Madagascar Part 3 - More Gem Buying and Saying Farewell

After I had been in Madagascar for four days, the brokers started to get to know my taste in gems, called their vendors in return and produced nicer pieces for me.  You see the broker is only the middle man (or woman in this case).  Some brokers know a lot, some don't.  But they are told to make a high price and then see.  If you come back with reasonable offers (not trying to rip them off but also recognizing when the offer is too high), they get a sense of who you are.  How much you buy tells them how serious you are as well, and what you reject tells them what you don't like.  My friend Jochen gets stuff saved for him for when he comes because the sellers know his taste.

The Brokers are Waiting for Us

The Garden Hut Where we Made our Purchases

Also, in the beginning, you are shown a lot of old inventory that nobody wants so the broker can see if they can finally get rid of it.  Then only if you don't want those things are you shown better stuff.  Also you need to expect to be shown the same pieces by different brokers on different days, when the gem owners try another broker to push the merchandise again.  So it helps if you have a good memory.

In the morning, I saw a gorgeous 4 ct pink cushion tourmaline but the price was "American Standard." - I could have bought it in NY for that amount and I said as much.  I said I would decide on the last day but by the last day I had run out of money so the point was moot.  There is no way to get money in Madagascar. There are hardly any banks or bank machines, and those that do exist do not give you more than maybe $100 at a really bad exchange rate, and that's if they spit out anything because most do not have agreements with American banks.  The credit card system is virtually unknown in Madagascar.  Our hotel didn't take credit cards, neither did our restaurant.  Nobody even steals credit cards because they are totally useless.  So there is just Western Union, and they pay out in local currency.  That means you have to know how much you need, or you have to exchange it back at a really bad rate.  Transfers to a local bank account take a week and that's if someone has an account in the first place.  Irene, our broker, didn't have one, and neither did anyone else we knew.  So if your dollars are gone, that's that.  The good thing about that is that you can't really get trigger happy and pull your credit card, with the corresponding regret to follow.  You have to plan for the week, put some things off, wait to see more, buy a little here and there, and hope you have enough when something really good comes along.

Cushion Tourrmaline

Yellow and Blue Sapphire on Etsy

My dollars went quickly.  I was shown some sapphires that were pretty but not what I was looking for - a cushion that was over four carats but had yellow in it, which makes it hard to sell,  I made the mistake of making a real lowball offer.  Offers are good all day, and the brokers decided to wait all day to consider the offer.  At sundown, when I had long forgotten about making an offer, they came back and accepted.  So the deal was done.  It turned out the two men had come all the way from Tana to show me stuff (that's the capitol, 3-5 hours drive depending on the roads and means of transportation - most likely these guys had taken one of the local overcrowded buses that stop everywhere someone waves them down).  I was surprised that word about us had gotten around this far.  

When I got around to paying the guys, I realized that I had run out of local currency so the two men had to stay overnight to wait.  Having to wait is not uncommon, and the Malagasy are patient.  They wait for their money for days if needed - unemployment is so high that most people don't have much to do but wait.  The only problem we faced was the two men did't even have money for a hotel, so Irene had to give them a small advance for food and shelter until I could pay them the next morning when my money would be there.

That day, I think I looked at gems and dealt with brokers for four hrs straight until we made a mad dash out for lunch, and then I looked at gems for three hours more.  The same women came back again and again, sometimes with the same stuff, mixed in with a new piece, sometimes all new pieces.  It got very tiring saying no so often, and I made a few purchases of material I don't need just to be nice.  I got a lot of apatite, tourmaline slices, some grandidierite, color change garnet, chrysoberyl, green zircon, demantoid, morganite, yellow beryl, danburite, moonstone, aqua and more.

Here's a little video of me shopping for gems.

