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Gem of Tanzania ruby draped in mystery as experts doubt its existence
By Jennifer Hughes and Jonathan Guthrie
Published: March 17 2009 23:08 | Last updated: March 17 2009 23:08
The mystery surrounding the Gem of Tanzania ruby deepened on Tuesday after industry experts said they had never heard of that particular stone, nor of a ruby worth that much.
The stone has appeared on the books of Wrekin Construction, a Shropshire construction company that collapsed last week. Its 2007 accounts reported the stone worth £11m but the books of Tamar, its parent, previously valued the stone at £300,000.
Sean Gilbertson, an executive director of Gemfields, a coloured gemstone expert, said: A stone like this would be so exceptionally rare I dont have the words to describe the chances of it existing. Put it this way: I wouldnt use my money to buy it.
Christies, the auction house, sold the 8.62 carat Graff ruby in St Moritz in February 2006 for $3.6m, equivalent to a record $421,981 a carat or £242,518 at the then exchange rates, which were far more generous to the pound than todays level.
Using that as a benchmark would mean the Gem of Tanzania is at least 45 carats in size and probably far more as it is unlikely to be of the same quality as the Graff stone.
Scott Finlay, a mining analyst at Religare Hichens Harrison, said: A ruby that size would be remarkable and certainly notable within the jewellery industry. It would be surprising to us in the industry to suddenly have this thing appear.
Ruby value depends on size and quality. Generally the more carats, the lower the quality, but the two factors do not directly correlate, meaning it is impossible to speculate with accuracy on the size or quality of the Gem of Tanzania.
Calls to David Unwin Jr, managing director of Tamar Group, were not returned. Calls to both Paterson Brodie, the auditor of Tamar in 2006, and Ashgates, the auditor of Wrekin and Tamar in 2007, were also not returned.
Ian Harebottle, chief executive of Gemfields, told the FT that expert dealers in Arusha, a gemstone centre in Tanzania, were not aware of a stone of that name, nor of such a significant piece being found in the country.
It is not impossible that it exists, but it is very unlikely, he said from Tanzania, where he has been based for the past 10 years. When theres production, when theres a big stone, then everyone is talking.
Sizeable Tanzanian rubies were mined earlier this century and tend to be overcoloured, meaning they are too dark to reflect light properly and so are worth less per carat, Mr Harebottle said.
The market is also highly specialist, meaning experts tend to know each other and the best stones in their market. Stones that justify their own name tend to get it through a process of repeated use as the original piece of rough stone is taken to a number of dealers and gossip spreads.
To say that internationally, there are 20 people who could value this stone that would be a high number. Rubies are very specialist, not like diamonds, which are commodity-esque in some ways, said Mr Harebottle.
Gerald Ratner, chief executive of Geraldonline, an internet jewellery business, said the stone was totally impossible. He said that the FTs story had prompted him to contact his business associate Barij Sethi, a well-known Indian ruby dealer who had never heard of it. Mr Ratner concluded: The gem does not exist, though someone might mine one tomorrow that was the size of a football, and that would prove me wrong.
Mr Ratner, who ran jewellery chain H Samuel in the 1980s, said it was not unheard of for companies outside his industry to use gems as collateral. He said it was easy for banks and suppliers to mistake the value of such gems because gemmology was a specialist field.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Source link: FT.com The Gem of Tanzania
By Jennifer Hughes and Jonathan Guthrie
Published: March 17 2009 23:08 | Last updated: March 17 2009 23:08
The mystery surrounding the Gem of Tanzania ruby deepened on Tuesday after industry experts said they had never heard of that particular stone, nor of a ruby worth that much.
The stone has appeared on the books of Wrekin Construction, a Shropshire construction company that collapsed last week. Its 2007 accounts reported the stone worth £11m but the books of Tamar, its parent, previously valued the stone at £300,000.
Sean Gilbertson, an executive director of Gemfields, a coloured gemstone expert, said: A stone like this would be so exceptionally rare I dont have the words to describe the chances of it existing. Put it this way: I wouldnt use my money to buy it.
Christies, the auction house, sold the 8.62 carat Graff ruby in St Moritz in February 2006 for $3.6m, equivalent to a record $421,981 a carat or £242,518 at the then exchange rates, which were far more generous to the pound than todays level.
Using that as a benchmark would mean the Gem of Tanzania is at least 45 carats in size and probably far more as it is unlikely to be of the same quality as the Graff stone.
Scott Finlay, a mining analyst at Religare Hichens Harrison, said: A ruby that size would be remarkable and certainly notable within the jewellery industry. It would be surprising to us in the industry to suddenly have this thing appear.
Ruby value depends on size and quality. Generally the more carats, the lower the quality, but the two factors do not directly correlate, meaning it is impossible to speculate with accuracy on the size or quality of the Gem of Tanzania.
Calls to David Unwin Jr, managing director of Tamar Group, were not returned. Calls to both Paterson Brodie, the auditor of Tamar in 2006, and Ashgates, the auditor of Wrekin and Tamar in 2007, were also not returned.
Ian Harebottle, chief executive of Gemfields, told the FT that expert dealers in Arusha, a gemstone centre in Tanzania, were not aware of a stone of that name, nor of such a significant piece being found in the country.
It is not impossible that it exists, but it is very unlikely, he said from Tanzania, where he has been based for the past 10 years. When theres production, when theres a big stone, then everyone is talking.
Sizeable Tanzanian rubies were mined earlier this century and tend to be overcoloured, meaning they are too dark to reflect light properly and so are worth less per carat, Mr Harebottle said.
The market is also highly specialist, meaning experts tend to know each other and the best stones in their market. Stones that justify their own name tend to get it through a process of repeated use as the original piece of rough stone is taken to a number of dealers and gossip spreads.
To say that internationally, there are 20 people who could value this stone that would be a high number. Rubies are very specialist, not like diamonds, which are commodity-esque in some ways, said Mr Harebottle.
Gerald Ratner, chief executive of Geraldonline, an internet jewellery business, said the stone was totally impossible. He said that the FTs story had prompted him to contact his business associate Barij Sethi, a well-known Indian ruby dealer who had never heard of it. Mr Ratner concluded: The gem does not exist, though someone might mine one tomorrow that was the size of a football, and that would prove me wrong.
Mr Ratner, who ran jewellery chain H Samuel in the 1980s, said it was not unheard of for companies outside his industry to use gems as collateral. He said it was easy for banks and suppliers to mistake the value of such gems because gemmology was a specialist field.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Source link: FT.com The Gem of Tanzania
Source link: Ernst & Young tight lipped over values put on Wrekin ruby - 28/04/2009 - Contract Journal
