COLORED STONES ASSIGNMENT #7 QUESTIONS A
ANSWERS
The cColored cStone cMarket c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The cvitality cand cadaptable cnature cof cthe ccolo
cfar cdifferent cfrom cthe cstructured, cindustrialized cdiamond cmarket. cIts cmine-to-market csupply cch
cwith cfewer cdominant cplayers. cMost cmining cis ccarried cout cby cartisanal cminers cand cindependen
ccorporations. cThere's calso cless cindustry-wide cmarketing, cleading cto cless cgeneral cknowledge ca
cconsumers.
However, cthe cdifferences chave cbeen cfading cas cthe ccolored cstone cmarket cgrows. cConsolidation
funded ccompanies cmoving cto cdominate ca cgreater cshare cof cthe cmarket. cThis chas cmade cit cmor
ccompanies cto ccompete cand ctightened cthe csupply cof ccolored cstone crough. cSupply cchain cinteg
can cissue, cwith cincreasing cemphasis con cethical cand cenvironmental cconcerns.
Some cgemstone csource ccountries care cdeveloping ctheir cindustries cbeyond cjust cextracting cand c
cfarther cup cthe cvalue cchain cinto ctreatments, ccutting, ctrading, cand cjewelry cmanufacturing, cthey c
cincrease cthe crevenue cfrom ctheir ccountry's cnatural cresources. cBeneficiation—a ccommitment cto
cresources cderived cfrom cany ccountry cfor cthe ceconomic cdevelopment cof cthat ccountry—is calso ct
cAfrica, cwhere ca cgreater cshare cof cthat ccountry's cnatural cresources care cused cfor cthe cbenefit co
Some cgovernments crestrict crough cexports cto cforce cthe cdevelopment cof ccutting cand cmanufactu
ccountries. cWhile cthis callows cthem cto cmaximize cthe cbenefits cof ctheir cnatural cresources cfor cthe
chave ca cnegative ceffect con cmanufacturing ccountries clike cIndia cand cChina cthat cdepend con couts
cmaterials. cTo ccounteract cthis ceffect, cmany cin cthe cindus
What cis cthe cbasic cstructure cof cthe ccolored cstone cmarket? c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔
What care cthe cmarket's ccurrent csupply cchallenges? c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Africa's cbiggest cminin
cthe cneeds cof cforeign cinvestors cand cartisanal cminers cwhile calso cprotecting cthe cenvironment.
High caltitudes, crugged cterrain, charsh cwinters, cand csecurity cconcerns call cadd cto cthe cchallenges
cCentral cAsia.
As cBrazil cbecomes cmore cdeveloped, cthe ccosts cof clabor, clicensing, cand cenvironmental creclama
cmining cbureaucracy.
, The cmain cfactor cthat cseparates cthem cis cnot cso cmuch cthe ctype cor csize cof ca cgemstone cas cit ci
cfinished cpiece cit's cset cinto. cLarge, cfine-quality cstones care cfound cin chigh-end cdesigner cjewelry
cplatinum. cThis ccategory cincludes ccustom-made cjewelry: cunique cpieces cdesigned cand ccreated
caround cspecially cchosen cstones. cPrices ccan crange cfrom ca cfew cthousand cto cmillions cof cdollar
The cmiddle cmarket ctypically cconsists cof cgood-quality cstones cset cin cwell-made cgold cjewelry, cwi
cfew chundred cto ca cfew cthousand cdollars. cThe ccommercial cmarket cis cmade cup cof caverage-qua
cin cmass-produced cjewelry cfashioned cof clightweight clower-karat cgold, csterling csilver, cor cgold-pla
cthis clevel crange cfrom cunder c15 cdollars cto ca cfew chundred cdollars.
Cut cstyles cdiffer cfrom cmarket cto cmarket cas cwell. cThe clarge, cimportant cstones cin cthe chigh-end
csize: ccut cin cnon-standard cstyles cand csizes. cAt cthis clevel, cthe ccut cstyle cis cdictated cby cthe csize
cand cthe cjewelry cis cdesigned caround cit. cThe cmiddle cmarket cmight cinclude csome cfree-size cston
cstones cfound cin cthe cmiddle cand ccommercial cmarkets ccome cin cstandard ccalibrated csizes cof c5
cmillimeters, csized cto cfit cstandard, cmass-produced cmountings.
