shirt and the traditional cotton skirt, or lungyi. He had a rectangular face and high prominent cheekbones. He apparently knew our agent and they greeted each other with extravagant courtesy. The dealer had heard that we were in town and apparently had something special to show us.

After the introductions and ritual pleasantries, the dealer escorted us to his office, about two blocks along the dusty main street. We passed through an open-fronted food market. At the back of the store, we ascended a staircase of dark teak. The workroom of a bakery was visible below the stairwell and the smell of the baking accompanied us up to the second floor. We entered a room with walls and floors richly paneled in polished teakwood. The market noises and the westering sun filtered through open casement windows overlooking the street.

After sitting down around a low wooden table we were offered tea and delicacies still warm from the ovens below. Two stone parcels were placed before us. My friend opened the first paper and after a brief look handed it to me without comment. Inside was a two-carat cushion-shaped ruby of the finest color I had ever seen. I looked at Joe, our eyes locked briefly, his glance confirmed the insight that had tripped off like a flashbulb in my mind. In my twenty years’ experience this was my first glimpse of the Pigeon’s Blood!

Asking to see the pigeon’s blood is like asking to see the
face of God.

Anonymous nineteenth-century Burmese trader

The true pigeon’s blood red is extremely rare, more a color of the mind than the material world.

R. Hughes, 1997 The color was new to me yet somehow I knew it for what it was, perhaps because I had seen everything but! The stone was a primary red, the hue and tone like a rich tomato sauce that has simmered for hours on the stove: a deeptoned pure red with just a hint of blue added to it. I composed myself, breathing deeply to control my rapidly beating heart. My friend reflected for a moment, then asked the price. The asking price was, of course, astonishing! Negotiations continued for about an hour, but in the end our offer was not accepted. The next day proved luckier.

Sapphire comes in many colors. Sapphire is one of two varieties of the gem species corundum. If it is red, it is ruby. If it is any other color it is called sapphire.