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Afghanistan Ruby''s

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GunDoc999

GunDoc999

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 13, 2008
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Hello, I need some information? I am here in Afghanistan and I have bought 2 Ruby''s 11.85 Carat''s total. I would like to know the approximate value and it there is a re-sell market. They are fairly inexpensive and I would like to invest in them if I can make some profit later? Thanks for your help..
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Unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing and have a kit of equipment and know how to use it, be extremely cautious. A lot of 'rubies' are worth almost nothing.

Can you tell if your stones have been fracture filled, heat treated or if they are synthetics?

Be careful.

You could try selling them on ebay.

Investing in gemstones is a HUGE no no, unless you are an expert in the subject and know the markets and the stones. Look at diamonds for example - if you're lucky you'll get back 50% of purchase price. Unless of course you are talking about true investment stones like the Hope Diamond....
 
Hi GunDoc. Appreciate you being out there in Afghanistan for us.

If you bought two 5 carat plus rubies "inexpensively" then they are probably synthetic, or naturals with some type of heavy treatments such as beryllium diffusion, glass infilling, fracture filling, etc.

This is not to say that you can't resell them and make a profit if they are pretty stones. But you need to find out exactly what they are and obtain credible documentation which will make a potential buyer feel at ease.

For that you need an expert appraiser or a major gem lab proficient in colored stones. You probably don't have any such thing handy out there, so you might consider hanging on to them until you get home, or figuring out some way to ship them.

Until then, be careful in how you represent them if trying to sell them. You might try this approach "I don't have a clue what these stones are. I was told they were rubies, and they certainly look pretty. If you like them, you can have them for X amount of dollars, but I'm not able to guarantee anything."
 
Well By inexpensive I mean $240 for both or approximatly $20 a carat, I have a person here who is knowledgeable about gems and has several of his that he bought here appraised and they were of good quality. On that note I had his help picking them out and the are fairly clear but with inclusions. No heat or fillers.
There are no cracks in the stones. Basically are they worth what I paid and are they worth buying more? I do intend to keep most of what I buy and have jewelry made for wife and daughters, but would not mind selling some for a small profit if possible?
Thanks for all your help.
 
At that price it will probably cost you more to have them appraised than you paid - but you might want to pay for it just to see what you have.

How do you know there are no fillers and no heat treatment?

Sorry, but the price is way too low to be a quality ruby. Fine ruby is incredibly expensive - a PSer bought one that was 1.10ct for an engagement ring and it cost him over $10k.
 
Date: 9/14/2008 5:58:32 AM
Author: Pandora II
At that price it will probably cost you more to have them appraised than you paid - but you might want to pay for it just to see what you have.

How do you know there are no fillers and no heat treatment?

Sorry, but the price is way too low to be a quality ruby. Fine ruby is incredibly expensive - a PSer bought one that was 1.10ct for an engagement ring and it cost him over $10k.
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The setting or precieved setting a gemstone is purchased in greatly influences the price some are willing to pay. While I agree there is much to be leary of in the setting Gun doc is buying these rubies. Can we really dismiss his claim so easily. After all they are only pretty rocks in an enviorment where other things (food,shelter) have much more value
 
Hi Gundoc, I''m sure it''s easy to get ripped off but you never know. My best friend lived in Madagascar for a year and came home with a few nice sapphires. Anyway maybe you could do some research on line. Palagems has a buying guide section, and there are tons of colored stone sites with photos. I know there are a few a few posts with list around here somewhere.

Any chance you could post some more pics?
 
At $20 per carat, they are most likely beryllium diffused. That would be about the right money for them, with stones like that selling wholesale here in America for usually $30 to $50 per carat, sometimes as much as $100 per carat.

If they are beryllium diffused (my second guess would be synthetic), then the thing to be aware of is this treatment is considered the pariah of the ruby market. It takes stones with poor color and makes them look like half way decent rubies. Because they are "artificially colored" from the "outside in" at very high temperatures using the light element beryllium, it is considered taboo, with some experts refusing to even call them rubies.

Personally I think the stigma will wear down a bit with time and these stones become more acceptable. Many are quite pretty in fact, and the treatment is stable, so why not?

But in the meantime be careful about resale without disclosure. You need to find out what they are.
 
Date: 9/14/2008 6:19:37 AM
Author: colormyworld

Date: 9/14/2008 5:58:32 AM
Author: Pandora II
At that price it will probably cost you more to have them appraised than you paid - but you might want to pay for it just to see what you have.

How do you know there are no fillers and no heat treatment?

Sorry, but the price is way too low to be a quality ruby. Fine ruby is incredibly expensive - a PSer bought one that was 1.10ct for an engagement ring and it cost him over $10k.
Click to expand...

