Legal Status of Gems (Jewellery Stones) in Türkiye and the Importance of New Regulations

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HATİPOĞLU M.

TURKIYE JEOLOJI BULTENI-GEOLOGICAL BULLETIN OF TURKEY, cilt.68, sa.3, ss.351-396, 2025 (ESCI, TRDizin)

Özet

What distinguishes minerals grouped as gemstones (jewellery stones) from other metallic and industrial minerals and building stones is that they do not require bulky reserves and production amounts. Even if they have low reserves, if they are extracted with good quality, they are sought after for use in the jewellery industry, and when compared to other groups, these materials have very high economic value. Although gemstone science (gemmology) and the gemstone processing industry are not very developed in T & uuml;rkiye and the potential ofgemstones in our country has not yet been fully determined, gemstones represent high economic potential for our country when mining is performed consciously and the products marketed well. Therefore, it is in our national interest that national mining, analysis and trade ofgems in their raw and processed forms should be coordinated and disciplined. Differing and ignorant practices by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance regarding gemstones are contrary to our national interests and are in disorder. Managing gemstones under a single regulation has become a necessity due to logic and science. There is a definite need for new laws just about mining, analysis, exchange and trading of gemstones. The content of this law should be specially prepared in accordance with equivalent laws from other countries in the world. A "Turkish Gemstone (Jewellery Stones (Gemmology) Application and Research Centre" should be established within the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs (MAPEG) or General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration Institute (MTA). This centre should be able to organise mining, processing and marketing of gemstones and R&D activities, most of which are still not active in our country. Today, the centres of gemstone trade in the world are places such as Thailand (Bangkok), China (Hong Kong), and India (Jaipur, Bombay). The definition of precious stones in Article 2/K of the Turkish Foreign Exchange legislation (Turkish Currency Protection Legislation No. 32) must be revised and missing regulations must be updated. A similar revision should be made to standards TS-6173 and TS-6174 regarding gemstones, which are currently enforced by the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE). When examined in terms of the consumer, one of the main stakeholders in the jewellery industry in T & uuml;rkiye and within the framework of the "Law on Consumer Protection No. 6502" in our general legal system, the current regulations and approaches cannot respond with the penal effectiveness required for possible problems encountered in terms ofgemstones. Based on this determination, the law and the relevant regulations and related legislation need to be rearranged in order to prevent consumer grievance in relation to gemstones.