On my last day in Antsirabe, I was invited to Irene's house for lunch.  I had mentioned to them that I had wanted to see a house from the inside, so she cooked for us.  Or rather, her cousin cooked for us.  Since there was only one car in the (extended) family, and Irene was with us, therefore with the car, she couldn't also go shopping or cook.  Veggies and meat have to be bought and made and eaten the same day. The only fridge was at her sister's house, a 10 minute walk down the road.

Irene's House and Her Daughter's

Irene's Family and Jochen

Irene's Calcite Production

The food was fresh, made with the vegetables in season at the time.  I should point out that the Malagasy would probably laugh at us for eating "local" and buying at the "farmer's market".  Hardly any food is imported into Madagascar in the first place, so if it doesn't grow there, they haven't had it.  And there aren't supermarkets (there's one, that's it) so of course one would buy at the market.

Our lunch consisted of tomato salad, cucumber salad, carrot salad, rice, pork shoulder chops and pork sausage.  Everything was absolutely delicious by the way.  And probably a holiday meal for them.  The kids were really excited, I could tell right away. I would have felt guilty that Irene was putting out for such a great meal, but I knew Irene  did well on the commissions of the sales, and so I think she was happy to share on her end.  I loved Irene at first sight, she was pretty, smart, generous, and one of the kindest people I have ever met.

The Local Market

   

Irene's house was made of brick and had two stories, like most of the houses there.  The living room was downstairs, and it had a sort of cooking area on the other side (a small room from what I could see).  The family had running water and electricity but no shower or bathroom.  The "facilities" are outside, and Irene and her daughter Maria would shower at our hotel because they loved the hot water there, and the fact that the shower was indoors. Upstairs is an eating area, separated from the bed with a curtain.  I noticed there was little to no "storage room."  But who needs that when there's nothing to store - there just aren't many possessions.  

Irene did have a lot of shoes, and when I remarked on that she said they are always bought them used and when you get a good price, you buy more.  To be honest, I saw not a single store that had anything new there - clothes would arrive in big piles and be offered out at the local markets.  There were little huts with things in them but just a few things here and there.  There was nothing where you would go "inside" and look around.  

Now, there was one supermarket, a Shoprite, which is a South African company here.  I asked to go to inside and see what they have.  The store is like a slightly larger 7/11, with a pretty good selection, mostly imported products from Europe.  Outside there are armed guards to keep out the hungry.  Inside there are guards in every aisle.  Inside there were a few white people but locals had to ask to go in. I hardly saw any white people in Madagascar anyway so this was by far the largest concentration.
There are a few older French here and there who are left over from the colonial days which ended in 1960 (France annexed Madagascar in 1896).  The wealthy people, the few that there are, live in houses that are surrounded by gates that are hard to break into.  Even Irene, who is far from rich, had to build a brick wall around her property because the chickens would always get stolen at night.

Local Shops

I bought some croissants at the store for the travel ahead (we had to get up at 6 a.m. when everything was still closed).  Two little boys flanked me when I walked back to the car.  Please, a piece of bread, one of them said.  Jochen wondered the next morning how so many got eaten.... I managed to save only two.

A Silk "Factory"

This brings me to a final issue: helping, and giving.  Of course I wanted to give everything I owned away before we left.  Jochen cautioned me.  It's a bottomless pit, he said.  You need to choose whom you help, and it is best if you help by boosting the economy - paying for goods and services, not just freebies.  We brought chocolate, small items like little zipper bags useful for storing gems, I left all the gem jars there which was much appreciated. Next time I will bring pens too, because those are important and they were regarded with significantly more respect here than they are here at home.  The best thing, however, is to pay a fair price and bring business to the country by purchasing goods like gems or rough or crystals.  Some of the larger gem dealers that reside here have also built roads and improved the infrastructure.  Everyone can profit from that.

