Sourcing

Grizzly Sells 4,145-Carat Emerald for Over $1M

SourcingMar 21, 2024

Grizzly Sells 4,145-Carat Emerald for Over $1M

The miner’s March auction generated $19 million.

Grizzly Mining rough emeralds
Grizzly Mining sold 112 of the 117 lots offered at its recent emerald auction in Dubai.
Lusaka, Zambia—Grizzly Mining Ltd. announced that its latest international emerald auction garnered $19 million.

The emeralds offered this month were extracted from the company’s fully owned flagship Grizzly emerald mine in Zambia’s Lufwanyama region.

The sale offered a mix of medium- to high-grade rough emeralds in 117 lots. 

Of those, 112 were sold. The five unsold lots are being reserved for the next auction, Grizzly said.

A 4,145-carat rough emerald, described by the company as having “exceptional gem quality,” sold for more than $1 million.

The March sale follows Grizzly’s previous record-breaking auction in August 2023, which garnered $48.6 million. All 106 lots offered sold.  

The company said the August sale included higher-quality stones. 

 Related stories will be right here … 

The recent auction took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, via an online platform specifically adapted for Grizzly, allowing customers to participate in a secure, confidential sealed-bid process.  

A total of 76 clients from Europe, Asia and Africa attended. 

The lots were made available for in-person viewings in Dubai prior to the sale. 

“I am pleased to announce another strong auction from Grizzly Mining. Our spring auction was very well attended, underpinning the strong demand for high-quality Zambian emeralds,” said Abdoulaye Ndiaye, founder and chairman of Grizzly. 

“I am pleased to see such strong bidding for the exceptional 4,145-carat stone and [offer] my congratulations to the winning client K. Sunil Narnoli, with whom we have worked for many years. We look forward to seeing their work on this unique stone in the coming months.” 

Ndiaye added, “I would like to thank all our international partners who participated in the auction and our team on the ground in Zambia who have worked to make this happen.” 

Grizzly Mining was founded in 1997. The Zambian mine produces around 60 million carats a year, with quarterly auctions in-country and internationally. 

The company noted that each specific auction mix and the quality of the lots offered vary in characteristics such as size, color, and clarity due to variations in mine production and market demand. 

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