Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 7:08 pm Posts: 12 Location: Malaysia
I returned from my business trip to Hanoi a little over a week ago and thought you may appreciate a gemstone update from the city.
The shops I looked at all had a lot of pretty average material - included tourmaline and aquamarine, not much spinel of note and the ruby looked to be mainly glass impregnated and too large to be from Vietnam. A lot of nice heliodor, but generally pretty small and variable in colour.
I visited my miner/dealer mate to pick up the cut stones I had bought earlier this year. Two gorgeous pink spinels (clean, well cut 3.15 and 3.45 ct), a lovely 13 ct royal purple amethyst (rare for Vietnam) and a beautifully cut 3.05 ct royal blue spinel - this stone turned out to be a real surprise to me as it is a colour changer to purple in artifical light.
Also picked up a lot of smaller stones I had bid on earlier this year. Exactly as decribed on ebay and a nice selection, especially nice heliodor and medium amthyst. I only buy this stuff because I know it employs two talented cutters in Hanoi. In fact I sold about one third to a mate at cost when I returned and will be putting the proceeds into the "Helping Miners" project some of you will be aware of (under Miners Corner, Mining in Madagascar, about the 7th post).
Quality rough is like Hen's Teeth. Luc Yen seems to be in decline. I was shown a parcel bought the day before I arrived. Two very small nice red spinel, the pink spinel was very thin and most of the other material (the majority) had muddy/grey overtones.
Ruby is also very rare, but I did manage to pick up a 42 ct parcel of nice untreated ruby averaging about 2 ct. Nice colour and very, very clean. I would classify most as ruby rather than pink sapphire, but some may dispute this. Will cut a treat.
Aquamarine is nearly finished. Again I picked up a few stones including a large medium coloured crystal that will cut nicely. This, unlike the majority of Vietnamese aqua, was very clean. Some double coloured aqua, but all included - I'll let you know if I ever hit the jackpot
There is a lot of heliodor. Some nicely coloured and a lot of crystals with lovely clean terminations.
My mate confirmed that he is keen to help miners in Luc Yen and we will be working up proposals over the next couple of months.
Finally, bought a lovely carved buddha (green/pink tourmaline on a dark green background). Large - about 2.5 x 2.5 inches. The back of the carving has been left untouched and shows beautiful multiple crystal faces of dark green tourmaline (yep - that's why I bought it).
If any of you are going to Hanoi, let me know and I will pass on some information, including the best hotel (reasonable price) on the edge of the old french quarter of town.
When I visit Aus end of the year I will be bringing back my Drabsch faceting machine, so 2009 promises to be a productive year given all the material I have bought over the past 3.5 years.
Happy cutting!
_________________ "The purpose of life is a life of purpose"
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 4:16 pm Posts: 219 Location: Georgia USA
Thanks pipeliner! I was in Hanoi last year but had been kicking myself ever since because I didn't have enough time to get to Luc Yen. Sounds like I didn't really miss anything if that area is not producing much anymore.
_________________ Gary Braun www.finewatergems.com
The views expressed here are V. Pardieu’s opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of GIA Laboratory Bangkok (http://www.giathai.net)where he is an employee since Dec 2008.
pipeliner444 I hope this post finds it's way to you, as I find my way to Hanoi. You suggested that if one were to be planning a visit to Hanoi, that you might be able to provide some insight and direction. I plan to visit next week, and hope to hear back from you with some tips and suggestions. I am mostly chasing mineral specimens and am not terribly interested in the cut material. Thanks in advance, and if anyone else has any suggestions, I welcome them as well. enjoy Pu Tzu
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