Gemfields International to Open Rough Emerald Auction in Johannesburg
From December 6 to 10...Gemfields International held a rough emerald auction in Johannesburg from December 6 to 10, which was attended by 32 companies drawn from India, Israel, Germany and the United States. The company offered about 870,000 carats and sold 750,000 carats of mainly higher quality emerald. The sale fetched $19.6 million, or about $26 per carat.
The emeralds sold at the auction achieved an average per carat price increase of some 180 percent higher than Gemfields' July auction in London.
In particular, an exceptionally rare and magnificent 720-carat emerald crystal set a new Gemfields record in terms of the achieved value per carat. The crystal was acquired by father-and-son dealers Raj Kumar and Rishabh Tongya of Precious Jewels Corporation, who have since named it “The Divine Green of Zambia.”
The December sale marked the fifth auction for Gemfields in the past 18 months with revenues totaling $45.8 million.
Ian Harebottle, chief executive of Gemfields, said, “This was a highly successful auction indicative of the quality of some of our recent production and strong corroboration for our strategy of bringing a regular and reliable supply of ethically-mined emeralds and beryl, from a responsible source, to the market.”
“There is a clear increase in demand for our ethical Zambian emeralds and while it is a little surprising that some parties are yet to grasp the inherent value in what Gemfields and our distribution partners are able to offer discerning consumers, today’s outstanding sales speak for themselves and demonstrate the progress we have made with our marketing strategies.”
By: Denise Romano
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