Economic and Trade of Precious Stones in the Context of Iran

Handicraft is a kind of cultural and artistic symbol and since handmade goods represent historical, social and cultural characteristics of the country they were made in, they can be an important factor in introducing the related culture and civilization and can also attract tourists. Decorating and processing precious stones are included in handicraft, an art as old as the history of Iran. Minerals and precious stones were considered valuable since long ago and people used them as jewelry. As well as ornamental uses, these minerals have industrial uses and there are great demands for some of them like diamond led to make costume jewelry. Despite the existence of some costume jewelries, the fragility and intricacy in nature created by the omnipotent hands of the Creator is never imitable for human. Hence, real precious gems have always maintained their value and even their prices increased after the appearance of artificial gems. According to some unofficial statistics, the minerals and precious stones in different countries is estimated at 600 billion dollars a year. 400 billion of that belongs to precious gems whose 75% is estimated to belong to diamond. Africa and Asia are the largest producers of diamond and precious gems respectively. Greatest makers of jewelry in the world are some small companies which work independently. The value added earned by a country through developing the section of precious stones is more than other huge sections of industry and mining in terms of their costs. At the moment, India is first in the world rankings by earning $ 20 billion a year from exporting precious and semiprecious gems in this regard. Moreover, Saudi Arabia in the largest importer of gold and jewelry in the world by importing 600 tons of different kinds of jewelries and precious and semiprecious stones annually. On the other hand, Italy is the largest exporter of gold in the world by exporting 600–700 tons of gold and jewelries