Interview with my gemstone suppliers - Malik Farrukh
30. 08. 2022
Tell me please your name and where are you from?
My name is Malik Farrukh and my company name is Alfahadgems and I belong to peshawar Pakistan , Peshawar city is situated in Khyber Pukhtoon Khuwa province of Pakistan .
How did you start with gemstone business? Do you have some special education? Did you have some other jobs before?
I did gemology and gem cutting diploma course from the gems and Gemological institute of Pakistan in 2005. After having diploma from GGIP institute then I went to our gems market which is situated at Namak Mandi Peshawar , in our language Namak means salt and Mandi means market so it’s mean salt market is because there is food street there at Namak Mandi and our traditional food restaurants there I will attach a picture of that bbq food of lambs , and behind that food street it’s our gems market which is from 1960 and now there are thousands of gems dealers there and they have offices and shops and work there mostly in them. There are Afghan peoples also.
Are you from “gemstone” business family?
No I am not from gemstones family , my family caste is Malik , you can see the bio data of Malik family in Pakistan encyclopaedia , basicaly our family is landlords by family and had farming business from my father to grand father and his father and so on , but after having gem cutting diploma from GGIP institute I came in this field and personally the answer is I love gems too you can say it’s my hobby also and I have my own collection also.
Who are mainly your clients?
My clients are mostly from USA and Europe , and in Asia from Singapore , China , Malaysia , but 90% business is from USA and Europe clients , mostly they are jewellers or resellers of gems with them I work in whole sale prices , you know it’s kind of a chain business from mine labour to end users there are many people who earn money in it and feed their family.
What do you like the most about your job?
Well whenever I buy raw materials gems then I like to make them and get ready them and to see their beauty in finish quality and when I see them after getting ready so I like it a lot. And second is that for rough material of Africa we travel to Africa and to Thailand for buying rough gems so travelling is also the answer. I like it very much.
Do you have some favorite gemstone or cut?
Yes nowadays there are many best precisions cuts which we get ready and my fav gems are tourmalines and sapphires.
Which gemstones do you like to work with? Which gemstones are the hardest to work with?
Normally those gems which have good hardness are easy to make but difficult in polish for example sapphires , and hardest to work are those which have low hardness because they breaks during cutting for example flourite.
Do you remember the most interesting or expensive gemstone you have sold?
Yes I have sold the rarest Afghanite loop clean 4.5 carat piece in 30 thausand US dollar to a client from usa Jtv ( jewellery television ) in 2014 and till now I didn’t saw loop clean piece in Afghanite , probably that piece values' is right now more then 100 thausand dollars.
What are your source of raw gemstone (locality)? Do you have a long term cooperation? Do you have your own mine?
Normally 60% materials we buy from Africa and 40% from Pakistan and Afghanistan , well I don’t have my own mines of gems quality materials but I do have my own mines of industrial use materials copper , iron , silica quartz , etc.
What made you happy recently?
Giving you interview made me happy recently.