The Blue Amber Blog

If you are reading this Newsletter it’s because you know what Blue Amber is. You’ve heard of it, you’ve seen the pretty pictures we have, you may even own some or would like to.

But how many times have you seen your friends do a double-take when mentioning Blue Amber? Sure, everyone’s heard of Amber (or most people anyway, you’d be surprised). It’s a gem, it’s a color. But Blue Amber?

Such is the nature of rare gems. So this puts you in an exclusive revolutionary club, the Lovers of the Rare ( LOTR in short, not to be confused with the other jewelry-themed LOTR). But how rare is Blue Amber really, compared to all the other contenders for the title Rarest Gem in the World?

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who is the rarest of ‘em all?

Tricky.

It’s like asking who the most beautiful woman in the world is. The answer, as is much in life, is relative (and whether you’re married or not, which I’m not, so I’m gonna go with Aishwarya Rai ;-) . And the Miss Universe contest is not helping.

It also seems to change every year. For a long time the Guinness Book of World Record (now known as the politically-correct Guinness World Records) held the Painite crystal as the rarest gem in the world. However, recent discoveries in Myanmar seem to point to further future yields.

Now more contenders have lined up, and everyone’s eager to be counted. Sugilite, Serendibite, Grandidierite, Musgravite, and a whole lot of other – ites sit in museums and private collections feeling smug about being special. Some of these gems are indeed so rare, their values can not be estimated.

And that’s a bad thing.

Gems, after all, are a business. And if a product can’t be sold, it’s pretty much useless, no matter how rare. So this limits the rare gems to those actually open for business.

Most prices for rare gems are basically adjusted according to what the seller wants to have and the buyer is willing to pay. And that depends a lot on the value the general public opinion puts on said gem.

Taaffeite and Benitoite for example are extremely rare gems and shockingly beautiful. But who’s ever heard of them? Hence their prices rarely exceed $500US to $2,000US per carat, despite the fact of being a million times rarer than diamonds.

Ah, diamonds. Don’t get me started.

Even James Bond knew: Diamonds are Forever

Too late.

I’m not afraid to say it: diamonds are the least rare gems in the world. Now, before a mob of angry housewives accuses me of romance deficiency, allow me to point out that the yearly production of gem-quality diamonds is at a whopping 130 million carats. That’s more than 20 metric tons. A lot more.

In comparison, high-grade Blue Amber has a yearly output of approximately 20 to 40 kilos, while the low-grade does not exceed 150 kilos.

I think we all hate to admit it, but each and every one of us has been brain-washed to believe that diamonds are actually something special. Those in the know (and you are now one of them) have long realized that the “A Diamond Is Forever” campaign the De Beers cartel started with the help of the N.W. Ayer & Son advertising company – the same people that brought you the When it rains it pours, Be all you can be, and Reach out and touch someone slogans – is the world’s most successful advertising campaign ever conducted for a product with zilch value. The trick was selling a concept, not a product.

Seriously though, diamonds really are forever. As in stuck with forever. Their true investment value is flimsy to nonexistent. If you own a diamond, try selling it. You won’t get much for it and with the growing synthetic diamond market the value is actually decreasing. The future doesn’t look shiny for the diamond-based ‘bling-bling’ generation. Think about that next time you shell out them hard-earned greenbacks for an engagement ring.

And if you don’t want to have a diamond, how about being a diamond? This company will take the ashes of your cremated body and make amber-colored diamonds out of it, so that your friends and family may wear you. Or grandpa. Or uncle Bob. Or your pet. Puts a whole new twist on the expression ‘family jewels’, doesn’t it? Oh yes, I can see it now:

-“Honey, that’s such a lovely engagement ring you gave me!”
-“Yes, it was my grandmother.”
-“You mean it was your grandmother…s?”
-“Uhm… No.”
-“…”

It gets better.

In late 1955 a few scientists at a GE lab transformed a glob of peanut butter into tiny diamonds. Soon pretty much any carbon-containing materials was turned into diamond grains. Gem speculators at once feared the value of natural diamonds could turn to… erm… peanuts. They were right.

So if in this day and age it is possible to make diamonds out of peanut butter, human ashes, sewer gas and even whisky (now there’s a real waste!), it comes as no surprise that synthetic diamonds outnumber natural diamonds 3 to 1. And that includes both gem-grade as well as industrial-grade. And yes, this depresses the natural diamond market.

De Beers of course fights back. These days you can’t get on an airplane without the inflight-movie commercials reminding you that diamonds come with serial numbers now. Brain-wash, brain-wash, brain-wash…

To be fair, it should be pointed out that certain colored diamond variations, called fancies, are indeed rare and valuable. The entire color spectrum is available including black and brown and even pink (Pink Panther anyone?), but the rarest is the Red Diamond priced at about $800,000US to $1.9 million US per carat. Not that there are presently any for sale.

…But Blue Amber Is Her True Love

So is Blue Amber among the world’s rarest gems? You bet it is, despite the fact that its price does not quite reflect that fact.

Just how is Blue Amber graded? There are two factors in setting prices and both fluctuate radically: availability and color.

Availability is probably the most controlling one. Since Blue Amber is only found in just one small region of the world, many outside factors influence the amount surfacing, the least of which is not rain. And nobody likes to work in a flooded mine. Also, over the past few weeks finds have been scarce. The mines have not yet run out, but the strong possibility is there.

Color is the more complicated one. We have divided Blue Amber into different variations, and still each one can vary in intensity. This makes it often difficult to please customers since we are bound by nature’s limitations.

Being this scarce, why isn’t Blue Amber more expensive? The answer is it is expensive. Compared to regular amber and its color variations it is in the highest price range, fluctuating with the market value according to the above factors.

What about it’s investment value? Unlike diamonds Blue Amber actually is an investment whose value increases over time. True, there will never be a well-known Blue Amber market in the likes of diamonds, but that is a good thing.

Doesn’t it feel good to know you love a gem so much more valuable than diamonds? Doesn’t it please you that you are now above all the brain-washing and conditioning you’ve been put through over the years?

Now everybody raise your right hand and repeat after me: Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but Blue Amber is her True Love !

Very good. Now goose-step out there and spread the word.

_________________

Further Reading:
We are not responsible for the content and veracity, and everything is to be taken with a grain of salt. In other words, if you end up being hunted by the Diamond Cartels, dont blame us!

Do It Yourself Diamonds: Some Basic Recipes

Diamonds out of peanut butter in your microwave…

How To Make Diamonds

Deception Point: How We Have Been Brain-Washed

The Diamond Deception (NOVA transcript)

Diamonds: an investor’s best friend?

Have you ever tried to sell a Diamond?