Category Archives: Along The Burma Road

Ruby; Burma Days!

At The Ruby Mines:

It is tempting to believe that the lack of fine ruby in the world market is the result of the U. S. embargo, but it is not. Burma is flanked by India and China and both these emergent powers are far more important trading partners than is the United States. The Indians have always greatly valued ruby—in the 17th Century, French dealer Jean Baptiste Tavernier wrote of buying rubies in Europe and bringing them to India because he could get better prices from the Mogul nabobs— and China’s nouveau riche have developed a taste for luxury goods. No, it is simply that, after a thousand years, the ruby, at least the accessible ruby has been mined out. Certainly this is true of Mogok’s secondary deposits; every bit of alluvium in the mountain valley has been turned over not once, but a hundred times. Mogok village itself was once moved to get at the gemstones and the small lake at the valley’s floor is a flooded excavation. According to my Burmese agent, a Shan tribesman born in Mogok, there are still gems buried in the hardrock, but they are deeper and require blasting, heavy equipment and much more capital to mine. Investors, however, are rather reluctant to invest.

More to come…

Asking to see the Pigeon’s blood is like asking to see the face of God"

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About once a month on one of the gem forums someone asks the question:

"What color is pigeon's blood."

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

The real question is, of course, "what is the best color in ruby." Although I cover the question in some depth in my book; Secrets of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur's Guide to Precious Gemstones, it appears that a few people have yet to read the book. (pictured above a gem quality 2.09 carat natural old mine Burma ruby with a GRS "pigeon's blood certificate)

The short answer is simply that rubies should be red. Problem is there are almost no visually pure color in nature so, we speak of a mixture of colors. In gems, we normally speak of a primary and a secondary color or hue. Gems may have more than two hues but it it is difficult for even the most discerning connoisseur to see more than two. Still a ruby must be predominantly red, that is, have a primary red hue. Put another way in the color mix, red must be at least 51% of the hue mixture. If its not red its not a ruby. Any member of the gem family corundum that is any color other than red we call sapphire.

Ruby may exhibit one of a few possible secondary hues. These are: pink, purple and orange. Purple and orange are the hues immediately adjacent to red on the color wheel. You will never find a ruby with a green secondary hue. Pink, a paler less saturated red is also possible. The finest color or pigeon's blood exhibits a purple secondary hue. Why purple, there are two good reasons; one historical and the other based upon color science.

This historical explanation I owe to Vincent Pardieu. Vincent began by studying gemology in Burma and he found a dealer who explained "pigeon blood" to him. The Burmese coined the term. Purple is a hue that falls between blue and red on the color wheel. It is known scientifically as a modified spectral hue.

The Burmese set gems in pure gold which is a a very rich yellow color. Blue is the compliment of red. Complimentary colors are those that cancel each other out. So when a purplish red ruby is set in yellow, the yellow of the metal cancels out the blue in the purple leaving behind, guess what an almost visually pure red.(pictured above a 1.63 carat gem quality old mine Burma ruby with a GRS "pigeon's blood certificate). So the goal for the Burmese is red, pure red! See more!

I wrote my book several years before I met Vincent in Bangkok. However, I reached the same conclusion by applying a logical analysis. My reasoning goes something like this. Color Science teaches that the color red reaches its optimum saturation (brightness) at a fairly dark tone, somewhere about 80%. This is not opinion, it is measurable scientific fact. If you consider that 100% tone would be pure black, 80% is pretty dark. Pink and orange on the other hand reach their optimum saturation at fairly light tones. Pink obviously as it is by definition paler (less bright). Orange reaches its optimum saturation at between 30-40% tone.

Purple reaches its optimum saturation at around 60% tone. Now, if you add a light pigment to a dark paint you would obviously lighten the overall effect. Same is true in transparent media. The optimum tones of red and purple mix fairly well both being both dark in tone. The purple unlike the pink does not dilute the red. Pink and orange would lighten the red thus reducing the overall saturation of the pinkish-red or orangy-red color. Purple reinforces the red, orange and pink dilute. Make sense? Not everyone agrees. Some connoisseurs like a bit or orange. They feel it frames and pumps up the red hue. A good point if you consider the effect of orange in red spinel. Be that as it may, for good historical as well as scientifically verifiable reasons, orangy red is not pigeon's blood.

