Category Archives: gem value

Siberian Amethyst, Debunking Another Myth of the Gem Trade.

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

A lovely example of Zambian amethyst, note the red flashes at 6 and 12:00 oclock. The alternating zones of purple and blue deliver a particularly velvety color

Quartz is as common as dirt. At 12% it is the most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust and the primary component of ordinary dust. Quartz is extremely stable and unlike other mineral components of the earth’s upper layer does not easily break down.

Amethyst is purple quartz, but despite the relative abundance of the mineral, exceptional fine rich purple amethyst, commonly called Siberian or deep Siberian color is extremely rare. In Medieval times, there were two distinct varieties of gemstones bore the name. t Oriental amethyst, was actually purple sapphire and Occidental amethyst, the quartz gem that bears the name today. Amethyst has seesawed in value over the centuries, today the finest of the fine might command $100 per carat at a high end jewelry store, in 1652, Nicols declared it to be of equal value to a diamond of the same weight.

I am not sure where the term Siberian originated and exactly how it became associated with the finest color in amethyst. The usual reason why a specific locality gives its name to the finest quality of a given gemstones, (Kashmir sapphire, Burma ruby and Paraiba tourmaline) is because the region is known to produce a particularly fine quality. This is not the case with “Siberian” amethyst. The fact is that for the past two centuries, the finest amethyst has come from Ceylon and Brazil (Streeter 1879)

Siberian amethyst is found in the Ural Mountains, with deposits outside the town of Mursinsk near the city of Ekaterinburg. Amethyst has been mined in this area since at least the 18th century and probably earlier. Sampling amethyst from mines active in this area in the 1830s, Gustav Rose, geologist with the famous Humboldt expedition (1837-1842) makes the following comment. “The Mursinsk amethyst at times is very dark violet-blue surpassing that from Ceylon but mostly it is pale violet-blue (purple) or spotted and striped (zoned).” John Sinkankas, who edited Rose’s text, calls this a “refreshing reappraisal” of Siberian amethyst and points out that Rose apparently held amethyst from Ceylon in the highest regard. In 1900, the great German gemologist Dr. Max Bauer make the identical point adding only Brazil as a source of the finest examples of amethyst. It is important to note that both these celebrated experts were able to view samples from actual working mines. Other writers (Farrington 1903) identify Siberia as a major source for amethyst in the U. S. but this is contradicted by Streeter, Kunz and G-H Herbert Smith, whose popular Gem-Stones was, perhaps the most popular general book on gemstones in the 20th Century went through 14 separate editions between 1913-1972.

Up until the 1990s the primary world source for amethyst were the Brazilian mines at Pau d’Arco, Rio Grande do Sul and Marabá. (Epstein 1988). Pau d’Arco located in the Brazilian state of Para was discovered in 1979 and was known to produce a rich sometimes over saturated purple, which often exhibited the much desired red flash in incandescent light. The other two sources produced a lighter brighter hued gem. This writer saw large parcels of amethyst, often hundreds of carats, from all these sources available for sale in the gem market at Teofilo Otoni during this period.

In the 1950s a new location of exceptionally fine gem material was located in Zambia in a 15 x 30 km belt, trending northwest in the Mwakambiko hills of the Mapatizya area of Zambia. This material, a medium dark royal purple has become famous for its dark blue zones which add a velvety “royal” quality to the face up color much as a bit of purple does in the higher qualities of sapphire. If one deposit were to be identified as the acme of amethyst it would be this one.

I was first introduced to the rough material in 1990. Much of it was being smuggled into Nairobi, Kenya. I had a good chance to examine the rough at that time and purchased several kilos. The rough was a uniform deep purple of 80-85% tone with deep blue zones running through it. Cut into gems it faced up with rich velvety slightly bluish purple and in incandescent light, the diagnostic red flashes and occasionally almost blue flashes of scintillation that are the hallmark of deep Siberian quality. Mining activity continues in Zambia but the major strike of exceptional material was mined out in the mid 1990s and a few gems cut from old rough are occasionally seen in the market.

