為什麼要佩戴寶石?因為它漂亮!漂亮的寶石本身不僅吸引別人的眼球,也能增添佩戴者自身的美,更顯示出佩戴者的時尚和品味。

天然寶石都是獨一無二,永遠不會俗氣或誇張。 在柔和的燈光下寶石更顯柔和的色彩,在充足的日光下絢麗多彩。選擇好的寶石佩戴會令膚色更加嬌艷,線條更加柔和,煥然一新。
佩戴翡翠還是黃水晶耳環?根據你當時的穿著,環境的燈光或者心情會有不同的選擇。
作為禮物來說,寶石可說是最大體和有誠意的。而對贈送禮物的人來說,佩戴它則是最好的回報。

The latest batch of Gold Sheen Sapphires from the factory are showing some remarkable characteristics.

First, we are seeing vivid asterism in the cabs. All gold sheen sapphires cabs have some degree of asterism, but usually it is quite faint. The rough we are cutting now seems to have more rutile, which gives them both a ‘sleepier’ look, and the much more prominent star:

You can see the rutile silk under multiple light sources (with a single light source, these would have a prominent star)

Then, there was this incredible find – for the first time we have seen completely transparent gold sheen sapphire with full sheen and star effect. The smartphone snapshot does it no justice, but imagine the transparency of a vivid blue medium tone sapphire, but instead of blue, the colour is golden sheen.

Out of 200,000 carats cut, we have found less than 20 carats of stones like this. We know how to cut is as cabochons, so that is what the factory did. But what I am thinking is, what if we faceted it with a brilliant cut? I’ll run it by Tanzim and see what he thinks.
I have just seen the latest cuttings from the factory for ruby. We are getting more range of colour and gradings as we progress into the parcel.


I am seeing quite a lot of medium-light and slight purplish red natural unheated ruby cabs in the market now, between $200 and $300 per carat. The lighter stones we are getting from the parcel would match that grade.
Some, like these, are at the other end of the tone scale with strong purple red to purple/red hue and strong saturation:

But I have to say, I do prefer the medium/dark tone best of all:

SJW gems can supply ruby cabs in calibrated sizes to any specification. We own the rough and control the production through to the final polish and shipment. We can accommodate order sizes up to 10,000 carats per month, and welcome small orders from collectors and independent designers. Talk to us now for your Christmas Season orders!
我们已经开始切割第一批来自马达加斯加的红宝石原石啦。 这批红宝石百分百天然出产,没有任何高温处理,完全来自古老的天然沉积而成,其坚硬度连工厂里见过各种各样红蓝宝石的的切割工人也赞叹不已。 我们已经用了高于50%的钻石磨石来切割打磨。我也开始怀疑这批红宝石在摩氏硬度表上应该排在哪里,因为它的硬度明显高于普通的刚玉类宝石。
这批红宝石颜色均匀,呈现美丽的玫瑰红和艳丽的李子红色,并具有很高的饱和度。均匀的颜色和高饱和度是制作上好珠宝首饰的最佳材料。

目前这批红宝原石已经切割成椭圆面裸石,因其不能透明到可以切割成切面。

更多有关这批红宝石的信息,可在我们的网页查看 – sjwgems.com
曾經有很多人問我投資珠寶/寶石生意好不好?如果要做, 怎樣開始。
答案當然取決於不同的投資目的。對於普通人來說,大多數不是在珠寶領域里工作,投資珠寶則可分為以下三類:
以上三類投資各有其優缺點,但共同的要求是你要清楚你想做什麼,然後要麼大量研究及學習,要麼聽取信得過的專家的建議。
1. 短線投資
短線投資的吸引力在於找到物美價廉的真品貨色再以接近市場價格出售。要麼是遇到好運氣,要麼是因為獨到的眼光和專業,或者兩者都有,物美價廉的真品貨色確確實實可以找到。但是就每一真品來說,可能有十次買賣都是有利可圖的,但到最後還是會與市價看齊而不再有利潤空間。
總的來說,購買珠寶時大部分珠寶商會誠實告知商品的成色。這些年來,我在斯里蘭卡和泰國有過上百次交易但尚未遇到有珠寶商刻意賣給我名不副實的珠寶。至於是否真的物超所值,則完全靠我本身對市場價格的了解或者對是否有加熱處理的程度及特有顏色等的判斷。
當年我在斯里蘭卡第一次購買珠寶時是非常幸運的。那時的斯里蘭卡仍處於長期戰亂後的動蕩時期,除聯合國觀察員外,外國人在國內很少見,而肯買珠寶的外國人則少之又少。所以當地的珠寶商對我極之友好,總以最優惠的價格跟我做交易。以下便是其中幾個:



