For decades, gemstone pricing guides have operated on a simple assumption… If enough material exists in the marketplace, researchers can observe transactions, compare qualities, and establish pricing across a broad range of grades.

But what happens when the material becomes so scarce that even the researchers can’t find enough stones to confidently evaluate?

According to Gemworld International President and Research Director Stuart Robertson, that is exactly what is happening today in the market for unenhanced Burmese ruby.

Prior to the release of GemGuide’s July/August 2026 issue, Gemworld International announced significant changes to its ruby pricing charts. Prices for Mozambique ruby have increased, while the company’s pricing methodology for unenhanced Burmese ruby has undergone more of a fundamental shift.

Rather than publishing values across the traditional 10-grade quality scale used throughout GemGuide, the company will now provide pricing for only four quality categories in its Corundum-Ruby (Attributed to Burma, Unenhanced) chart.

Those categories are:

  • Grade 3 (Middle Commercial)
  • Grade 5 (Lower Good)
  • Grade 8 (Upper Fine)
  • Grade 10 (Upper Extra Fine)

Users will be encouraged to interpolate values between those grades when pricing material that falls elsewhere on the quality spectrum.

The reason is straightforward.

“The lack of availability has now gotten to the point that I felt it was necessary to alter our approach to pricing Burma,” Robertson explained.

“Starting in July, for Burma ruby and sapphire, GemGuide will publish pricing for 4 grades, not the 10 grades typically covered in most GemGuide charts.”

According to Robertson, the problem has been developing for years.

“For no-heat Burma ruby, the scarcity issue is a global concern. We have been watching this develop for several years.”

The challenge is no longer simply determining what the finest Burmese rubies should sell for. The challenge is finding enough examples of those stones to establish reliable market pricing.

“Our research team is simply no longer able to locate a sufficient quantity of finer Burma ruby or sapphire to maintain confidence in pricing across all 10 grades,” Robertson said.

“We are now pricing only those grades in which our confidence is moderately high.”

In many ways, GemGuide’s decision reflects broader changes already taking place within the ruby trade.

Historically, dealers could evaluate ruby quality with considerable precision because enough material existed across multiple quality levels to establish meaningful distinctions between grades.

Today, scarcity is forcing many dealers to think differently.

“Scarcity of goods is forcing dealers to more broadly classify quality,” Robertson noted.

“The quest is to find goods that come as close as possible to the ideal hue for the locality. Finish issues are less of a concern than they were a decade ago.”

That observation may surprise some gemologists and appraisers.

For years, cutting quality, symmetry, proportions, and polish have been important factors in determining value. Today, however, the market appears increasingly focused on one question… Can you find the stone at all?

Buy it? You have to find it first!

One of GemGuide’s advisors, Ron Rahmanan of SaraGem, perhaps summarized the situation best.

“Unfortunately, in today’s market the price is secondary to availability. Especially on very fine stones, [the market’s] biggest challenge is finding the correct merchandise rather than affording it.”

That statement captures what many dealers have quietly been saying for years.

The market for fine Burmese ruby has increasingly become a market of availability rather than one of pricing.

What little material does appear often comes from old inventory, including antique and estate jewelry returning to the marketplace.

“Anyway, in both the fine Burmese ruby and sapphire categories not much is seen on the market today,” Robertson explained. “What is seen is mostly recycled back onto the market or old stock coming out of dealers safes now that prices have achieved the current levels.”

Burma Sets the Benchmark, but Mozambique Supplies the Market

While Burmese ruby remains the benchmark against which all other ruby localities are judged, it is no longer the primary source feeding today’s market.

“For at least the past decade, Mozambique has been the main source for gem and near gem ruby entering the global market, not Burma,” Robertson said.

“Burma is the iconic locality that sets the value benchmark for gem ruby. Mozambican ruby is the product that the market can get.”

Put another way, Burma remains the standard by which ruby is judged, while Mozambique has become the source that keeps the market supplied.

That distinction helps explain why GemGuide also raised prices for Mozambique ruby.

As Burmese material becomes increasingly scarce, buyers seeking fine ruby have little choice but to focus on alternative sources—and today, Mozambique is it. Mozambique has become the dominant supplier of quality ruby to the international market, particularly in larger sizes and better qualities.

“The current appetite for ruby, especially unenhanced material, has been very good,” Robertson said. “As a result, prices in the Mozambican category have also skyrocketed.”

But rising demand is only part of the story.

Rahmanan told the Roskin Gem News Report that even fine-quality Mozambique ruby has become increasingly difficult to source.

According to Rahmanan, major luxury brands have become significant buyers of Mozambique ruby, often paying premium prices to secure a reliable supply of inventory. As a result, much of the finest material is absorbed before it reaches the broader marketplace, leaving the rest of the industry competing for a shrinking pool of available goods.

Perhaps most remarkable is that rising prices have done little to dampen demand.

“Every time the market is reportedly hitting the ceiling, GemGuide researchers have observed that buyers grumble about the high prices—but still buy.”

That behavior suggests that ruby may currently occupy a unique position within the colored gemstone market.

Demand remains strong.

Supply remains limited.

And the market continues to absorb higher prices.

The Highs and Lows of the Trade

According to Robertson, activity is increasingly concentrated at opposite ends of the market.

“We believe that globally, the market is active at two ends, the low end and the high end.”

“The mid grades/price points that for decades would be the bread and butter of the North American market are under a lot of pressure.”

Chart This

For appraisers, dealers, and manufacturers, GemGuide’s chart revision may ultimately represent more than a pricing adjustment.

It may be one of the clearest indicators that fine Burmese ruby has entered a different era—one in which scarcity has become so extreme that availability itself is beginning to matter more than price.

When a pricing guide starts reducing the number of grades it can confidently price, the message is hard to ignore.

The issue is no longer what the stones are worth.

The issue is finding them.

Tap here to learn more about Gemworld International and the GemGuide.