.RUSSIA'S precious stone business is under the gun. On January 1st the G7, a group of rich nations, and the European Union disallowed imports of tough rubies mined in Russia-- a 3rd of the total drawn out worldwide in 2022. On January 3rd the EU added Russia's state exploration firm, and its own leader, to its sanctions listing. This is the initial phase of a complete decrees scheme: in March the G7 and also EU are going to outlaw Russian gems that have been cut and also polished abroad. In September they will definitely introduce an accreditation program to confirm where precious stones were unearthed. These measures amount to the most significant change to the business in decades. Why possesses it taken such a long time to enforce decrees on Russia's ruby market-- and what influence will they possess?