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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed
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To: Bill/WA who wrote (74392)3/2/2001 8:43:29 AM
From: Ilaine  Read Replies (2) of 436258
 
I'm not an expert on colored gems but I've read quite a bit about them because I make jewelry as a hobby. The markups every step along the way are unbelievable. A lot of the trade is Asian - colored stones are cut in Thailand, and ethnic Chinese buy and sell them wholesale - Indians do, too, but usually lesser quality. If you can buy at a good price directly from the cutter, then you can make money selling. People in the jewelry business buy wholesale from the importer, or if they are big enough or sophisticated enough and have a good relationship with someone they can trust, from the cutter. So if you buy from the importer, you've already paid that markup and can't mark it up again except to a retail buyer or someone who doesn't know any better.

I think if you can't speak Thai or Chinese you are going to be taken advantage of, unless you have a relationship with someone you can trust. If your daughter works for a wholesaler, I assume someone actually travels to Asia to buy this stuff. If she can get you a deal at that level, and you can figure out who to sell to, it may be an interesting hobby. You probably won't lose money because the money is in the markup. That is, if you buy good quality, and you'll have to learn that.

The people who really make money in the diamond business are Orthodox Jews. They have relationships that go back for generations and they know who they can trust.
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