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Colored Gem Price Factors Explained – Sapphire And Ruby

marvelous pieces of jewelry that need no description at all. These fabulous and sparkling jewelry items simply make up the day of the wearer at any party or occasion.

But, do you know how priceless these gems are? Do you really know! Men or women love to adorn them in their pendants, rings, nose rings and earrings. Gems are also the harbinger of good luck to the wearer. Ruby and sapphire are counted amongst the most popular gemstones that are on sale and much in demand amongst the buyers. The price of the ruby largely depends on its color and the dispersion quality.

The refined ruby quality is the one that has the medium-dark toned red appearance. Secondary colors such as the Pink, orange, and purple are less pricey deal altogether. Some of the popular ruby examples such as Indian Star Ruby, 167-carat Edwardes Ruby, Black Prince\'s Ruby and Timur Ruby, Star ruby over 138 carats, Rosser Reeves Ruby etc. are the most expensive and rare of all, with prices ranging to thousands of dollars. And if you consider price factor on top, you can have an easy get through if you go for the synthetic rubies. Theses rubies are not at all expensive, and you can get them in vibrant colors.

Sapphire belongs to the same category as that of rubies. These can be had in different colors viz, colorless, a deep blue, green, golden yellow, pink, reddish-orange, violet, except red. The price factor also largely varies with the color. The most expensive of the sapphires is the cornflower blue. The real price value of this stone can be accounted in thousands and millions of dollars. It becomes very difficult to judge the correct prices of the gemstones, as they differ from market to market and also stone to stone. You can always browse through the inventory of the discounted online gem prices just at your convenience. The price factor cannot be specific even for a gem of the same quality and color. The market forces decide the prices of the precious gems. Some of the sapphires liked by the men and women who love to feel above the class include, 543-carat \"Star of India\", cut star sapphire, Midnight Star, black star sapphire, and the 330 carat \"Star of Asia\".

What\'s more, when Sapphire and Ruby are studded in precious metals, their prices increase phenomenally. Rubies are usually set in pure gold are high priced than the original price of the gem itself. But, it\'s not only the price factor at the end, the very aura rising from the blend of a gemstone with the metal gives more dynamism and appeal to the body and attire of the wearer.

By: Gen Wright

About the Author:

Livapo.com is a discount gemstone jewelry and pearl jewelry shop. Visit us for over 5000 pearl necklaces, gemstone rings, and more at low prices.



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True North Gems Seeks Alternative to Myanmar “blood” Rubies

Socially responsible investing has evolved and gradually worked its way to higher prominence in the financial industry during recent years, as has corporate social responsibility in the commercial and industrial sectors of the economy. That has certainly been the case when it comes to mining companies and developing mineral resources, most notably in the case of conflict, a.k.a. “blood” diamonds.

The role mineral resource development plays in financing repressive, authoritarian regimes is coming up again in light of recent protests by Buddhist monks and others in Myanmar and their violent suppression by the country’s military government. Myanmar produces more than 90% of the world’s rubies—a trade estimated to be worth US$2.1 billion wholesale according to MVI Marketing Ltd. research—and it has also long been the world’s largest miner and exporter of jade, primarily to China.

Mining companies like Vancouver’s True North Gems (TSX:TGX), which is working to develop a ruby and sapphire resource in Greenland, can play a role in breaking the dominance of governments such as Myanmar’s, the world’s largest supplier of rubies and sapphires, as well as jade.

Myanmar’s military government has made a concerted effort to gain control of the country’s lucrative gem trade during the past two decades, jeweler, Fair Trade and human rights advocate Ben Leber of Leber Jeweler Inc. told Resourcex.

“At present, gemstones are the regime's third largest export, netting close to US $300 million, although the unofficial number is no doubt higher. At present, the military government controls a majority share of every gem mine, controls distribution of licensing and permits, as well as runs the gem auctions in Rangoon. While there are ‘partners’ in the mines, these are most often government officials or close allies of the regime.”

