Upcoming Vegas Show: The Culture of the Gem Trade

This summer marks the 9^th year of Cecile Raley Designs, and in August, I will have been on Etsy for 8 years.  As many of you know, I started out with beaded necklaces, only slowly moving to more fine jewelry, but from the start, I was attracted to working with real gemstones, no glass, resin, or other materials.  I almost never buy opaque stones like agates, jaspers, or turquoise.  I like faceted, glossy, vibrant, eye catching beauty that you can spot from afar in a gem tray – or on someone’s neck for that matter.

Suppliers & Buyers at the AGTA show in Las Vegas

Last years AGTA show in Las Vegas

I went to my first real trade show in 2009: Jeweler’s of America in New York.  I love going to trade shows.  Not just because I love gem shopping, I also enjoy the interactions – the gem talk – and I love studying people and behavior.  The gem trade, to me, has its own unique sociology.  Its culture is ancient and many families have been in the trade for generations.  They size up buyers in a matter of seconds, and they trade information among one other.  While they are competitors, there’s also an understanding that the trade can only survive as a whole.  Competition is healthy, but the individual niches people carve out are also respected.  Before, during and after the show, the traders hand out among one another and exchange the stories of the day.

In its entirety, the American gem trade is dominated by no more than a couple of hundred sellers, and most know each other.  They buy and borrow from one another.  So as a buyer, going behind one seller’s back isn’t a recommended strategy.  Bad buying behavior, e.g. stretching out payment plans (if offered), putting too many goods aside for the day and not buying them, asking for the lowest and best price rather than waiting for an offer, trying to return goods, all those strategies get around. 

Gem dealers come from all over the world, and while sellers from the same countries often have closer bonds, respect for all cultures and backgrounds is crucial to the trade.  Most gems no longer come from the US or Europe, cutting is done either on location or on a large scale in Thailand and India.  Mining takes place in Africa, Asia and South America.  Many gem dealers travel and buy on location.  They understand the customs of their buying locations, they know the languages.  Dudley Blauwet speaks Hindi and several other Asian languages, my friend Jochen Hintze speaks French, English, German, Swahili, and can at least say polite things in Malgasi.  Vinod Kotahwala, who buys emeralds in Colombia, is fluent in Spanish.  Almost everyone knows at least a little bit of the local language of their travel locations.  It is polite and it furthers business. Skin color is not a barrier, I would go so far as to say it is of no consequence to the trade.  What may be more important at times is exact origin of an individual, because that informs you about the local culture.  Business practices in Hong Kong are not the same as in Tanzania. 

Aside from the main dealers who have booths at the big shows like AGTA, GJX, JA and JCK, there is also a vast network of smaller traders who sell out of their pockets.  While you are negotiating with a gem dealer at a booth, you may spot a person with a briefcase nearby who is politely waiting their turn.  That might be a seller who is walking the show floor.  Some of these sellers do cold pitches, others are well known to the exhibitor.  Remember that all gem sellers are also gem buyers, and the most successful gem sellers are excellent at buying.  It is fun to watch those interactions sometimes, insofar as they take place in a language I can understand.  Most of these sellers can be reached by phone if you know them, or know someone who does, and you can meet up in the lunchroom or outside, or after and before the show.  Some have low end goods, but others are well known for extremely expensive stuff. I’m not sure that show rules allow this kind of selling – I suspect they do not – but the goods often end up back on the dealer’s table and so it really furthers business and benefits the show hosts.  Many of these smaller dealers are international; they travel to the US just for the shows.  Others are from the US but they are smaller and not members of the AGTA, so they will be in Vegas during the show and you can make private appointments.

There’s so much more to be said here, but blogs are supposed to be short, so let me close with one final observation: while much of the trade is about sharing information, it is also extremely secretive.  Gem dealers do not give away their suppliers or the purchase prices, not even to each other.  You are not supposed to ask or try to follow the trail back.  Also, price negotiations are totally private.  I have almost never been asked by anyone what I got from whom or for how much.  And when other sellers are at the booth I politely step out of ear shot to signal that I am not going to violate the rule.  I also won’t approach that seller and try to make deals unless explicitly encouraged by the exhibitor (i.e. that person is a friend of mine or the seller has goods that they have no interest in but I do).

In the end, it all comes down to mutual respect. Passing up what initially looks like a good opportunity out of respect for the people you do business with only increases your chances for good buys at good prices in the long run.  I work hard to maintain my integrity in the business.  Good ethics is good business too.  It was hard to convince business students of this fact when I was teaching ethics, but now that I’m seeing it in the real world, I have no doubt it is true.