以上這些珠寶對於我來說,與其是短期投資不如說是傳統投資,因為所有都是那麼美麗奪目,令人愛不釋手,我不捨得賣出去,情願收藏下來留給我的子孫後代。 這裡我只是拿來舉例,其實有機會低價買到高端的珠寶,即便是新手也一樣。問題是你夠不夠運氣(好似我第一次買一樣), 或者是專業知識( 好似我後來一樣)。
還有另外一種情況是一些寶石純屬是因其美麗而令我心動而買下來。當然,這種情況只發生在我最早期購買珠寶的階段,因為那時對我來說,只要是一件艷麗的珠寶,不管花多少錢都是值得的。想去擁有這種美麗的東西已超越了金錢上的回報。
2. 長線投資
只要是真的珍品寶石,不管怎樣,隨著時間的推移,她的價值是一定會超越最初購買的價格。即便是你購買了一顆市價1000美金的藍寶石但卻花了2000美金買到。短期內你確實是虧的,但是10年乃至幾年內,她的價格可能會升到2000美金,而20年後可能值4000美金,30年後可能8000美金,如此類推……寶石每年平均 7.2%的升值比率可以 彌補最初購買時的虧蝕。即使對珠寶沒有什麼了解的人,只要他們買到的寶石稀有珍貴,長遠來說,寶石固有的價值一定會超越其最初購買的價格。最簡單的例子,30年前我花了2000美金買了個鑽石戒指訂婚,相當於我當時一個月的薪金, 而且是在專賣訂婚戒指的珠寶店購買,可想而知價格不菲。 現在,同樣重量的鑽石戒指價值在15000美金左右, 所以單單就這個投資的回報來說並不差的。 而且,我更可以看着這個光彩奪目的戒指戴在一個美麗的女人手上長達25年。
海藍寶石和金光藍寶石都是很不錯的長線投資,失手機會極微。
只要買到的是貨真價實的真品,長線投資寶石是比較低風險的投資。當然如若以較低價購得上乘品質就更加理想了。
3. 傳統投資
這確實是項大的投資,因為這是流傳給你的子孫後代的財富,可以保證他們將來有較大的收益。
這種投資不用想也會有很多理由,在此我引用一個比喻來詮釋其中之一:如果你用500萬買一棟房子,沒錯! 房地產會隨著時間的推移而增值。但並不是沒有維修保養費用的,土地價值可能會升,但樓房建築的價值會逐年貶值,而且還可能遇到壞租客,區域變化以及其他可能會發生的意想不到的事情。 而珠寶/寶石呢,基本沒有維修保養費用,可能需要的僅僅是個保險箱或是在銀行租的保險箱,而保險費用也是低於任何固定資產的。同時珠寶/寶石的升值幅度卻是跟房地產不相伯仲,且沒有房地產的各種費用。比較之下,與其投資50萬去開始某種資產投資,倒不如一次投資幾萬或十幾萬珠寶/寶石,等到有利可圖隨時出售獲利,相對於其他大宗財產來說,這種投資更加靈活。

不管以上那種投資,我要強調的是投资前你要搜尋盡可能多的資料和知識或者尋求專業人士的意見。計劃越長線的投資越穩妥,但也隨時可以見利就走。
至於我的公司 SJW Gems, : 我的目標就是搜尋最美的高品質的寶石,再以我擁有的寶石鑒定實驗室技術確保品質和真偽,以最低的成本獲得最高的回報。我一直堅持的座右銘就是以一半的價格創造出兩倍的價值。
由始至終,我搜集的所有寶石都是我所珍愛並用以個人收藏的。如果您購買後不再欣賞它的美麗,我很樂意再次以原價收購及收藏它們。
更多關於我和公司的故事,請在公司網站點擊中文部分 – http://sjwgems.com/about/
Some tips and advice for people interested in buying or investing in ruby in the longer term. The main things to consider and avoid.
Ruby is one of the ‘big three’ of precious gemstones – Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. At one time these were the only types of gems considered ‘precious’, and everything else was ‘semi=precious’. The finest ruby is worth more than diamond, but you can find ruby from as little as $5 per carat (not that you would want to buy it though).