The first image above is of a 2.09 carat Burmese natural ruby from the old min at Mogok. This stone has a bit purer red, exhibits less purple than the second stone, a 1.63 carat gem from the same mining area. Both, however, have been grading "Pigeon's blood" by GRS, Swiss Lab, Bangkok. As you might imagine this lab sees an awful lot of rubies. Both stones are from the Mogok Valley, this is the place, going back to the Bronze Age, where the original stones were mined back when the term pigeon's blood was coined. A lot of the gems currently in the market are from a new mining areas Mong Hsu that is about half way between Mogok and the Thai border. Mong Hsu stones can certainly be pigeon's blood color but since we are talking about a historical term I thought it best to use illustrations from the old mine.

With the discovery of new sources of ruby in Africa a controversy has arisen over use of the term pidgeon's blood to describe the color of gems most specifically from Mozambique. The Chinese have outright banned the use of the term for ruby other than those of Burmese origin.

At the 2012 Hong Kong show I purchesed two exceptional unheated gems from Mozambique that were described in a GRS report as "vivid red" with a color identical to Burmese stones with GRS Pidgeon's Blood certificates. If, as I have suggested here and in my book, pigeon's blood is a definable hue then it seems to me that any ruby that meets those criteria can and should be labeled the same.

Want to Learn more?

Follow me on gem buying adventures to the old Burma ruby mine at Mogok. Learn how to judge the quality of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, garnets and 31 other gems. 120 carefu
lly selected photographs showing examples of the highest quality gems to educate the eye, including the Rockefeller Sapphire and many more of the world's most famous gems. Consider my book: Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur's Guide To Precious Gemstones.

“Wise is a renowned author… He’s
done a marvelous job of this first book, monumental work, a tour de force…My recommendation: Buy this book”.

Charles Lewton-Brain, Orchid

whether you like to know what the best colour is in Tanzanite, or how to grade a Diamond, you will find it in this book. No other book I read before dealt with this topic is such detail as Richard Wise's masterpiece."

A. Van Acker, FGA
Amazon June 2005

"Secrets Of The Gem Trade: The Connoisseurs Guide To Precious Gemstones by Richard W. Wise is an impressive new reference for dedicated dealers and collectors of gems, gemstones, and … pearls. Introducing and descriptively exploring each and every gem covered in the easy-to-use reference, Secrets Of The Gem Trade contains an illustrated summary of each stone inclusive of its history and general information, hue and tone, saturation, which may be noticed as the finest, an understanding of the particular gems rarity, and the caution for synthetics and how to depict them, however depending upon the stone there may be description of clarity, color fading, multi-color effect, etc. Secrets Of The Gem Trade is very highly recommended to anyone interested in gemology as a superbly organized, authoritative, comprehensive, and easy-to-follow reference."

Midwest Book Review
April 2006

Now 20% off. Read a couple of chapters online or buy one of the few remaining limited editons: www.secretsofthegemtrade.com.

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Labels: gem prices, gemstones, new gem strike, spinel prices, Tanzania gems, Tanzanian Spinel

Hong Kong Gem & Jewelry Show 2007

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Prices at the 2007 Hong Kong Show

by Richard W. Wise

Dateline Hong Kong.

This Thursday the Hong Kong Post reported that the U. S. dollar had reached a historic low against most major world currencies. Perhaps more important, the dollar which has been steadily losing ground against the Thai baht since its 2001 high, recently went into freefall. Historic data. Although the dollar along with the euro remains the international currency of choice, Bangkok is the capital of the colored gemstone trade and Thai dealers think in baht and the dollar has lost 19% against the Thai currency since the September 2006 show.

