| SOUTH
INDIA A Treasure House of Gemstones |
In the history of
gemstones, South India has taken an important place. During ancient
times, Nadu (an important state in the South of India) was considered
to be a treasuse house of gems and its name was very famous all
around the globe. A systematic and scientific approach to mining
the state's abundant resources however has not been made there and
this is a major drawback.
Tamil Nadu has many
gemstone deposits with important potential. Ruby, sapphire, sphene
and aquamarine are found in the areas around Karur, Kangeyam, Kulithalai,
Namakkal, and Dharmapuri, Moonstone and iolite are also mined there.
These gemstones are all of top quality. Beryls are found on the
surface, often by farmers while they are ploughing their fields
or grazing their cattle and can be picked off the ground in the
rainy season.
In the Sevitturangam
village in Namakkal district and in Kiranur village near Kulithalai,
rubies are found. These rubies are very similar in quality to the
pink and padparadscha sapphires from Sri Lanka. A 10 carat size
stone can command a value of US$4000 per carat in the international
market.
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| Dr. A.Ayoob examines the rough at a
mine in South India |
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Rainbow
moonstones, royal blue moonstones, and green moon stones available
in these areas are considered to be the best in quality. These moonstones
command a retail value of US$15-50 depending upon colour, quality
and size. The aquamarines found in the Kangeyam region are considered
among the best in the world.
Weekly
markets are the main channel for selling these gemstones in Tamil
Nadu. Markets are held on Mondays in Kangeyam, on Fridays in Velliyanai,
on Saturdays in Karur, and on Sundays in Uppidamangalam. Karur is
the central place from which to access these weekly markets. Buyers
from Mumbai and Jaipur are regular visitors here to buy the gemstones
being sold.
Apart
from the gemstone varieties already named, sunstone, cat's eye quartz,
star diopside, labrodorite, kornarupine, and apatite cat's eye are
also available. Moonstone varieties like orange moonstone, white
moonstone, grey moonstone, chocolate moonstone and fancy colour
moonstone, as well as aquamarines are also mined at a depth of about
10 metres below sea level.
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The Annual Gems Show held in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, creates an opportunity
for the miners and small traders to meet directly with the international
gem buyers, Next year, the show will be held on January 6-7, 2007
at the Hotel Savana. Many international traders will to see the
best of what South India has to offer.
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| New
Harmony Cut Offers Consumers Large Rubies Ar A Fraction of the Price |
Imagine
a beautiful blood red Burmese ruby of 6 carats in weight. Now imagine
the price, which will escalate in direct proportion to the beauty
of the stone. Till now, a stone such as the one we have described
would be so costly as to put it completely out of reach for anybody
other than the very rich. However, the new Harmony Cut has now made
it possible for even those who can only afford jewellery in the
medium priced range to be able to own a stone of comparable size
and beauty.
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Harmony
by Hand, a company with more than 10 years of excellence
in handcrafting exquisite invisible (mystery) setting jewellery
has now innovated a new process in which one octagon shaped
ruby is surrounded by ten matching tapers of the same shade
embedded in a gold frame to create the illusion of a much
larger single stone.
Harmony
Cut is available in two colours, Pigeon blood and reddish
pink in three shapes -cushion, oval and octagon. The rubies
used are of Burmese origin exclusively and are not subject
to any enhancement procedures other than the standard heat
treatment.
The introduction
of the Harmony Cut will be a real boon to both jewellers
and consumers who can now delight in jewellery with large
centre stones using rubies. In the past, this was not only
difficult but sometimes almost impossible as besides the
high cost of the stone, there was the additional difficulty
of finding two large rubies of the same size, shape, and
colour.
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For example, a cushion
shaped Burmese ruby of 6 carat size with good colour and clarity
would cost nearly US$50,000 (at the retail level), but with the
Harmony Cut, the same look can be achieved at 90% less. Also, if
a designer wants to make a necklace using many pieces of large rubies,
to get a matching suite of stout would probably tal ten or twenty
years b the astronomical cost of the deal but now, thanks to the
Harm Cut, which uses smaller stones simulate the appearance of a
m larger one, it is possible to such jewellery on a larger sea than
ever before.
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The
Harmony Cut is pate pending in Thailand, Japan and United States
in order to main the uniqueness and exclusivity the creation.
The Harmony Cut
will launched at the 38th Bangkok Gem & Jewelry Fair this September.
The Harmony Cut will be marketed as a loose stone only and not as
finished jewellery in order to give it a broader market base and
make it available to a wider clientele than it would be it Harmony
by hand were to monopolise by using it in jewellery manufacturerd
by hand will thus limit their commercial activities to manufacturing
and distribution of the Harmony Cut. The Stone comes with a certificate
of quarantee by the company, which aims to create a niche market
for this product.
Due to the limited
availability of fine quality rubies of matching colours, production
will be restricted to around two hundred pieces per month to begin
with. This limitation is enforced by the scarcity of material as
the factory is quite capable of producing far more than that. In
the future, based on demand though, steps will be taken to increase
the supply of raw material to boost production.
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Harmony
By Hand has built itself an enviable reputation as one of the finest
manufacturers of invisible settings. The company has more than ten
years experience in this field and has actually pioneered colour
shading in invisible setting jewellery. Its craftsmen are therefore
considered to be experts in the field.
However, only the
top ten percent of the setters work exclusively on the Harmony Cut
in order to ensure the finest product with absolutely seamless joints
between the stones so that when viewed from even the slightest distance,
the octagon and ten tapers will look like one whopping huge single
stone. In fact, the company's only concern right now is that when
the Harmony Cut is introduced at the Bangkok Fair, under the halide
lighting customers will be quite unable to tell that the stone in
the showcase is a composite of many smaller ones. Those who don't
know better will be left wondering at this sudden influx of perfectly
matched large rubies. You can see these marvellous stones on the
company's website as well, just go to www.harmonycut.com. |
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