Blue Sapphire – rarity, pricing, availability

[chrono]

At present, one can be fairly assured that the goods coming directly from Sri Lanka are not BE diffused. Goods having come from Thailand stand a good chance that something nefarious has been done. Well, nefarious in our eyes as they may think it 'normal'. It is not uncommon for a Thai dealer to acquire Sri Lankan Sapphires and work them to the 'right color' that meets the desires of unsuspecting buyers. I am not making a blanket statement stating that they all do this. I am saying it is likely to happen this way.

Roger,
I appreciate your taking the time to answer the onslaught of questions. In response to your helpful reply, the consumer will not know if the stone is coming directly from Sri Lanka or has been rerouted to Thailand. You, as a direct buyer, can track down its path but how many other vendors can do so? Disheartening news but not wholly unexpected.

 

[Roger Dery]

Yes, and did the new find in Madagascar pay off? Is it producing or is it anticipated to produce?

Minous,
There is a cycle to how the mining ramps up from discovery, to execution, and then to depletion. The site known as "Illakaka" in southwest Madagascar operated for a long time (measured in years, compared to days). At its height, the village and its workers topped out somewhere above 50k people.

The latest site is not as neatly arranged as Illakaka. It is more jungle than open plain. And so it is a bit of a mess especially when it is raining. It is unlikely I will be going there, as there are too many risks along the way. And that to have any success for a light-skinned westerner is very limited.

And then.... with some recent items of interest coming from Intl news wires, I don’t believe it is a very wise time to go as there are two items at play that will have an affect on incoming gem buyers.

1st- this is an election year, and the sitting president is presumably there illegally (due to arriving in his position by a coup) and he has not met the age requirement to be president. Nothing new here, as they say, This Is Africa.

The two contenders are just as contentious, with one being the wife of the former (legally elected president), and the other is the former dictator that was expelled from Madagascar some time ago. Neither of them meets the minimum 6-month residency requirement. Again, nothing new here it’s Africa.

2nd – Locusts. Roughly 2/3’s of the country will be ravaged by September-October. This is a plague of biblical proportions and some of the country’s primary crop growing areas are likely to be severely damaged, if not devastated. At present, the locusts are moving from south to north and are just now closing in on the capitol, Antananarivo.

Fortunately for Madagascar, most of the farms are at the end of their growing season, and either have, or will likely get their harvest in before devastation occurs. However, this does not bode well for the country as the rainy season arrived late this year and therefore there was already low production.

The above two circumstances are not compelling enough to keep me from going. However, whenever there is such strife and lack of leadership in a country, it usually spells trouble. Traveling within Madagascar is already risky. Add to it a desperate population; and issues may arise during our travels. With the lack of national leadership, it is possible we may have difficulty getting goods out of the country. And even if we do, we may have to submit to a little “backsheesh” to leave with goods intact.

I understand this is a lot to swallow at one time, but it is my belief than many consumer gem buyers in developed countries have little understanding of what gem rough buyers go through to bring nice looking goods into their hands. As has been stated before, if this was easy, then everyone would be doing it.

 

[Roger Dery]

Roger, what kind of effect has Princess Diana/Kate's ring had on blue sapphires? The info in this thread makes me want to hoard the few sapphires I have...

FrekeChild,
This is one of those industry scenarios whereby there probably isn't anyone who could quantify the situation and say... "oh, Diana/Kate's Sapphire ring has added xyz amount in sales". It is nebulous in nature.

I am not at a retail counter making sales. I am in a workshop most of the time and my contact with jewelers is either on the phone or by email (and most recently, by Facebook). So from time to time I hear a comment from a jeweler placing an order that the client was admiring the Royal's ring and wanted to emulate it. But this is not the norm.

If anything, I would say that Diana/Kate's Sapphire piece has raised attention to Sapphire in general, and more specifically towards larger goods.

 

[minousbijoux]

Yes, and did the new find in Madagascar pay off? Is it producing or is it anticipated to produce?

Minous,
There is a cycle to how the mining ramps up from discovery, to execution, and then to depletion. The site known as "Illakaka" in southwest Madagascar operated for a long time (measured in years, compared to days). At its height, the village and its workers topped out somewhere above 50k people.

The latest site is not as neatly arranged as Illakaka. It is more jungle than open plain. And so it is a bit of a mess especially when it is raining. It is unlikely I will be going there, as there are too many risks along the way. And that to have any success for a light-skinned westerner is very limited.

And then.... with some recent items of interest coming from Intl news wires, I don’t believe it is a very wise time to go as there are two items at play that will have an affect on incoming gem buyers.

1st- this is an election year, and the sitting president is presumably there illegally (due to arriving in his position by a coup) and he has not met the age requirement to be president. Nothing new here, as they say, This Is Africa.

The two contenders are just as contentious, with one being the wife of the former (legally elected president), and the other is the former dictator that was expelled from Madagascar some time ago. Neither of them meets the minimum 6-month residency requirement. Again, nothing new here it’s Africa.

2nd – Locusts. Roughly 2/3’s of the country will be ravaged by September-October. This is a plague of biblical proportions and some of the country’s primary crop growing areas are likely to be severely damaged, if not devastated. At present, the locusts are moving from south to north and are just now closing in on the capitol, Antananarivo.

Fortunately for Madagascar, most of the farms are at the end of their growing season, and either have, or will likely get their harvest in before devastation occurs. However, this does not bode well for the country as the rainy season arrived late this year and therefore there was already low production.

The above two circumstances are not compelling enough to keep me from going. However, whenever there is such strife and lack of leadership in a country, it usually spells trouble. Traveling within Madagascar is already risky. Add to it a desperate population; and issues may arise during our travels. With the lack of national leadership, it is possible we may have difficulty getting goods out of the country. And even if we do, we may have to submit to a little “backsheesh” to leave with goods intact.

I understand this is a lot to swallow at one time, but it is my belief than many consumer gem buyers in developed countries have little understanding of what gem rough buyers go through to bring nice looking goods into their hands. As has been stated before, if this was easy, then everyone would be doing it.

No, Roger, I am so grateful for your posting of this. In fact, I had seen your explanation of this on the "other" website recently, which is partly why I was asking the question. It is also a great reminder to all of us on the consumer end to think a little farther than "why doesn't the vendor have more in the color and size I want?" and appreciate that the exciting part, the hunt, in many countries such as Madagascar, is fraught with risk, danger, competition from other international buyers, natural/climactic unpredictability, and political instability.

That all said, I will wait patiently to see examples of stones from the new area, as I hear they are often of extremely high quality and coloring.

 

[movie zombie]

good info, roger.
i think the operative word here is "fine": that commands a premium as it always has and always will. most sapphire just does not make that cut and i'm betting even sapphire that is not "fine" is going to continue to rise in price.

 

[woofmama]

Thank you for the fascinating look into your world. I would love a blue sapphire and now understand the effort put forth by a cutter to get material. If I find one I'll treasure it all the more.

 

[JewelFreak]

Yes, Woofmama, & be willing to wait for it & pay more, with understanding of why.

Great background on several levels, Roger. Thanks for taking time to put it all down. Most important, hope your next trip is fruitful, and that you stay safe.

--- Laurie

 

[bpaul]

here i am, again....sorry, roger but it looks i am going to be following you quite a bit! you really are an expert.
what do you think of kashmir sapphires and how does one find a buyer for one? thanks so much...

 

[endless_summer]

Roger,

Your post and answers to the commenters questions really has been quite educational and fascinating to read. Thank you for continuing to share your knowledge and experience (I really enjoyed your post on bringing a mint garnet to life) - as a consumer, I appreciate your viewpoint quite a lot, and it puts the time it takes to find a piece into perspective. Safe travels!

 

[Roger Dery]

here i am, again....sorry, roger but it looks i am going to be following you quite a bit! you really are an expert.
what do you think of kashmir sapphires and how does one find a buyer for one? thanks so much...

bpaul,
I don't know whether I qualify as an expert as there are many others in the trade with far more knowledge than me.

As far as how to find a buyer for a Kashmir Sapphire - well this is the proverbial $64,000 question isn't it? Every dealer is looking for the next best thing in how to sell their gems. I think it goes something like this....

1- educate yourself on what you are selling, including the legalities of how it should be done
2- develop credibility so that buyers are attracted to you
3- find a venue you are comfortable with, and that buyers are comfortable with you
4- perform buying and selling within your chosen marketplace so that you have the knowledge to price your goods appropriately
5- learn to photograph your gems - as this is the way of the future
6- learn what is appropriate within the Code of Federal Regulations, specifically the Guides for the Jewelry Industry
7- if you can get through all that, hopefully you are well funded enough to get through the 1st five years as they will be the toughest to work through.

Hopefully someone finds this useful!

 

[Lee Little]

3rd party reports have become more valuable.