Coloured gemstones manufacturer and exporter China Stone Co Ltd in Bangkok, Thailand has launched its machine cut corundum. Owner of the company, said that the machine cut corundum manufactured at the company´s facilities in Thailand and China, is highly competitive in terms of quality and price and overcomes the major draw backs of gemstones produced by the traditional hand cut method.
"Gemstones manufactured by the traditional hand cut process usually have a
deviation of 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm from their designated sizes. With high tech machines,
the sizes of our gemstones are guaranteed with a precision of +/- 0.03 mm deviation,"
Mr Lee said. The company´s precise assortment of its machine cut gemstones using the
Gemological Institute of America´s colour grading system, will boost jewellery
manufacturers efficiency, Mr Lee said. "Jewellery manufacturers will no longer need
to resort the gemstones themselves to make sure the stones are of uniform in colour because
our workers in China, trained by our experienced staff in Bangkok, have made sure of that.
The work man ship in the China factories is well accepted by our clients worldwide."
The company now produces 7,500 to 10,000 machine cut gemstones per day, using up
to 4 to 5 kilograms of ruby and sapphire rough each day. Workers in the company´s
three factories -- one in Bangkok, one in Shenzhen in Guangdong Province in China and
another in Zhengzhou in Henan Province -- could further increase this capacity with
additional shifts, Mr Lee said.
In Zhengzhou, the factory employs 100 stonecutters and produces 3,000 to 3,500 rubies
and sapphires per day. Mr Lee believes that the increasing demand for large volume
precision cut calibrated gemstones.
The machine cut stones got good feedback from the company´s major markets:
the United States, Europe and China, said Mr Lee. "We showcased our machine cut
corundum at the Tucson fair in January 2003, in Hong Kong in March, in Basel in April
and in Vicenza in June. Best selling machine cut rubies and sapphires include higher
end goods from US 80.00 a carat to US 150.00 a carat. Best sellers for medium priced
items are pieces from US 50.00 to US 80.00 a carat, and for lower priced items
from US 14.00 to US 40.00 a carat. Orders from Europe and the United States are mainly
for corundum between 1.35 mm and 1.75 mm in nice blue, pink and red. In China, demand
is for sapphires from 1.75 mm to 2.50 mm in light blue to pink and for rubies."
Mr Lee is very optimistic about China becoming a major gemstone manufacturing and
trading center. "The country has an abundant supply of high quality human resources.
Many are graduates from jewellery and gemstones institutes, and have knowledge of high
technology and computer usage. China´s low labour cost is also among its competitive advantages," he said.
Mr Lee spent two years researching and developing new technology and know how on
machine cut corundum at his Bangkok factory. "With product development complete,
our next step is to gradually transfer most production procedures to China and
introduce the product worldwide through marketing campaigns." He added: "At
the moment, ruby and sapphire rough from Myanmar and Africa is sent to China for
initial sorting and processing, including hammering. Gemstones are then sent to
Bangkok for cutting by machine. Afterwards, the polished is sent back to China
for sorting. By combining the strengths of each region, production at our company
becomes more efficient and cost effective."
China Stone invested US 9 million, including the purchase of sapphire and ruby rough,
in developing the new product. It also imported a high technology gemstone cutting
system from Germany, including the digital system that cost over US 700,000. Since
the system is not tailor made for the gemstone industry, the company invited
professionals from research centers in China to modify it to suit the needs of
the company.
To attract sales, Mr Lee prices machine cut corundum similarly to hand cut stones.
"Feedback has been better than we expected, and buyers are asking for better
quality rather than just attractive prices. As long as we can provide high quality
product in sufficient quantity, they are willing to pay more. At the initial stage
we do not intend to raise prices further, but we are very optimistic about the
prospects for this line."
Most production of machine cut gemstones at China Stone comprises rubies and
sapphires from 1 mm to 3 mm, with stones between 1.25 mm and 2.50 mm selling best.
About 30 percent of the total production is of good quality and is sold to the
United States and to Italy, Germany and other European markets. Another 30 percent
consist of medium quality stones that sold in Thailand.
The company has tried cutting pink sapphires by machines, but Mr Lee said
the company will not rush into marketing machine cut pinks owing to slow market
demand for this type. "Some buyers are still concerned about the issues
concerning sapphire treatment. We would rather wait for more positive signs from
the market before venturing into machine cut fancy coloured sapphires. As for other
types of coloured gemstone, the possibility of launching machine cuts depends
heavily on the supply of rough.
In addition to being a manufacturing base, China is also a major market for
China Stone. Mr Lee said: "We introduced the new product to the China market
early this year and several large scale jewellery chains have shown strong interest.
They believe that rubies and sapphires in competitive price ranges are attractive
alternatives to diamonds for most jewellery manufacturers in China, who produce
mainly white jewellery diamond designs with platinum or white gold. Some of our
customers there have already launched in the retail market coloured gemstone
jewellery collections featuring our stones, many marketed with brands. They report
that response has been satisfactory."
Online trading is another direction China Stone is taking. The company´s website, www.echinastone.com, markets all products manufactured by the company, such as peridot,
aquamarine, amethyst and corundum. "The precision in size, colour and quality
of our machine cut corundum facilitates trading of the product via the Internet.
Buyers can view the product as well as place orders online. We can also provide custom
made stones of particular cutting proportions for individual customers," Mr Lee said.