Color-change Garnet from Kenya

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Mgama Ridge: Probably the source of the alluvial garnets found in the plain below. Photo Raja Shah, Color First

As Raja Shah tells us, it is a story typical of gem strikes from the plains of Kenya to the Australian outback. While digging an outdoor privy, a ranch hand working in the gem rich region of Taita Tavita happened upon some unusual looking stones just a few feet under the surface and showed them to a local gem dealer.

Garnet Mining: Photo: Raja Shah, Color First

Late last November I received an email from a budding young gem dealer living in Voi, a town near Tsavo National Park, half way between Nairobi and Mombasa. He had a copy of my book Secrets and wanted to order more. Further he wrote excitedly of a find of Alexandrite somewhere nearby. “It looks just like the picture in your book.” Well, sometimes where there is smoke, there can be fire.

Once the word got out, thousands of independent miners descended on the area and began excavating private land and even a section of adjacent road where according to Shah a number of fine stones were located. The material is alluvial and appears to be spread out along a just south of Mgama Ridge (pictured above left)

1.83 carat color-change garnet sporting its daytime color

The strike turned out to be color change garnet, the best of which is similar to a find in the late 90s near the village of Bekily in southern Madagascar. Small amounts of color change garnet of this description has been showing up in East Africa for years. The first example I saw was in Kenya in early 1995. A Nairobi dealer had a 1/2 carat oval that bore an uncanny resemblance to Brazilian Alexandrite—the same teal blue peacock color that the Brazilian garimpeiros call peacock blue or pavão.

The same stone by night

Color change garnets have been found previously in Umba and Tunduru, Tanzania and in Embilipitiya and Athiliwewa, Sri Lanka and most recently on the island of Madagascar, in the southern part of the island near the village of Bekily.

Although some of the garnets from the aforementioned location do have the much desired “Alexandrite like” color change, it was the discovery of the Madagascar location that brought reasonably large amounts of alexandrite like garnet into the marketplace.

The range of color in garnet rough material from the new Kenya strike. All photos courtesy of Raja Shah, ColorFirst

According to Shah, the material comes in a range of hues with a predomince of brownish stones, only about 5% of the material has the most desired red/purple to teal blue change and only about 5% of that material is suitable for faceting.

The Madagascar material has been described as pyrope-spessartite with small percentages of almandine and grossular. This description is not particularly useful, relying as it does on a classification system that has been out of date for years. Apparently the garnet for the new Kenyan strike, described as pyrope-spessartite with grossular, is chemically similar. Again, like the Madagacar material, the color change is most likely associated with Chromium/Vanadium.

Golconda Diamonds Part II

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The Legendary Blue-White Diamonds, Rarest of them All

by Richard W. Wise

Just recently it was my good fortune to examine one of the legendary diamonds of Golconda. These gems were originally mined in India in the 16th-18th Centuries. The mines were tapped out by about 1725. Many of the world’s most famous diamonds, including the Regent and the Sancy (pictured above right), The Hope and the Koh-i-Noor came from the mines of Golconda. This gem was accompanied by a GIA certificate rating it D Flawless, the highest possible diamond grade and a Gublin Laboratory certificate that identified the stone as a Type IIa. (Regent above left, Sancy above right)

As discussed in my previous post, recent scientific analysis has shown that diamonds with proven Golconda provenance are of a specific type of rare, pure carbon diamond known as Type IIa. Less than 1% of the world’s diamonds are Type IIa. Scientifically speaking, Type IIa diamonds are an almost pure carbon diamond containing no significant amount of nitrogen in the crystal lattice. Nitrogen is the impurity in diamond that imparts the yellowish hue. The lack of yellow makes for a pure colorless (D,E,F) color diamond. Some experts claim that all Golconda diamonds are Type II. There is, as far as I know, no scientific evidence to back up that claim.

Blue-White Beauty:

Golconda stones are the true blue white diamonds of legend. Today, dealers use the term blue white to describe diamonds that exhibit blue ultraviolet fluorescence. About 30% off all diamonds will exhibit this characteristic. Though ultra-violet fluorescence is not visible to the naked eye, though its effect may be. Blue is the complement of yellow, meaning that blue fluorescence in diamond effectively cancels out some of the yellow in the diamond’s body color. As a result, fluorescent diamonds will face up whiter than their actual color grade might suggest–a fluorescent H might look like a D color. It is UV fluorescence is also responsible for the super-charged saturation of very fine Burma-type rubies.

