Tropical Gemstones. Carol Higgins Clark

the dome of the pagoda's stupa is paved with 8,688 solid gold slabs and its spire is encrusted with 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 pieces of ruby, sapphire and topaz. An enormous emerald is set at the tip of the spire, positioned to catch the first and last rays of the sun. Shwedagon Pagoda is known as "the gem of gems," and today is considered one of the wonders of the world.

      European traders who made their way to Asia during the 17th century were astounded by the abundance of gems flashed by the rulers of the time. In the Great Mogul court of India, even the horses were decorated with precious stones. The famous French gem dealer Jean Baptiste Tavernier, who visited this luxurious court in 1638, wrote the following account of the legendary Peacock Throne:

      I counted about 108 pale rubies in collets about this throne, the least whereof weighed a hundred carats, but there are some that weighed two hundred. Emeralds I counted about 160 that weighed some threescore, some 30 carats. The under part of the canopy is all embroidered with pearls and diamonds. Upon the top stands a peacock, with his tail spread, consisting of sapphires and other stones. The body is of gold and a great ruby upon his breast at which hangs a pearl that weighs 50 carats. When the king sits himself on the throne there is a transparent jewel with a diamond appendant of 80 or 90 carats encompassed with rubies and emeralds so hung that it is always in his eye. Upon each side of the throne are two parasols the handles covered with diamonds. This is the throne which Tamerlane began and Cha-Jehan finished. It is reported to have cost 160 millions of livres.

      Behind this is a tub where the king bathes, the outside whereof shines all over with diamonds.

      Today, many of the most fabulous stones from Asia's opulent past—including a few from the Peacock Throne—reside in the royal treasuries of Europe or in the permanent collections of the world's great museums.

      In recent years, Asia has become even more prolific in its gem production as new sources have been discovered and new mines opened. Due to its skilled gem cutters and thriving jewelry-making industry, Thailand has become the undisputed center of the world's colored gemstone industry. Gems from Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India—as well as from distant lands such as Brazil, Columbia, Australia and Africa—pour into the Thai capital of Bangkok for processing. Everything from amethyst and citrine to the most priceless gems are cut and polished here, then set into jewelry ranging from inexpensive silver settings to elegant gold and platinum pieces encrusted with diamonds, rubies and sapphires.

      Thailand is number one in the world in the export of colored gemstones and number two, behind Italy, in the export of finished jewelry. Together, gemstones and jewelry bring more than US$1.5 billion a year to the Thai economy, making it the country's third most important industry. A visitor to Bangkok cannot help but marvel at the brilliant displays of gold and flashing color in the city, from the gilded opulence of the Grand Palace to the dazzling diamond, ruby and sapphire jewels which fill the modern shop windows along Silom Road.

      Gemstone processing and jewelry manufacturing takes place in India, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Malaysia as well. China is also beginning to get in on the act as its economy opens up to outside investors.

      Not only do Asian artisans excel at making jewelry, they are also avid buyers of jewels. In recent years, Asia has become the world's most important market for jewelry with record prices set for pieces at Christie's and Sotheby's auctions in Hong Kong. Just as wealthy Europeans once vied to own fantastic gems engraved with the names of the Great Mogul rulers, today Asians clamor for jewels stamped with the imprint of such European names as Cartier, and Van Cleef and Arpels. The growing middle class, from Shanghai to Singapore, is well acquainted with the brand Tiffany.

      Economic recessions, political turmoil and natural disasters may come and go but Asia's long love affair with gems is no doubt set to last for eternity.

      —Carol Clark

      Ruby

      Asian origins: Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, India

      One of the most durable of gems—second in hardness only to diamond—the ruby is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide, infused with trace elements of chromium which gives the gemstone its red color. The name comes from the Latin word ruber, for red. Fine rubies are rarer than top-quality diamonds. They are also far more expensive, perhaps because red has always symbolized man's strongest passions, and no embodiment of red equals that of a first-rate ruby.

      Today Myanmar is the most famous source of rubies. Nature embues the finest Myanmaran rubies with a red florescent glow, so that the stone scintillates with fiery life, like a translucent red-hot coal. Gem dealers call the color exhibited by Myanmaran stones "pigeon's-blood red," and large rubies bearing this description sell for millions of dollars. While Myanmar is the most well-known of Asia's ruby-producing countries, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Thailand also have long traditions of ruby mining. Thailand's central location in the gem-rich region, combined with its relatively democratic government, have helped Thailand become the hub of the world's ruby trade. Most of the rubies from its neighbors pour into the country for processing and trading on the international market.

      In 1992, rubies were discovered in northern Vietnam. The main deposits are in Nghe An Province, the poorest, most infertile region of the country, famous for producing tough soldiers and fiery revolutionaries—most notably Ho Chi Minh. Little did the long-suffering residents of the province suspect that their infertile soil held untold riches. When the valuable gems surfaced, they sparked a "ruby rush" in the province, even more fervored than the gold rushes of western U.S. lore. Thai gem dealers poured into Vietnam to pay cash for the rubies. Vietnamese subsistence farmers, used to earning less than US$100 a year, suddenly possessed valuable red stones which they could sell for thousands of dollars each.

      A supervisor and digger at a ruby mine in Mogok, Myanmar

      Photo by Carol Clark

      Rough and cut rubies

      Ruby from Myanmar, cushion cut

      Ruby from Sri Lanka

      International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) photos

      The Nga Mauk Ruby

      The ruby is one of Asia's most revered gemstones. In India, it is known by the ancient Sanskrit names ratnaraj, "King of Gems," and ratnanayaka, "Leader of Gems." The Hindus believed that he who made offerings of rubies to the god Krishna would be reborn as a powerful king. The Myanmaran word for ruby—ma naw ma ya—means "desire-fulfilling stone." According to Myanmaran tradition, wearing rubies will make your wishes come true. The gems are also believed to give their wearers sexual appeal and protect them from danger.

      One of the oldest sources of rubies is Mogok, in Myanmar. A legend attributes the founding of the town in AD 579 to a tribe of headhunters from nearby Molmeik. Throughout history the Mogok mines have produced rubies sought after by sultans, emperors and maharajahs. The Myanmaran kings, however, laid first claim to all significant stones of Mogok.

      Failure by a miner to turn over a large ruby to the king brought dire consequences, as illustrated by the tale of Nga Mauk. This miner found a magnificent stone in 1661 which broke in half along a flaw—either by accident or design. Nga Mauk dutifully presented one 81-carat piece to the king but he could not resist the temptation of selling the other half privately. Shortly afterwards the king held a party at his palace in Mandalay. When he brought out the ruby to proudly show his guests, an Indian merchant said he possessed a stone of equal beauty and showed the king. Enraged, the king ordered Nga Mauk burned