Collectibility and color drive today’s marketIn general, the U.S. gem trade is more optimistic than it was a year ago, but sales are still quite different than they were a decade ago. The market continues to see demand focused on the high end, while colors—and not gem varieties—are driving demand in the commercial end of the market.At the high end, buyer motivation is rooted in wealth preservation through rare collectible commodities such as colored stones. Growing consumption overseas also has increased prices and therefore reduced access to a number of popular gem varieties, including emeralds, green and pink tourmalines, and blue sapphires. Retailers can adjust to this by looking beyond the “big three” (ruby, sapphire, and emerald) to some lesser-known gems like sphene and scapolite, which remain affordable. Fine aquamarine also is available in greater quantity than last yea