-...~ em News IA Contributing Editors Emmanuel Fritsch, University of Nantes, CNRS, Team 6502, Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel (IMN), Nantes, France (
[email protected]) Gagan Choudhary, Gem Testing Laboratory, Jaipur, India (
[email protected]) Christopher M. Breeding, GIA, Carlsbad (
[email protected]) Dealers also talked about the October 2016 removal of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar, legalizing the import of TUCSON 2017 Burmese jadeite and rubies. According to Edward Boehm of RareSource, the lifting of the ban was widely welcomed, The 2017 Tucson gem and mineral shows drew eager buy- but Myanmar government reforms of the gem mining sec- ers from all over the globe. Although many dealers reported tor have some way to go. Conditions on the ground are lower traffic this year, most were content with the volume much improved, however. Boehm told us new production of business and noted that buyers were “serious.” might take some time to appear, which would impact As in previous years, we identified some strong trends: prices and selection of available goods in the short term. Large multinational companies have significantly im- • Demand for special one-of-a-kind pieces in both pacted colored gemstone mining and distribution over the pearls and colored gemstones last decade. Gemfields’ Kagem and Montepuez mines sup- • Continuing investment by multinational companies ply approximately one-third of global emerald and 70% of in colored gemstone mining and distribution global ruby production, respectively. At this year’s show • A growing focus on ethically sourced gemstones and we were able to interview Gemfields CEO Ian Harebottle beneficiation for his perspective on the company’s operations and its • Strong demand for high-end gems and a softening of 2013 merger with luxury brand Fabergé.