Interest in opaque gems such as turquoise and coral got a boost in April from Town & Country, which featured a lush coral torsade on one of its young cover models. For the magazine's gem focus in April, it looked at a variety of turquoise jewelry in a wide range of styles, showing that Southwestern is only one way to design using this popular color. Many jewelry industry manufacturers and designers are including at least some coral and turquoise in their 2000 lines. Plan to check out these items at this year's trade shows.

- by Peggy Jo Donahue