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THIS IS WHERE I CAME IN

smitcompton

Ideal_Rock
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Hi,

I found Pricescope around 2005. Gemstone prices were jumping in leaps and bounds and I needed to check out the hype and found pricescope-colored stones. As one example, mandarin spessartite garnet was being touted at 1700.00 per carat.
Top, top color was debated and the prices for spessartite top color and those not considered top color were still very expensive. Tanzanite was another gem exploding in cost. It was head spinning. Richard Hughes, MJO, and other professionals used to post here. One fellow, a friend of Hughes, used to discuss rubies and went to examine them on field trips,(forgot his name). Pink Sapphires thru the roof. Most gems went zooming. Many have since come down--not all.

2019== I found a new TV show to watch--Gem shopping network . It mainly deals in higher end gems, but I've noticed that some tourmaline is very expensive, and while we have discussed on here that emeralds have gone up in price, this show is selling emeralds for more than its diamonds, without lab reports.(some have them.) I told myself that this show is just expensive. So, fast forward to today. I went to the Costco website to check out the colored tones. I haven't recovered yet.
Two things I looked at in earrings. A peridot pr at 13 ctws with a good amount of diamonds around them. $6,500.00
Next. A pr of Spessertite earrings, not mandarin, with a good amount of diamonds around them 1-2 ctw--$9,500.00.

Tanzanite mines have been closed by the Gov't temporarily. Building a wall around the mines More control.

Are gemstones surging again?

Annette
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I wouldn’t look to Gem Shopping Network to define prices, or any shopping channel for that matter. Speaking of GSN, when Frank owned it, they had some gorgeous pieces. Now they’re selling mostly overpriced dreck.

Tanzanite is so abundant, I wouldn’t worry about prices. It’s a soft gem, and those don’t tend to hold their values. Only top top quality will be worth anything. The shopping networks don’t sell that quality, and GSN used to, but no more.

Spessartite pricing is also all over the place. It can be really affordable or very expensive.

Spinels are definitely jumping in price because they’re beautiful, colorful, lustrous, durable, and people are now discovering them. Even greys, which were considered outcast material, are jumping in price.

Tsavorite is jumping in price as well.

I think most tourmaline is now overpriced due to everyone using the paraiba mystique. Even poorly colored tourmaline is jumping in price, but it will not sell well on the secondary market.
 

arkieb1

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Tanzanite being uncommon is a myth pushed by places like Tiffany's to try and justify their always high prices for it. However, the spinel mines at Mahenge are currently closed to all miners and sellers until the government works out what they are going to do. We think the government is going to sell the mines there to someone like a big Chinese company that will then have a monopoly on all the stones that come out of there selling them only to places like Tiffany's, Cartier and other high end stores driving up their prices.

And the outstanding neon spinels that come out of the Namya mines are in the middle of a war zone so there hasn't been much coming out of there for nearly 2 years now.

Red spinels, neon spinels, cobalt spinels (not in war zones just difficult to find) have gone up and will continue to go up in pricing. Things like nice paraiba tourmaline are also becoming rarer and are still going up in pricing as well.

Anything else (things like Mahenge garnets, and other more common gemstones) that happen to be in places where mines are shut or being sold off is also going up price wise as a result.
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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A good rule of thumb is that any gem being touted in large quantities on a gem shopping network, in sizes over a carat, is probably abundant and will not go up in value. Of course, the shopping networks sell inferior qualities too. If you start seeing large tsavorite being mass sold on the shopping networks, let me know!! I might faint of the shock. I cannot tell you how often they tout the “rare tanzanite” and the mines closing, for umpteenth years now.
 

distracts

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However, the spinel mines at Mahenge are currently closed to all miners and sellers until the government works out what they are going to do. We think the government is going to sell the mines there to someone like a big Chinese company that will then have a monopoly on all the stones that come out of there selling them only to places like Tiffany's, Cartier and other high end stores driving up their prices.

And the outstanding neon spinels that come out of the Namya mines are in the middle of a war zone so there hasn't been much coming out of there for nearly 2 years now.

Red spinels, neon spinels, cobalt spinels (not in war zones just difficult to find) have gone up and will continue to go up in pricing. Things like nice paraiba tourmaline are also becoming rarer and are still going up in pricing as well.

Anything else (things like Mahenge garnets, and other more common gemstones) that happen to be in places where mines are shut or being sold off is also going up price wise as a result.

Why are so many mines shut or being sold? Are there threads about this that I missed?
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Large sources of gems come from Tanzania. It’s probably the most gem rich country on the planet. The government wants more control ($$$$) over these mines, hence the closings and/or close monitoring of exports.
 

distracts

Ideal_Rock
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Large sources of gems come from Tanzania. It’s probably the most gem rich country on the planet. The government wants more control ($$$$) over these mines, hence the closings and/or close monitoring of exports.