Campaigning for Fair Trade

Prominent jewelers, such as Tiffany’s in 2005, have come out, instituted policies stating that they will not purchase rubies and other gemstones produced in Myanmar and have joined campaigns against them. Jewelers such as Leber have joined organizations like the US Campaign for Burma, the American Gem Society and the Council for Responsible Jewelry Practices.

While the US has instituted a trade embargo on Myanmar, the EU has not. Recently, some of Britain's leading jewelers have been accused of helping keep the military dictatorship in power by trading in the country’s “blood” rubies.

According to one news report, Asprey, Cartier, Leviev and Harrods are selling Myanmar’s rubies and gems in their central London stores, with some items priced as high £500,000. British Foreign Office sources indicated shortly after news reports broke that Gordon Brown was pressing the European Union to introduce tougher sanctions against Myanmar that would prohibit sales of its gems in Britain.

"A gift of a ruby is meant to symbolize love, but if it comes from Burma the true price is paid in blood and oppression," said Mark Farmaner, acting director of Burma Campaign UK. "Any rubies on sale in the UK will have been purchased at some point from the military and so will be helping to fund that regime."

An Alternative Emerging in Greenland

If development plans work out, alternative sources for rubies and sapphires—both varieties of corundum—will emerge in the next few years, offering gemstone buyers and the jewelry industry and alternative source of rubies without the moral stain Myanmar gems carry.

Vancouver’s True North Gems on Oct. 9 announced that it had successfully collected its third, 27.8 tonne bulk sample from Greenland’s Aappaluttoq ruby and pink sapphire resource from the company’s Fiskenaesset Ruby Project, thereby completing its 2007 field sampling program.

Fiskenaesset has thus far yielded individual rubies and pink sapphires weighing more than 80 grams, or 400 carats. Rarer than diamonds, rubies and pink sapphires are valuable gem materials. Although prices vary greatly depending on quality, independent valuations have put a wholesale value of US$3,220 per carat on a 0.69 carat ruby from Aappaluttoq and a US$460 per carat value on a 0.96 carat pink sapphire from Aappaluttoq.

“Our primary focus as a company is now to get a bankable report done on our main occurrence, and the work this summer was the first major step on that route - our past work has shown we have something worthy of advancement, and the feasability will tell us the economics,” said True North president Greg Fekete.

The company during the past two field seasons has amassed 120 tonnes of mineralized surface material from Aappaluttoq. A total 3.6 tonnes of samples have been sent to Fiskenaesset for processing True North’s gravity concentration plant. Management expects to issue a report shortly.

Blasted out of a bedrock Host Zone from within tightly folded zones of phlogopite and pargasite-enriched alteration using focused, low-intensity blasting to control grade and width, the latest bulk sample will yield an analysis of gemological criteria and gemstone conditions that would occur under typical mining conditions, according to company information. The data collected will also enable comparison with grade and stone distribution gathered from the earlier 2006 and 2007 of the bulk samples that were collected using chain saws and chisels.

“The only assessment that can be made about the value of the stones, our current inventory or any eventual production at this point is that the sheer quantities of gem grade material recovered from bulk samples indicates the potential exists for a commercial operation that would defined by high operating margins, low capital costs and high internal rates of return,” True North co-founder, chairman and CEO Andrew Lee Smith, told Resourcex.

“The actual magnitude of the project value is dependent on a series of variables such as stone size, yield on cutting, and aspects of statistical distribution and quality—know as the ‘stone curve’—that are being defined through manufacturing experiments that are ongoing.”

Developing Fiskenaesset

True North worked up a CAD 3 million budget for the 2007 field season at Fiskenaesset, the objective being to deliver a Preliminary Assessment of the Aappaluttog ruby and pink sapphire occurrence. This includes a 5,000-meter diamond drilling program, as well as additional bulk sampling and geological mapping.

“We are currently in the process of preparing a Preliminary Assessment (scoping study) that will be authored by Wardrop engineering who have provided the independent oversight of the exploration program and will complete the report by end of the first quarter of 2008,” Lee Smith elaborated.

