An Exclusive Post Auction Interview with Dev Shetty
“We are very happy,” says an exuberant Dev Shetty, Founder & CEO of FURA Gems. “It’s a new world record for ruby… and any other colored gemstone! And now the benchmark has been set for the Mozambican ruby!”
Shetty is all about creating a category for the Mozambican Ruby. Till now, Mozambique has been taking a back seat to Burma’s historic ruby deposit. Finally, with the importance of this sale, the largest gem quality ruby ever sold at auction, for a record price for any colored gemstone, at $30 million [$34.8 million including the buyers premium] the world of gems can now include the Mozambican Ruby to its list of important ruby sources.
After months of planning for this day, FURA is pleased that the world is getting to see the importance of this gem. “And now it has gone to a happy buyer,” Shetty and his team were simply beaming with joy and excitement.
“The fact that the market is accepting this price level, which was historically reserved only for the Burmese ruby, is quite important,” says Shetty. It paves the way for the Mozambican ruby.
Location, Location, Location
Shetty notes they have always thought of the FURA ruby as having a strong resemblance to rubies from Mogok, with nice fluorescence, and nice color. “It is specific to us,” notes Shetty, talking about fluorescent Mozambican ruby. One of the key ingredients to the Burmese, and Vietnamese rubies is the ability to fluoresce strong red to ultraviolet light, giving the ruby an even more vibrant color in daylight. “Our rubies are on one side of the fault [the west], while much of the other ruby from Mozambique comes from the eastern side of the fault. The rubies on the western side have strong fluorescence, along with very nice open color, which makes the FURA ruby the most sought after!”
And that’s what suppliers (and consumers) are looking for! They may not be aware of the fluorescence, but they can see its effect on beauty.
“Open Color”
Shetty explains, “Historically, the iron content in the Mozambican ruby is what gives the Mozambican ruby its dark deeper tone, as opposed to its Burmese counterpart. However, the FURA Mozambican ruby doesn’t have that higher iron content. And that is what makes FURA’s Mozambican ruby so beautiful – having an “open color with nice fluorescence” [a strong saturation, good transparency, with a brighter tone].”
The Market will Dictate
In the past, the Burmese ruby was the global jewelry market choice. But because of the past few decades of political and human rights conflicts in Burma, suppliers are looking elsewhere.
“Dealers need to find a replacement for those rubies,” notes Shetty, “and now, having an inspirational ruby like the Estrela de FURA coming from Mozambique, this is going to make things more exciting!”
The Mozambican Ruby Category
The importance of their ruby mine gives FURA the drive to lead the industry, to build a category from top to bottom, and now, because of this recognition at auction, and because the mine can produce millions of carats per year, they believe there’s a category for the Mozambican ruby.
FURA is Focused on Supply Chain
“The day we found this crystal was the day we knew we had discovered something really unique. And now the world will know that the Mozambican ruby is ranked not only as number one sales in volume, but now there’s also a value attached to it. I think it sets the tone for the future for the Mozambican ruby.
“And now we have to build on it. Building this category from the ethical point of view, to create the mine to market story.
“Yes, we are a miner of rough. We sell rough. That is what we do. But we will help our clients to get organized. And we will help the colored gemstone sector to get organized too.
“We can achieve this mine to market story by joining hands, with different like-minded people, and that we can do by organizing the polishers, and manufacturers, participating in programs with the retailers, with co-branding and co-marketing. All of this is very important.”
Working with organizations like RJC, and CIBJO, Shetty explains the move to get certified, and to help their clients, the cutters to get certified too.
“Our industry is getting so mature, with all the brands and all the chains. Consumers are wanting to know where the product is coming from. There is still a long way to go, but I think we can help lead the way.”
FURA Gems Inc.
www.furagems.com
FURA mines ruby in Mozambique, emeralds in Colombia (the Coscuez mine), sapphires in Queensland Australia, and now sapphires also in Madagascar.
Special thanks to Liz Chatelain at MVI Marketing
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FURA, PLEASE READ:
Exclusive Interview with Dev Shetty, Founder and CEO of Fura Gems
… by Julius Zheng for the Roskin Gem News Report
Estrela de Fura Shines Light on the Ruby World – an Exclusive interview with Dev Shetty, Founder and CEO of Fura Gems by Julius Zheng “FURA’s ruby mine will secure a steady supply of fine quality rubies for decades to come, therefore it will continue to benefit the worldwide market by making both jewelry lines … Continue reading: Exclusive Interview with Dev Shetty, Founder and CEO of Fura Gems
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