Yippie – it’s gem shopping time again.  In just over 2 weeks, Cecile Raley Designs departs for the JCK and AGTA shows in Las Vegas!  I’m going to start the shopping by doing absolutely nothing  in Mandalay bay for a couple of nights.  Normally it’s pricey so I stay in the tomb (the Luxor is a pyramid and pyramids are tombs I’m afraid).  But before the show starts you can still get more of a bargain price at Mandalay Bay so I’m taking advantage before going back to the tomb.  Last year my assistant “complained” that we never got to use the pool.  So I’m rectifying that, despite the fact that she’s not actually coming with me, lol.  Karen and Debbie will be holding down the fort in Jersey City, but all items purchased in Vegas will be shipped after I get back.  I had some lost packages in Tucson last spring after dropping them at the hotel for the USPS pickup, and I’m not going to risk that again.

The AGTA show officially starts Sunday (JCK starts Monday), and my gem sale will start then as well.  The plan is 15% off all gems for 10 days. 

I’ve placed several phone calls and emails to my supplier.  As you have probably noticed, I am completely sold out of the 2-3mm demantoids, I’m down to 6 pieces of Burmese spinel, totally out of hauyne, low on 1.6mm Paraiba melee, out of smaller and larger kornerupines, and out of my nicest unheated sapphire pairs.

"Camellia" ring with 1.6mm Paraiba

The great news is that I can restock on all those in Vegas.  Getting convos from you with your interests would be great.  Hauyne is still pretty sold out, so I won’t be getting a ton of those, but I CAN get old stock demantoids (2mm and over 3mm), more of the old stock Burma spinel (the stock is from 15 years ago, which explains the rarity) and Kornerupine rounds, among other things.  There may be a little bit more Kenyan Tsavorite as well.  And sapphire rounds and pairs, mainly Ceylon, not heated – these are freshly restocked from my supplier’s most recent trip to Sri Lanka.  All these items are on my list for the first day if I can manage.  So you should see them trickle out in the shop Sunday evening and Monday morning.  If there are any pre orders I can set them aside.  You can email us your pre-orders or send them via convo.  Please include your cell phone number in case we want to send you photos while we are at the show.

The hauyne seller from Germany has promised to bring me whatever he has left, so hopefully there’s a tad more inventory for me to buy.  He also sells great opals, so if there is any interest in Australian opals (black, boulder), let me know.  Most opals are not calibrated, which makes custom work involving them a bit more expensive, keep that in mind.

 Boulder Opal

Australian Black Opal 

I am planning on getting more Colombian emeralds as well.  For now I have just what is listed on Etsy.  I saw some amazing large ovals a couple of weeks ago and asked the seller of those to bring that parcel.  Please let me know if there are any more “needs” in smaller rounds, emerald cuts or squares.  But be aware that they are $800-1000 per carat, so I don’t just keep these lying around.  I prefer to buy based on request. 

 Colombian Emeralds

As some of you know, I have recently connected with a colored diamond dealer who specializes in untreated materials, from melee up to larger pieces.  He will be exhibiting at the JCK show.  This seller also has diamond rough in yellow, blue, and pink, which I sometimes use.  As well as matched pairs yellow.  Again I would buy these only based on request.  Prices for those are starting at $1500 a pair.

I was also promised a couple of special treats: some pink spinels from Mozambique (lighter pink), and Afghani emeralds in melee sizes. 

Red beryl will be available as well, but all of it stabilized. 

On a separate but related note, I have more Lily sizes coming up – that’s my most popular seller right now.  The smallest takes 3.5, 3mm and 1.5mm stones with some wiggle room (.1-.2mm up or down). The largest takes 5mm, 4mm and 2mm stones, but I have an engraved version that allows me to fudge the 4mm – I can use 3 and 3.5mm in the inner petals, and I can use pears or ovals also, in the 4x3mm sizes.  The medium version is coming out shortly, that one takes a 4-4.5mm center, 3-3.5mm and 2mm sidestones respectively.  All will come in pendant and ring form and the medium and large will have engraved versions that allow for smaller sidestones and for leaving the outer petals “blank”.  When you put ovals or pears into petals, they need to be narrower.  So if there’s room for a 4mm stone, you can do a 4x3 oval or pear.  And so on.

 Small "lily" pendant engraved

 Large "lily" ring 

 Large "lily" ring engraved