The gem I examined, a 9+ carat D-Flawless took on a distinct distinct bluish glow in direct sunlight. I had never seen this before. The blue glow was distinct and visible. Unable to believe my eyes I re-examined the certificate, it read: “no fluorescence”! I checked the stone myself, there was absolutely no fluorescence in either short or long-wave UV. How could this be?

Ian Balfour in his book, Famous Diamonds specifically mentions a “light blue tinge” as a characteristic of The 140 carat Regent Diamond. The Regent, originally called “The Pitt” was brought to England in 1670 and is, unquestionably, of Golconda origin (above left). Diamond scholar Herbert Tillander describes this affect as a “blue afterglow.” and notes that most Type II diamonds do not fluoresce. One exception, the Hope Diamond, a Type IIb (contains Boron) will not only fluoresce it will actually phosphoresce meaning that the stone will continue to glow last after the UV light source has been removed. Tillander further notes that some Type II diamonds have been found in South Africa’s Premier Mine, other sources mention Brazil.

Blue Haze:

Not all Type IIa diamonds exhibit this characteristic though Golconda stones do. I was able to examine another D-Flawless type IIa that placed side by side with the 9 carat, failed to exhibit the blue glow. In the Golconda stone, in direct sunlight, the blue hue floated above the gem like an early morning haze.

Fine Crystal; The 4th C:

Perhaps due to their pure carbon composition, Golconda diamonds exhibit another characteristic, a high degree of transparency, Balfour describes The Regent as having a “unique limpidity” that some dealers refer to as “super-d” or what I refer to in my book Secrets Of The Gem Trade, as a super-crystal. Very fine gems of all colors possess this characteristic. Compare a regular wine glass with one made of lead crystal, hold both up to the light and you will get the idea. When compared to another D color Type IIa not of Golconda origin, the difference was unmistakable. The characteristic strikes one as a combination of ultra-limpidity coupled with what connoisseurs refer to as “whiter than white” both characteristics were visible in the Golconda but not in the other gem.

The stone I examined was cut in a fashion almost identical to the Regent, a cut known as a baroque brilliant or old European (image left). Stones cut in this fashion are of a different character than the modern brilliant. The crown is higher and the pavilion facets are shorter and broader.

A fine diamond possesses two characteristics that define its beauty, brilliance and dispersion. Dispersion is the ability to break white light up into its constituent rainbow colors. In the single minded pursuit of maximum light return, modern brilliant cut gems have sacrificed dispersion to produce maximum brilliance. As a result they have become soul-less light return machines. A well cut baroque brilliant by contrast will exhibit a balance of brilliance and dispersion that gives the diamond its distinct character and beauty–a character that is missing in so many modern super-ideal cuts.

(image above, side view of Golconda diamond), Compare the color of the center with the side trillion that is definitely not of Golconda origin.

To summarize, there appear to be three visual characteristics that define the beauty of Golconda diamonds: A high degree of limpidity (crystal), an ultra-whiteness and a blue afterglow that appears in natural daylight. Golconda gems are Type IIa diamonds and this can be established by scientific testing. All Type IIa diamonds, however, are not Golconda diamonds; to be considered Golconda, they must possess the visual characteristics just described.

It is unclear whether Type IIa diamonds from other sources possess the characteristics discussed above, there certainly are some that do not. However, in the final analysis, we are interested in gems not geography. in gems beauty is the ultimate criterion. When it comes to Golconda diamonds if they deliver the goods, how much does source really matter.

If you are interested in learning more about Golconda Diamonds or are simply looking for a new way to dazzle your friends at cocktail parties. Read more about the four Cs of connoisseurship. 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

“Secrets of the Gem Trade” subject of Ventfort Hall lecture

– July 30, 2007

Described by Gemkey Magazine as “one of the world’s foremost gem connoisseurs,” gemologist Richard W. Wise will bring his expertise to a Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum visual presentation on Wednesday, August 29 at 4 p.m. A Victorian Tea will follow this final lecture of Ventfort Hall’s summer series.

