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Land of Rubies and Jade

The first mental image many Westerners have of Myanmar is of precious stones – gems sparkling green, red and purple in the midday sun.

The reputation is not undeserved. From the northern mines of Mogok and Mogaung come large quantities of rubies, jade, sapphires and other stones. Around 1990s a new ruby mine is discovered in Mong Su and can be mined as high quality as Mogok ruby mines.

Ludovico di Varthema, an Italian merchant who visited Myanmar in 1505, was the first European to report this wealth to the West. “The sole merchandise of this people is jewels,” wrote di Varthema. “Large pearls and diamonds are worth more there than with us, and also emeralds.” Of the King of Pegu, wrote:

…. He wears more rubies on him than the value of a very large city, and he wears them on all his toes. And on his legs he wears certain great rings of gold, all full of the most beautiful rubies; also his arms and his fingers are all full with rubies. His ears hang down half a palm, through the great weight of the many jewels he wears there, so that when the person of the king is seen by a light at night, he shines so much that he appears to the sun.

Di Varthema was the first Westerner to become rich through dealing in gems in Myanmar. He presented the king some corals, and was rewarded with 200 rubies – worth about 100,000 ducats (perhaps US$ 150,000) in Europe at that time.

Today, it is not so easy to become rich in the gem market. But every year, hundreds of gem dealers from all over the world gather in Yangon for the annual “Gems and pearls emporium” held in Yangon.

Most prized of all are the rubies, a stone on which Myanmar holds a virtual monopoly on the world market. Those rubies the color of pigeon blood, apparently unique to Myanmar, fetch the highest prices.

Would – be buyers must beware, however, of synthetic rubies of pigeon blood color. So, only an expert in gems should make a purchase.

Mogok, where Myanmar’s largest ruby mines are situated, lies about 110 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Mandalay as the crow flies. In early times, the kings of Myanmar confiscated the wealth recovered here, leaving the miners only with small stones of lesser value.

When the British annexed Upper Burma in 1886, a year of frenzied digging ensued, as the Myanmar were now unhindered by royalty. But the colonials were able to occupy the Mines District in 1887, and the London firm of Messrs. Streeter & Co. received sole buying rights for whatever the ground yielded. That made the company’s shareholders and the government revenue office rich.

In the far north, west of Myitkyina in the Kachin State, is the town of Mogaung, center of a jade-mining district. The rich soil of this region was well known to the Chinese as long ago as 2000 B.C. The Chinese considered the jadeite of northern Myanmar to be superior in quality to the nephrite found in their own soil. To them, the stone was a mirror of virtues worthy of an emperor: hardness suggestive of sound intellect, polish indicative of purity, and visible flaws symbolic of sincerity. So this “Imperial Jade” was imported to China from Mogaung. Today, most of the priceless jade artifacts on display in Beijing’s Forbidden City Museum and in Chinese art exhibits elsewhere are made of Mogaung jade.

Rubies and jade are only the most evident examples of Myanmar’s precious mineral wealth. Star, blue and colorless sapphires, Oriental aquamarine and emeralds, topaz, amethysts, and lapis lazuli are commonly found at Myanmar Gem emporium.