Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Display cases filled with colourful\ngemstone rings still line the stalls of the Rawa Bening Gemstone Market,\nalso known as the Jakarta Gems Center (JGC), in Jatinegara.\nUnfortunately, behind the neatly arranged rows of exotic gemstone rings,\ntraders admit they are struggling to sell their wares.<\/p>\n
CNBC Indonesia visited the traders\u2019 location on Wednesday (8\/9\/2026).\nThe market atmosphere appeared busy with people passing through, but\nvisitors actually buying gemstones were relatively few.<\/p>\n
\u2018That\u2019s how it looks, it seems busy. But those who are shopping are\nfew and specific, depending on the fortune given by the Almighty,\u2019 said\ngemstone trader Sandi Shadewo.<\/p>\n
Sandi Shadewo stated that the business conditions for gemstone\ntraders are clearly different compared to the boom around 10 years ago.\nAt that time, a number of gemstone traders could earn turnover of up to\ntens of millions of rupiah. Now, however, they can only hope for a\npurchase transaction each day.<\/p>\n
Sandi admitted he is grateful if two to three gemstone rings are\nsold. The rings are priced from around Rp100,000 to over Rp1\nmillion.<\/p>\n
\u2018At most, I get 2-3 pieces, that\u2019s enough for me. Sometimes there\u2019s\none for Rp200,000, sometimes Rp100,000. Sometimes also Rp300,000, and if\nfortune is lucky, I can get over a million, Rp1.3 million,\u2019 he\nrevealed.<\/p>\n
According to him, the weakening of public purchasing power has\ngreatly affected the gemstone market, as global uncertainty influences\nan individual\u2019s spending on hobby-related needs.<\/p>\n
Seeing this condition, he hopes for government assistance through the\nMinistry of Tourism to introduce this cultural heritage to both local\nand international tourists. This effort is expected to boost the income\ngrowth of gemstone artisans at the Rawa Bening Market.<\/p>\n
Another trader, Adi, admitted he has been running his gemstone\nbusiness since the Covid-19 pandemic, but the sales trend remains\nuncertain. He acknowledged that the challenging economic conditions are\nclosely linked to the fate of the gemstones he trades. This is reflected\nin the difficulty of selling gemstones optimally in 2026, even though\nthe gemstones Adi sells are relatively cheap, starting from Rp25,000 to\nRp100,000.<\/p>\n
\u2018Sales this year are worse compared to last year,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Adi recounted that currently, people mostly seek gemstone rings\npriced at Rp40,000. From this, Adi can earn a turnover of around\nRp700,000 to Rp1 million per day. To sustain his business, Adi is\nassisted by his child in selling on online platforms, where his\nmerchandise is photographed and offered directly to customers with\nvarious ring models.<\/p>\n
Similarly, gemstone kiosk manager Jeje admitted that the decline in\nsales began to be felt since the Covid-19 pandemic. Even now, there are\nno signs of recovery like a decade ago. Jeje even acknowledged that\nthere are times when no gemstone rings are sold at all for one to two\nmonths. He explained that traders who can still achieve daily turnover\nare actually considered fortunate.<\/p>\n
\u2018If you can still talk about daily turnover, that is already very\ngood in my opinion,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
At his stall, Jeje offers a wide variety of gemstone rings. He claims\nthat 99% of the stone materials originate from Indonesia, such as Java\nor Sumatra. He prices the gemstone rings according to their quality; the\nbetter the quality, the more expensive the price.<\/p>\n
\u2018The prices are very varied. Starting from around one hundred\nthousand rupiah to perhaps now still holding at tens of millions. At one\ntime, it even reached hundreds of millions, with some touching the one\nbillion rupiah mark,\u2019 he concluded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mysterious-buyer-disappearance-leaves-gemstone-paradise-quiet-and-deserted-1783522330", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }