An essay on buying gems at the source in Asia, with a discussion of how con men play on the greed of those who believe gems will be cheaper at the mines.
Since the turn of the millennium, the price of fine spinel has risen at an incredible pace. No longer simply the poor man's ruby, spinel is finally getting the attention it deserves as one of the world's premier gems.
A 1992 visit to Vietnam's Quy Chau ruby mines, the first by a foreign gemologist, along with commentary on US-Vietnam politics.