My Burma Myanmar gemstones :)

[valeria101]

Had a pair of cufflinks with some such material - small slices of crystal (tastelessly, the natural edges were polished over ... ) pierced with two holes, like buttons ...

Not sure what I'd do with those particular parcels ! There are enough crystal growth features in there for an MPhil ,-)

 

[Burmesedaze]

Viewed this trio of matching Mogok untreated sapphires on Sunday. Each are between 2.48-2.67ct. Slightly included and native cut. Passing on them as the colour doesn't tug at my heart.

 

[Bluegemz]

Viewed this trio of matching Mogok untreated sapphires on Sunday. Each are between 2.48-2.67ct. Slightly included and native cut. Passing on them as the colour doesn't tug at my heart.

Gosh they are really pretty though. Being able to discern which colors truly inspire takes serious exposure i imagine. You've seen so many things during the past year. What an education! Sigh...that would be a dream for me, nice sapphire earrings in medium blue tones.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Gosh they are really pretty though. Being able to discern which colors truly inspire takes serious exposure i imagine. You've seen so many things during the past year. What an education! Sigh...that would be a dream for me, nice sapphire earrings in medium blue tones.

The colour is somewhat similar to the oval pair of earrings I have with the diamond jackets (around 1.3 - 1.4ct each). Mine's a hair lighter IIRC but much sparklier as it's not included.

These are around US$5K (estimate) though the starting asking price from the trader is 1.8x that. I'm on the lookout for bigger pieces now with better/richer colours/saturation at fair prices. My jewellers showed these to me first as they need to replenish their stock for the local market that favour size over cut and inclusions. They also suggested to pass on them for me so these were just to "train the eye", so to speak. You are absolutely right about colours requiring training and the only way is by seeing more and more!

 

[Burmesedaze]

My little collection of small carved jade pendants. I haven't opened the recycled huge mooncake box in a long while as it's kept in the cupboard away from klutz housekeeping. The photo is very overexposed. Will get around to taking a daylight photo one day.

 

[Bluegemz]

I'd say that's a really good collection! I really love the top 2 left ones, and the water oil green goldfish and the yellow and white one next to it. The red one is also fabulous. I'm so curious, do you have one or two favorites?

 

[Burmesedaze]

I'd say that's a really good collection! I really love the top 2 left ones, and the water oil green goldfish and the yellow and white one next to it. The red one is also fabulous. I'm so curious, do you have one or two favorites?

I'm glad you like them
True sign of a hoarder? No favourites, I like all of them because they are all SO DIFFERENT. When I'm moody, I find I gravitate towards the greener ones more.

When sanguine, I like the whimsical ones especially the frog on the lotus or lily pad!

 

[Bluegemz]

I'm glad you like them
True sign of a hoarder? No favourites, I like all of them because they are all SO DIFFERENT. When I'm moody, I find I gravitate towards the greener ones more.

When sanguine, I like the whimsical ones especially the frog on the lotus or lily pad!

That's so true, they're all unique. That's why I would never consider this as a sign of hoarding! Jade collecting is endless because of the vast range. That's interesting about preferences and moods.
I really love jade pendants and would love to have more. When I was out in California, I saw so many, set in metal and unset, all very gorgeous....I could really get into just collecting them.
I'd love an icy clear one, a deep green, and on and on.

 

[Seaglow]

You gotta post the gigantic blues here for some eye candy!

 

[Burmesedaze]

These are kept by this sapphire mine's owners as they are large and hard to find now. They brought them to show today as we are friends I certainly can't afford. Mix of cornflower and darker blues. The huge royal/midnight blue is available for sale hence the silver pendant plated yellow gold. The lighter blues from this mine is getting rare. Darker ones still common. Below 5 ct after cutting, usually.

The lighter blue next to the pendant in my palm shot is considered cornflower blue locally.

 

[Bluegemz]

I'm just blown away Burmesedaze ! Seeing these immediately makes me wish I had one and could dive into that blueness...I'd choose the 17.04 carat one! Second would be the one in your hand next to the bezeled one.
This is such a treat to see this beauty of nature! Thank you for showing. You must have made nice friendship with the mine owners since they brought just to show them. Really really amazing. I'm really curious, do you have an idea of how much one might cost? I sometimes see stones like these in auction catalogues for 6 figures.

