Buying coloured gemstones in Asia

Asia is where most of the world's coloured stone is cut, treated and traded. Rough mined in Africa, Australia and South America is shipped to a handful of Asian cities to be turned into finished gemstones, then sold on to jewellers worldwide.

The trade is not spread evenly. Each centre does a different job: one cuts, one treats, one holds the deepest stock of a particular material, one is where the rest of the world comes to buy. Knowing which is which is most of what separates a good purchase from an expensive lesson.