Posted on 09/10/2014 12:12:41 PM PDT by JimSEA
The finest rubies are rarer and more valuable than diamonds and for many the icy brilliance of the latter is no match for the colour, warmth and romance of the former. Their prices are on the rise too: the record of just under $275,000 per carat set in 2005 has since risen to over $550,000. The worlds richest source of fine rubies, Burma, is still under an embargo and the market is hungry for gemstones of that quality, particularly if they can be certified ethical.
In that context, True North Gems Aappaluttoq Ruby Project is coming on stream at just the right time for the ruby market, which is worth $2.1 billion annually. Basically, ruby is a form of aluminium oxide (Al2O3), or corundum, which at nine on the Mohs scale sits just one place lower than the hardest element diamond. Demand today, says Nick Houghton, President and CEO at True North Gems, who has lived and breathed gemstones since he started work in 1974, is almost entirely from the jewellery trade: There are some industrial uses for corundum but the main one, as an abrasive, is nowadays satisfied by synthetic material.
(Excerpt) Read more at bus-ex.com ...
/johnny
Please, don’t let my wife see that! ;-)
No problem, I’m being an elderly grouch today. Sorry.
:) It’s a bit fancy for me, but the ruby is beautiful.
Greenland contains some of the oldest rocks on earth - 3 billion years old
Consider the gold/diamomond formations in South Africa
which are about 2 billion years old
I buy gold, silver and diamonds for a living. It’s amazing how little we get for used diamonds with our wholesalers. If they are less than a 1/3 carat they bring very little. According to the best information, gem quality diamonds are as common as pearls. They bring a much higher price because DeBeers tightly controls and manipulates the market.
Rubies and Sapphires bring even less. A wise man buys one diamond in his life.
Nothing like a little un-relenting pain to do that.
I am going to send this article to my 3rd ex wife. She might move to Iceland. Sure, I bought her all the diamonds and emeralds and sapphires a woman could want, but I left somewhere around rubies.
/johnny
Dion did a song about this gem - “Ruby, Ruby”.
Ruby and the Romantics (Our day will come)
Also had the singing group “The Diamonds” (The Stroll) and the Detroit Emeralds (You want it, I’ve got it).
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
“Heart of Gold” Neil Young
Singer: Neal Diamond
Rock and Roll had a lot of gems in the business.
Yeah, they are old.
/johnny
Very cool, Max. You have a good memory. :)
How much does the manufactured Ruby, Sapphire market impact that? A lot of what you see in Thailand now is manufactured.
You’re not advocating global warming to get at the kimberlite under the ice sheet are you? ;-). Actually, gold, and platinum might be an even better bet in old rock.
They are two different items but neither has much value unless it’s really a remarkable natural stone. It’s actually sad to see people selling jewelry that was expensive to buy but now has little more than melt value. I advise people that, if you were investing in steel, you would buy bar stock, not Cadillacs. Likewise for gold, but Eagles or bullion, not jewelry.
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