We did make some larger gifts.  Jochen told me before we came here that electronics were much needed and very expensive (in fact, brand name phones do not seem to get exported to Madagascar). My mom donated two old flip phones, I took my old iPhone and that of my friend Roberta.  Phones are crucial because they are really the only means of long distance communication.  Cars cost too much, even buses are expensive so people walk.  Without phones we could not have seen so many nice gems because people needed to be called all day.  Computers are rare but phones can be used for internet and for texting.  Everyone uses sim cards that can be recharged, so you can buy a little internet here and there, when they have extra.

So Roberta's iPhone stayed with Irene, I gave mine to Gael, our driver just when we got to the airport.  I sort of snuck it over to him with a little paper that had my passcode on it (I wiped the phone clean before I left of course).  Gael, 27, whip smart, cute, and also incredibly generous, kissed my hand to show me his gratitude. He was so happy I almost cried.  I will cherish that moment forever.

I just wish I'd had more phones...

If anyone would like to donate an old phone, or a gaming console, or another electronic item that can be used, please contact me.  Jochen is going back in December (I wish I could go) and he can take things.  It is best not to ship anything, I'm told it just gets "lost" in the mail.

Aerial View of Madagascar

Tucson Treasures

Wow.  That's the only word I have for my recent Tucson trip.  Tremendous fun, intriguing, and totally overwhelming.  Several of you had said to me beforehand that you live through me vicariously, I just didn't know it was THIS many of you.  The number of convos and facebook comments I got was incredible.  I apologize if I didn't manage to fill all the requests and ship out on time, next year I will take Debbie, that should help.  I worked day and night getting listings out, and each time I sold stuff I went back to the vendors to buy more.  The nice thing for me was that the many sales helped me increase my purchasing budget for future listings and offerings, and I owe all of you who supported my shop during this time my deepest gratitude.

Your feedback also helped me focus one where and what to buy - this is crucial when you are faced with nearly 1000 vendors!

Many of you have been asking what I have brought, and what the highlights were.  This is hard to summarize, but I am going to try.

Red Beryl: finding red (I should really say "pink") "emerald" was a new thing for me, I had never seen it in person, and I didn't know anything about treatments.  There is apparently only one place in the world where it is mined - the Wah Wah Mountains in Utah.  I spoke to the mine owner to get educated (some photos of crystal formations below).  But because the mine owner's gems were 98% treated, I mainly bought from a new contact I had made who specializes in American gems (and who is also on the board of the AGTA).  Robert (Bob) lives on the North Shore of Oahu, loves surfing and only does the Tucson show, otherwise he ships to wholesalers like me, sometimes on memo.  His wife makes jewelry.  My impression of him was that he loves gems, is very knowledgeable, but has an established customer base and is not pushing for a lot of new business (he's in his mid 60's I would guess).  I once lived in Hawaii and my experience was that after some time there, you take life at a more relaxed pace.  I earned my stripes with Bob by purchasing five very expensive pieces of red beryl - I have one left - several pieces of paraiba, three of which are in the lab (the rest is sold), and a little Beniotite.  For some reason that hasn't sold.  I was surprised by that but then that was also a new gem for me. Bob has more pieces (see photo).  And he had some very pretty rhodochrosite which I didn't buy because they are hard to work with.  I may get some at a later point.

My Last Red Beryl

Benitoite and Rhodochrosite

Paraiba: aside from Bob, I found a wholesaler who had the melee I've been selling.  They had told me on the first day that I needed to buy at least one carat (ouch) but I did.  While I was there, another wholesaler was talking to the owner and I overheard that prices were being made for ALL the melee that was left.  That was red alert for me because after scouring two shows and calling around in NY, I found little to none, certainly nothing in that intense color.  So I bought another carat right away.  More ouch.  I listed it immediately because I was pretty worried about my financial exposure.  But it turned out demand exceeded supply.  So I went back three more times.  Overall I bought and pretty much sold 9 carats in about 14 days.  I am nearly sold out at this point.  I have no idea if the other deal went through, I found out at the end of the second day that it was to be conducted in NY, and that until the end of Tucson, I could buy what I wanted.  I have not yet contacted the dealer to see if there's more.  Unless you guys tell me otherwise, I feel like my small market is saturated.

