Couldn’t get on the phone to Isabel quick enough. The budget might not stretch as far as a string of sparklers for Christmas but tucked into weekend newspaper was a story on a very acceptable substitute. Semi-precious gemstones in an irresistible form, at the sort of prices that Santa can afford.
So, it may sound a bit like marketing spiel, but, this is not something for your wallsafe. It’s another type of investment. Literally saving one’s skin.
Latest luxury in skincare is gemstone based
And it’s not New Age crystals to leave around and help the ‘vibes’, either. Apparently, the latest luxury in skin-care is gemstone based. All the best fashion and cosmetic houses are at it- Aveda, Armani, Guerlain and Sisley, to name just a few.
Looking more closely, of course there is nothing new here. Indian medicine and skincare has incorporated gemstones for thousands of years. Ayurvedic medicine has been aware of their mineral properties for just as long. A lot of them, apparently, are good at helping keep water around and in the skin. Plumps it up and all that. Water is a major component in skin products for both woman and (no sexism here) for men too.
The most favoured gemstones (at the moment) seem to be tourmaline, hematite, malachite, black obsidian, amber, rhodochrosite, smithsonite and quartz. My copy of the Financial Time’s appropriately-named magazine, How to Spend It, luxuriously spelt it all out.
Tourmaline is what is called a facilitator, How to Spend It said. Its claim is to make cosmetics’ ingredients penetrate more quickly and efficiently. That helps not only with lubricants and wrinkle-smoothers, but also with cleansers.
Apparently, Hematite’s abilities include to helping circulation around the eyes, removing those unsightly bags. (Note: might ask Santa about parachuting in a pre-Christmas parcel.)
Malachite is a hydrator. Its constituents include copper, which is very good at helping the skin retain moisture, they say at Sisley. So, apparently, is black obsidian. It contains sodium and potassium which researchers claim help the pores open and shut!
Amber is a bit different to the rest, being fossilised resin from trees growing a few million years ago. What it is good at is helping keep skin line free and firm, according to Guerlain.
So, next in the list, the tongue-twisting Rhodochrosite, its properties include boosting the skin’s immune system. Smithsonite zaps free radicals. Quartz is an energiser.
According to traditional Ayurvedic practice, the human body was made up of the seven colors of the rainbow. They are associated with seven kinds of rays. Diseases enter the body when there was a deficiency or excess of any ray. Each color is associated with a particular gem, which in turn is associated with a particular planet. So gems were set to touch the skin.
Don’t try this at home!
Don’t reach for the jewellery box to try economising on a DIY job. There are warnings against any concoction made with the pestle and mortar and a slurp or two of cheaper creams. I’m afraid it just won’t work. Minerals in cosmetics have to be part of a complex mix, with delicious smells and other things. The rest is secret.
Anyway, jewellers (in the West, at least) don’t hand out the sort of gemstone information required. Skin-care is probably not their forte.
Take tourmaline, for example. There are so many types. The Encyclopaedia Britannica list
is as follows: three types of tourmaline, distinguished by the predominance of certain elements, are usually recognized: iron tourmaline (schorl), black in colour; magnesium tourmaline (dravite), brown; and alkali tourmaline, which may be pink (rubellite), green (Brazilian emerald), or colourless (achroite). Some crystals are pink at one end and green at the other.
Help! Which one removes the evidence of all those late nights!?
In India it would be different. Jewellers ads inform that diamonds "give calm sleep and take away nightmares". Too right! A few of those tucked away for a rainy day and we’d all sleep like babies!
Mining semi-precious stones might have to be a DIY job. Popular and even a bit valuable though they are, they don’t attract much attention from mining companies. Not, anyway when there is gold or diamonds around.
There is no formal market in semi-precious stones. They seem to make their way to the nearest jewellery fabricating centre. So Afghanistan’s stones go to Pakistan. Much of Africa’s production gets to South Africa, where it is then exported. Value comes more often from the settings, or the designer’s name. That said, good colour and large size will always earn a stone a premium.
This is ‘fossicking’ - not mining
‘Fossicking’ is a term often used for miners looking for semi-precious stones. This is sort of amateur status mining. The word may come from the Cornish language — Cornwall is ancient mining area and source of much mining lore. Accounts of fossicking come from many places, from the US to Australia, across Africa and into Afghanistan.
It’s an activity carried out by all kinds of people - by women, by empowerment groups, by scavengers, even beachcombers or hobbyists. Major Australian mining region Queensland even has the Queensland Fossicking Guide. There is a plethora of fossicking blogs and websites. Serious hobby? Sure, but an industry this is not.
So, there is no easy off-setting, revenue-raising stock market opportunity available from investing in semi-precious gems. Apart from setting off, pick in hand, for the hills or the beach, that is. They’re not going to fetch gemstone prices, but these at retail these products don’t always come cheap. Mainly, they’re priced well into two figures. That said, that figure is mostly to do with the brand name, packaging, marketing, retail mark-up, etc. Anyway, nobody wants to be pampered on the cheap!
It’s down to you, Santa.
Keep mining!
Erin and Isabel
