Burmese (Myanmar) jade

It was a jeweller's dream : slabs of Myanmar jade of various colors and sizes plus rough jade blocks ranged from a small 2 kg rock of a remarkable deep green prized Imperial jade valued at a staggering US$300,000 to a two-ton boulder of light green jade lined with dark green veins at a reserve price of US$180,000.

The occasion, the Myanmar Emporium Exhibition for Myanmar Jade and other precious stones held in Yangon twice per year.

Six-hundred and twenty-six gem merchants representing 227 companies from fifteen countries attended the fair to inspect and buy Myanmar jade and other gemstones at auction the astonishing variety of jade on display, many of the jade and jadeite will end up in Chantaburi, the gem capital of Thailand and south east Asia to resold as raw jade or manufactured into jade jewelry. The hall held treasures of jade to dazzle even non-experts. Myanmar jade in pebble form or rock took over the ground floor corridors of the hall and the sprawling outdoor compound. Even the pillars of the hall, built in 1993, were built entirely of small jade tiles!

Since the days of the ancient Burmese kings, foreign traders and merchants have been drawn by the country’s superb Myanmar jade gems. The story goes that the first French gem merchants were astounded by the quality of some Nga Mauk rubies and declared them to be priceless. The awe of the French gem traders is best captured in a magnificent mural that decorates the lobby of the Gems Emporium Hall. The mural features Myanmar jade miners for at work, treasure chests and salvers filled with jade and kings and noblemen displaying Myanmar jade and other gemstone to foreign visitors who are wide-eyed with amazement. Standing tall in the middle of it all is a bejewelled jade queen representing Mother Myanmar sprinkling eugenia sprigs as a sign of welcome.

The esteem for Myanmar jade gems continues to this day. For this reason, hundreds of visitors arrive each year in Yangon to participate in the jade and other gems fair first held in 1964 and which is now held twice annually, in March and October. Many reference books on Myanmar jade and other gems acknowledge Myanmar to be the foremost producer of first-class jade. Indeed, the world’s commercial quantities of jade are now believed to come only from Myanmar.

It was a varied crowd that swarmed the exhibition grounds and hall on the occasion of the Myanmar Jade, Gems and Pearl Fair. There were portly middle-aged men whose eyes glowed with the quality of the jade, elegantly dressed women dripping with jade jewellery and young men attired in beach shorts, t-shirts and thongs. Some were there for the first time to check Myanmar jade, others were regular visitors. They smeared the jade blocks with water, “…to bring out the colour and its intensity”, explained a jeweller from Hong Kong, examined stones with a flashlight to check for cracks and a magnifying glasses to study gems for inclusions.

The vast majority of visitors to have a close look for Myanmar jade emporium or jade fair came from Asia including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.

Jade was the main attraction. Said a buyer from Taiwan : “I am only here to look at Myanmar jade, because my customers back home prefer it to other gemstones”. Explaining the Chinese partiality for Myanmar jade, he added: “The Chinese believe that jade is a living stone; its colour deepens as it is worn over time.” The fondness for jade stems from an old Chinese legend which tells how an ancient king was once cured of an illness by wearing a jade stone. So many Chinese like to wear jade because of its alleged protective and curative powers.

The fair is divided into two sections. The ground floor features displays of uncut as well as cut and polished gems and Myanmar jade as well as jewellery pieces —sapphire, ruby or jade rings, earrings, bracelets and pearls set in gold, with or without diamonds. There are inexpensive pieces for sale such as Myanmar jadeite rings for US$1 baroque Myanmar jade pieces for US$3, jade bracelets for US$30 and for the indulgent, jade chopsticks at US$80.00 a pair. There are more expensive pieces of course, US$3,500 for an exquisite jade tea set consisting of a pot, six cups and a tray, splendid jade carvings from simple animal figurines to more complex Buddha images. There are ruby cabochon rings set in 18-carat gold going from US$100, sapphire rings from US$150 and pearl rings from US$90. For those with larger budgets there are ruby-encrusted gold pens for US$2,000.