I also found a New York seller with Paraiba, they had a bit more, some cabs too.  I bought what I thought were the nicest pieces, but I will probably make an appointment there in a few weeks, after the dust has settled from this adventure.

Hauyne/Hauynite: that was another lucky buy for me.  The guys with the lavender spinel from Vietnam, all of which is pretty much sold, had a 500 piece parcel.  I first bought some from Dudley who had also cut a lot, sold those, then saw these on day two.  I slept on it and then negotiated for the purchase of half.  By the end of the week I felt confident enough to buy the other half.  He really wanted to sell it all anyway, and there was no picking.  All, half, nothing.  I am still sorting these out, but they were roughly 1.5-1.9mm, with most of them 1.6-1.7.  You'll see listings for them over time.

Spinel: I did see one dealer that had Burmese spinels, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous bigger pieces.  For - wholesale - more than $7000 a carat for pieces over one carat.  I passed!  I bought quite a bit of Dudley's melee, which you are seeing in the shop.  I got lavender Vietnamese spinel, all sold, one pair a "maybe".  I have to rephotograph more violet colored spinel I listed.  The color is ridiculously off.  It's soo pretty.  I have one more pair in pink that I am debating over myself.  In Cobalt spinel (Luc Yen) I saw very little, some will be listed in a week or two (also out for inspection) and I have a cushion coming to me that I can put out.

Vietnamese Spinel

Burmese Spinel sadly too expensive :(

Ruby/sapphire: these are all from Dudley.  My only star ruby sold once and almost twice.  I have two more (mildly heated) ruby coming up, some Kenyan sapphires - gorgeous yellow with some blue, Madagascan (teal color), purple, blue, and blueish purple (Ceylon), and a breathtaking larger elongated emerald cut from Rakwana, Sri Lanka.  None are heated.  I'm already out of blue pairs, I'll have to ask for more in a month or two.

Madagascan and Sri Lankan Ruby (Left and Right)

Twin Star Sapphire (Sold)

Jaroslav Hyrsl Author of 'Minerals and their Localities'
I bought the twin star sapphire from him.

What else?  I've been selling down on the Kenyan Tsavorite (so pretty), I have just a few 3.5mm left to list I believe.  Then I just have some oddball stuff left.  I loved the twin star sapphire that sold right away.  That was a total novelty.  I saw some on eBay but none in that quality.

Kenyan Sapphire (on Etsy)

I don't know that I made a lot of new connections this time.  Just the one with Bob (from whom I bought a little bit last year).  But more important to me is to deepen the connections I have.  A lot of it is based upon creating buying power and lending power.  Making purchases, paying right away, not having checks bounce, not returning, not wasting time and fussing, knowing one's stuff.  Gem dealers have low markups and in the wholesale, they have to time for difficult buyers.  This doesn't mean you can't spend time selecting.  You should in fact.  You can show a little of your knowledge by commenting on gems and be honest when you don't know.  The good gem dealers appreciate it. You also never insult merchandise or prices.  You can say you are not interested, you don't have a market, you can't sell it at that price, you don't have that kind of budget.  That's all ok.

Well I think this is enough for today.  I'll leave you with some impressions of my two (half) days off after the show.  I took a trip into the Catalina Mountains, watching the sunset.  And my friend Jochen from Jentsch Mineralien took me to Karchener Caves, one of very few living caves around the world. If you like to know about minerals, then this excursion into geology is up your alley!

Until next time...

Yvonne (Cecile - that's my middle name) Raley (Designs)

My thanks again to Debbie and Karen, who put in extra days to keep the shop afloat, and to all of you who "accompanied" me on this trip!

