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All That Glitters
272 Broadway #732
Methuen, MA 01844
Telephone/Answering Service: 978-975-2272
Email All That Glitters
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U.S. Dollar Down; Expect Fine
Quality Colored Gemstones to Increase
October 2007
In a recent
tread among gemstone dealers and facetors, one dealer had bad news for
Americans. The dollar is down, making it more costly to purchase
gemstones and gemstone rough. In fact, the gemstone business will
not be the only sector to see changes.
The exchange rate for the Canadian Dollar is now equivalent to the U.S.
Dollar. This is the first time that this has happened in 31
years. One of the sad things about this is that the U.S. Dollar
will not recover against the Canadian Dollar or other currencies for
some time. It will not happen in a week, or a few months or
perhaps not even in a few years. It could be decades.
Perhaps it will not happen at all.
The Euro continues to be strong. Those outside of the U.S. no
longer seek American currency. Foreign buys now have increased
buying power and can not only outbid American gemstone dealers,
but have buying power in everything from fine art, American real
estate and just about everything else. The cost for many items
will increase across the borad for Americans.
One of the pluses though for the falling U.S. Dollar, is that those
products made in the U.S. will become more attractive to international
buyers. All That Glitters expects that there will be more sales
of rough and faceted gemstones to those living abroad taking in
non-U.S. currencies. With the falling dollar, anything in the
U.S. could become attractive because it is now less expensive.
The demand for gemstones within American inventories will
increase. With the increase in demand in our inventories, this
will put increased pressure on those American who seek to make gemstone
purchases.
Any new inventory purchased by American gemstone dealers, will be
purchased at much higher levels. Essentially all of the rough for
gemstones comes from outside of the U.S. - with few exceptions.
To add to this currency problem, fine quality gemstones are always
increasing in value yearly. Reports of recently purchased
Sapphire indicate prices are increasing. All That Glitters has
been telling customers to purchase fine quality Sapphire as the prices
had only increased modestly over the past two decades. Now
Sapphire is on the move. We still HIGHLY recommend that our
customers view our Sapphire (and Ruby) Photos Page. There are
some wonderful gemstones listed and the prices are below what one
expects to pay in fine stores. Now, with the increase in Sapphire
prices, future purchases will see the increase in cost.
< Sapphire Photos
> < Ruby
Photos >
Note that although we have mentioned the current price increase of
Sapphires, the currency issue is across ALL gemstones, so now could be
a good time to consider purchasing, as price increases are on their way
as seen in the dealers comments below....
Below are the comments from a faceted gemetons dealer/facetor found in
a recent thread on-line:
"Just by way of
information.
.. I
just finished up on a trip buying rough... The dollar is very weak and
basically taking a beating on the world exchange. The sellers wanted
shillings in many cases instead of the US dollar (Africa), which is a
major change and not normal.
What this means is that because
the dollar is really weak right now, and the exchange rates the cost of
rough will and is going to spike probably this Feb in Tucson. This will
include man-made material also by the way.
I do not know for sure, but I
can tell you there was about a 30% higher difference for me lately...
So be aware of it and plan ahead if you can..."
Addendum - Within
less than one week of the above page being written, local implications
of a weak dollar could be seen. While preparing the website
changes for the month of October, the owner of
All That Glitters went to the local Pizza Hut for take-out. Being
recognized because of the local tv and newspaper coverage of his trip
to Thaliand in 2006, discussions of business ensued. He was told
that 12 of the local Pizza
Huts were purchased recently by a corporation in Quebec Canada.
Previously, with a higher U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar,
purchases such as this were less frequently seen. Now, this will
be the norm and we will be seeing far more property, companies,
products
and gemstones being sold to those with stronger currencies.
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