The generals are pretty used to divide and rule, and it will be difficult to get all countries involved. China, India and Southeast Asia are the key." But countries in the region would probably not join an embargo, he added.

Arnold Silverberg, who owns AJS Gems in Bangkok, said an embargo hurts small dealers and outlets.

"The amount of money the generals get from gems is minuscule compared to the money they get elsewhere,โ€ he said. โ€œThe generals don't give a damn, they have all the money in the world."

Silverberg claimed those pushing for a boycott "are just trying to make themselves feel good. But we're starving the people, not the generals. I feel bad for the Burmese people."

Jewelers of America supports a ban on Burma rubies, advising its more than 11,000 members to "to source their gemstones in a manner that respects human rights," the group's president, Matthew A Runci, said in a statement released last month.

Sanctions havenโ€™t worked well in the past, dealers point out.

American companies stopped buying rubies in 2003, when the United States banned imports of all Burma products under a law enacted in reaction to the ruling generals' human rights abuses.

The following year the US Customs Department created a loophole, exempting gems cut or polished in other countries from the ban. More than 90 percent of Burma's gems are exported in rough form.

Most colored stones from Burma are cut and polished in Chanthaburi, Thailand, a global gem center.

But even during the total ban on Burma gems, many passed under the radar by being sold as coming from Vietnam or Sri Lanka. When the loophole was introduced they started being Burma rubies again.

Despite such problems, Leber disagrees with the boycott opponents: "It's not a question if it's going to be effective. It just feels wrong to sell rubies from Burma."