Martin Zinn Exposition

Martin Zinn Exposition

Martin Zinn Exposition

Catalina Mountains

Catalina Mountains

Catalina Mountains

Karchener Cave - Photo from a Post Card

Gem Shows: Past, Present and Future

Traveling to gem shows to shop was a new thing for me this year.  I did go to the Springfield Gem and Mineral Show last fall but I exhibited with my jewelry and gems.  Or rather, I pretended to exhibit because I shared the booth with Jochen Hintze from Jentsch Mineralien, and since nobody was interested in my jewelry (wrong audience), I shopped while Jochen watched my inventory.  Other than that, I regularly attend the JA (Jeweler’s Association) shows in New York, but most of the vendors there are sellers I regularly interact with.  Going to the show just makes it easier to shop. 

Given how successful Tucson and Vegas were for me - I spent money and you spent money, so that is my definition of success in this case – I plan to make these regular trips.  I have to admit that, as a town, Vegas itself was not very exciting for me.  I don’t gamble, although I found that sitting at a slot machine and putting in a few pennies was the fastest way to free coffee.  There are no coffee machines in any hotel rooms so getting coffee involves going downstairs, in the direction of the casinos.    In my five days there I gambled $23, and I walked away with $17 profit.  This was not a bad start, but still, I don’t see that this is where my future lies!  I am also a big fan of daylight, of which there is none in casinos.  Nor are there any clocks, which, for Germans like me, can be anxiety producing.  Not knowing what time it is, is inherently negative for me.

Selecting Hauynites in Vegas

Food in Vegas was great though, only New York is better (yes, I live near New York, so…).  However, the show was fun and every time I go to an exhibit, I connect with new vendors.  Vegas show prices are not as good as those in Tucson, where you can often find strange deals on stuff you didn’t expect.  But the more serious and solid vendors always offer you the same prices (market forces permitting).  So I was there to shop around, to find stuff for customers, and to solidify ties with my sapphire supplier Dudley, as well as with an opal seller from Germany who has hauynites (and opals, too).

The Strip

For fun, when I go to Vegas next year I hope to add a day trip to the Grand Canyon, and in Tucson I want to check out some nearby national parks.  When you are born and raised in Europe, where everything is tiny, the vastness of the mountains and canyons of Arizona and Nevada is unreal.

But let’s get back to business.  Next month, from August 5-9, I will be attending the Springfield Gem and Mineral show again, this time to shop in earnest and without pretending to sell.  There are not many vendors in Springfield that carry what I am interested in, but Dudley is going to be there, and so will a couple more people I know.  I can, for instance, get more emerald trapiche and cat’s eye (why nobody has bought any cat’s eye is beyond me as that stuff is ultra rare – and, yes, expensive).   Also, my friend Jochen is coming, and so I will have an opportunity to learn more about the current gemstone situation in Tanzania and Mozambique. 

Comparing Color Change Sapphires

For those of you who are fans of no heat sapphire and ruby, mainly from Sri Lanka but also Africa, please let me know ahead of time if you’d like anything in particular. I can also get heated ones.  I may find some new spinel from Vietnam and Burma and Cambodian zircon (hopefully those adorable emerald cuts I got).  Don’t hold your breath on Paraibas, I know of no vendors that carry it there unless there is some sort of freak occurrence (like my finding the Paraiba melee in Vegas at this booth where there was absolutely nothing else of interest and just buying the box on a whim before anyone else figured out it was sitting there).  My Paraiba suppliers sit in NY and they are pretty wiped out – of inventory that is.

In Springfield, I can also get a lot of weird cabs (like the purple chalcedony I had), and also bigger cab material.  I don’t normally look for that stuff but I can get it.  And beads.  So keep that in mind as you browse my shop (or other shops).

There will be no other shows for me this year - the next will be Tucson again in February. 

P.S. Before I go to Springfield, I’ll be having my annual summer sale.  My projected date for that is 7/19, with 15% off the store for 2 weeks.  There will be no second 20% gem sale this year as I plan for that to be an annual event only, tied to my Tucson trip because that’s when I need to raise funds and turn over inventory the fastest, so 15% will be the largest discount offered.