Tatum Gems

Tatum Gems Professional gem cutter and provider of colourful one-of-a-kind natural gems 💎 B2B to the jewellery trade only

Offering an intimate range of beautifully handcrafted gems cut and designed by Laura Phillis, while passionately inspiring and educating about gemstones.

Tanzanite is the blue violet variety of the mineral zoisite, but zoisite itself can occur in a much broader range of col...
08/09/2026

Tanzanite is the blue violet variety of the mineral zoisite, but zoisite itself can occur in a much broader range of colours. Side by side these three stones show just how varied zoisite can be, and why not every piece of zoisite is necessarily called tanzanite.

The two stones on the left are unheated. The green stone is simply called zoisite, while the violet blue centre stone falls into the colour range we know as tanzanite.

The vivid blue stone on the right has been heated. Heating tanzanite typically reduces the yellow, green and brown colours that can be present in natural zoisite, allowing the blue and violet colours to dominate. But heating doesn’t simply turn every stone the same shade of blue, the starting material matters, so the finished colour can range from softer violet and periwinkle through to much richer blues 😍

03/09/2026

We’re back… and we’re kicking things off with a bang 💎

After a few months away on maternity leave, I’m very excited to be stepping back into Tatum Gems, and what better way to return than with a trip to Sydney!

We’ll be exhibiting at the Jewellery Industry Festival at Sydney Town Hall on 10 & 11 October 2026.

It’s been a little while since we’ve had the opportunity to bring Tatum Gems on the road, so I’m especially excited to catch up with familiar faces, meet some of you in person for the first time, and of course bring along a beautiful selection of coloured gemstones.

If you’re heading to the festival, come and say hello 👋

Sydney, we’ll see you in October!

10 & 11 October 2026
Sydney Town Hall

The many moods of blue zircon 💎 All of these have been heated, but each one came out with its own slightly different sha...
30/08/2026

The many moods of blue zircon 💎 All of these have been heated, but each one came out with its own slightly different shade of blue 💁🏼‍♀️

27/08/2026

Sapphire is loved for its incredible range of colours, but it’s not the only gemstone with a surprisingly diverse palette 😀

Garnets can also be found in beautiful shades of green, pink, peach, orange, yellow and more, sometimes sitting remarkably close to colours we’re used to seeing in sapphire.

For jewellers and designers it means more possibilities when sourcing for a particular colour. Sometimes Sapphire might be the perfect choice. Sometimes a garnet might catch you completely by surprise 🙊😍

just a personal reminder to myself, that I have the best job in the world 🥰
25/08/2026

just a personal reminder to myself, that I have the best job in the world 🥰

Some gemstones don’t come our way very often, and imperial topaz from Ouro Preto, Brazil is one of them ✨This one-of-a-k...
24/08/2026

Some gemstones don’t come our way very often, and imperial topaz from Ouro Preto, Brazil is one of them ✨

This one-of-a-kind gem has the most beautiful soft peach colour with delicate blush and warm golden tones, brought to life in a long elegant emerald cut.

Ouro Preto is renowned as the historic source of some of the world’s finest imperial topaz. With this material only coming from a very limited area, beautiful examples are highly sought after and increasingly difficult to replace.

Once this one finds its jeweller, we dont know when we’ll have another quite like it. If you can already picture the piece you’d create around it, you know what to do 💎😌

19/08/2026

That feeling when you sell your favourite gem, but it sold to your favourite customer so you know it’s in good hands 🙌 🥰

Not all grey spinel is created equal. Look a little closer and you’ll find theres far more colour hiding in “grey” than ...
17/08/2026

Not all grey spinel is created equal. Look a little closer and you’ll find theres far more colour hiding in “grey” than the name suggests.

These spinels from Ocua, Mozambique shift across a beautifully cool spectrum, some lean steely blue, others carry subtle green hues, while the palest are almost icy white.

It’s these undertones that give each grey spinel its own personality, and can completely change how it looks once set in jewellery.

Icy grey, blue grey or green grey, which one has your attention? 🩶

My favourite gem fun fact to whip out at a party or social gathering when I tell people I'm a gemmologist is "Did you kn...
14/08/2026

My favourite gem fun fact to whip out at a party or social gathering when I tell people I'm a gemmologist is "Did you know that not all sapphires are blue?" and honestly, most people are still surprised!

I take for granted sometimes the amazing gems I get to see in this industry but also the incredible sapphires I get to cut and work with everyday as a gem cutter 🤩

So the next time you talk to somebody that doesn't know that sapphires exist in other colours, send them this post!

Every gemstone in this tray has been heat treated to produce its beautiful blue colour, but notice how different they st...
11/08/2026

Every gemstone in this tray has been heat treated to produce its beautiful blue colour, but notice how different they still are 🩵

From the soft, icy sky blues to vivid electric blues, colour saturation can vary dramatically, even after the same treatment. That's because the final colour depends on the individual crystal itself, its chemistry, trace elements and the unique way it responds to heat.

This is why no two blue zircons are ever exactly alike, and why selecting the right stone is about more than simply asking for a "blue zircon."

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Adelaide, SA

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