- Title: THAILAND: WORLD'S BIGGEST SAPPHIRE TO BE AUCTIONED IN BANGKOK
- Date: 17th June 1995
- Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (RECENT) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. MV: JEFFREY BERGMAN, DIRECTOR OF GEM SOURCE, CARRIES UNCUT BLUE SAPPHIRE TO DISPLAY ON HIS DESK 0.09 2. CU: LENGTH OF STONE IS DEMONSTRATED (2 SHOTS) 0.15 3. MV: BERGMAN SPEAKING ABOUT AUCTION (ENGLISH) 0.47 4. CU: SURFACE OF SAPPHIRE 0.53 5. MV: BERGMAN MEASURES LENGTH OF STONE 1.02 6. GV: BANGKOK INTERNATIONAL JEWELLERY FAIR 1.10 7. SV: CUSTOMERS LOOK AT JEWELLERY DISPLAY 1.20 8. CU: GEMS (3 SHOTS) 1.32 9. SV: BUYERS DISCUSS PRICE WITH VENDOR 1.35 -------------------------------------------------------------------- TRANSCRIPT SEQUENCE 3: BERGMAN: "SEVERAL, SEVERAL MILLION, WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY MILLION DOLLARS IT WILL WIND UP SELLING FOR, BUT I EXPECT IT TO BE MANY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. IT'S A ONE OF A KIND. IT WILL BE A TREASURE IN ANY MUSEUM OR IN ANY COLLECTION ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE A SHAME FOR IT TO BE CUT UP INTO SMALL STONES. I WOULD RATHER SEE IT UTILISED IN SOME WAY WHERE IT WOULD MAINTAIN ITS GIGANTIC SIZE AND UNIQUENESS OF BEING SUCH A LARGE PIECE." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 2nd July 1995 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BANGKOK, THAILAND
- City:
- Country: Thailand
- Reuters ID: LVA2LP6CP47MAUAMFZMDVECMRYC7
- Story Text: INTRO: The world's largest blue sapphire is to be auctioned in Bangkok.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- The gem was found in Madagascar last year, and is the size of a soccer ball. It's expected to sell for millions of U.S. dollars Jeffrey Bergman, director of Gem Source, is the exclusive agent for the 18-kilo (40-pound) translucent blue uncut sapphire, found by a European mining consortium late last year.
Bergman said he had the 89,850-carat stone documented by the Asian Institute of Geological Sciences, which verified it as the largest documented blue sapphire in history.
"It's worth several million dollars, just how many million we don't know." Bergman said his clients wanted to sell the stone in the Thai capital, the centre of the world's coloured gem stone industry.
"It's one of a kind, it will be a treasure in any museum or in any collection anywhere in the world, and I think it would be a shame for it to be cut up into small stones.
"I would rather see it utilised in some way where it would maintain its gigantic size and uniqueness of being such a large piece," Bergman said.
Thailand is already home to the world's largest diamond, a 545.7-carat polished stone that was offered to the King of Thailand to mark his 50 years on the throne this year.
The world's largest uncut ruby, a flawless crimson red 21,450-carat stone, is in neighbouring Burma, where it was discovered in a mine earlier this year.
Thailand dominates the world market in gemstones. Industry officials say Thai gem and jewellery exports are increasing by about 10 per cent a year, and are now worth more than $2 billion annually. Exports are expected to rise to $4 billion by the year 2000.
Thailand has developed a pool of workers adept in cutting and polishing precious stones to bolster its strong manufacturing base in the gem industry.
The products sold by Thailand range from intricately designed necklaces set with diamonds or precious stones to earings studded with glittering rubies. The main markets are the United States, Japan and Western Europe.
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