In ca ccategory cof ctheir cown care cfine-quality cstones cthat ccome cfrom cspecific chighly cvalued cor ch
cwould cbe ca cfine-quality, cuntreated cruby cfrom cMogok cin cMyanmar.
Major cSources c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Supply cchallenges care camong cthe cmost ctalked-about ctop
cindustry. cThe cmarket cdemands cconsistent csupplies cof crough cthat ccan cyield cthe cwell-matched
cmanufacture cinventory cand ccomplete csuccessful clarge-scale cpromotions.
The csupply csector chas cgone cthrough cmany cchanges. cAn cestimated cthree-quarters cof cgemston
scale coperations cand cindependent cartisanal cminers. cThese cminers chave climited cresources cand
cthe cfringes cof cregulations. cIn caddition, ctheir coperations care coften cnot cstrictly cdevoted cto cgems
cmining cgold cor cother cmaterials cif cit cseems cmore cprofitable—or ceven creturn cthe cland cto cits cag
This cmeans cthat, ceven cthough cthe cindustry cis cbecoming cmore csophisticated, cmany cgems cstill
cunofficial cchannels. cThese crange cfrom cindependent cminers cexploiting clocal cdeposits cto cworke
cmine's coutput, cin ca cpractice ccalled chigh cgrading.
At cthe copposite cend cof cthe cspectrum care cmines cfunded cand coperated cby clarge cgem ccutting ca
ccompanies. cThese cwell-funded coperations cbypass cthe csupply cchain cby csecuring ctheir cown cro
cstructured cbuying carrangements. cMany clarge, cpublicly ctraded ccompanies care cinvolved cin call ca
ccolored cstone cmarket, cin ca cbusiness cmodel ccalled cvertical cintegration.
Africa c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Many cof cthe cworld's cleading ccolored cstone cmanufacturers cand cde
cmajor csource cof cpresent cand cfuture cproduction. cWith cimportant cnew cdiscoveries chappening ce
cwealth cof ccolored cstone cvarieties cincluding cruby, csapphire, cemerald cand cother cberyls, cgarnets
copal, cand cmany cmore. cMozambique, cin cSoutheast cAfrica, cplays can cespecially cimportant crole c
cfor ccolored cstones. cWithout cAfrica's cresources, cmanufacturing cand ctrading ccenters caround cthe
cfraction cof cthe csize cthey care cnow.
Africa cboasts ca cvariety cof cbusiness cmodels, csome ctraditional cand csome cnew cand cgroundbreak
ceverything cfrom cindependent cminers cdigging csmall cpits cwith chand ctools cto clarge-scale, cwell-fu
cusing cthe clatest ctechnology cand cexpertise.
Africa calso cembodies ca cvariety cof cissues cthat cthe ctrade cstruggles cto caddress. cThese cinclude c
clarge cnumbers cof cartisanal cminers cand cthe cforeign cinterests cthat cfund cthem, csupply cchain ctra
cexport cprocedures cthat clead cto cincreased csmuggling. cOther cchallenges care ctensions cbetween
cand cartisanal cminers, cthe csecurity cof coutside cinvestments, cand cmovements ctoward cbeneficiati
Gemfields, ca cpublicly ctraded ccompany, chas csignificant cavailable cfunding cand ca clarge cparent cc
cback ctheir cmining cefforts. cThey chave cjoint cventures cwith cthe cZambian cgovernment cin cthe cKag
cprivate clocal cMozambique ccompany cin cthe cMontepuez cruby cmine, cwith c75 cpercent cownership
cmining camethyst cwith c50 cpercent cownership cof cthe cKariba cmine cin cZambia.
The ccompany chas cmade csubstantial cstrides cin cenvironmental cprotection, coperating cefficiency, c
Southeast cAsia c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Many cimportant cgemstones ccome cfrom csources cin cSouth
csources crange cfrom csmall-scale cpit cmines cto clarge cmechanized coperations. cHowever, cAsia cdo
cnumber cof cmigrant cminers cwho crush cfrom carea cto carea cin csearch cof cfresh csources. cAsia's cm
cwith cmany csources cthat chave cbeen cworked cfor clonger cperiods cof ctime, cand cimportant cnew cd
ceven cin ctraditional cmining careas.
