We’re always really pleased with the positive feedback we get to our market reports and then  resolve to produce them more frequently, it never happens of course. Other things crop up and they get sidelined but at last, here one is - the latest R.M.Weare infrequent review of what’s happening in the gemstone market.
First a bit of feedback from the Hong Kong visit, undertaken by Alison and Jon, and their onward trip to Thailand to visit the cutters, followed by a review of Jon and Helen’s trip to India for Diamonds.
For the stone cutters and brokers dealing through Hong Kong and Bangkok, trade is tough at the moment. The world recession has led to a drop in demand, and so a cut in production too. Despite the current problems though, there is a very positive outlook in the trade with a feeling the worst of the world recession may be over and that the ongoing development of markets such as China, India and Russia will bring rewards in time.
To maintain their share of the market many cutters seem to be giving a little extra, maybe by way of more attention to final finishing without increasing price and greater attention to customer service and building customer relations.
Prices for quality stones such as Colombian Emeralds, Burmese Ruby, fine Red Spinel, top end Tsavorite and Imperial Topaz have remained stable as supply is limited and stones that fall into the ‘rare’ bracket are still seen as good investments.

Tanzanite prices for the lower grades have dipped slightly although top end AAAA grades are still commanding high prices. The Cobalt coated material was on offer, particularly in smaller calibrated sizes. Natural, heated only material in small sizes doesn’t have enough mass to hold the vivid colour so this coated material is intended to provide that big stone colour (until the coating comes off).

The rise of the ‘mutant’ glass filled Ruby we described in our last newsletter has caused a lot of uncertainty in the market with some buyers playing safe by focusing their buying on unheated, certificated stones, pushing prices for this material up. Clean material of good colour from Tanzania, Thailand and Burma is particularly sought after and commanding high prices.
The glass filled Ruby we featured in our last newsletter continued to dissolve whilst immersed in weak “pickle” acid to such a degree that it started to crumble as the glass filling holding the quite granular structure together dissolved away. We’ve included the last photo in the sequence so you can see the true nature of the underlying material.

Our reporting of this glass filled Ruby brought a flurry of reports from customers with tales of apparently good stones turning bad after normal workshop repairs to their mounts. It may be worth customers formulating a disclaimer to display regarding these stones.

The first quarter of 2009 saw De Beers production cut by 91% as the drop in demand for rough material from DTC sightholders prompted the mines in Botswana to take a 50 day break in mining operations and Namibian mines taking a 4 month break. Production at the Diavik mine in Canada is expected to drop around 40% this year.  
The Diamond industry is confident of weathering the current storm as long term demand from emerging markets is expected to outpace lower levels of Diamond production in coming years. The break in production was seen as an opportunity for essential maintenance work to be undertaken in preparation for optimal running once the market improves.
In the light of current conditions in the Diamond market Helen and Jon’s trip to India was always going to be a difficult one. There has been a 70% drop in production from Surat’s Diamond cutting factories and the limited cutting work that is being done is focusing on the goods they know will sell i.e. the round Brilliant cut.
Fancy shapes and old cuts were thin on the ground with many offered parcels having been already well picked through. We did manage to get what we needed but there was less room for manoeuvre on the price. If brokers had it and customers wanted it, customers had to pay – simple as that.

As brilliant cuts were readily available we were able to restock for the 1ct diamond packs which have proved so popular for new commissions as well as repair work.

We’re happy to be able to offer packs in sizes 1.25mm to 2.5mm :-
G/Vs material at £450ct
G/Si material at just £350ct
TLB/Si material at just £225ct
All stones have been hand sorted and well cut, so each one is useable.

Also available is 3mm TLB material from £350ct with 0.15ct to 0.40ct TLB from £390ct.
Nice 0.25ct material from £520ct and G+/VS 0.25ct from £570ct is in supply too.
Brilliant Cut, Princess, Baguette, Emerald Cut, Marquise, Oval, Heart and Pear Shapes, Old Cut, 8-Cut & Rose Cut are always in stock.

Over the past 6 months we have started a very successful partnership with an overseas cutter producing certificated stones in sizes 0.30ct to 10ct+. The stones are sold “on certificate”,  which are either GIA or HRD so there’s no doubting accuracy. There’s a massive inventory of stock, prices are extremely competitive and all shapes, colours and clarities are available.
We have already supplied many customers with prices which have undercut other dealers, so if you have a particular requirement give us a call, you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

0.45ct brill HRD cert D/VS2 £1690ct
0.73ct brill HRD cert G/Si2 £1690ct
0.80ct brill HRD cert F/Si1 £1990ct

Well it’s not all gemstones news this month. There have been 3 new additions to the R.M.Weare team since the last newsletter.
James joined us late last year to become a Trainee within the company and more recently Hayley has joined us as Office Assistant. The last new addition was provided free of charge by Mark who’s better half Julie gave birth to Louis 9 weeks ago. Despite Jons’ intimations, there’s no doubt Mark’s the father – the resemblance is uncanny, largely due to the chubby face and bald head.

The photo of Mark outside “GAYLORD” (his favourite restaurant in India) in our last newsletter seemed to confirm that our puerile sense of humour is shared by many of our customers. The picture of Jon standing alongside a large “GIT” sign at the Gemmological Institute of Thailand was a gem, however we’ve now snapped Al’ coming out of her favourite eatery in Hong Kong: