Madagascar

[minousbijoux]

We hear about Tanzania frequently and several of our beloved vendors either have ties there and/or go there on a regular basis. Zeolite posted that wonderful thread on being in Burma years ago with stunning photos. But what about Madagascar?

Some phenomenal stones -including *cough* sapphires - come from Madagascar, and yet we don't hear much about it. I have this image of a beautiful tropical island. So why don't we hear more? Is the gem mining industry government controlled? Is it dangerous? Is it not worth the effort, because - I don't know - Arusha is the gem capital of Africa? Anybody have any photos from their recent trip to Madagascar?

 

[Upgradable]

Madagascar sapphires are my favorite!!!! Such a rich, deep, silky blue!

 

[T L]

They have beautiful violet spinels too, but you rarely ever hear about them.

 

[Treenbean]

John and Alain Darbellay get a lot of their material from Madagascar. They have some pics too.http://www.gggems.com/about_us.htm

 

[erinl]

I have some beautiful unheated aquamarines from Madagascar.

 

[chrono]

There are lots of sapphires (and spinels) from Madagascar for years....maybe it's because everybody has heard about it whereas Burma seems more exotic because it is a closed country and Tanzania has a greater variety of gemstones?

 

[cellentani]

All my apatites are from Madagascar, as well as my sphene.

 

[T L]

They have beautiful rose quartz too.

 

[minousbijoux]

I'm so happy to hear that everyone has such beautiful stones from Madagascar - as I do as well. I would love to hear from our vendors as to why we don't hear more about it...

 

[Roger Dery]

Well Minou, since you've thrown down the gauntlet.
As many of us in the gem trade have heard sometime over the course of our careers... "if it was easy, then everyone would already be doing it". And, it is true.

We must have good sense at being business-people, be artistic gem cutters, understand the optics and geometry of gemstones, at least have an understanding about websites and photography, have as a minimum a remedial understanding of gemology, have reasonably good people skills, be personable and likeable. That all? Well, what about acquiring the rough to make all the above possible? Some make a pilgrimage to Tucson each year to buy for the entire year, while others rely on getting things shipped in from overseas locations.

I have learned that not everyone is cut out for international travel to developing nations. But some are, and what comes with that is they are more accepting of taking risk than others.

Madagascar is a beautiful country. But it is not without its difficulties. As some of you know, I traveled there with gem carver, Naomi Sarna of New York city, and Lisa Elser and her husband, Tom.

I've learned that it is wise to never pass up a meal where you recognize the ingredients in developing countries!
From left to right: Tom Schlegel, Lisa Elser, Roger Dery, Naomi Sarna


This photo was taken from a restaurant up on a hill overlooking the city centre of Tana, the capitol of Madagascar.


Walking the city centre of Tana - where we were not surprised to locate some pick-pockets.


Just getting rolling with rough dealers showing us goods in the capitol. This would be the easiest buying experience of the trip as we had light and electricity. And, most of them could communicate in English.


Heading out of the city and moving southwesterly toward the mining town of Illakaka. This is on tarmac, and is still roughly a 17 hour drive. It was no picnic.


Is now a near famous photo as it has been in magazines and other online publications. We are heading down to the river valley that makes up the Illakaka area. This was once a very sleepy village of a couple hundred people in the '90's. As of 2008, it was roughly 35,000 people - and it peaked at 55,000 with gem folk from around the world looking for sapphires.


It is still a "wild-west-town" by all western standards. Everything is make-shift including the housing, roadwork, signage, water and sewer, electrical, internet (when found) etc, etc. This town makes anything I've ever done on mainland Africa seem sophisticated. Well, I may be exaggerating a little. But I'm sure you get the idea. Disease is common, and doctors nonexistent.


So here it is... the infamous site referred to as: Banque Suisse as it was the primary producer of sapphires in Madagascar for years. And, this site was dug by hand over a number of years by thousands of men. However, even though this site was prolific in terms of viable gem rough, most mining in developing countries is done as small operations. It is often referred to as Small Scale Mining.