Ruby & Sapphire:

That said, prices of ruby and sapphire that were up dramatically in dollar terms at last year’s show ( read my 2006 report) have shown little upward movement. This is possibly the result of very poor sales at this September’s Bangkok show and would seem to indicate that Asian dealers are reluctant to pass along additional increases to a U. S. market currently viewed as on the edge of recession. The September Hong Kong show is one of the big three, the triumvirate of shows that sets future market prices. It will be interesting to see if dealer’s restraint will last until the all important Tucson shows in February particularly if the dollar continues to slide.

As usual, dealers report that supplies are down, particularly for high quality Burmese ruby and sapphire. This is the gem dealer’s eternal lament and one is tempted to ask; “yeah right, so what else is new” except that a new pro-democracy movement has apparently broken out in Burma with thousands of people taking to the streets in the country’s two major cities Burma news updates. This has got to have a negative effect on supply, short term. Will the brutal crackdown that is sure to follow lead to new economic sanctions or a boycott of Burmese goods in the U. S. is difficult to predict.

The gemstone business in Burma exists on two levels; on the one hand large scale mining is in the hands of the government. If you are doing large scale mining, you are in business with the army and much of the important material mined in large scale operations is marketed through the semi-annual government auctions. But, gem mining is mostly a cottage industry. At least 50% of the gems produced are from small scale mom and pop ventures that fall beneath the government’s radar and is smuggled out of the country. Having been on buying trips to Burma, it is my opinion that any new sanctions will probably backfire and impact the small scale subsistence miner more than the generals.

Stay tuned.

Interested in understanding more about the grading of fine diamond, pearl and othe gems? Follow me on gem buying adventures in the pearl farms of Tahiti. Visit the gem fields of Australia and Brazil. 120 carefully selected photographs showing examples of the highest quality gems to educate the eye, including the Rockefeller Sapphire and many more of the world’s most famous gems. Consider my book: Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones.

“Wise is a renowned author… He’s
done a marvelous job of this first book, monumental work, a tour de force…My recommendation: Buy this book”.

Charles Lewton-Brain, Orchid

Only $37.95. Read a couple of chapters online: www.secretsofthegemtrade.com.

Buy it on Amazon: www.amazon.com

Kashmir Sapphire Sets Record; A Victory for Style Over Substance?

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A Victory of style over Substance?

April 25^that Christies, in a packed auction gallery, lot 261 a cushion cut 22.66 carat Kashmir sapphire set in a pendant surrounded by diamonds sold for a world record price of $3,064,000 to an anonymous bidder. At $135,000 per carat, this sale topped the former world record held by the 66.02 carat “Rockefeller Sapphire” a Burmese gem that sold for $48,871 at auction in 1991. This sale marks the ascension of sapphires found on a rocky hillside in the Indian State of Kashmir into the pantheon of super-star gemstones.

Speaking in the wake of the sale, Christie’s Head of Jewelry, Rahul Kadakia, made the following rather curious statement:

“This auction marks a turning point in the jewelry world where original design, rarity and provenance prove to be just as important as the quality of a gem.”

What precisely did Mr. Kadakia mean? Is he celebrating the final triumph of style over substance? Does he mean that the sapphire in question though rare is not so fine? The record breaking sapphire pendant (above) is certainly not a striking example of original design.

According to Christopher Smith, Vice President & Chief Gemologist at The American Gemological Laboratory, the sapphire in question is a “nice stone”. Smith, who has seen the stone but under less than ideal circumstances, makes the point that sapphires of the finest color tend to be a bit dark particularly in subdued lighting. This stone is a bit lighter and brighter at about 70% tone on the AGL scale where 80% would be ideal. The stone is well proportioned, brilliant and on a scale of 1-10 would rate between 8-8.5.

As to the gem’s provenance, interesting though not remarkable, it was never owned by royalty nor lost on the field of battle nor has it had any remarkable stories or curses associated with it. It was purchased by James J. Hill, a Minnesota industrialist of the Gilded Age, and given to his wife, Mary, on Dec. 24, 1886. Originally part of an elaborate necklace—since broken up– the sapphire remained in the Hill family until the death of Hill’s granddaughter Gertrude Boeckmann Follett, in 2006.

