Three Rising Countries of the Ruby Trade

 For thousands of years, humans have explored the planet in search of its beautiful - and valuable - natural treasures. The Ruby has long been the favourite gem of Royalty and perhaps no other Gemstone matches its universal appeal.

MYANMAR

Nestled between the Indian subcontinent and the fertile nations of Southeast Asia, Myanmar is one of Asia’s most fascinating and underreported countries. Formerly known as Burma, the ex-British colony has only opened its door to the world after decades under an isolationist regime. This has kept the secrets of its plentiful Ruby mines hidden until the last ten years, meaning there’s vast untapped resources available to investors willing to go off the beaten backpacker trails into this mysterious and beautiful country.

Myanmar’s best treasures lie with its Rubies. In the Christmas of 1968 Hollywood icon Richard Burton gifted a famous 8.24 Carat Ruby ring to his wife Elizabeth Taylor, causing the screen Goddess to declare it ‘the most perfect coloured stone I’d ever seen’. Decades (and a divorce) later, Myanmar’s iconic red stones are highly desired by jewelers and collectors worldwide.

TAJIKISTAN

Not many gem collectors, or any other group for that matter, have ever even heard of Tajikistan. Locked in the heart of Central Asia, the former USSR state is possibly one of the world’s most remote nations. Alongside a fascinating history and culture bridging Islam and Communism, the country boasts breathtaking mountain scenery. It is in these jagged highlands that lies the fabled Ruby mines that have long bewildered collectors and historians.

For centuries much of the Central Asian region was a vital trade corridor between East and West. It is believed that during previous centuries Tajikistan was the source of some of the world’s most iconic Rubies. These include the Black Prince’s Ruby, which is set into the Imperial Crown of Britain’s Crown Jewels.  During the 1970s the ruling Soviet government began the Shezhnoe mines in the Badaksham region, bordering Afghanistan. Alongside smaller amounts of sapphires and other stones, the mines produced plenty of Rubies until the collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s. 

While it may be largely unreported and difficult to access, it is almost certain that further red treasures lie in this unforgiving land.

GREENLAND

Earth’s largest island is a sparsely populated nation of ice and snow. Think of Greenland and you probably imagine glaciers and the Aurora Borealis, but deep in this otherworldly land are deep deposits of precious stones including the world’s oldest Rubies. In 2017 mining operations run by Danish and local companies began in Aappaluttoq, an area named after the local word for Red. As they are roughly 3 billion years old, Greenland’s Rubies are prized for their durability and high quality.

 Technically considered an ‘autonymous state’ within the realm of Denmark, despite its vast area Greenland is home to only 56,000 people mainly centred on the sleepy capital Nuuk. Due to its political dependency on a Scandanavian state, Greenland’s Ruby industry is quickly becoming a hotspot for investors wanting strong sustainability and accountability for their stones that sometimes cannot be guaranteed in developing nations. 

For those in search of the highly desirable 'true north Gemstones' with the added benefit of advanced mining and export infrastructure, Greenland is a country worth following.