All Myanmar jade, gems and jewellery on the ground floor may be bought over the counter from the vendors who represent joint ventures between private companies and the government. Jade items on display are of good quality and feature surprisingly contemporary designs. Authenticity of the Myanmar jade is assured and a certificate for customs clearance is issued with every purchase. All told, 129 lots of gems, 38 lots of Myanmar jade, 5,705 jewellery pieces and 5,261 pieces of Myanmar jade carving valued at US$4.16 million were available for sale over the counter. The second floor features gems, pearls, Myanmar jade stones and carvings exhibited by government-owned mines and sold only by auction.

In a competitive bidding process sealed bids are received for each lot of jade and other and the highest bid over the reserve price wins the particular order.

Some jade gems were so coveted that the bid was several times the reserve price! A single imperial jade semi-cut piece for instance, weighing 66.1 grams with a reserve price of US$3,500 sold for US$10,001.

Auctioning for Myanmar jade began at a slow pace in the morning of the first day but in the afternoon, the pace quickened. There was still much examining of the jade every time a lot was called for bids. A mind-boggling 339 lots of gems, 621 lots of jade and 120 lots of pearl valued at a total of US$18.6 million were put up for auction. Not all Myanmar jade lots received bids. The percentage of jade gems and jewelry successfully auctioned off varies from fair to fair. Emporiums turnovers are up to US$ 15 million, twice per year. It is estimated that some 60 to 80 per cent of all lots on display are sold at each Emporium.

Said a jade merchant from Hong Kong who was on his 15th visit to the Myanmar Gems Emporium, “Myanmar is the only place where you can find jade in such quantities. Some years, I have found really good quality Myanmar jade at reasonable prices; other times, I couldn’t find anything I liked or the prices were too high. But I have to come here every year anyway to see what’s in the market.”

Despite some reservations about price, most of the visitors to the Myanmar Gems Emporium agree on one thing, the gems are of superior quality to those found elsewhere and many gem dealers and jewelers are willing to pay the price.

There are inexpensive pieces for sale such as Myanmar jadeite rings for US$1 baroque Myanmar jade pieces for US$3, Myanmar jade bracelets for US$30 and for the indulgent, jade chopsticks at US$80.00 a pair.

There are more expensive pieces of course, US$3,500 for an exquisite Myanmar jade tea set consisting of a pot, six cups and a tray, splendid jade carvings from simple animal figurines to more complex Buddha images.

In July 1982, a jade stone which is 12 feet in length, 6.5 feet in height, 7 feet in girth and weighing 33 tons was found in Lonkhin area of Myanmar's Phakant region.  It is about 3 miles south of Nanthmaw village between 25 degree 33 minute 11 second North Latitude and 96 degree 14 minute 30 second of East Longitude.

Where Myanmar jade comes from and how ?

Myanmar jade is mainly smuggled into Thailand across the Moi River from Myanmar at Mae Sot on the western border of Thailand.

The Friendship Bridge has a constant stream of pedestrian, and at least as many people are crossing the river on inner tubes or in small boats. And in the dry season the two months both sides of New Years many just wade through the knee-deep water, so no problem to smuggle over some pretty Myanmar Jade to make some money. The funny, or not so funny fact is that Myanmar Jade is cheaper on the main road in Mae Sot as in the Bogyoke Market in Yangon.

Thai military see the movement but won't do anything. The Thai immigration net starts with a check point nearly 10 kilometers (six miles) inside the country on the way to Tak province. And at that point they are more concerned with people entering illegally than the movement of goods and Myanmar Jade. Actually the crossing between Myawaddy on the Myanmar side and Mae Sot is only one spot along the 2,107-kilometer (1,309.8-mile) border.

Thai law requires import duty on Myanmar Jade and other precious stones, and police have on occasion arrested people for breaking the law. But it's rare and when people are charged it is usually in Bangkok.

The laws are old - Sections 27 of the Customs Act of 1926, and Sections 16 and 17 of the Customs Act of 1939 - and pre-date Thailand becoming a global cutting and polish center for colored stones. Now most stones are imported for value-added work then exported again, so Thailand makes money from the business and the duty charge doesn't help encourage bringing stones to Thailand. For some time when Thailand produced its own rough from mines near Cambodia and Myanmar, they didn't need the imported goods. Now though, with their own mines dried up, the rough has to come from outside Thailand.