ANSWERS
The cColored cStone cMarket c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The cvitality cand cadaptable cnature cof cthe ccolo
cfar cdifferent cfrom cthe cstructured, cindustrialized cdiamond cmarket. cIts cmine-to-market csupply cch
cwith cfewer cdominant cplayers. cMost cmining cis ccarried cout cby cartisanal cminers cand cindependen
ccorporations. cThere's calso cless cindustry-wide cmarketing, cleading cto cless cgeneral cknowledge ca
cconsumers.
However, cthe cdifferences chave cbeen cfading cas cthe ccolored cstone cmarket cgrows. cConsolidation
funded ccompanies cmoving cto cdominate ca cgreater cshare cof cthe cmarket. cThis chas cmade cit cmor
ccompanies cto ccompete cand ctightened cthe csupply cof ccolored cstone crough. cSupply cchain cinteg
can cissue, cwith cincreasing cemphasis con cethical cand cenvironmental cconcerns.
Some cgemstone csource ccountries care cdeveloping ctheir cindustries cbeyond cjust cextracting cand c
cfarther cup cthe cvalue cchain cinto ctreatments, ccutting, ctrading, cand cjewelry cmanufacturing, cthey c
cincrease cthe crevenue cfrom ctheir ccountry's cnatural cresources. cBeneficiation—a ccommitment cto
cresources cderived cfrom cany ccountry cfor cthe ceconomic cdevelopment cof cthat ccountry—is calso ct
cAfrica, cwhere ca cgreater cshare cof cthat ccountry's cnatural cresources care cused cfor cthe cbenefit co
Some cgovernments crestrict crough cexports cto cforce cthe cdevelopment cof ccutting cand cmanufactu
ccountries. cWhile cthis callows cthem cto cmaximize cthe cbenefits cof ctheir cnatural cresources cfor cthe
chave ca cnegative ceffect con cmanufacturing ccountries clike cIndia cand cChina cthat cdepend con couts
cmaterials. cTo ccounteract cthis ceffect, cmany cin cthe cindus
What cis cthe cbasic cstructure cof cthe ccolored cstone cmarket? c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔
What care cthe cmarket's ccurrent csupply cchallenges? c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Africa's cbiggest cminin
cthe cneeds cof cforeign cinvestors cand cartisanal cminers cwhile calso cprotecting cthe cenvironment.
High caltitudes, crugged cterrain, charsh cwinters, cand csecurity cconcerns call cadd cto cthe cchallenges
cCentral cAsia.
As cBrazil cbecomes cmore cdeveloped, cthe ccosts cof clabor, clicensing, cand cenvironmental creclama
cmining cbureaucracy.
, The cmain cfactor cthat cseparates cthem cis cnot cso cmuch cthe ctype cor csize cof ca cgemstone cas cit ci
cfinished cpiece cit's cset cinto. cLarge, cfine-quality cstones care cfound cin chigh-end cdesigner cjewelry
cplatinum. cThis ccategory cincludes ccustom-made cjewelry: cunique cpieces cdesigned cand ccreated
caround cspecially cchosen cstones. cPrices ccan crange cfrom ca cfew cthousand cto cmillions cof cdollar
The cmiddle cmarket ctypically cconsists cof cgood-quality cstones cset cin cwell-made cgold cjewelry, cwi
cfew chundred cto ca cfew cthousand cdollars. cThe ccommercial cmarket cis cmade cup cof caverage-qua
cin cmass-produced cjewelry cfashioned cof clightweight clower-karat cgold, csterling csilver, cor cgold-pla
cthis clevel crange cfrom cunder c15 cdollars cto ca cfew chundred cdollars.
Cut cstyles cdiffer cfrom cmarket cto cmarket cas cwell. cThe clarge, cimportant cstones cin cthe chigh-end
csize: ccut cin cnon-standard cstyles cand csizes. cAt cthis clevel, cthe ccut cstyle cis cdictated cby cthe csize
cand cthe cjewelry cis cdesigned caround cit. cThe cmiddle cmarket cmight cinclude csome cfree-size cston
cstones cfound cin cthe cmiddle cand ccommercial cmarkets ccome cin cstandard ccalibrated csizes cof c5
cmillimeters, csized cto cfit cstandard, cmass-produced cmountings.