Admission for the lecture and tea is $15 per person, members $12. For more information or reservations, please call 413-637-3206. Ventfort Hall is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox.

Rocky Road II; Grading The Colorful

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Rocky Road II; Grading The Colorful

By Richard W. Wise, G.G.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who will be the biggest of them all? An Interview with Michael Haynes

After several near misses last Saturday I spent a bit of quality phone time with Michael Haynes, President of Collector’s Universe (CU). First a little background: You will recall from Part I that CU has acquired American Gemological Laboratory (AGL) the only major gem laboratory that quality grades colorful gemstones. The acquisition that took place in early 2006, with a 3.5 Million upfront payment to AGL President C. R. Beasley with an additional 3.5 million payable in five years.

Collectors Universe is a public company traded on NASDAQ with a market capitalization of 120 million dollars. The company bills itself as “the leading provider of value added authentication and grading services of high-value assets”. According to Haynes; last year CU certified 1.8 billion dollars worth of collectables including 65% of all stamps certifed, 85% of sports cards and perhaps 45% of all coins.

AGL is CU’s third acquisition on the road towards its publicly stated objective of becoming the major purveyor of gemstone quality reports “maybe not tomorrow, or next year, but within the foreseeable future. As part of its strategy CU had previously acquired GCAL a diamond grading laboratory and Gemprint the company that has patented a method of taking an identifiable “fingerprint” of a cut diamond.

Michael Haynes is a passionate pitchman. He sees CU’s coming dominance of the certification business as a win-win for everyone. Why he asks isn’t the fine gemstone business experiencing similar growth levels as other luxury products? According to CU’s president, it’s a matter of consumer confidence or the lack thereof. He contrasts the experience of buying a Hermes scarf with that of buying a ruby necklace. You go to a Hermes store. There is no question of authenticity or value; it is only a question of price. You go to the jewelry store and you enter a world of doubt. Is it real? What is it really worth? “Money”, says Haynes, “travels the path of least resistance.” Buying an expensive piece of jewelry, all you have to rely on is the seller and he is after all the seller. Independent third party certification by a publicly traded company will end the doubt and level the playing field, Haynes puts it succinctly: “remove doubt, increase sales”.

As any professional will attest, much of what Haynes says is spot on. Consumer doubt is a component of a large majority of missed sales opportunities particularly high-end sales. Doubt coupled with professional ignorance and competitive low-balling have made gem and jewelry selling a competitive mine field (read: my blog post: Getting an Appraisal; Some Do’s and Don’ts.)

Next I asked Haynes how he foresees CU succeeding where so many have failed? “By establishing an promoting a consistent standard.”

How about competition from GIA? Haynes barely skips a beat. “That’s a question”, he suggests, “you should be asking GIA”. With CU’s triumvirate of acquisitions Haynes appears confident that CU has covered all the bases. If the Gemological Institute of America wishes to compete in colored stone grading game, it is GIA that will be playing catch-up.

Laboratory One-upmanship:

At the season opener, Tucson 07, CU will throw out the first ball of the season. Its AGL subsidiary will announce a plan to offer a range of gem certificates. From being one of the most expensive labs, AGL is about to become the least expensive offering a range of modestly priced grading reports. In a separate conversation last week, AGL President Cap Beasley outlined the new program. The Lab will offer certification on a series of levels called Fast Track. For $25, Fast Track I will offer a credit card sized report providing just authentication and enhancement. Fast Track II will add the 4 C’s for $50 and for $75 Fast Track Premier will add type as in Burma-type, Paraiba-type, etc.

Collectors Universe is aiming at the consumer. The aim is to produce a document that is easily understood by the retail buyer. Perhaps this new format will accomplish that. AGL’s current offerings are not all that easy to understand. Though in recent years the lab has added a Total Quality Integration Rating (TQIR) to summarize all of the various grading factors and give the gem an overall quality grade.

Book Review

The Sancy Blood Diamond

In this historical potboiler, author Susan Ronald traces the history of the Sancy Diamond from the mines of Golconda to its current tranquil resting place in The Louvre. As the largest and most famous diamond in Europe from the Fourteenth through the Seventeenth Century, The Sancy had many admirers and several owners; from Charles the Bold through Napoleon, kings, queens, cardinals and dukes, some of them major players on the stage of European history.