A typical river location where they are sieving for goods. There is a huge benefit having water available.


As you can see here, two fellas working a site. They may work the same 100 metre location for a period of months as the water does its job of moving pebbles from another location upstream. They may work the location for weeks without anything to show for it. I'm sure this is very frustrating, but once they hit upon a single stone, they can probably be found in a nearby pub that evening. And so it goes.


And finally, here's what most small scale mining opps look like. This, is hard work. I've done it, and now I know I don't have to do it again. But I can certainly appreciate what they have gone through to show me just a few interesting pebbles.


I hope this has been a little helpful. And, maybe, give you a little more appreciation as to what we all go through to show you some nice sparkly little things!

 

[colorluvr]

Madagascar sapphires are my favorite!!!! Such a rich, deep, silky blue!

Yes they are!

 

[Enerchi]

Thank you Roger for that informative post! Wow - we sit and look at pretty things and sort of forget the process of bringing that tiny pebble to us in its new cut format. Thank you for the background. Quite the experience you must have had!

 

[gsellis]

My wife's burgandy/purple tourmaline is from here too.

 

[minousbijoux]

You know, Roger, when I posted this, I was actually thinking of you and thinking that if anyone had ventured there, it would probably be you. Thank you so much for your posting and your photos. I may be a gem fanatic, but even more so, I love being a voyeur to the exotic travels. Your posts here and elsewhere about Tanzania, and now Madagascar, Pandora's posts about Sri Lanka and Zeolite's posts about Burma are all riveting to me. Please hurry with your documentary!

 

[Roger Dery]

You know, Roger, when I posted this, I was actually thinking of you and thinking that if anyone had ventured there, it would probably be you. Thank you so much for your posting and your photos. I may be a gem fanatic, but even more so, I love being a voyeur to the exotic travels. Your posts here and elsewhere about Tanzania, and now Madagascar, Pandora's posts about Sri Lanka and Zeolite's posts about Burma are all riveting to me. Please hurry with your documentary!

Hi Minou,
The documentary will be at least 1-1/2 years from now as the videographer has other projects in the pipeline that are more pressing than our gem travelogue in Kenya and Tanzania. The wait is killing me though... here's a 1-minute snippet, that we asked to have done in time for Tucson so that it could be shown to AGTA staff, and 2 non-profits, the Devon Foundation.org and Jewelers That Care.org. Arusha Gemmological and Jewellery Vocational School We were hoping to drum up support and it looks like we've made some headway.

As noted above in my earlier post, there are hurdles to be overcome in every gem producing country. A few thoughts on Mada....

The majority of gem people who travel to Madagascar are not from the US, but more likely Europe. Unlike Kenya and Tanzania which were British colonies and English speaking, Madagascar was a French colony. Locally, the residents speak Malagasy, but they all generally know some French, even in remote outposts. So it is helpful if you are accustomed to French. (which I am not)

Getting your money into the country can be tricky. If you are a US citizen, you may know that we can travel with up to $10,000 in cash (or any type of monetary instrument) without reporting to the government. Above $10k, there are special forms to fill out - as they want to stem the movement of cash to deter fraud and money laundering. We were fortunate to have a contact who worked in international banking in the capitol, Tana. She was instrumental in assisting us with transferring funds.

Meeting up with 'already vetted' gem dealers in-country takes time. Someone has to have gone ahead and done the dirty work necessary so that we can work unencumbered. We were fortunate that a couple of Americans had done this on our behalf. *even after being vetted, I still got stuck with a piece of glass expertly arranged to resemble a fine piece of blue Apatite rough! Yeah, it happens to everyone regardless of your experience. I leave the piece of glass on my workbench to remind me I am not infallible.

Arranging travel plans long distance can be nerve wracking. Again, we had someone on the inside doing the little things that needed to be handled. Such as arranging for suitable vehicles, driver and guards, hotels, translators, etc.