Oh ok - so it’s not that they’re mined out, but that they’re trying to sort a political/financial situation to the benefit of the government? I hope they are trying to get tax dollars to benefit the people in general and not just the people in charge.

I also hope the supply doesn’t become entirely rerouted to big vendors/high end stores... that would be very unfortunate for me.
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I do know that most of the “good quality” material is mined out. That’s typical of most mines though. Hence why vendors always tout their “old mine” gems.
 

distracts

Ideal_Rock
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I do know that most of the “good quality” material is mined out. That’s typical of most mines though. Hence why vendors always tout their “old mine” gems.

Ah ok, that was what I thought was going on with a number of different things like my babies the hot pink spinels. Always crossing my fingers that they’ll hit paydirt somewhere else though!
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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....well there always the moon and beyond. :P2
 

chroman

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Even tourmaline rough is crazy expensive. Not paraiba type, but even halfway decent colors are bonkers in price.

Tanzania did have a ban on rough export for a while, but that’s recently been lifted - though its at least possibe to get material out.

Oh the days of affordable spinel..
 

arkieb1

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Oh ok - so it’s not that they’re mined out, but that they’re trying to sort a political/financial situation to the benefit of the government? I hope they are trying to get tax dollars to benefit the people in general and not just the people in charge.

I also hope the supply doesn’t become entirely rerouted to big vendors/high end stores... that would be very unfortunate for me.

No not all of them are mined out there are still mines that have very nice neon Mahenge and other gems that the government wants to sell, basically to line their own pockets as far as I can see not to help their own people. They have sold off a few mines before and it doesn't benefit anyone as far as I can see other than people in power who frequently do these deals, large jewellery shops that get the pick of the best gemstones like Asian companies and places like Cartier buy from them pushing the prices of things like neon spinels up and up.

The little people the miners and the gemstone dealers ARE being impacted by this, I know a 3rd generation gemstone dealer who is barely making a living now he has a license to sell these gems that he paid for that is worth nothing because he cannot take spinel out of the country, the government has put a stop to all mining and trading of gems in the Mahenge region. They stopped all mining and removing gems out of the region last year.

Red spinel prices are soaring. Reds from places like Vietnam that used to be good prices are now Burma prices, and the Burmese stuff and the African stuff when you can find it, in that vivid red is selling for top $$$$$s and will continue to go up. The neon pinks and pinks in general are also rising.
 

arkieb1

Ideal_Rock
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Even tourmaline rough is crazy expensive. Not paraiba type, but even halfway decent colors are bonkers in price.

Tanzania did have a ban on rough export for a while, but that’s recently been lifted - though its at least possibe to get material out.

Oh the days of affordable spinel..

I thought the Mahenge mines are still closed? The days of affordable good spinel are long gone!!!
 

smitcompton

Ideal_Rock
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Hi,

I know you used to watch Gems TV back when. I never got that channel so I was surprised when it popped up on my TV. They do not sell mass pieces of anything. They bring in dealers/designers jewels and offer them for sale. Lately they have showcased dealers that are going to the Hong Kong show, but are showing on Gems TV first. No junk here. Some big windows occasionally. Temple St Claire, who does wonderful work with exquisite moonstone, this Hans Kreiger, a European designer, Channel, VCA, Harry Winston, and some of the best jewelry I've ever seen. Kashmere Sapphires, some million dollar gems, a 26 ct yellow diamond, all on their way to the Hong Kong show. The Australian guy from the TV show who brings his opals which are very nice, asks $500 for a half carat of champaign (sp) diamonds--no two alike.
In fact what I saw last night would lead me to recommend some looking for an engagement ring could do well looking there. It would put some dealers to shame. Over one carat sapphires, no heat, AGL repor,t . Some had windows , some did not. $1,700. Some pinks beautiful color.

I am going to repeat-- Tourmaline, emerald, very high. How do you account for Coscto-- ordinary peridot and TL brownish spess. Yes, I confess to watching JTV before sleep. All their prices, including their simulants have gone up.

The spinels have jumped up thru the yrs, but I see the whole gemstone world going up.

If you all don't think it happening, I will re think what I think I see.

Annette
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I used to enjoy GSN ( with the sound turned off , oh why do they have to scream???!!!:eek2:)

I have periodically tuned in and saw dreck. I am not a fan of Temple St Claire, but maybe I need to watch more to catch some of those nice pieces you mentioned. It used to be I would always catch something beautiful and I did open a few threads on here for GSN screen shots. Frank owned it back then, and the selection, at least to me, seems blah lately. They do not sell mass produced pieces, true.

