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[Matt_Zukowski]

For those who have access to the Wall Street Journal, there is an interesting article on the transformation of the colored stones industry. The full title is:

Secret Rocks
The $10 billion jewels industry is shrouded in beauty—and mystery. Is change about to come?

It seems like price and production trends in the colored stones industry should be analagous to the mineral specimen "industry," so this article should hold some interest of us mineral collectors.

The thesis of the article is that whereas this industry used to be dominated by artisanal miners, murky government control, and adventurers, more formal organization and mechanization may be coming. One company they discuss is the rise of Gemfields, who, the article says is aiming to secure rights to a large enough percentage of the world's production of major gems and introduce modern mining processes so it can ensure a more predictable supply, while investing heavily in marketing to make the stones better known. Another company discussed is TanzaniteOne.

Finally, they discuss, as one of the trends driving this industry evolution, the rapid rise in the price of colored stones. I don't think I'd be violating any copyright if i was to summarize a table from the article:

The price per carat for each of the three stones listed below in 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2011, and 2012 are, respectively:

Red Spinel: $200, $1,000, $2,750, $2,000, $2,000, $2,200, $3,500, $4,840, $5,000, and $5,500.

Blue Saphire: $1,000, $2,500, $4,500, $3,500, $3,750, $5,990, $8,000, $10,000, $11,000, and $12,120.

Classic Ruby: $2,500, $19,000, $14,000, $11,000, $12,000, $19,360, $27,500, $36,300, $39,930, and $43,923.

Note that the prices of these three stones have been rising about 10% per year for the last 3 years, which I believe very roughly parallels what i have seen in the mineral specimen market.

[Don Lum]

Matt,

Thank you for taking the time to summarize and post.

Don