In addition to the above, there are numerous other items that need to be attended to when arranging for a gem-buying excursion to developing nations. But I will leave you with this. Finding good gem rough in-country is not the biggest hurdle. It is getting it out of the country (safely and/or legally). And each country has their own set of rules for export control. Next to Myanmar, I would say that Madagascar is the most difficult - or complex to export from. Which, is probably the main reason why there are so few custom gem cutters from north America traveling there to acquire rough. Madagascar has some of the most fantastic gem rough available, but also the highest risk of coming home empty handed.

I am hopeful that this is not boring and maybe you find it a little bit interesting.

 

[Barrett]

Great information and pictures, Roger! Thanks!!!

 

[minousbijoux]

I am hopeful that this is not boring and maybe you find it a little bit interesting.

1) Not boring AT ALL. Please don't ever think that your posts are uninteresting. I really do find it fascinating. After I graduated from college, I applied to the Peace Corps and because of my ability to speak some French was to be sent to sub Saharan Africa, Mali, if I remember correctly. At the last minute a boy and a job offer got in the way and I didn't ever go, so I've been an arm chair vicarious adventure traveler ever since. I can't imagine the logistical nightmares one would face in trying to do such significant and dangerous business halfway around the world in a different culture in a different language...

2) That must be one gorgeous piece of glass; glad you've kept it as a reminder.

2) I hope Tucson continues to prove to be helpful with fundraising.

I think we all really appreciate your willingness to go to far flung parts of the globe. I certainly love what you do with those little pebbles.

 

[lelser]

That was a fantastic trip. As Roger mentioned, there can be lots of obstacles to gem hunting in Madagascar (or other places.) Getting money there, keeping safe, finding dealers, getting stones OUT of the country and getting them back into the Us or Canada are all more complicated than you would believe.

Add to that the cost. Getting to Mada is expensive even in coach. I figure a week of prep and recovery time for any long trip, so however long we're gone, add a week and that's how long I'm not able to cut or sell. We were like purple dogs in Tana. Everyone knew who we were and why we were there so it felt uncomfortable sometimes walking around - Tom and I were BLOCKS from the hotel, and dealers were approaching us. We'd come down to breakfast and dealers would be sitting there waiting.

One night, the hotel staff brought two dealers to our room! We asked them to wait downstairs, then Tom packed the room up while I negotiated for the stones. When they left, Tom came down with our bags and we insisted on moving rooms. It never occurred to the hotel that letting a bunch of guys know where we slept (with our money and gems) might be a bad idea.

We spent 10 days of our trip hiking the national parks looking for birds. I met this gentleman one of those days, and had a brief but meaningful experience

I'd love to go back, but next up is Namibia and then Sri Lanka.

Cheers,

Lisa
www.lisaelser.com

 

[minousbijoux]

I met this gentleman one of those days, and had a brief but meaningful experience

I'd love to go back, but next up is Namibia and then Sri Lanka.

Cheers,

Lisa
www.lisaelser.com

Lisa:

Thank you for posting. Have to ask, though, was he a gem dealer too?

 

[colorluvr]

We spent 10 days of our trip hiking the national parks looking for birds. I met this gentleman one of those days, and had a brief but meaningful experience

I'd love to go back, but next up is Namibia and then Sri Lanka.

Cheers,

Lisa
www.lisaelser.com

Incredible photo, thanks for sharing!

 

[lelser]

This little guy had been abandoned in Zombitse National Park down in the southern end of the country. There are no Ring Tails there and he wasn't totally wild so he hung around the parking lot. The rangers fed him, and he was not exactly pet-like, but certainly not afraid to see what the nice lady might have in her pockets.

No gems, though, but it remains one of my best memories. They are almost child-like and he stroked my face with his little hand and nibbled my cheek. Sigh.

 

[Barrett]

Great post, Lisa! I always enjoy your photos and stories. I would be a little perturbed about them knowing your hotel room as well!!!!

 

[innerkitten]

I have a green sapphire from there. One of by best friends lived there for a while and returned with some pretty stones.

 

[chrono]

Thank you so much for the pictures and write up. These are always eye openers and gives us a better perspective of gem mining, gem buying/selling and the condition of the locale and its people.