GEMSWORLD | 45 | 2024 SPOTLIGHT 市场聚焦 Scintillating sapphires Armed with a comprehensive understanding of the market and the gemstone’s soaring value and potential for growth, traders and connoisseurs alike have invested heavily in sapphires over the years. In November 2014, Christie’s sold an exceptional necklace adorned with a 392.52-carat blue sapphire for CHF16.96 million (around US$19 million at current exchange rates), making it the most expensive sapphire ever sold at auction. Known as the Blue Belle of Asia, this cushion-shaped Peacock Blue sapphire of Ceylon origin was described by the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute as possessing “extraordinary characteristics and merits special mention and appreciation.” Meanwhile, the Peacock Necklace, which sold for around US$15 million at Christie’s Hong Kong in November 2018, set a world auction record for a Kashmir sapphire necklace at the time. These are just two of the many sapphires that made auction history throughout the years. Sapphires also figure strongly in the high jewellery collections of luxury jewellers such as Bulgari, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, to name a few. Market overview Anurak Sinchawla, director of Thai sapphire supplier Sant Enterprises Co Ltd, said sapphires have a special beauty that has become even more desirable today due to the stone’s rarity. “Demand for sapphires, unheated stones especially, rose drastically post-Covid,” noted Sinchawla. “What makes sapphires highly sought after is the wide spectrum of colours that they come in. Different shades of blue attract different people in different ways.” Sant’s major markets are Europe and the US, but it also has a customer base in Asia, particularly Indonesia and China. Sinchawla said unheated sapphires have become 50 per cent to 70 per cent more expensive over the first half of 2023 as demand soared. Prices, however, are escalating at a rate that customers cannot fully comprehend or catch up with. “Some buyers are adapting to these new price levels, but there is resistance,” he explained. “Demand has gone up so much amid a scarcity in unheated stones. However, those who understand the intricacies of the business and who want the material are willing to buy at current rates.” Buyers prefer no-heat sapphires of 2 carats to 5 carats as bigger pieces are more costly and are better suited as a collector’s item. There is also a steady shift towards unheated sapphires, he continued. The robust demand for no-heat sapphires is fuelled by Chinese buyers, according to MYA Rishaf, CEO of coloured gemstone dealer Domico Gems, which has offices in Sri Lanka, China, Malaysia and the US. “Buyers would frequently ask for 3-carat to 6-carat sapphires in Royal Blue or Cornflower Blue. There is also a market for heated stones, especially in Europe and America as opposed to Chinese buyers who would only go for unheated stones,” noted Rishaf. Domico Gems’ top market was China before the pandemic, but it has since refocused its business on Thailand. China’s reopening presents an opportunity to re-establish Domico Gems’ presence in the mainland market, he remarked. Mihir Patel, director of Krish Creations, also confirmed the market’s growing fondness for no-heat sapphires. “There are also buyers asking for heated sapphires, but they have one condition to fulfil: The sapphires must be Royal Blue,” he revealed. In terms of sizes, 1-carat to 2-carat sapphires move the fastest as the market is more inclined to buy smaller stones that are more affordable. Customers also have at their disposal a few alternatives to sapphires from known sources. At a jewellery fair held in early 2023 in Hong Kong, Gemmatrix of Thailand displayed a 23.73-carat sapphire from Ethiopia. “This stone exhibits a darker shade of blue, but there are others with more open colours. This specific Ethiopian sapphire is unheated and is more of a collectible,” Nikita Sachkov, manager at Gemmatrix, explained. Gemmatrix has a vast selection of sapphires, emeralds, rubies, spinel and tanzanite stones and fancy sapphires, to name a few. It mainly caters to buyers from Europe, the US and Russia. Sachkov said blue sapphires from Sri Lanka and Madagascar continue to be a market favourite, but some buyers have become more accepting of unconventional options, depending on their preference and requirements. Future of sapphires Sant, which has been in the sapphire business for over a century, remains confident about growth going forward, owing to buyers’ unwavering fascination for sapphires, according to Sinchawla. Supply constraints, however, will likely continue to put pressure on the trade. He explained, “Demand, especially for unheated sapphires, is far greater than what is in the market today. Eventually, there will be a plateau. People are going to resist the price and that is when we can see a slight drop in demand.”
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