 

[Seaglow]

They will for sure sell loads at the HK show. Do they classify the darker ones as Royal blue? The one set is way too dark.

 

[Bluegemz]

They will for sure sell loads at the HK show. Do they classify the darker ones as Royal blue? The one set is way too dark.

It wouldn't be my first choice, but even though It's dark, I would not say no to it. It's still simply amazing in size and has that sapphire glow. It's like a dark, remote star in the abyss of space. Very mysterious!!

 

[valeria101]

Nice sight !

@normanintheskywithsapphires

 

[Seaglow]

It wouldn't be my first choice, but even though It's dark, I would not say no to it. It's still simply amazing in size and has that sapphire glow. It's like a dark, remote star in the abyss of space. Very mysterious!!

The locality tend to prefer the darker tones (tones out of the ideal) than the lighter ones. So for the same size, I bet it will be priced lower given all factors the same. So I'd choose a light blue over a midnight blue. But you are right, the size! The Royal blue is dark enough and quite honestly, enchanting despite being dark (as you have described) so I don't even wonder why it is coveted in the locality.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Yes, this pendant piece is what passes as "royal blue" in Myanmar. I think because there's still a ready supply and of course, marketing. It's actually lighter in the hand, but shows up darker in the photos. Not that much lighter though.

This piece IIRC is under US$40,000 (family price). All the other pieces are 6 figures (so the auction book is right, except the first digit would be different ). You can imagine the mark up by the time it hits foreign shores.

Bluegemz, you have a good eye. The 17.04ct lighter blue has the best clarity and what in local parlance they call "texture". It shines not because of the decent native cut and lighter blue, but because it's cleaner. My jeweller says this, when set, will look even better.

The cornflower blue and those close in colour to it are not as clean in clarity at all, so it's more about the colour (but serious, if I have one in my ownership, would I complain about the cut and clarity? Naaaaahhh!). Also native cut.

The royal blue piece needs a recut as one edge is chipped, probably a bit of squaring off the edges. It does have inclusions streaking at one lower corner visible to the eye. So it's prized more for the size. Probably the only one I can afford as it's cheaper than a 1.3 litre Japanese/Korean car where I hail from.

The owners speak only Burmese, so they are really friends with my jewellers and came to visit them as it's the male owner's birthday. I made sure I brought plenty of nice chocolate eclairs and dim sum items

Big sizes head straight to the fair, as Seaglow said. Because they have regular buyers. This would also be the HK fair. The smaller ones get sold in massive lots from the mine to the first traders (because too small individually to be worth the effort for individual sale). So the way smaller pieces I have from this mine are from traders x dunno how many times that have broken up the lots + mark up before I bought them in Yangon). I brought a few of my blue sapphire pieces today to ask the owner if the stones are from this mine (my cushion blue sapphire earrings with the bling diamond setting, the pendant, forgot to ask about my cabochon ring).

This is the top producing sapphire mine here currently, non alluvial. There are other mines of varying shades and secondary colours. This mine has the least green (if any) in their blues. There is another mine (I've seen some of the stones) that has a decidedly greenish cast to their dark blues. There are also mines that produce the light blues (like my 3.6ct ring) at very affordable prices, but I think the primary supply gets snapped up fast at source by the Mogok folks/traders. Cornflower blues, rare indeed now.

This mine, unfortunately, doesn't come with spinels or other sapphire colours (not in any saleable quality/size).

Why they are such believers of luck in Myanmar? My jewellers were given a stake to open a sapphire mine in Mogok, but the mine's deposits were inferior and too deep to render commercially viable, so they lost money. Not all mines in the Mogok stone tract are commercially viable.

Oh and in Yangon, you get to rub shoulders with jade, gold and gemstone mine owners aplenty But many of them aren't involved in the finished product sale, preferring to sell the rough. There is a system to honour and also, you don't build a relationship here by asking for direct sales (unless you have a huge budget, I guess).