The setting or precieved setting a gemstone is purchased in greatly influences the price some are willing to pay. While I agree there is much to be leary of in the setting Gun doc is buying these rubies. Can we really dismiss his claim so easily. After all they are only pretty rocks in an enviorment where other things (food,shelter) have much more value
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I have friends out there who have brought back stones which have proved to be anything but what they were sold as. There are also quite a few serious buyers who are dealing out there. While you may get ''bargains'' at source, for the main part the people selling gemstones know exactly what they are selling and what the value is. They are (for the main part) not in the business of giving things away for less than they are worth.

Many, many people have left considerable sums in Thailand/Sri Lanka/Vietnam/insert country of choice for worthless ''gemstones'' where they thought that the locals didn''t know what they were selling. The fact that GDP is a fraction of our countries and they might earn in a month what we would spend on lunch doesn''t mean that you are going to be able to buy a $5k stone for $50. If you are lucky you will pay around what a serious dealer would pay - and these countries have plenty very serious dealers with good contacts in the Western trade. If someone has a great stone they will take it to these people not just flog it to the nearest passing foreigner.

Okay, there may be exceptions but on the whole cynicsm is probably safer. No problem is buying a few pretties to bring home either - as long as you know you may be buying something with ultimately little more than sentimental value.
 
Well said, Pandora. These dealers are no dummies. They know if they have something or not. If they let it go for pennies, that is probably what its worth, pennies.

The Middle and Far East shysters are among the best shysters in the world.
 
Pandora, if you needed cash fast and had to sell your tsavorite in a hurry. Do you think you could get any where near what you paid for it? Now put your self in war torn Afghanistan in the same situation, needing cash fast. Of course this is just a hypothetical situation which may or may not reflect how gun doc aquired his stones. I just know as a collector of gems, I dread the day I am forcrd to liquidate my collection in a hurry.
 
Sorry, that is a needle in a haystack situation - and one of the oldest tricks in the book.

You would be astonished how many people come home having 'bought this amazing heirloom because the owners daughter was sick and they needed the money so they had to sell it' - meanwhile Mr Heirloom is laughing all the way to the bank.

I don't know how much time you have ever spent in developing countries, I grew up in them and that may well be why I am sceptical.
 
Here are some more pictures of the Ruby''s I bought.

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Gun Doc, I can not tell by the picture whether you got your monies worth or not. If it is real with not to muct treatment it looks like a winner.

On the other front. I know for a fact that very nice gems can be sourced through channels other than just well known dealers. Most often for FAR less money.
 
Date: 9/16/2008 4:04:29 PM
Author: colormyworld
Gun Doc, I can not tell by the picture whether you got your monies worth or not. If it is real with not to muct treatment it looks like a winner.

On the other front. I know for a fact that very nice gems can be sourced through channels other than just well known dealers. Most often for FAR less money.
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Totally agree, I said as much in one of my posts above.
 
Well let''s look at this for a moment... Afghansistan is the middle of a war zone and locked down. No merchants can either leave or enter unless approved by the U.S. and Afghani Military. So therefore we soldiers are all the trade they have right now. I believe that my source here is atleast correct that these are natural Ruby''s and probably worth more than what I purchased them for. I understand your doubts, but maybe you didn''t think them through very well? I will be getting them tested at a lab. And I will post my findings on here early January when I get home. GunDoc999
 
Date: 9/20/2008 7:03:03 AM
Author: GunDoc999
Well let's look at this for a moment... Afghansistan is the middle of a war zone and locked down. No merchants can either leave or enter unless approved by the U.S. and Afghani Military. So therefore we soldiers are all the trade they have right now. I believe that my source here is atleast correct that these are natural Ruby's and probably worth more than what I purchased them for. I understand your doubts, but maybe you didn't think them through very well? I will be getting them tested at a lab. And I will post my findings on here early January when I get home. GunDoc999
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I hope you have found real rubies and I'm very interested to hear what the lab reports say.

I am going on what has been the results for stones that friends of mine in the British Army and colleagues who are working for government agencies out there have brought back.

I also know dealers here in London who are still getting Afghani goods (although in smaller quantities) - or so they were telling me. I wasn't buying just popped in for a chat, so they had no reason to tell me untruths.

Anyway, this discussion is irrelevant until we know what the stones are - and I truly hope that you have hit the motherlode!
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Aside from quality, the market a stone is being sold in IMO has the greatest influence on the price. After that comes overhead and next would be the vendors lust for money. Even like markets colored gemstones prices can vary widely for materials of very similar quality. More so than just about any other item I can think of. While there are price guides these are just that a guide. A starting place.

The prices Gun doc paid for these colored rocks are amazing if they turn out to be as claimed. I just have a hard time dismissing these sort of things so eaisly. One reason is because of some of the "finds" I have made.

As for BE treatment that may not be quite as good as non BE but still a good "find". As far as I can tell.


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