Gemstones on the Internet

Lots of retailers sell jewelry, but you don't often see the sign "Colored Gemstones For Sale." That's because the loose gemstone business is a rather specialized one. Most of the people who buy loose gemstones are either gems dealers themselves or jewelry designers.

There aren't enough gemstone collectors or aficionados in most places to justify a gemstone store at your local shopping mall. There are actually a large number of gemstone buyers, but they are distributed all over the world.

So successful gemstone dealers have learned to reach the market via the internet. Recently we've seen attempts to use television shopping channels as well to reach consumers, but it is too soon to say if any companies can survive doing that, given the very high marketing costs.

One of the challenges of the colored gemstone trade is that gems are mined and cut and polished in far flung regions of the world. So if you want to be a gemstone dealer, North America or Europe is not the best place to be. Indeed, American buyers have to wait for the annual Tucson gem show for dealers from all over the world to bring their goods to the USA.

The main cutting centers for colored gemstones are in Thailand and India. Since Thailand has better infrastructure, it has some advantages as a trading and manufacturing center. Thailand has the the good luck to be located next to Burma, the source of some of the finest ruby, sapphire and spinel; and next to Cambodia, the source of some of the finest zircon.

Thailand has also become an important trading center for African gems such as tourmaline, tsavorite garnet, tanzanite and spessartite garnet.

You'll find many colored gemstone dealers online, but finding a reliable one is not always easy. If you'd like to learn more about gemstones for sale online see our article on What to Look For in an Online Gem Dealer.

GemSelect is one of the leading online dealers in sapphire, ruby, tourmaline, spinel and garnet.

By Ron Nash