Ronald does more; she is a knowledgeable political-historian and along the way she weaves the Sancy’s chronology into to woof and weft of European political history.

As Ronald shows, The Sancy and by extension other famous gems did more than add luster to the crowns of European Monarchs. Goldsmiths were Europe’s first bankers. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that long before the present conflicts in Africa, large and famous gems provided the bloody collateral of choice, pledged by Europe’s crowned heads to the financiers who bankrolled Europe’s major conflicts.

Ronald’s account is authoritative, fast paced and reads like a Machiavellian analysis of history. From the killing fields of Nancy, to Charles I’s beheading, to the court of the Sun King, Ronald shows how sex, power and greed as represented by The Sancy, fueled the politics of Europe. The book was published in 1995, don’t know how I missed it. The book is particularly relevant given the present interest in conflict diamonds. Highly recommended. For more on the stone and the author: www.thesancydiamond.com

Ronald, Susan, The Sancy Blood Diamond, Wiley & Sons, New York, (hardcover) $27.95, $18.45 on Amazon.

Into Africa:

For the first time in twenty years I will miss the Tucson Gem Shows. I will be in Brazil and cruising the coast of West, South and East Africa until mid-February. Meanwhile the contest goes on. (see the previous post, Rocky Road I) Guess the value of the French Blue diamond in 1698 and win a free copy of my book, Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones. The Secrets website will also not be functioning for orders. If you need it right away order it on www.Amazon.com. (See below)

Interested in reading more about real life adventures in the gem trade? Follow me on gem buying adventures in the exotic entrepots of Burma and East Africa. Visit the gem fields of Austrailia and Brazil. 120 photographs including some of the world’s most famous gems. Consider my book: Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones. Now only $26.95. You can read a couple of chapters and order online: www.secretsofthegemtrade.com.

Buy it on Amazon: www.amazon.com

Grading The Colorful

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Grading the Colorful, The Rocky Road to Quality Assessment

by Richard W. Wise, G.G.

“Collectors Universe has stated it has every intention of becoming the world’s leading purveyor of diamond and colored stone pedigrees—”maybe not tomorrow, or next year,” (CU President) Haynes says, “but within the foreseeable future.”

David Federman, Professional Jeweler, 2006

At the beginning of a new year it is traditional to assess the past year, make resolutions and talk about the future. Several happenings over the past twelve months that considered in isolation are important taken as a whole appear to be crucial milestones along the road toward colored gemstone quality grading.

A consortium of seven major gem laboratories under the aegis of the Laboratory Manual Harmonization Committee (LMHC) established important precedents:

First, they abandoned the traditional protocol of naming a gem based on species and variety. The committee agreed that on grading reports issued by member labs to use the term “Paraiba” to describe all copper colored or cuprian tourmalines regardless of their actual source.

In a separate decision, the LMHC also decided to stray beyond the realm of verifiable science and enter the world of aesthetics. They agreed to adopt a set of color parameters for and use the term “Padparadscha” sapphire on grading reports issued by member labs.

This year a new player entered the grading games: Collectors Universe (CU), a publicly traded company that provides certification for coins stamps and guess what, baseball cards purchased American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) the only major U. S. lab that issues quality grading reports on colored gemstones. CU has the financial muscle and appears poised for an strategic play: The company already owns Gem Certification and Assurance Lab (GCAL) as well as Gemprint, the diamond identification and registration system that will laser print an ID # on gemstones.

In order to have a universal colored stone grading system you must have a universally acceptable methodology. Internet shoppers, in particular, are demanding a way to compare apples to apples and what the market requires the market sooner of later gets. Getting all major players to accept a single methodology may be difficult but a broad basis of agreement between a number of important labs may do the trick. The LMHC includes seven of the world’s most respected gemological laboratories: (AGTA Gem Testing Center, CISGEM (Milan), GAAJ (Japan), GIA (USA), Gemological Institute of Thailand, Gübelin Gem Lab (Switzerland) and SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute (Switzerland) missing only AGL and The Swiss Lab Bangkok (GRS) the very well respected Bangkok based lab run by Adolph Piretti.

