Need help, in afghanistan, real rubies?

[kalamajo]

Hello,

this is my first post. Im an American soldier in Afghanistan, stationed in an extremly remote area. I have limited time to be on a computer. Which, limits my research. I have asked a local national if he could get me some rubies. He said he would be able to in about a week. Now, I know very little about gems and stones. Would there be any way to tell if they were real without equipment? How much would a good deal be. The exchange rate is about 1USD = 50 Afg. I would be paying in US dollars. Im thinking about just trusting that they are real and buying some. Any advice? Profit to be made/opportunity? Thanks.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Date: 9/3/2009 5:28:34 PM
Author:kalamajo
Hello,
Would there be any way to tell if they were real without equipment? .

No

 

[SB621]

I think I might be able to help you on this one- sort of. I'm also from the military community and my friends husband who was stationed in Afghan met a gem person there who sold rubies to us. They were around $20 a carat that we paid. I had them lab tested and they came out real but they were really really crappy ones. The gemologist guy said we broke even. However, the majority of people who brought back stuff from that place ended up bringing back lab created stones or colored glass. So personally from one military person to another I wouldn't do it. Save your money and buy something that is of better quality from a trusted source. Trust me.

BOTTOM LINE: There is no profit to be made....ask around and I'm sure you will find out so many more soliders had this exact idea too.

 

[SB621]

Date: 9/3/2009 5:28:34 PM
Author:kalamajo
Hello,

this is my first post. Im an American soldier in Afghanistan, stationed in an extremly remote area. I have limited time to be on a computer. Which, limits my research. I have asked a local national if he could get me some rubies. He said he would be able to in about a week. Now, I know very little about gems and stones. Would there be any way to tell if they were real without equipment? How much would a good deal be. The exchange rate is about 1USD = 50 Afg. I would be paying in US dollars. Im thinking about just trusting that they are real and buying some. Any advice? Profit to be made/opportunity? Thanks.

Also wanted to add that if you try to sell to other people and the stones end up being fake you can get into some serious trouble in your command. There is a person we know being sued right now over something like this.

 

[T L]

Date: 9/3/2009 5:28:34 PM
Author:kalamajo
Hello,

this is my first post. Im an American soldier in Afghanistan, stationed in an extremly remote area. I have limited time to be on a computer. Which, limits my research. I have asked a local national if he could get me some rubies. He said he would be able to in about a week. Now, I know very little about gems and stones. Would there be any way to tell if they were real without equipment? How much would a good deal be. The exchange rate is about 1USD = 50 Afg. I would be paying in US dollars. Im thinking about just trusting that they are real and buying some. Any advice? Profit to be made/opportunity? Thanks.

First of all, thank you for your service to my country. We appreciate you guys and gals over there so much!! Secondly, Afghanistan has some of the most beautiful gems in the worlds, but the ones I'm thinking of are mostly emeralds and tourmaline. I doubt you could get fine gem ruby material over there, and if you do, it's probably fake or treated. I probably would not take the chance, especially since you are so unfamiliar with gems and identifying quality and treatment. He could be selling you glass, and you wouldn't know it. I've seen that happen before.

In any case, I'll check with a friend of mine that deals with stones from Afghanistan and I'd like to see what he says about your question.

 

[PrecisionGem]

Instead of buying rubies, look for tourmaline. Afghanistan has some of the worlds best tourmaline. You want lighter blue/green stones that are glassy clean.

 

[neatfreak]

Please don''t do it. Unless you know what you are doing you are very likely to get ripped off.

 

[T L]

This is what my friend said about dealing with stones in Afghanistan, and he regularly gets gem material from that region. I hope this helps!

Just from reading others stories and friends tales from being stationed over there..corundum(ruby and sapphire) seem to be faked quite often..now on the other side of the border in Pakistan you would be better off with purchasing true ruby but for some reason on that side of the border in Afghanistan, the ruby and sapphire that turn up are a lot of the time fake..especially cut stones and star stones. Your best bet to get a real ruby is to buy the rough stone or as a specimen(ruby on rock). Those guys over there know what is good and what isn''t. You will not make the find of a life-time nor will you come back with a ruby you paid $100 for and find out it''s worth $5000..they are not stupid and know what they have..been doing it a long time.

Now what you can do is try and find the main dealers of importer of the stones in that area..the guy the miners and couriers brinbg the stones to. not the guy on the side of the road or the guy in market who says some rubies or sapphires here and there but the guy who''s whole business is stones..he is your best bet for getting the real deal.

Being in Afgahnistan, not many of the good stones from the mines in the east come towards the towns and trading centers of there, but across the border into Peshawar where all the big dealers are and the true owners of the afghan mines live. I hope this helps..just make sure you understand that you will not make the find that you can flip back here in the states for a tidy profit. if you go into it for fun and experience and maybe a present for the wife or girlfriend, then you will be fine.

 

[glitterata]

Sounds very iffy. They could be natural rubies. They could be synthetic (man-made) rubies, which are worth very little. They could be something else entirely. You''d need experience and equipment to tell the difference, especially the difference between synthetic and natural.

I wouldn''t risk much money on this. Don''t spend more than you''re willing to lose if they turn out to be synthetic or even glass.

 

[chrono]

It’s just too risky. I expect them to be really crappy stones or fakes (glass or synthetics). Unless you are very knowledgeable and experienced in gemstones AND have the right equipment, you won’t be able to tell the difference.

 

[Indylady]

How wonderful it is to hear from a soldier! Personally, I feel that many of the locals might try to charge you high prices and sell you cheap stones simply because they think you''ll fall for it. If you''re looking for something to bring back home, I''d suggest a gold piece, which usually is sold by the daily price per ounce and you''ll have a much easier time knowing what you''re getting is real and getting a good deal as well.