Rubies and Sapphires and Diamonds, OH MY !!

There are infinite ways to invest money, real estate being but one of them.  Since I am a Realtor, I have a vested interest in real estate investing, but with my background in gemology I have watched what has been happening over the decades in the gemstone world -- as well as the real estate world -- with a trained eye. 



Pink tourmalines can range from light

pink to darker magenta and red.  The

darker shades are referred to as rubellite

(which is a derivative of "ruby-like")



I spent 3 decades of my life in the gemstone industry in the capacity of  appraiser, gemstone importer and wholesaler, co-owner of a colored gemstone cutting factory in Bangkok and, lastly, owner of a diamond cutting factory in Sonoma County.  During those decades I traveled the world in search of gemstones that were cut for beauty and which, in conjunction with the sparkle afforded by the cutting, had strong flashes of rich color.



This is an example of a gem quality deep teal blue tourmaline

of the variety found in Afghanistan.

I found most gemstones available in the world’s gem centers to be run-of-the-mill, unable to touch my emotions.  I was constantly on the lookout for beautiful gemstones that touched me, the deeper the better.  I found myself “cherry picking” my inventory, selecting the cream of the crop of gemstones whenever the cutters and dealers would allow me to.  Of those, I “high-graded” out the most magnificent specimens of stone

types for my own collection knowing they would be valuable into the future, thinking I might use them as part of my retirement.



Paraiba tourmaline



One year at the Tucson gem show (the largest international gathering of people in the gemstone business held anywhere in the world), a new type of tourmaline was shown for the first time, one called Paraiba tourmaline, a major departure from all tourmalines discovered in the world up to then.  What was different about the Paraiba variety of tourmaline was that it had in its chemical makeup the presence of copper which brings to this type of tourmaline a sort of glowing neon effect, a brightness and exciting color range of blues, greens and purples never before seen in tourmalines.



A nearly perfect example of a bi-color tourmaline. These gems

are typicallyvery included (flaws) and curtail much of the

gem's brilliance.



The gemstone known as tourmaline derives its name from a Singhalese word, Turmali, which means “All colors”, because, yes, you guessed it, tourmalines come in every color.  They are found in many, many places in the world, including San Diego where they take some of the most striking pink tourmalines from the Pala mine, Afghanistan, Brazil, the state of Maine, Madagascar, Nigeria, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Sri Lanka, on and on.



A very small amount of tourmaline produced in the Earth gets

its green color from the presence of chromium adding a

special "snap" and liveliness.

 The greatest preponderance of tourmalines has come from Brazil over the centuries so it comes as no surprise that the Paraiba type of tourmaline was first discovered in Brazil.  It was a friend of mine who mined and cut in Brazil who showed me the first Paraiba tourmalines that I felt enriched by from just looking at them.  They were so beautiful, and they were so scarce.  For a new find, it was hard to find anybody who had them for sale at Tucson that year.  It has turned out to be the rarest gem in the world commanding ultra high prices for gem specimens, similar to alexandrite, emerald, ruby.

In wanting to put some of them in my collection, I made an accidental good investment.  Paraiba tourmalines that can be “authenticated” as having a Brazilian origin are now worth 40 times what they cost when I bought mine.

I now wish two things:

1.     That I could say that I knew this would happen

2.     That I would have been carrying a crystal ball with me that day

I would have put everything I had into Paraiba tourmalines had I known what was in store for their future..

Certainly not to the extent that the Paraiba tourmaline went off the value charts, but notably, tourmalines in general, as well as most of the gems I bought over the years, turned out to be a good long-term investment as did real estate depending on when one started investing. 

Differences exist between the two which make gems more convenient: gemstones can be sold one at a time, people can buy them without needing to take out a loan, and nobody has to move out of or into a gemstone upon close of escrow.  By the same token, there is no equivalent of the MLS when it comes time to sell a gemstone, which makes real estate a more transparent and much less esoteric market.  In both investment types, however, you can use and enjoy them daily.

What do you think it will be like 30 years from now for similar investments made today?

Feel free to speculate, this is a blog after all.  Comment please,  I would love to read your thoughts about this.