Gems have become phenomenal as beautiful semiprecious stones of various colors with a variety of characteristics and are being sought far and wide, resulting in their selling prices over the last six months soaring from hundreds of thousands of rupiah to millions and even billions each.

While gemstones are generally sold on roadsides and in flea markets, today many circles have begun to organize exhibitions at malls or hotels, like a recent semiprecious stone exhibition held at a hotel in Malang, East Java.

A gemstone was offered at the fantastic price of Rp 1 billion (US$74,000) at the event, with 40 gemstone traders from Malang and several other cities participating. '€œI became aware of the very high value of the gemstone only about a week before the event,'€ said Hendro Permadi, 49, the owner of the gem.

Hendro said he had owned the 33 millimeter by 20 mm by 63 mm gemstone since 2003. The man, who has been involved in the gemstone business for 15 years, claimed to possess a collection of diverse stones from different regions, but this fire chalcedony stone from Lampung is a special one.

This stone is unique and appealing as it features various images when moved in certain directions, creating human characters like a man wearing a hat and animal figures like fish. They appear more clearly with a flashlight, requiring no magnifying glass.

Hendro admitted to selling similar semiprecious stones for only Rp 100,000 each despite originally asking Rp 500,000 for them, but a collector told him that the one he still had could fetch Rp 200 million.

The math lecturer at the Malang State University tried to get more information from peers, reference books, magazines and the Internet. '€œSome people were ready to pay Rp 500 million for it,'€ he revealed. So he offered it for Rp 1 billion after having it set it a ring.

Suyatno, 54, another gemstone trader, has a gemstone with an image resembling the silhouette of founding president Sukarno from the side wearing his signature cap. It has been offered for Rp 100 million. '€œThe highest bid has been only Rp 75 million so I haven'€™t let it go yet,'€ he said at his place of business on
Jl. Majapahit, Malang.

There are reasons for such steep prices. '€œThe main factors are the beauty of gems and the taste of each user,'€ said Sugito, 52. He said that semiprecious stones were basically the same as other collectibles, such as antiques, the prices of which rise along with their unique features and level of rarity.

The chairman of Malang'€™s Gemstone Traders Association (PPBM) explained that semiprecious stones were formerly believed to have magical powers so that only certain people wanted them. Today, people of all ages and backgrounds like gems for their beauty and the social status they offer. '€œThey can be worn as rings or pendants,'€ he said.

As a commodity, Sugito described gemstones as a means of doing business of chance, by applying the economic principle of acquiring something at the lowest price and selling it at the highest price. '€œBut it all depends on the distinctiveness of semiprecious stones, the taste of buyers and our own efforts as traders,'€ added the father of four.

Yet he expressed gratitude for his business doing reasonably well over the last 25 years, enabling him to send his eldest child to college. With the rising trend of gemstone trade in Indonesia, he hopes the welfare of traders and craftsmen will also improve.

Sugito referred to the process of setting gemstones in rings and pendants, which provides job opportunities. '€œI'€™ve frequently given unemployed youths the job of dusting and polishing the stones, with compensation ranging from Rp 20,000 to Rp 50,000 per piece,'€ he explained.

This trend has prompted some regions to present the characteristics of their natural gemstones. While such stones used to be derived only from Sumatra and Kalimantan, today they are found in several other areas, including Java. In East Java there are opal sutra kayangan (heavenly silk opal) from Blitar and pirus lazuli (turquoise lazuli) from Tulungagung.

Malang has just introduced lumut sendang (spring moss) as the typical feature of its precious stone. The moss green stone is said to have been found only in Dampit district, Malang regency. Sugito, however, is worried by the lack of government appreciation for gemstone and ornament traders in Malang.

For 25 years, gemstone sellers have been using shop terraces on Jl. Majapahit as their places of business while their turnover is in fact quite big, reaching
Rp 50 million daily. Despite the booming business, these traders want the local administration to provide better trading facilities, such as kiosks and hold regular exhibitions as has been done in other regions.

Abah Yahya, 55, a local trader and former chairman of the Malang PPBM, said he had proposed a plan to the city administration at the beginning of 1990 for a more appropriate location to be allocated to gemstone traders.

'€œThis kind of gemstone mart has indeed the potential to become a tourist destination, just like the bird and flower markets,'€ he said. He also looks forward to the government playing a concrete role in promoting Malang'€™s prized semiprecious stone market.

Citing an example, he noted that the regional administrations of Purbalingga (Central Java) and South Sumatra had appealed to their civil servants to wear rings with gemstones typical of their respective regions.

'€œApart from boosting their potential, the local populations will also be proud of their exceptional products,'€ he concluded.

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