Historically, no institution, not even the mighty Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the originator of the universally accepted diamond grading system, has succeeded in creating an acceptable colored stone grading system. GIA tried twice, first in the 80s Colormaster, a sort of color blender and then with Gemset, a set of round faceted plastic doohickeys, both of which were flawed and failed to win industry wide acceptance. GIA has wisely abandoned its go it alone strategy and joined LMHC.

Instrument based color determination appears to be the wave of the future. According to American Gemological Laboratories C. R. “Cap” Beasley “instrument based measurement is simply more consistent”. The fact is; you have the rock, the light and the observer, standardize the latter two and you are eliminate two variables. Does Beasley have an instrument? None that he will admit to.

AGL is still the only major laboratory that grades colored gemstones. Beasley introduced his own system, Colorscan, in the early 1980s, a system that many gemologists including this writer believes was the most viable system yet created. Colorscan, however, relied on the human eye as observer. New Computer based systems such as Gem-e-Square that project a range of hue/saturation/tone on a color computer monitor also require the human eye and judgment to make a call.

Collectors Universe appears to be making a bid to become a major player in quality grading. I will be interviewing CU president Bill Haynes, later in the week. Stay tuned.

Interested in reading more about real life adventures in the gem trade?

Follow me on gem buying adventures in the exotic entrepots of Burma and East Africa. Visit the gem fields of Austrailia and Brazil. 120 photographs including some of the world’s most famous gems. Consider my book: Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones. Now only $26.95. You can read a couple of chapters and order online: www.secretsofthegemtrade.com

Do ya feel lucky? Win A Free Copy:

Thats right win a free copy of Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones, answer the question.

The Hope Diamond, Inflation in the Seventeenth Century

In 1669 Louis XIV of France purchased the French Blue diamond from the famous gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier for 220,000 livres or 42.7 million dollars (1 livre = $1,941.). In an inventory taken by the French crown in 1691 the Sancy Diamond, a colorless stone of 55.23 carats and the largest white diamond in Europe at that time, was valued at 24.2 million dollars.

By the time this inventory was taken, The French Blue, had been recut by M. Pitau to 69 carats, a 40% loss in weight. Despite this the stone that ultimately became the Hope Diamond, was valued at…in 1691? The first person who comes closest wins a signed paperback copy of Secrets Of The Gem Trade. Post your answer in French livres and your email address to the Comments section of the blog. Winner’s name to be posted on GemWise in two weeks. Hint: read Ronald, The Sancy Blood Diamond, Morel, The French Crown Jewels

Getting an Appraisal; Part II; The games jewelers play

Getting an Appraisal; Some Do’s and Don’ts

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Gems: Grading the Crème de la Crème, Part IV

By Richard W. Wise, G.G.

In the last three posts on this subject I discussed some of the rare characteristics that make certain gemstones so valuable. Value is naturally of great interest to the gem connoisseur/collector. How does a collector determine if he is paying the right price? In other words how does one go about establishing the value of one of a kind, ultra-fine gems?

First let’s establish what you don’t do. Don’t take the stone to your local jeweler even if he is a graduate gemologist unless he stocks comparable qualities of the gem in question. Most local jewelers know colorless diamonds but few have a working knowledge of colored gemstones. As with any sort of appraisal, the prospective appraiser should have a thorough day-to-day familiarity with the gem to be appraised.

Familiarity is easy enough to establish. If ruby is the gem at issue, go to the jeweler and ask to see his rubies. If he stutters and stammers and suggests he can have anything you want in the store in a matter of days, move on. If he doesn’t stock the stone, he doesn’t know the stone.

Watch out for the low-ball…

If the potential appraiser’s first statement, after you show him the gem and tell him what you paid is, “you paid way to much for that stone.” Run like hell! Why, because I guarantee that the next words out of his mouth will be: “I could have gotten you a similar stone much cheaper.” These are not statements made by a disinterested professional they are what they sound like, the words of a jealous competitor. The practice is so common it even has a name; low-balling. Some jewelers low-ball because they believe if they can discredit the competition, they will get the business. What actually happens is that the client becomes distrustful and the whole profession is discredited. If a low-ball raises a question in your mind; call the person’s bluff: “Ok, show me a better one, cheaper!.” Usually that will end it. Recently a client of mine went one better, he asked to be shown a comparable stone and agreed to buy it if the dealer came up with one. He still has my stone and is yet to see a match.