As for jtv.com, I like them for cheap stock settings. They have a nice selection of silver settings with white zircon. I have bought some of the rings, chuck out the center stone, and I often give it away, and put in a nicer gem. Their gemstones are often mass produced, highly treated inferior stones. Lately all you see is chrome diopside, which I think is fine in melee sizes, but not my cup of tea in large sizes. They have some decent clearance items.
 

smitcompton

Ideal_Rock
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Hi,

I agree completely with your JTV assessment. I have wanted to post on here about white zircon. I was a lucky person to get those Costco earrings 1 ctw for 629.00. I took out my old supplies which include loose stones and do it yourself settings. I came across a six and a half mm zircon in one earring.
The missing earring had a cloudy zircon, but this white zircon was so much more sparkly than the new diamonds.
I bought a pair exactly like this for a friend as a gift. She has worn them for several years and they look great. If anyone here on the CS board wants something that looks good , and is real, as a diamond stud, please consider zircons. Make sure they are not cloudy. I didn't check mine when purchased and so ended up with one cloudy, one sparkly lookin diamond?

I used to get some settings from JTV in 14 and 18kt gold. Some are good looking. The only difference is that the bans were wider. The fashion is thin bands, but I like my wider bands. It makes the whole ring look more balanced to me.

Thanks for reading my question.

Annette
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I recently ordered a gorgeous ring from Jtv with the most fabulous clean white zircon melee that looked like large white diamond, but alas it didn’t fit my stone. Not all their white zircon rings are high quality zircon. On this particular ring, the center stone was a urine colored citrine:confused2:, but it was an 18 x 13 mm stone with large beautiful highly dispersive white zircon halo. It was on clearance for $90. I was going to take out the pee pee citrine and put in an opal, but my jeweler said it wasn’t the right fit. If it did fit, it would have looked amazing! I don’t go for gold anymore due to the prices, and their gold rings are not thick and durable, and they’re almost all 10k. I don’t think the fashion is thick bands as much as it is skimping on precious metal. I like their silver settings and some are nickel free. Returns are super easy too.

Well I digress, sorry!
 
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arkieb1

Ideal_Rock
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Even tourmaline rough is crazy expensive. Not paraiba type, but even halfway decent colors are bonkers in price.

Tanzania did have a ban on rough export for a while, but that’s recently been lifted - though its at least possibe to get material out.

Oh the days of affordable spinel..

I checked with the guy that I know - he has just gotten back to me, yes it has opened up again but it is still being heavily restricted. They can only take out stones under a certain size and they are restricting not only what is going out but who is selling it and how much is being sold.

He also said the licenses have dramatically increased in pricing and the place where stones are bought and sold now has to be government owned trading offices where they can keep a watchful eye on everything.

I guess the good news is that stones are being sold again, the bad news is I don't see with all the tighter regulations the price of anything falling.
 

Arcadian

Ideal_Rock
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Speaking of Tanzanite. JL White email blast, did you all see it?
So its apparently still hard to get anything out of tanzania, so, I can see the prices on the market soaring to some ridiculous highs.

At any rate, back to the email. I saw those prices :eek-2: and was like dang Jeff can get a coupon code over here? :P2:lol-2:

An incredible purplish blue piece, to cut a 14 to 20 ct square cushion. This piece is unheated (or more likely was heated naturally in the ground) yet will not require additional heating, as the color is top notch already. Price: $12,600

An exceptional piece that I anticipate will cut a 17 to 24 ct round or squatty oval. This piece currently has the typical look of unheated tanzanite (a mix of purple, red, and coffee colors), and will require heating after cutting to bring out that amazing tanzanite blue. I will personally complete the heating of the finished piece for the purchaser (or can leave unheated if desired). Price: $16,500
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I don’t see tanzanite prices skyrocketing except on superfine material. It’s not a rare gem and there’s more than enough on the secondary market. Softer gems also do not tend to hold their values like harder gems.

I could be wrong.
 

PieAreSquared

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The most beautiful gems in the world seem to nearly always come from the most politically unstable places. :(
 

chroman

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At any rate, back to the email. I saw those prices :eek-2: and was like dang Jeff can get a coupon code over here? :P2:lol-2:
I saw another posting today that sounded similar (cutter’s private stash of Tanzanite), but included pics. Holy s**tsnacks they were nice looking pieces, but I really don’t want to know the price..
C44698A0-6CB7-44E8-BD32-074341BD95F1.jpeg 05B4A336-0878-4DA4-9EC4-49DEDB0F0E9C.jpeg
 

Arcadian

Ideal_Rock
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I saw another posting today that sounded similar (cutter’s private stash of Tanzanite), but included pics. Holy s**tsnacks they were nice looking pieces, but I really don’t want to know the price..
C44698A0-6CB7-44E8-BD32-074341BD95F1.jpeg 05B4A336-0878-4DA4-9EC4-49DEDB0F0E9C.jpeg

After paying bills this month I don't either * Crying in broke :cry2: *
 
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