A gem dealer's journal — Gemstone

Simon Dussart: Your book emphasises the mine to market approach in the trade. What changes would you like to see, believe we should operate, in how the gems are sourced and sold to ensure a more ethical practices? Actually, how would you define ethics in the trade ?

Richa Goyal Sikri: I’ve written several articles on responsible sourcing, and four years working on this book has been an incredible learning experience for me in this space. Think of responsible behaviour like a multi-tier cake. You can’t start from the top. The first step must be the foundation, which in my opinion is transparency. What I mean by this is being true and clear in what you are selling? Treatments, enhancement, and origin (to whatever extend possible). Be clear in what you know about the stone and what you don’t know. To this layer, we can add others such as responsible behaviour towards our suppliers, employees, community, and environment. Often when you say the word ‘responsible’ the tendency is to point a finger to a miner or a merchant, what about the government? How is the government and the bureaucracy supporting the industry?

Hey Loungers, Many have mentioned that we do not interview enough females in these columns. While I disagree, I find myself interested to study a new pattern in our trade: The Path of Inheritance in the Trade, is it a curse, a boon or a bit of both? To that end, we have decided to interview Kamila Guerchouche about her new brand, Kaerche and used this opportunity to ask her a few questions about her path as a second generation gem dealer. If you are as interested in that story and potential new questioning arc, follow us with this very...

AsiaLounges: I understand that you are, still to this day, the person that takes the pictures and takes care of the web site for your company. Do you believe that the period we are in, late 2020 early 2021, with COVID forcing us all to stay put that online sales are becoming the new normal? Is it, in your opinion, a viable alternative to trade shows such as the Hong Kong Gem and Jewellery show?

Hemi Englisher: Although technology today allows us to transfer images of very high quality, I still think that the personal touch, human interactions, is still prevailing. More than that, the proliferation of gem dealers on the internet is clearly bringing down the level of professionalism overall. While it is true that not every gem dealer is a gemologist, one must wonder, when reading things like  “nearly eye clean”, “assuming no heat”  or the fact that every square stone is considered to be an Asscher, whether there are any professional gem dealers left at all... That being said, whether internet and E-marketing is a threat to existing, established wholesalers, time will tell. Even as a school master of the old school, I really cannot say.

Hey Loungers, You often hear us talking about Thailand, and Bangkok in particular, as being the beating heart of the gem trade yet never really explained why. Well, today, we can finally help you get a better grasp over the importance of Thailand for our merry trade. Today, we have the pleasure of introducing you to one of Chantaburi’s Lords of the Ruby trade. Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing the owner of the titanic Gemburi company, the jovial and outgoing Phuket Khunaprapakorn! Khun Phuket, the floor is yours!   Discover Gemburi's K. Phuket Khunaprapakorn story now as a...