Afghanistan purchase

[Lebs27]

Well it looks like I may have found this site a little late in the game. I'm deployed here to Afghanistan and after much waiting I finally bought a couple of gems at the bazaar. I didn't spend a lot of money & I did use a gem tester as well as good sunlight with a loupe to check things out.

I bought rubies ($20/carat), a sapphire ($10/carat), and a pink topaz ($10/carat). While they are not large, they're still pretty and I know my wife & daughters will love them.

Here's pictures. Let me know what you think.

The 2.4 carat pink topaz

 

[Lebs27]

I am having a hard time uploading. Here are other pictures.

A 4+ carat sapphire

 

[Lebs27]

And the rubies. Between 2.5 and 3 carats each. There are some inclusions and what appear to be small bubbles in them.

 

[Lebs27]

second ruby

 

[Lebs27]

third ruby

 

[autumngems]

I have heard you can get some nice stuff there, love the sapphire color.

 

[autumngems]

I have heard from the Marines I teach that the emeralds are amazing there, would kill for one.

 

[GliderPoss]

Hello!

Enjoy them as pretty trinkets and momentos of your trip. Glad you are back safely.

Suggest you dont think of them as an investment though, if you search a few other similar themed threads you will understand what I mean.

My husband also asked me if I wanted gems whilst he was there last year but I'm too fussy about mine to let him do the choosing

 

[Lebs27]

Thanks for the input. Like I said, I didn't spend very much. Some of the other guys have spent several thousand dollars. That's just crazy, especially when none of them are gemologists.

I'll probably buy a little bit more lapis and maybe one or two more inexpensive gems before I head home. Even if the gems aren't real, some are very pretty and cheap. Another way of brownie points with my wife

 

[Illinifire]

They are beautiful and will be treasured by your lucky ladies!

 

[Lebs27]

Can anyone tell me about the rubies and what appear to be some bubbles in them? Should that be expected or is it a sign of a treatment?

 

[hippi_pixi]

I believe bubbles are usually a sign that the stone is artificial. I have some artificial stones myself with bubbles in them...

 

[lambskin]

I am so confused! I know gems can be found all over the world but I thought that some places-geologically speaking- just don't have certain gems. For example for years emeralds were mined in Colombia but now some beauties are coming out of Zambia. Burmese rubies are rare but now rubies mined in Africa seem to be flooding the market. I know that Afghan areas have certain stones and lapis but where are these emeralds, sapphires and rubies coming from? Are they really from there? Can some one explain to me why these stones are available and who is cutting them?

 

[ChristineRose]

The rubies commonly sold in Afghanistan probably ultimately come from Africa. They start out highly cracked and included and are treated. The bubbles are an artifact of the treatment. The rubies are placed in glass powder and the whole thing is treated so that the glass melts into the cracks and the ruby just starts to melt and recrystallizes around beads of molten glass. The resulting stone is fragile and cannot be subjected to certain treatments (like cleaning with acid) without hurting them.

Although they are not worth a great deal of money you can still enjoy them as a souvenir, if that's the right term for a tour of duty. I'm sure your family will appreciate them.

 

[Silverbackmp]

Most stones in the bazaars are imported and most are very treated or synthetic.

you can source some good stuff from Afghanistan through the FOB bazaars but you really have to know what you are doing. Emerald from Panshir, lahgman, and Swat is all available (along with a bunch of synthetic). Rubies from both Jedelak and Tajikistan are also available but 99.999% you see on any table will be glass filled.

The only native blue sapphire I've seen is from Wardak and the mines have not been operating for many years.

Fair prices for topaz should be 5-7 per carat, same for large inky be treated sapphires, perhaps 10 per carat for glass filled ruby.

For the best deals without spending too much look for Afghan/Pakistan peridot and pink spinel. Red flash amethyst is also available at fair prices.

There are cutters in Kabul (contrary to popular belief) with varying degrees of skill.

 

[SB621]

HI,

Someone else not to long ago posted about jewels he purchased at the USO Bazarre where he was stationed there. I will give you the same advise I gave him.

Have no faith in what you bought. It is probably highly treated and/ or fake. Were you completely ripped off- no. They probably are rubies and sapphires just very very low quality. For what it's worth you can get low quality sapphires here in the US for under $10 /ct. My DH brought back several gemstones that we had set from his time "over there." I love them for sentimental reasons but they only have little $$$ value. So make them into something for your wife or daughter- I think they will truly apprciate them. Yes Afghan does have nice lapis so if you want something I would recommend that over others.

Encourage your friends to not buy gemstones. Whatever they are getting it is not worth the money you are probably buying it with. Goodluck with the rest of your deployment. Stay safe!

 

[rosetta]

You really can't expect to buy natural stones for little money in most of the subcontinent, most are artificial and are worth nothing more than trinket value. Even 99% of the gold jewellery has artificial stones set into them, which are completely worthless really, compared to natural, untreated stones.