The next possibility is a professional appraiser. Over the past two decades gem and jewelry appraisal has become professionalized. There are three major appraisal organizations: The National Association of Jewelry Appraisers (NAJA) http://najaappraisers.com/ , The International Society of Appraisers (NSA) http://isa-appraisers.org/ and The American Society of Appraisers (ASA): http://appraisers.org/. These organizations have standards of education and codes of ethics to protect the client. In addition they use methodologies that provide some assurance of accuracy. However, I think the same standard applies. Does the appraiser have experience with the gem in question?

How often have I been asked for a: “Just off the top of your head, I won’t hold you to it” appraisal? An appraisal is worth what you pay for it. A good appraisal takes time and time is money. Jewelers who give out this sort of verbal appraisal are doing neither their client nor their profession any good. Courts in some jurisdictions have held that a free appraisal is worth just what you paid for it…nothing! And, by the way if you are a professional you may be “held to it” in a court of law. Jewelers are not the only ones who do this sort of thing, professionals do not always act professionally. May I offer a cautionary tale?

Take me out to the ballpark…

About two months ago I sold an extraordinary 3.30 carat Burma Ruby (pictured) The client, rightly concerned with value, wanted the gem appraised. He asked me if I could recommend and appraiser and aside from the ethical problem of the seller making such a recommendation I had a tough time thinking of anyone other than a wholesale dealer specializing in rubies with experience enough to do it and wholesalers do not know the retail market. To aid the client I obtained an American Gemological Laboratory full quality report. The AGL report graded all aspects of the gem and issued an overall quality grade. I highly recommend this report for important gems. It provides one objective basis to begin the valuing process. (see the report at www.rwwise.com, click gallery, gemstones, ruby)

The client then contacted a professional member of one of the organizations listed above and asked the appraiser for a ballpark estimate and faxed the AGL report to the appraiser. Without ever seeing the gemstone, this appraiser gave the client a “ballpark” price that was so ridiculously low that the client, who had been looking for a ruby for several months realized the price was absurd and decided he needed another appraiser.

How could any professional appraise a gemstone without examining it? You’ve got me! In the case of this so-called professional, he hit a foul ball. Luckily, the client knew more than the appraiser otherwise I might have lost the sale.

The client then asked two well known gemologists, Richard Drucker and Stuart Robertson of Gem World International publisher of The Guide, a wholesale gemstone price guide, to do an appraisal. In a subsequent article in Gem Market News written on appraising this ruby here is what Mssrs. Drucker and Robertson said this stone:

“Pricing this ruby was a challenge…The color was at the top of the spectrum…”

“we looked for comparables…Rubies of this caliber cannot be priced by the cost method and only market data will suffice…”

“…This becomes a gem for the collector’s category and that is an important lesson in pricing. The stone is an example of a gem that grades above The Guide’s extra fine category.”

Gem Market News, Vol. 25, No. 5, September, October 2006, p. 12

Evaluating an ultra-fine gem is difficult because, as Drucker says, you must find comparable stones and if you can’t find comparables you are like a tight rope walker dressed in his underwear balanced on a high wire working without a net. In the end, Drucker & Robertson, after consulting a number of dealers, appraised the stone for substantially more than the client paid and several times the price suggested by Mr.ballpark the professional appraiser.

To sum up, if you want a gem, any gem, appraised. Find a professional with demonstrated familiarity with the gemstone. Check the credentials of local jewelers by checking what they have in their inventory. If they don’t stock the stone, they don’t know the stone. Choose a disinterested professional and pay the price. Don’t expect something for nothing, get a signed document and watch out for foul balls and low inside drives.

Interested in reading more about real life adventures and secrets of the gem trade? Follow me on gem buying adventures in the exotic entrepots of Burma and East Africa. Visit the gem fields of Austrailia and Brazil’s famous Capao mine. 120 photographs including some of the world’s most famous gems. Consider my book: Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones.

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