 

[Bluegemz]

Yes, this pendant piece is what passes as "royal blue" in Myanmar. I think because there's still a ready supply and of course, marketing. It's actually lighter in the hand, but shows up darker in the photos. Not that much lighter though.

This piece IIRC is under US$40,000 (family price). All the other pieces are 6 figures (so the auction book is right, except the first digit would be different ). You can imagine the mark up by the time it hits foreign shores.

Bluegemz, you have a good eye. The 17.04ct lighter blue has the best clarity and what in local parlance they call "texture". It shines not because of the decent native cut and lighter blue, but because it's cleaner. My jeweller says this, when set, will look even better.

The cornflower blue and those close in colour to it are not as clean in clarity at all, so it's more about the colour (but serious, if I have one in my ownership, would I complain about the cut and clarity? Naaaaahhh!). Also native cut.

The royal blue piece needs a recut as one edge is chipped, probably a bit of squaring off the edges. It does have inclusions streaking at one lower corner visible to the eye. So it's prized more for the size. Probably the only one I can afford as it's cheaper than a 1.3 litre Japanese/Korean car where I hail from.

The owners speak only Burmese, so they are really friends with my jewellers and came to visit them as it's the male owner's birthday. I made sure I brought plenty of nice chocolate eclairs and dim sum items

Big sizes head straight to the fair, as Seaglow said. Because they have regular buyers. This would also be the HK fair. The smaller ones get sold in massive lots from the mine to the first traders (because too small individually to be worth the effort for individual sale). So the way smaller pieces I have from this mine are from traders x dunno how many times that have broken up the lots + mark up before I bought them in Yangon). I brought a few of my blue sapphire pieces today to ask the owner if the stones are from this mine (my cushion blue sapphire earrings with the bling diamond setting, the pendant, forgot to ask about my cabochon ring).

This is the top producing sapphire mine here currently, non alluvial. There are other mines of varying shades and secondary colours. This mine has the least green (if any) in their blues. There is another mine (I've seen some of the stones) that has a decidedly greenish cast to their dark blues. There are also mines that produce the light blues (like my 3.6ct ring) at very affordable prices, but I think the primary supply gets snapped up fast at source by the Mogok folks/traders. Cornflower blues, rare indeed now.

This mine, unfortunately, doesn't come with spinels or other sapphire colours (not in any saleable quality/size).

Why they are such believers of luck in Myanmar? My jewellers were given a stake to open a sapphire mine in Mogok, but the mine's deposits were inferior and too deep to render commercially viable, so they lost money. Not all mines in the Mogok stone tract are commercially viable.

Oh and in Yangon, you get to rub shoulders with jade, gold and gemstone mine owners aplenty But many of them aren't involved in the finished product sale, preferring to sell the rough. There is a system to honour and also, you don't build a relationship here by asking for direct sales (unless you have a huge budget, I guess).

This is such an interesting gem market and world which you have described! I imagine that it's land of enthusiasm of high hopes, with the promise of finding treasures, human catastrophe, and dreams that are made and broken, fortunes made and lost, but with strong bonds between people holding it all together. I appreciate you putting the effort to explain all of this. It's a wonderful insight to have into the market there. Honor system, mine owners?....I can only say that I'd love to be able to experience this someday.

 

[Burmesedaze]

One such system goes like this:
A member of my jeweller's extended family, let's call him Z: One shop downstairs had a buyer for some jadeite vase and the middleman brought the lot I have and I made a profit on this particular one that went for more than double my asking price to the eventual buyer.
Me: Oh, why did you have to rely on a middleman and his cut when the shop is just downstairs. Can't you just bring the vase down to the other shop?
Z: Because that's the way things are done.
Me:

2 learning points:
1. Ground floor shops are pricier because they get more passenger traffic and can mark up more.
2. You have to abide by the system in this business.

 

[Seaglow]

Big sizes head straight to the fair, as Seaglow said. Because they have regular buyers. This would also be the HK fair. The smaller ones get sold in massive lots from the mine to the first traders (because too small individually to be worth the effort for individual sale). So the way smaller pieces I have from this mine are from traders x dunno how many times that have broken up the lots + mark up before I bought them in Yangon).

