Gemstones are minerals, desirable for its beauty, valuable in its rarity, which when cut and polished become precious and used for jewelry and luxury items. Diamonds, Emeralds, rubies, sapphires, opal,etc.. are some of the most rare and valuable gemstones. The four C’s that determine the value of a gem are color, clarity, carat (weight) and cut.
Humans since millennia have been adorning themselves with gemstones for beauty and social prestige. But their value is not only based on their name or beauty, it also depends on supply from mines and market trends. The rarity of prestigious and exquisite gemstones makes them interesting investments.
Over the past five years, the colored-gemstone sector has been growing at a yearly growth rate of about 18%, according to the United Nations commodity trade statistics database, this was also backed by the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA).
Rarer than diamonds yet cheaper:
For the first time in decades colored gemstone now competing with Diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires are gaining favor just as sales for Diamonds are beginning to show weakness. Polished diamond prices have fallen for five straight quarters. This observation was also echoed by the president of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association on Oct 2015 in a speech at the World Diamond Congress.
Cut rubies have risen in value 63 percent since 2005 and sapphires by 45 percent, according to Gemval, an online gem appraisal site.
There are several forces driving the price rises.
In the colored gemstone industry, people are paying close attention to the rate at which the price is escalating over the past years, with no indication of reversal. All of the major auction houses are seeing record-setting prices.
A sound investment in gemstones also requires the ability to obtain what you want at prices as close as possible to "wholesale" or below. You cannot buy “retail” and then sell back to a jeweler and expect to make money. We advice people generally prior to their investment purchase to compare prices in order to get as close to wholesale – or below – in order to increase the potential appreciation. Price, however, is tied to quality, which is determined by the four C's: