Greenland Ruby

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Stuart M. Robertson, GIA GG

After more than a decade, Greenlandic ruby has entered the market in commercial quantities. The combination of affordable pricing and traceable sourcing meet the needs of the current market climate. The flux healing of the material will limit demand to more commercial and mid-level markets. The transparency is below that from other major sources, but the material is still quite attractive for what it is.

The focus of this article is to examine the market potential for the ruby and pink sapphire mined in Greenland. For more than a decade, I have been monitoring developments regarding the production of ruby in Greenland. On several occasions during the past decade, I have examined ruby and pink sapphire produced by True North Gems and more recently their successor, Greenland Ruby. The latter has obtained the necessary permits to export and market gemstones. As a result, commercial quantities of ruby and pink sapphire mined in Greenland have finally entered the international gem trade, and earlier this year launched a major exhibit at the JCK Las Vegas show.

Greenland Ruby

Greenland ruby and sapphire have the opportunity reach a niche, yet sizeable area of the market. It will not however, compete favorably with the significant production of ruby coming out of east Africa—most notably Mozambique. Nonetheless, the Greenland material does have a favorable marketing position in its traceable sourcing and affordable price structure. These should allow the product to penetrate across a reasonable section of the market. Given the current consumer driven trend toward more affordable yet attractive jewelry, today an appetite for this material exists that did not a decade ago.

The production of rubies and sapphire from Aappaluttoq typically finish to…

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