ASHKAR GEMS: 2013

Thursday, December 26, 2013

White sapphire

White sapphire is the third most sapphires fapund After blue and yellow sapphires in sri lanka. Due to it high saturation the cleanliness there is always a great demand for whites. Which is used as an substitute for Diamonds comparing to its affordable price.

Locations sabaragamuwa,sri lanka.

2Ct white sapphire!

Sri lankan Blue sapphires heated

This lot consisits more than 1000 carrot sri lankan heated Blue sapphires with mixes shape step cut.

Standard heating is used.

Avaragr size 1Ct to 2 Ct.

Green sapphire

Green sapphire is something excusite when it comes to rich green instead of yellowish green.

This is a 7 carrot green sapphire untreated and unheated square cushion.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Kalwana sapphires

1.90 Ct.

1CT just before it was polished.

Kalwaana falls in to Sabaragamuwa District of sri lanka. I have been to almost all part of the sri lankan sapphire producing areas. I would rate kalawana sapphire falls in to the number one position due the colour tone.

Sapphires are mined from water streams and found small sapphires less than 3Ct size. The bigger the size the bigger the inclusions here i have attached a smale lot with one sapphire though it looks dark on colour. It falls in to Royal blue.

A typical Kalawana gem Mining pit.

Landscape of kalawaana.

Sri lankan "Geuda". 97pcs mix sapphire

This lot consist of 97 pcs of geuda rough which has to be heated to get the desired colour tone.
Heating Geuda sapphires dates back to 600A.D. According to field-gemmology sri lankans used blown pipes at the beginning. Now a days Geuda treatment is done using traditional lakmini furnace and other technologically advanced electric and gas furnace.

Few falls in to young geuda. Origin sri lanka.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Gemfields Thinks Mine Could Supply 20% of Global Ruby Demand !

Having built its reputation on Zambian emeralds,Gemfields Plc, the London-based colored stone miner, is seeing red—for rubies.

The company has set its sights on Mozambique, where it owns a majority stake in a mine that it hopes could supply up to a fifth of global ruby demand, according to a report in Bloomberg.

In 2012, the miner acquired a 75 percent stake in Montepuez Ruby Mining in northern Mozambique, a 131-square-mile concession considered the largest ruby-mining concession in private hands in the world today, according to a Gemfields statement.

CEO Ian Harebottle told Bloomberg that the company plans to more than double the mine's monthly ruby production to 2.5 million carats by July.

"Our first rough ruby auction will take place in the first half of 2014, so the market can expect to see cut and polished not long after that," Gemfields CEO Ian Harebottle tellsJCK. "We're very excited to offer a new opportunity for marketing and selling rubies, particularly in the U.S., and we are seeing real enthusiasm for the product at all different levels."