Inside Vietnam’s Gemstone Trade: What I Learnt in Hanoi and Luc Yen

Vietnam’s gemstone trade is unlike anywhere else I have experienced. Behind the country’s busy cities and dramatic landscapes lies a world of ruby, spinel, jade and intricate craftsmanship, shaped by mining communities, local traders and skills passed down through generations.

Travelling through Hanoi and northern Vietnam gave me the opportunity to see this world from several perspectives: inside gemstone markets, alongside local artisans and in the mining areas surrounding Luc Yen.

Exploring Hanoi’s Gemstone Trade

Hanoi provided my first introduction to Vietnam’s gemstone and jewellery market.

Among the busy streets and shopfronts, I found traders offering a wide variety of coloured gemstones, carvings and jewellery. As always, the most interesting part was not simply looking at the stones, but speaking with the people behind them and understanding how gemstones are bought, valued and used locally.

Vietnam also has a distinctive tradition of gemstone painting. Small pieces of coloured stone and mineral are carefully selected and arranged to create detailed pictures. Watching this process demonstrated another side of the gemstone trade, one in which material that may not be suitable for cutting into jewellery can still become something beautiful and culturally meaningful.

The Road to Luc Yen

Luc Yen, in northern Vietnam, has been associated with gemstone mining and trading since significant ruby and spinel deposits were discovered in the region during the late 1980s.

The journey there took me beyond the polished jewellery shops and into the landscape from which many of these stones originate. The surrounding areas, including An Phu, Thac Ba and Buoi, are known for deposits of ruby, spinel and marble.

Visiting mining areas offers a very different perspective from seeing a finished gemstone beneath the lights of a showroom. The conditions can be difficult, production is unpredictable and finding usable material requires persistence as much as knowledge. It is a reminder that every polished gemstone begins as a possibility hidden inside the ground.

Luc Yen’s Morning Gemstone Market

Luc Yen’s gemstone market is one of the best-known features of the town.

Rather than a formal trading hall, the market traditionally operates in the open air, with local traders, many of them women, displaying stones on small tables. Parcels may contain ruby, spinel, tourmaline or other locally sourced material, ranging from rough crystals to cut gemstones.

For a gemmologist, markets like this are fascinating but demanding. Stones must be examined carefully, and assumptions cannot be made simply because a gemstone is offered close to where it was mined. Origin, treatment, quality and value are separate questions. A compelling story does not replace gemmological assessment.

What interested me most was the human side of the market. The trade supports miners, cutters, sellers and families across the region. Gemstones here are not simply luxury objects; they form part of the local economy and community life.

Ruby and Spinel from Northern Vietnam

Luc Yen is particularly associated with ruby and spinel. Vietnamese spinel can occur in vivid reds, pinks, purples and blues, while the region’s rubies have attracted collectors and traders internationally. As with gemstones from any source, however, quality varies considerably.

Colour alone is never enough. Clarity, cut, treatment, size and the reliability of any origin claim all affect a stone’s desirability and value.

Seeing these gemstones within their local trading environment reinforced something I frequently tell buyers: provenance should be approached with curiosity, but also with evidence.

Craftsmanship Beyond the Mine

Vietnam’s gemstone identity extends well beyond mining. Jade has long held cultural significance, while jewellery making, carving and decorative stonework reflect a mixture of regional traditions and outside influences. Skills are often learned within families and refined over many years.

Meeting artisans and observing their work provided an important counterpoint to the mining experience. Extracting a stone is only the beginning. Cutting, polishing, setting and presentation all influence what that material eventually becomes.

Each stage adds knowledge, judgement and human effort.

What the Vietnam Gemstone Trade Taught Me

My time in Vietnam reinforced the importance of seeing the gemstone trade as a complete journey. A finished stone may appear effortless, but behind it are miners working uncertain deposits, traders assessing parcels, cutters making irreversible decisions and artisans transforming natural material into something people will treasure.

It also confirmed why independent guidance matters. Whether buying in Vietnam, Sri Lanka or elsewhere, buyers need to look beyond the excitement of being close to the source.

The setting may be memorable, but the same questions still apply:

• Is the stone natural?

• Has it been treated?

• Is the stated origin supported?

• Is the quality appropriate for the price?

• And is it the right gemstone for the person buying it?

Those questions are as important in a rural gemstone market as they are in a prestigious jewellery shop.

Continuing the Journey in Sri Lanka

Vietnam remains an important part of my international field experience and my understanding of how gemstones move from the ground into the market.

My private gemstone experiences are now based in Sri Lanka, where guests can explore mines, markets and cutting workshops alongside me through a personalised itinerary shaped around their interests.

Kim Rix GG GIA

Gemstone Detective