So what business does a nice sapphire like this have claiming a record price? Well though it may not be able to stand toe to toe with the former record holder, the 66 carat Rockefeller Sapphire (image:right), which is in Smith’s words “extraordinary” and one of the “world’s preeminent sapphires”, it is rare. Kashmir sapphires in excess of 20 carats are quite rare and if you own one it’s a seller’s market.

The fact is the finest of the Kashmir sapphire has been recognized as the top of the mark in sapphire almost since the stone’s discovery in the late 19^th Century. Celebrated for it’s cornflower blue color and its trademark sleepy quality, a gem with proven Kashmir provenance commands four times the price of a comparable Ceylon stone and twice the price of a comparable Burmese sapphire. Due to its beauty and rarity it was the next logical candidate for gemstone super-stardom.

Is this a “turning point”, a victory of style over substance, of provenance over quality in the gem markets? This much is obvious, just the price of natural Burmese ruby skyrocketed in the wake of the record breaking sale of the 8.01 carat gem at Christies just two years ago, Kashmir prices, already edging toward $100,000 per carat wholesale, will strengthen. Anything with a Kashmir certificate from gem quality to aquarium gravel will see a big boost in asking prices and the publicity will further induce star-struck consumers to choose geography first and quality second. But, this is not a new trend rather just a continuation of a trend that has been in evidence for quite some time.

Follow me on gem buying adventures in the exotic entrepots of Burma and East Africa. Visit the gem fields of Australia and Brazil. 120 carefully selected photographs showing examples of the highest quality gems to educate the eye, including the Rockefeller Sapphire and many more of the world’s most famous gems. Consider my book: Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones.

“Wise is a renowned author… He’s
done a marvelous job of this first book, monumental work, a tour de force…My recommendation: Buy
this book”.

Charles Lewton-Brain, Orchid

Only $39.95. Read a couple of chapters online: www.secretsofthegemtrade.com.

Buy it on Amazon: www.amazon.com

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Possibilities for holiday giving

By Richard W. Wise, G.G.

The holidays are fast approaching. I thought readers might like to take a look at a something new from our workshop.

During our summer show, I took the opportunity to select one of the most interesting of the Michael Dyber gem sculptures to make into a necklace and turned it over to Douglas Canivet. The center stone pictured is a 42.25 carat ametrene. This gem material shows both yellow and purple in the same crystal. It comes from only one mine, Anahi in Boliva. I like the combination of zoning and rich color and the sensitive way Michael integrated the natural features of the gem into a pleasing composition.

The necklace was completely hand fabricated. For those of you who don’t know, hand fabrication is the old method of hand making. We use the same methods as those pictured on the tombs of Egypt’s famous Valley of the Kings. In this case all the pieces were cut out of sheet gold. I don’t like to use the term handmade because everyone, including a lot of stuff that is mass-produced, is called “handmade.”

Construction and Materials:

The construction, exclusive of design time, took more than sixty hours, that’s a week and a half for a master craftsman of Doug’s caliber. We used 35.3 penny-weight (dwt.) of 18k gold. Penny weight is an old unit of measure, 20 dwt. to the ounce so a bit over an ounce and a half. The eight diamonds; 1.08 carat total weight of D-E, VS color ideal cut stones set in handmade tubes. Ideal cuts are perfectly proportioned stones that deliver between 92-98% total light return. They are dazzlers!

Notice the joinery, how the angles at which the gold links join create a juxtaposition of shape and plane that compliment the center sculpture. Note how the diamonds appear to float. The gold has a sandblasted finish. This allows the gems visual room to work.

Craftsmanship:

Contemporary hand fabricated jewels look simple. Because the designs are clean without excessive ornamentation you get the idea that they are simpler to make than say Victorian pieces with all the filagree. Not true! Most handmade jewelry is put together with gold solder and gold solder will not “fill in” empty space so every join must be fitted perfectly. Fine cabinetry is a good analogy. Its very much like building a desk or cabinet. Every angle requires a solder joint. It took about eight separate pieces just to make the setting for the center stone. In this necklace everywhere you see an angle there is a join and if the fit is not perfect you will see lumps, holes and porosity at the joint. In such a “simple” design there is no where to hide your mistakes. A master’s hand is evident not only in what you see but also in what you don’t see.