If you have more questions about buying or investing in ruby, email me at steve@sjwgems.com, I will be very happy to help you.
I sometimes get asked if gemstones are a good investment, and if so, how to get started.
The answer varies, depending on what the investors goals are. For most people not in the gem industry. investment can be broken down into three categories:
Each of these has its own benefits and pitfalls, but the common requirement to be successful in each is Know What You are Doing. Either by research and study, or by getting trusted expert advice.
1. Short Term Investment
The attraction of short term investment is to buy ‘a bargain’, currently worth much more than you paid, and then on-sell it to someone at a price closer to its market value. There are certainly genuine bargains to be had, either through luck, in depth market knowledge, or usually a combination of both. But for every genuine bargain there are perhaps ten deals that look like bargains, but turn out to be not so good later on.
On the whole, the vast majority of gem traders describe their products honestly. Out of hundreds I have dealt with in Sri Lanka and Thailand over the years, I don’t think a single one has knowingly sold me something that isn’t what they said it was. But whether it was a ‘bargain’ or not, was completely up to my knowledge that, the very very good, price they offer may actually be twice the going market rate for that particular gem. Or just what degree of heat treatment it has. Or just what process was used to give it that particular colour.
When I first began to buy gemstones in Sri Lanka many years ago, I was very fortunate. One thing that helped was that the country was still fighting a civil war, and apart from UN observers that rarely stepped outside their compound, there were very few westerners, and even fewer looking to buy gemstones. I was treated very well by the traders I bought from, and was able to get some very good pieces at prices just not possible any more.



The problem for me though, is that as a short term investment, they are useless – because they are so good, I don’t want to part with them. I would much rather keep them as a legacy asset for my children and grandchildren.
Nevertheless, it proves bargains are possible, even for the novice, but needs luck (in my case) and/or knowledge (which for me came later on).
There is another case too, and that is just to buy the gemstone for its own beauty. Certainly, that was the basis for all my early purchases. Because whatever I spent I thought was a worthwhile amount to get a beautiful gemstone. In this case the monetary return is secondary to the subjective feeling of owning something really beautiful.
2. Long Term Investment
As long as the gemstone is genuinely a precious gem, then at some point in the future it will be worth more than the amount paid, whatever that amount was. Say the market price for a particular sapphire is $1,000, but you pay $2,000. You have lost out in the short term, but within, probably not more than, ten years, it will reach the initial value paid, and in 20 years will be worth $4,000, after 30, $8,000, and so on. The average 7.2% yearly appreciation in value overtakes whatever ‘mistake’ may have been made at the initial purchase.
Even for someone quite clueless, the intrinsic value of owning something rare and precious will be great enough in the long term to overcome the high price they may pay. To give one example, 30 years ago I bought a diamond engagement ring for, what was to me then, a considerable sum of money – $2,000 – a months salary. It was bought the most expensive way possible, from a retail jeweler who specialized in engagement rings. Now, the diamond in that ring is worth over $15,000. So in the cold light of purely and investment, the amount I paid was not so bad. But in addition to that, I had the pleasure for 25 years of seeing a very lovely diamond grace the hand of a beautiful woman.
Bought right, Aquamarine and Gold Sheen Sapphire are both excellent long term investments.
As long as they are the genuine article, buying gemstones with the view to keep them as a long term investment carries little risk. Of course, if you can get a good price in the initial purchase, all the better.
3. Legacy Investment
This is the big one. The one that is for the benefit of your kids and grand kids, to build an collection that will be a secured asset well into the future.
There are sound investment reasons to do this, but here is just one that I think is a compelling justification. Say you use your saved cash to invest in property; the ‘buy in’ amount is going to be around $500k at least. Yes, property will always over time increase in value, but it is not without overheads. The land price might increase, but the building and fixtures are continually depreciating. And then there are bad tenants, changes in zoning, and many things that can happen that you have little or no control over.
Consider gemstones on the other hand. The overheads are minimal. You may keep them in a safety deposit box at the bank for a trivial amount per year, or in a safe at home. Insurance is no more than any other asset you own. The appreciation of the asset is about the same as property, with without anywhere near the overheads and complication, and with complete control over the assets. Instead of needing half a million dollars to start off, gemstones can be added to incrementally for only a few thousand dollars a time. Then, should at some point you need to sell, there is the flexibility of selling in small units rather than one big chunk as you would with property.

Whatever the investment type may be, I can’t stress enough how important it is to research yourself or get expert advice from someone you can trust. The longer the term you plan to invest, the less risk there is, but it is still better to get off to the best possible start.
About my company, SJW Gems: My goal with SJW Gems is to give you the best, most beautiful gemstones I can find, tested in my own lab, at a price far below anything you would expect to pay elsewhere. I try to adhere to my personal motto of ‘twice the size at half the price’.
I only buy stones that I like, and would like to have in my personal collection. So, I am happy to offer my personal guarantee that if you are ever dissatisfied with your purchase from me, for whatever reason, I will buy the stone back from you at the same price you paid.
You can read the history and more information here – http://sjwgems.com/about/
A friend of mine, Loz Charles, has uploaded some great videos of Gold Sheen Sapphire on Vimeo. You can check them out here: