Treasures of Asia: The 5 Most Popular Gemstones in Asia

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Treasures of Asia: The 5 Most Popular Gemstones in Asia

Text by Tay Thye Sun and Rachel Kwek. Photos by Tay Thye Sun and Shutterstock. Video by Dorothy Clement

The infinity stones that make up the infinity gauntlet might not be in our grasp but some of the most valuable gemstones in the world are found natively in Asia. Asian Geographic takes a look at the five most popular gemstones and how to differentiate between a high quality gemstone and a low quality one.

5 Most Popular Gemstones in Asia

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The Estimated Prices of the 5 Most Popular Gemstones in Asia

High Quality

Good clarity (transparent), intense colour, good quality of polish and good cut proportion

Low Quality

Low clarity (transparent), uneven colour and poor quality of cut and polish i.e., does not reflect light well

Ruby (faceted 1 carat)

$10,000 to $20,000 per carat

$500 to $1000 per carat

Blue Sapphire (faceted 1 carat)

$3,000 to $10,000 per carat

$300 per carat

Spinel (faceted 1 carat)

Red

$2,000 per carat

Red

$500 per carat

Jadeite/Jade (Sold by piece, Prices depend on the colour, transparency and texture and quality of cut – cabochon)

Green
1.5cm x 0.7cm

$3,500 to $5,000

per piece

Green

5cm x 0.7cm

$250 to $500

per piece

Amber. (Sold by piece. Prices depend on the colour and transparency of the material and also if there are special inclusions of insect or rare fauna)

Yellow

3 cm x 2 cm

$500

per piece

Yellow
2 cm x 1.5 cm

$100

per piece

Check out the rest of this article in our lastest issue of Asian Geographic No.136 Issue 3/2019 here or download a digital copy here

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