Compiling technical, valuation and marketing information True North has been preparing with companies including MVI Marketing and Wardrop Engineering, the report will a first assessment of the project’s economic parameters, according to Lee Smith.

Accomplishing this will demonstrate that the risks associated with marketing, manufacturing and technical aspects of the projects are manageable and leave financing and project/permitting, political risk as the main areas to be addressed,” he explained.

Assuming a positive Preliminary Assessment, management is working up a 2008 feasibility program with an estimated cost between US$10-15 million. If all these pieces fall into place, True North anticipates moving the project into pre-production in 2009 and starting full-scale production by 2012.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.



By: Andrew Burger

About the Author:

Resourcex Investor is an internationally distributed newsletter about emerging junior resource companies. Sign up for a free 1-month trial to our newsletter and get instant access to news and investing tips that have helped many of our readers make more money. http://www.resourcex.com



ruby

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The Ruby, Emerald and Saphire

Rubies and sapphires are composed of almost pure aluminum and oxygen and are members of the corundum family. The mineral is often called a ruby when it is red and a sapphire when it is blue. The ruby and sapphire needs to be transparent or nearly so to be considered gem quality. Few are found this way in the natural state. Rubys and sapphires that are unfit for gem use, like diamonds, are also used for mechanical purposes because of their hardness. Both gems have a hardness of 9, and a specific gravity of 3.9 to 4.1, only diamonds being harder. The best non gem quality stones are used for bearings in fine machinery. They are also used as jewels for watches and certain electrical supplies.

The color of rubies comes from a small quantity of oxide of chromium. The color in rubies as well as sapphires are rarely even throughout. Often this defect can be remedied with the proper application of heat. One of the greatest characteristics of rubies is that they are just as brilliant in natural light as they are in artificial light. Large flaw less, and transparent rubies are extremely rare and often times in large sizes they are more valuable than diamonds. The largest ruby in the world is the Raviratna, and it weighs 3,600 carats. Both gems were considered protection against poisoning in earlier times.

Rubies and Sapphires are found in Burmah, Siam, Ceylon, Afghanistan, Thibet, Australia, North Carolina, and the United States. The finest rubies are found in Burmah. The Rubies mined in Upper Burmah have been mined since the fifteenth century. Rubies are usually found in mines, hill sides, clay, valleys, and rivers. Rubies color depends often upon which part of the world that they came from. Rubies come in all shades of red, black, blue, and purple. Too much heat can destroy a rubies color entirely but just enough can enhance color. It is very difficult to tell if these gems have been heat treated.

The emerald is a green beryl. A perfect emerald is rarer than any other stone. Some believe that the emerald gets its color from small quantities of organic matter in them. Most scientists believe that the color is due to an oxide of chromium. The emerald is subject to many structural defects, flaws, muddiness, and variations of color. Usually, the better the color, the more faulty it is. A flawless mineral of very fine color is almost unknown. The emerald is made up of silica, an oxide of silica. The rest of the mineral is made up of equal shares of alumina and glucina.

Emeralds have been discovered in a few places scattered around the world. Emeralds were first discovered in great quantity in Peru. Many of Perus emeralds, along with a lot of its precious metals were stolen by Spanish marauders. It is believed that one ship of marauders returned to Spain in 1587, with two chests, each of which had one hundred weight of emeralds. Emeralds have also been discovered in Africa, Egypt, Columbia, Austria, and some have even been found in North Carolina and Connecticut.

The Emerald is considered to bring good luck and well being. One of the largest in the world is the Mogul Emerald which dates back to 1695 and weighs 217.80 carats.

Description

Rubies and sapphires are composed of almost pure aluminum and oxygen and are members of the corundum family. The mineral is often called a ruby when it is red and a sapphire when it is blue.



By: Mitch Endick

About the Author:

Mitch Endick is a short article writer for the popular jewelry site JewelerWeb.com. He provides informative advice on buying rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and watches. The site also has information on diamonds,birthstones, gemstones, pearls, gold, sterling silver, and platinum.



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