.RUSSIA'S gemstone market is under the gun. On January 1st the G7, a team of wealthy nations, and the European Association prohibited imports of rough gemstones mined in Russia-- a third of the total drawn out worldwide in 2022. On January 3rd the EU included Russia's condition exploration business, as well as its leader, to its own sanctions list. This is actually the initial period of a detailed penalties plan: in March the G7 as well as EU will definitely ban Russian jewels that have been actually reduced and also refined abroad. In September they will definitely offer a certification plan to confirm where precious stones were actually unearthed. These steps add up to the biggest change to the business in years. Why possesses it taken such a long time to impose penalties on Russia's gemstone business-- and what influence will they possess?