Handmade is better made:

Is there a difference between hand made and mass-manufactured. Most mass-manufactured jewelry is designed by people who have never worked in gold. The design is drawn or created on a computer then mastered in wax. The element of dialogue, the give and take between the artist and his materials together with the fine eye and sensitive mark of the hand is always missing. Then, of course, it is the only one! Does uniqueness have value? Today, much custom design is done with CAD software. A craftsman can tell a CAD designed piece a mile away. It is yet another step removed from the hand. To me CAD designed jewelry has a sterile soul-less quality.

Other Possibilities:

May I show you some of the newest additions to my gem collection? These are stones sourced on my recent trip to The Orient. These are one of a kind gems that to my eye are extraordinary.

Padparadscha Sapphire:

There seems to be a lot of interest in Padparadscha sapphire. As I define it in my book; Secrets Of The Gem Trade, Padparadscha, the word is a corruption of the Singhalese padma raga or “color of the Lotus”. Padparadscha is a pinkish orange to orangey pink sapphire. Here is the important point it must be a delicate hue. The Sri Lankans prefer as stone with a bit more pink than orange. This stone embodies the essence of the term. It is a 3.98 carat natural stone with no enhancement or treatment of any kind. It is has a flower-petal soft quality.

True un-monkeyed-around-with padparadscha sapphires is one of nature’s great rarities. This is one of the finest stones I have seen in my career. The shape makes it an excellent candidate for a pendant but if you will accept my advice, make a ring. Rings are for people who love gems and want to stop and admire.

Purple Mozambique Tourmaline:

Rare and beautiful, until the new find of cuprian tourmaline from Mozambique, I had never seen a purple tourmaline. Most purple tourmaline is actually purplish red. I am told that true purples have been found in the past few years but they were almost always heated to turn them the more desired electric blue.

I am told that the stones from Mozambique are of two types; those that can be successfully heated and those that cannot.

This one is a visually pure purple. It weighs 8.14 carats. In the magnified image you can see straight growth tubes but without magnification the stone is eye-flawless viewed face-up. It is a visually pure purple with no evidence of gray and it stands up well in both natural and incandescent lighting.

Fancy Color Diamonds; A Sweet Suite:

I tried to resist this delectable suite of orange and purple fancy color diamonds but I failed. The language of the GIA certificate calls the center a “Yellow-Orange” meaning that the two hues exist in fairly equal proportions. To me it is a yellowish-Orange, a true tangerine with all the warmth and richness of the sun kissed fruit. The two vivid purple-pinks are pure of hue with no gray or brown to either dull or muddy the hue. All three understated, elegant and beautifully cut.

A Burma Gem:

This ruby is a 2.05 carat emerald cut gem. What is a “gem”. In the gem trade, this is the appellation reserved for the crème de la crème, the finest of the fine. Everything, color, cut, clarity and crystal must be outstanding for the gem type and here it is.

“Asking to see the pigeon’s blood is like asking to see the face of God.”

Anonymous Burmese Trader

Love that quote but the truth is not quite so mysterious. “Pigeon’s blood” is a pure medium dark red with a touch (10-15%) blue that when mixed with the red reads as purplish. As an old Burmese jeweler explained it; the blue is cancelled out its compliment, the rich yellow of high carat gold leaving the gem a visually pure scarlet when set.

We have a number of fine rubies as well as fine handmade originals, antique jewelry and gemstones pictured on our website: www.rwwise.com . Please take a look and if you see something you like call me at 800.773.0249 or 413.637.1589 if you live in Berkshire County.

Looking for a large stocking stuffer?

Consider Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones. Now in PAPERBACK for only $26.95 at our website or slightly higher at Amazon.com www.secretsofthegemtrade.com.

“Wise is a renowned author… He’s
done a marvelous job of this first book,
a monumental work, a tour de force…
My recommendation: Buy this book”

Charles Lewton-Brain, Orchid