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Gemfields’ May Emerald Auction Brings in $14M
Though the sale set a new record for per-carat prices for lower quality stones, it was only 76 percent sold by weight and 79 percent sold by value.
London--Gemfields’ latest auction, which featured mostly lower quality rough emeralds from the Kagem mine in Zambia, totaled $14.3 million.
The sale, which was held from May 17 to 20 in Jaipur, India and included no beryl, set a record for per-carat prices for lower quality auctions at $5.15 per carat.
Approximately 3.67 million carats of lower quality emerald were put up for offer, but the auction was only 76 percent sold by weight and 79 percent sold by value.
Gemfields said that there were a few lots in which there was a “slightly higher degree of uncertainty with respect to final recovery from rough to finished goods.” As such, minimum reserve prices weren’t met and the lots were held back.
The company added that it “believes that these goods offer considerable opportunity to further build demand in other new areas” and it is “confident in the quality and longer-term value of these lots,” which is supported by evidence of the U.S. market continuing to come back on stream.
As a result of the May Jaipur auction, the Kagem mine has exceeded $100 million in revenue for the current financial year.
Gemfields has held 22 auctions featuring material sourced at Kagem since July 2009, generating a total of $426 million.
The mine is 75 percent owned by Gemfields and 25 percent owned by the government of the Republic of Zambia.
The company’s next auction is expected to take place next month in Singapore, comprised predominately of mixed quality rough ruby from the Montepuez mine in Mozambique.
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