Hahaaha. This made me laugh as "small" is subjective.
I was eyeing a 2.6 carats cornflower blue at a Burmese trader at the Bangkok fair and I asked for the local lab report of which she replied, "I don't get a report for small stones." Lol. I asked for some lighter blues of which they replied, "We left them in Yangon"....like I'm crazy coz you know, the lighter ones are not worthy for the fair. Lol.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Hahaaha. This made me laugh as "small" is subjective.
I was eyeing a 2.6 carats cornflower blue at a Burmese trader at the Bangkok fair and I asked for the local lab report of which she replied, "I don't get a report for small stones." Lol. I asked for some lighter blues of which they replied, "We left them in Yangon"....like I'm crazy coz you know, the lighter ones are not worthy for the fair. Lol.

And probably none of the above at the HK fair too.

 

[Bluegemz]

One such system goes like this:
A member of my jeweller's extended family, let's call him Z: One shop downstairs had a buyer for some jadeite vase and the middleman brought the lot I have and I made a profit on this particular one that went for more than double my asking price to the eventual buyer.
Me: Oh, why did you have to rely on a middleman and his cut when the shop is just downstairs. Can't you just bring the vase down to the other shop?
Z: Because that's the way things are done.
Me:

2 learning points:
1. Ground floor shops are pricier because they get more passenger traffic and can mark up more.
2. You have to abide by the system in this business.

So there isn't always an efficient logic to how things are done, and you have to just go with it! This must make things very interesting lol!

 

[Burmesedaze]

So there isn't always an efficient logic to how things are done, and you have to just go with it! This must make things very interesting lol!

Local observations/frustration:
1. Common sense is not as common as one may think
2. Sometimes, there is no logical why. It just is

To me, these are teething pains in coming to terms with the opening up of the country. I believe in the medium to long term potential of this country still.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Another lot from the HK Hugo Rich settings chaps. Like I was telling Seaglow, trust system. They passed my stuff to me through their Myanmar partner first but I have no idea when to pass them the payment as they aren't physically in Yangon and no fixed dates when they are coming!

Old mine jadeite earrings with salt grained texture, closed yellow gold backing.

White jadeite ring to match my other pair of round white jadeite earrings. Not particularly expensive but I just HAVE to have a matching ring in the meantime.

My cream SSP in a new setting by Hugo Rich that I love to bits!

 

[Burmesedaze]

My friend's stuff was passed over too! Rose gold earrings with amethysts and pretty diamond jackets, 4.26ct lavender sapphire rose gold ring, dark blue sapphire ring and a yellow sapphire ring. All Mogok untreated stones.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Other random bits.

My dangles are done locally. 18k yellow gold coated with platinum with the stones set in movable parts for more movement. Burmese pink spinels with non native London blue topazes and African purple garnets.

I also had a non local African pinkish purple garnet set in a China made sterling silver setting here.

Utility jadeite parts that will be made into trays for me. I'm leaving the rind/cover on as part of the trays. They have lavender and light green bits in them.

 

[Bluegemz]

Burmesedaze, I love your new jadeite ring! It's so dreamy and soft. Also love the warm glow of the gold set earrings and how the gold shows through. It makes them shimmer, almost like moonstones or opals. Those are just so romantic and soft. I think of the gilded, aged mirrors of Versailles when seeing g those, and the gentle light of chandeliers. Really lovely. Congratulations on all the new things! And, I forgot to mention, the jadeite tray! How wonderful. I can imagine even displaying jewelry on it.

 

[Burmesedaze]

My jadeite cab earrings without their jackets. Still on the lookout for nice lavender and icy/glassy ones!

Oh and my new jade pair needs them jackets. These are from my friend's amethysts

 

[Bluegemz]

The ring is a perfect match! It's gorgeous! Its always such a pleasure to journey with you on your searches! You have a wonderful collection of jadeite earrings.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Too kind again, Bluegemz I never liked jadeite/nephrite/jade before coming to Myanmar. Now... it's probably too much liking, for virtually anything/everything!

 

[Burmesedaze]

More pottiness over teapots, they are all jadeite sets, except for the pale whitish set. They are priced between US$80-100 per set.
Since they come from Mandalay, Mandalay would be cheaper. All commercial, utility jadeite.