Saudis eye lucrative gemstone business

Jul 05, 2023

https://arab.news/vbx5x

MAKKAH: Saudi Arabia's lofty mountains contain many types of precious and semi-precious stones, with some research also suggesting the presence of rare stones, such as diamonds, sapphires and emeralds, a specialist in the gemstone industry told Arab News.

"Saudi peridot and Saudi scapolite are the most beautiful, pure and high-quality gems of the same type from around the world," said Nawwaf Al-Luhaibi.

Saudi agate, garnet, amazonite, and quartz of all kinds, including white, amethyst, citrine, smoky and rose, are among the many kinds of gems found in different regions of the Kingdom.

The climate of Saudi Arabia is hot and dry, and most of the gemstones and minerals are formed at a high temperature in the depths of the earth — an environment that facilitates their formation.

"We took an initiative on the Saudi National Day 2022 by establishing a free educational exhibition where we displayed precious and semi-precious stones extracted from the Kingdom and shared information about them with visitors," Al-Luhaibi said.

"This initiative received a lot of appreciation from visitors, who were surprised that we have such a huge amount of beautiful, distinctive gemstones."

Al-Luhaibi said that dealing in gemstones is becoming a prosperous business in Saudi Arabia due to the availability and quality of gems.

Many Saudis are actively venturing into the business by manufacturing creative and unique masterpieces.

"There is a great demand from those interested, and amateurs in the field of gemstones are increasing significantly," he said.

The specialist believes that to develop the industry, it is important for locals to possess the right knowledge and skills of the trade.

"We launch free educational initiatives to display and explain Saudi gemstones," he said. Among these initiatives are lessons on how to polish gemstones. Other courses, available for a nominal fee, teach participants how to cut gemstones into oval and diamond shapes.

"Our goal is to train as many young Saudis as possible in this craft," he said. While the craft is still in its nascent stages in Saudi Arabia, Al-Luhaibi said that more and more people are expressing interest in it and applying for training.

"We bring the natural rough gemstone and evaluate it," Al-Luhaibi said of the gemcutting process. "Then we choose the best part of the gemstone in terms of beauty and leave the parts that have cracks or scratches. Next, we cut the gemstone with a special saw and take the piece that has been cut to be polished and shaped by a special machine.

"After that, we choose the method and type of cutting, cabochon (oval) or diamond cut.

"The last step is polishing the gemstone, after which it's ready to be used on all kinds of women's and men's accessories."

As women are the primary buyers of gemstones in the Kingdom, Al-Luhaibi said, the design of women's accessories is prioritized, followed by men's rings.