An indication of how spread out the industry is in Thailand, it was in Chantaburi in the east of the country near Cambodia, that a man who smuggled colored stones out of Myanmar explained part of the game.

 He said the trickiest part to get Myanmar Jade out of the country is in Myanmar itself where the over-bearing military government wants their take and imposes an export tax on all stones. The generals have made efforts to increase gem sales within the country so more of the money stays in Myanmar.

On September 29, 1995, they enacted the Myanmar Gems Law to foster a free market for gems. The law allowed dealers to sell the stones mined, cut and polished in Myanmar on the open market in Myanmar.

But, as some say in Mae Sot, precious and semi precious stones and Myanmar Jade travel by all means. Even the soldiers smuggle stones. And some of the ethnic armies that have signed peace deals with the Yangon generals are involved, too. In fact smuggling occurs at virtually every level. Those who don't want to smuggle the goods themselves can find people who will.

The route from the mines at Mogok and Mong Hsu for colored stones, and Hpakan for jade is by far more dangerous and difficult in Myanmar. It is generally a two-day journey to Mae Sot, often much of it on foot, and there are a host of potential dangers passing through areas controlled by various groups and fees paid along the way.

But, the smuggling routes for Myanmar jade are decades, even centuries, old so well established with their own accepted rules. They are so entrenched that many consider it carrying goods along a trade route not smuggling.

Once in Thailand, moving jade stones in small amounts is pretty easy and requires few precautions. But if someone wants to move a lot of valuable stones it is wise to make arrangements. And it can be cheaper to pay the right people a small sum of a few thousand baht (a hundred or so dollars) before moving the stones, than having to pay them a lot after being discovered with them.

Myanmar Jade and other gemstones sometimes piggyback with other goods coming into Thailand from Myanmar. The Myanmar vegetables and perishable produce go little further than the border towns, but teak goods, old and antique furniture and ornaments from a desperately poor country selling its heritage to survive, are pretty common. And then there are the drugs.

The movement of metamphetamine the Thais call "ya ba" (crazy drug) started changing the border dynamics about 2000 when the drug started being manufactured in large quantities along the border regions.

Crackdowns on the drug seen as destroying the fabric of Thai life were severe and common. More than 2,500 drug dealers were killed in 2002 during the government's effort to ride Thailand of the drug. Government authorities were quick to point out most of the killing was between drug dealers.

The result for the Myanmar Jade and gem trade was the more thorough searches for drugs could also turn up stones, which would drive the price up with the carrier having to pay a "fine" to continue with their wares. But, the authorities look for big shipments of drugs, so the impact on caring small amounts of stones has been minimal.

Still, the drug trade is widespread along the border regions, and sometimes linked to the gem and jade trade. The United Wa State Army (UWSA), one of Myanmar's numerous ethnic armies, is one group involved in the drug trade, and using the gem trade to hide their drug dealings, according to Thai government sources.

The military government in Myanmar signed a deal with the UWSA in June 2001, which included the condition they stopped dealing in drugs and turn to gems. But according to Thai government sources, the UWSA decided the two businesses were better than one. And they reportedly used the bi-annual gem auctions hosted by the Myanmar Gems Enterprise to launder drug money. At past auctions, Wa traders bid on their own gems paying more than the original costs to launder the money.

But a lot of Myanmar Jade and gem dealers say the drug connection is overblown. They point out that it's too risky to transport gems with drugs. Carrying them alone is safer and there are many willing to do so.

Finding "mules" to carry Myanmar Jade and gemstones is easy enough with much of Myanmar in dire economic straights. Migrants come to Thailand in the hundreds of thousands looking for work. An Amnesty International report released in June (2005) states migrants from Myanmar take the dangerous, dirty jobs that Thais don't want.

The report says they are "paid well below the Thai minimum wage, work long hours in unhealthy conditions and are at risk of arbitrary arrest and deportation."

Some add it's a long border and gem rough can be carried in small amounts. Some Bangkok gem dealers, in fact, say many stones are "smuggled" into Thailand in coat pockets.

