there are a few new items, so check it out. If you haven't heard about Etsy; it's an online site that features hand made items for sale direct from the artist.

11-15-09 Over the last few days I've updated nearly every gem and mineral in the lore section with new information.

11-07-09 Reopened the "Name that Rock" contest. The prize is a nice specimen of cactus quartz with touches of amethyst and citrine.

11-04-09 The store is open for business.

10-30-09 Finally home! It's been a long season at the mine.

05-06-09 We're off to the mine - see you in October!

04-30-09 Store sales are ending today for the 08-09 season. The store will reopen when we return from the Mine in October.

04-11-09 The time is rapidly approaching for our annual trek to the mine in Virgin Valley. If all goes as planned we will be all set up and running for our Memorial Day weekend opening. In another week or so I'll shut down the store for the summer; to re-open in October.

03-04-09 New entries for the links pages added.

02-20-09 Finished with video conversion project - now all of the movies on the site; except the store pages, are flash format.

02-14-09 A project to convert the various movies on the site to flash video is well underway. All of the movies in the opal specimens section have now been converted' as well as the movie of "Magnifica" on the main opal mine page.

02-10-09 Just added a new flash movie about digging opal in Virgin Valley to the opal mine section.

02-07-09 Added a FAQ page to the opal mine section of the site.

01-03-09 Just ran all of the links pages through a link validator. Only a few that have gone bad since the last check. It's good to know that my efforts at keeping the links pages filled with high quality, relevant sites is working.

01-01-09 Happy New Year!!! Added two new parts to the Opal Negra section of the site. Mostly the results of last year's push to add more content for guests. There is a new page of wild flower pictures taken in Virgin Valley last spring. And I've added a page dedicated to the Opal Negra's millsite and rock garden. Those of you who have never visited Virgin Valley can get a better feel for the area; and what's to do if you ever get the chance to stop by. Our rock garden has expanded by half again the original size - it's not too shabby for a free nature tour.

12-14-08 Discovered that eBay had changed the address for our feedback page. Just finished changing the address on just about every page on the site. Now it goes through a redirect page - meaning that next time I only change one page instead of a couple of hundred.

12-10-08 Added another page of pendants to the jewelry section.

12-09-08

12-04-08 Added scrolling picture show to a number of the pages on the site - each pic is linked to that item's sales page.

12-01-08 Added a whole page of new movies of Virgin Valley opal specimens.

11-15-08 Shut down ebay auctions for the time being.

11-10-08 New pics added to the opal mine section

10-26-08 Just added a slug of new links to the links pages. They're turning into a pretty big section on the web site.

10-18-08 We've opened up a new season of auctions at eBay.