As Chinese demand for gems slides, prices on rubies, sapphires, and emeralds are bound for a correction. Over the course of his nine-year career selling sapphires, Sheahan Stephen had never seen anything like it: At Facets Sri Lanka, the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair, and the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, all of which took place in September, Asian buyers refused to spend more than $2,000 per carat for stones. “The market has taken a drastic turn,” the San Francisco–based importer tells JCK. The wholesale gem trade, which thrived over the past decade on purchases by Chinese buyers, is anticipating a dramatic price correction. The economic slowdown in China, combined with a weaker yuan and government efforts to curb corruption, has discouraged many of these buyers from spending, forcing the industry to reassess its prospects for growth in 2016. “Chinese buying is dow