Thailand Hosts World Ruby Forum

RAPAPORT… Gemologists
from around the world gathered at the World Ruby Forum in Bangkok on Saturday, where
leading industry figures spoke about supply, marketing and certification of the
red gemstone.

The forum —
a showcase for rubies manufactured in Thailand — was in line with government
policy that “aims to establish the ruby as Thailand’s most important exported
gem,” according to the country’s commerce minister, Apiradi Tantraporn.

The Asian
nation is establishing itself as the leading hub for colored-gemstone jewelry
manufacture and export, said Duangkamol Jiambutr, director of the state-run Gem
and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT), an organizer of the event.

In the first
nine months of 2017, Thailand exported some $10.66 billion worth of gems and
jewelry, according to the GIT. Rubies account for over a third of the country’s
precious-stone exports by value.

“Demand for colored
stones is going up. We would like the value of Thai gem and jewelry exports to
go up by 5% a year, but the world economy is very slow,” Jiambutr told Rapaport
News on the sidelines of the forum.

European
markets for colored stones, such as Switzerland and Germany, have been buoyant,
but the US has seen more sluggish growth in demand, she added.

Gemologist
Vincent Pardieu, who has traveled widely to ruby mines around the world,
pointed to East Africa and Greenland as potentially important sites for future
discoveries of ruby deposits.

The gathering
preceded the annual congress of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO),
which runs in Bangkok until Tuesday.

In a keynote
speech at the forum, CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri appealed to leaders of
the colored-gemstone industry to apply high standards of corporate social
responsibility.

“Once the
goods have entered the pipeline, members of the trade are encouraged to
incorporate into their management operations a due-diligence system,” Cavalieri
said. “What is not an option is to do nothing.”