I am here for a few months and would like some advice on where to get started. I visited a market today to check out the inventory of the jewelers. They had boxes of stones with labels indicating everything from Diamonds to Opal. I have already read up a little on the gem market here and it appears that my best bet is to stick to lapis lazuli, aquamarine, tourmaline, and possibly emerald. My intentions would be to buy gems here for resale in the US.
For the gems listed above where would you recommend I begin?
How does one get an accurate picture of what something is worth?
With each of these stones what would be some key features to look for?
What would you look for if you were here in Afghanistan ?
If you don't already know what you are doing it's unlikely you'll get amazing deals, and a good shot you'll get took. It could be a good learning experience if you really want to get into the gem trade, but an expensive one.
Like in most industries, the gemstone World has gotten smaller, the markets are now very efficient. The gem business is the same as any business. It is about building networks on both the buy and sell sides. The days of traveling to remote places, and finding bargains is pretty much over.
If you don't know gemstones to avoid fraud, and the markets on both sides of value, then you will likely end up spending a lot of "tuition" in the school of gems, and losing money. Of course, as always, school can be fun.
Like in most industries, the gemstone World has gotten smaller, the markets are now very efficient. The gem business is the same as any business. It is about building networks on both the buy and sell sides. The days of traveling to remote places, and finding bargains is pretty much over.
If you don't know gemstones to avoid fraud, and the markets on both sides of value, then you will likely end up spending a lot of "tuition" in the school of gems, and losing money. Of course, as always, school can be fun.
I can see this being true, Maybe I missed the bus. I'll tread carefully and possibly buy some samples that wont break my bank.
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 10:23 am Posts: 923 Location: NYC
couple years ago a friend of mine was telling me a story that he bought Rubies and emeralds both faceted and rough in Afghanistan's local market and they told him they are genuine Afghani's Origin and later when he was back and got report for some of them and all were African Origin
Be very careful before you spend your money. Your best weapon is knowledge about what you want to buy. If you don't have it yet I'd think you should first learn about it....unless you don't mind giving away money!
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