Established by Jewelry Renaissance Limited of Hong Kong’s Syn-Groups Holdings Company Limited in August 2016, the flagship store of Zultanite Jewellery in Guangzhou aims to bring Zultanite to the Mainland market and promote the culture of Zultanite to consumers all over China through continuous marketing and promotions. Hong Kong Jewellery has recently interviewed general manager Jimmy Chan on the rare colour-change gemstone and its market potential in China.
According to Jimmy Chan, Zultanite is currently only available at the mining area of Anatolia, Turkey. The gemstone has a refractive index of 1.70-1.75 and a double refractive index of 0.048. High refraction and high dispersion, Zultanite displays very bright vitreous, high sub-adamantine lustre and high degree of fire.
The supply of Zultanite has been stable since exploration. “We are seeing a steady supply of Zultanite since 2017. An annual output of thousands of carats can be realised under reasonable mining. It is expected that nearly 10,000 tonnes of roughs can be extracted, providing the market with hundreds of millions of carats of makeable stones in future. We will control the material supply according to market responses. Our sustainable production can fulfil all that the market needs,” Chan said.
Zultanite has registered an average price increase of 15 to 20 percent over the last two years. And there are rooms for a stable upward trend, according to Chan. “We expect to see a steady price increase in future alongside the deepening of Zultanite promotion in China. It may come as another investment goods,” he elaborated.
Excellent cutting technique is essential to bring out the unique colour-change effect of Zultanite. Chan said: “Zultanite has perfect cleavage. Colour changes along the horizontal axis is considered the most ideal. It is of paramount importance to cut and polish the gemstone at the right angles,” he added. All stones they handled are processed at the global cutting centre in Bangkok, Thailand.
Promotions at important jewellery shows, upscale private events and media activities in China over the last two years have reinforced consumers’ knowledge and acceptance of Zultanite from zero understanding. “Many consumers have learnt about this exquisite and amazing gemstone from social media and friends. Some have come to us for more information via different channels. Compared with regular gemstones, Zultanite is quite well-received by consumers who see it as an upmarket and rare gemstone with cultural connections and values,” he said.
Marketing new products is always subject to challenges; promoting Zultanite shall have no exception. Chan said: “It is costly to educate consumers and prepare the market for Zultanite. After all, it is just in the China market for two years. It is too early to talk about popularity and recognition of the relatively new gemstone. Also, the rarity of Zultanite together with its extraordinary optical effects make it an expansive gemstone which targets well-heeled consumers. We have a certain difficulty marketing the gemstone with such a special positioning. Therefore, it is an arduous task for us to target the affluent consumers in China, to gain their acceptance and to convince them to buy the high-end gemstone which is pretty new to them.”
Jimmy Chan reveals that in 2019 the company will still be focusing on an O2O marketing initiative. “We will keep collaborating with upmarket sales platforms and qualified distributors all over the world, while promoting the brand culture of Zultanite to our target customers via various events. Besides, we are locating a strategic partner in the Mainland for launching the next upscale jewellery experience store,” he said. (Photo courtesy: Jewelry Renaissance Limited)
Easy ways to differentiate Zultanite
According to Jimmy Chan, colour-change glass is a common Zultanite simulant in the market. Here he introduces several rapid tests to differentiate Zultanite from colour-change glass.
1. Certificate
Certificate is an important tool to gemstone authentication. Every piece of Zultanite goes with a GIA and a NGTC certificate. Their Zultanite gemstone comes directly from the only legitimate mine, ensuring the authenticity of the gemstone.
2. Lustre
Synthetic glass exhibits glass lustre under the light. Zultanite, however, displays very bright vitreous to high sub-adamantine lustre under the light with a high degree of fire thanks to its high refraction and high dispersion property.
3. Colour-change effect
Zultanite is a 100-percent natural colour-change gemstone with a phenomenal colour-change effect which comes in a soft and natural way under different light sources. When it comes to synthetic colour-change glass, nevertheless, an abrupt change of colour is exhibited under the light, while the range of colour change goes beyond that of Zultanite.
4. Doubling of facets
Zultanite has visible doubling of the back facets when viewed from the crown down under a 10x lens due to its birefringence property. Glass is single refraction, no doubling of facets is seen.
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