In ca ccategory cof ctheir cown care cfine-quality cstones cthat ccome cfrom cspecific chighly cvalued cor ch
cwould cbe ca cfine-quality, cuntreated cruby cfrom cMogok cin cMyanmar.
Major cSources c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Supply cchallenges care camong cthe cmost ctalked-about ctop
cindustry. cThe cmarket cdemands cconsistent csupplies cof crough cthat ccan cyield cthe cwell-matched
cmanufacture cinventory cand ccomplete csuccessful clarge-scale cpromotions.
The csupply csector chas cgone cthrough cmany cchanges. cAn cestimated cthree-quarters cof cgemston
scale coperations cand cindependent cartisanal cminers. cThese cminers chave climited cresources cand
cthe cfringes cof cregulations. cIn caddition, ctheir coperations care coften cnot cstrictly cdevoted cto cgems
cmining cgold cor cother cmaterials cif cit cseems cmore cprofitable—or ceven creturn cthe cland cto cits cag
This cmeans cthat, ceven cthough cthe cindustry cis cbecoming cmore csophisticated, cmany cgems cstill
cunofficial cchannels. cThese crange cfrom cindependent cminers cexploiting clocal cdeposits cto cworke
cmine's coutput, cin ca cpractice ccalled chigh cgrading.
At cthe copposite cend cof cthe cspectrum care cmines cfunded cand coperated cby clarge cgem ccutting ca
ccompanies. cThese cwell-funded coperations cbypass cthe csupply cchain cby csecuring ctheir cown cro
cstructured cbuying carrangements. cMany clarge, cpublicly ctraded ccompanies care cinvolved cin call ca
ccolored cstone cmarket, cin ca cbusiness cmodel ccalled cvertical cintegration.
Africa c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Many cof cthe cworld's cleading ccolored cstone cmanufacturers cand cde
cmajor csource cof cpresent cand cfuture cproduction. cWith cimportant cnew cdiscoveries chappening ce
cwealth cof ccolored cstone cvarieties cincluding cruby, csapphire, cemerald cand cother cberyls, cgarnets
copal, cand cmany cmore. cMozambique, cin cSoutheast cAfrica, cplays can cespecially cimportant crole c
cfor ccolored cstones. cWithout cAfrica's cresources, cmanufacturing cand ctrading ccenters caround cthe
cfraction cof cthe csize cthey care cnow.
Africa cboasts ca cvariety cof cbusiness cmodels, csome ctraditional cand csome cnew cand cgroundbreak
ceverything cfrom cindependent cminers cdigging csmall cpits cwith chand ctools cto clarge-scale, cwell-fu
cusing cthe clatest ctechnology cand cexpertise.
Africa calso cembodies ca cvariety cof cissues cthat cthe ctrade cstruggles cto caddress. cThese cinclude c
clarge cnumbers cof cartisanal cminers cand cthe cforeign cinterests cthat cfund cthem, csupply cchain ctra
cexport cprocedures cthat clead cto cincreased csmuggling. cOther cchallenges care ctensions cbetween
cand cartisanal cminers, cthe csecurity cof coutside cinvestments, cand cmovements ctoward cbeneficiati
Gemfields, ca cpublicly ctraded ccompany, chas csignificant cavailable cfunding cand ca clarge cparent cc
cback ctheir cmining cefforts. cThey chave cjoint cventures cwith cthe cZambian cgovernment cin cthe cKag
cprivate clocal cMozambique ccompany cin cthe cMontepuez cruby cmine, cwith c75 cpercent cownership
cmining camethyst cwith c50 cpercent cownership cof cthe cKariba cmine cin cZambia.
The ccompany chas cmade csubstantial cstrides cin cenvironmental cprotection, coperating cefficiency, c
Southeast cAsia c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Many cimportant cgemstones ccome cfrom csources cin cSouth
csources crange cfrom csmall-scale cpit cmines cto clarge cmechanized coperations. cHowever, cAsia cdo
cnumber cof cmigrant cminers cwho crush cfrom carea cto carea cin csearch cof cfresh csources. cAsia's cm
cwith cmany csources cthat chave cbeen cworked cfor clonger cperiods cof ctime, cand cimportant cnew cd
ceven cin ctraditional cmining careas.