The Myanmar Jade and gems are getting in, have been for centuries, and will continue to do so.

In Mae Sot the number of gem dealers hawking Myanmar Jade and gemstones during the daily street market has increased in recent years. Now Prasatwithi Road is often crowded between 11 am and 2 pm. And you're as likely to hear Burmese spoken as Thai.

The stones are from everywhere, including Africa, but most are from Myanmar. But some of them go from Myanmar to Chanthaburi, then back to Mae Sot. Cutting and polishing is much better in Chanthaburi, it's pretty mediocre in Mae Sot, many say.

Myanmar Jade has become more abundant, but the more precious stones generate more interest, and rubies remain the biggest draw.

But buyers say more sellers does not necessarily mean more sales. Noi said she had 20 years in the business in Mae Sot, and the quantity of jade stones is not much more than before, there are just more people selling smaller amounts.

The US embargo of everything from Myanmar had little impact on gems and jade because it didn't have time to. And now rough from the pariah state is legal again. That might be a good thing considering the futility of a world ruby market without rough from Myanmar, where most dealers estimate about 80 per cent of the original content coming from. And, it's the better of the lot in the world, too.

During the time when even rough was considered banned from Myanmar, high quality rubies started appearing from Vietnam, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Now with rough from Myanmar legal - as long as it is significantly improved else where - those same stones are back to being from Myanmar.

US customs agents would be hard pressed to know a Myanmar Mogok ruby from a Vietnam ruby, anyway, so enforcing the ban would have proven difficult at best. And those same customs officials have more pressing items to search for such as weapons and drugs.

But its not just rubies, jade and other colored stones that were getting around the embargo. Garment factories reportedly sew on labels that say made in Thailand, China other another country, and through middlemen there sell the clothing in the U.S. and EU countries.

Embargoes are difficult to sustain, and it the case of something as valuable and easily transportable as colored stones, next to impossible.

American companies stopped buying rubies and everything else from Myanmar in 2003 when the United States banned imports of all Myanmar products with the Burmese Freedom and Democracy act enacted on August 28. The ban was in protest of the ruling generals' human rights abuses.

Then in December 2004 the US Customs department changed the rule on colored stones. The new rules stated that gems mined in Myanmar, but cut and polished in other countries, are not classified as from Myanmar. So rubies and other stones were effectively exempted from the ban.

Most Myanmar Jade and colored stones from Myanmar are cut and polished in Canthaburi, a global center for heat treatment. Even stones already cut and polished in Myanmar, are often done so again because the skill level there is inferior to Thai workmanship.

"Mining in Burma (Myanmar) supports the ruling dictator while bleeding the Burmese people, which is why no one should buy these 'blood gems'," he told Thai-based Irrawaddy magazine.

Gems and Myanmar Jade are currently a main source of income for many people in Myanmar. According to Myanmar government figures, they earned $22 million at the second of the two official auctions - Emporium in Yangon- in 2004, an event held twice a year since 1992.

The Myanmar Gems and Myanmar Jade Emporium as it is called dates back to 1964 when it was an informal gathering. Then in 1992 in an effort to earn more from the gems, the generals had the Myanmar Gems Enterprise, under the Ministry of Mines, hold two a year.

But, that was for official sales. The Myanmar government gets nothing from stones smuggled into Thailand.

"There are two ways to get stones from Myanmar. One is to deal with the Myanmar government at their auctions. The other is to deal with people who smuggle it across the border into Thailand. What they are smuggling the government in Myanmar doesn't get anything," a Bangkok gem dealer said.

Myanmar Jade is another matter. A lot comes into Thailand, but more is going straight to China, with a growing market for the stone in the expanding economy there and the Myanmar jade mines in northern Myanmar are conveniently close to the 2,204-kilometer (1,370-mile) border between the two countries.

It doesn't seem how tight the generals in Yangon tighten the net; colored stones will continue to travel their well plod routes out of the country and into the world market.

Note : Kachin State is one of the world’s primary sources of jadeite. According to legend the first boulder of jadeite brought into China was carried from Kachin on the back of mule by a merchant who used the boulder to balance his load.

copyright AllMyanmarInfo