Responsible business practices ‘no longer optional’, says WDC President Feriel Zerouki

The president of the World Diamond Council takes time out of her busy schedule to tell Rough&Polished readers about the critical work of the WDC. Zerouki, the first female present of the body, which includes all the important industry organizations among...

14 october 2024

James Campbell: Botswana Diamonds optimistic as it enters uncharted territory of using AI for mineral exploration

London-listed Botswana Diamonds has expressed optimism about the company’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to scan the exploration database in Botswana to look for new mineralised deposits. Company managing director James Campbell told Rough...

07 october 2024

Artur Salyakayev: For me, happiness is freedom to make my ideas happen and create valuable products

Artur Salyakayev is an art entrepreneur, founder of the International Jewelry Academy (IJA) and the INCRUA jewelry company. He has initiated and developed successful projects in jewelry industry and services sector. He is also a leading expert...

30 september 2024

Paul Zimnisky: China key for sustained recovery in demand for natural diamonds, prices

The curtailing of upstream and midstream natural diamond production in the past months is starting to have an effect on prices, according to the New-York-based independent diamond and jewellery analyst and consultant, Paul Zimnisky. He told Rough & Polished’s...

23 september 2024

Vladimir Pilyushin: The jewelry market is not stand-alone and moves by the same laws as other markets

Vladimir Pilyushin is editor-in-chief of Russian Jeweler, a leading magazine about the jewelry industry in Russia. He told Rough&Polished about his view on the evolution of the jewelry industry in Russia and touched upon some of its problems.

16 september 2024

Gemfields posts record revenue from the latest emerald auction

06 june 2023
Gemfields has posted record revenue of $ 43.7 million from the sale of 35 high-quality rough emeralds produced at its 75%-owned Kagem mine, in Zambia.
It said the auction, which ran from May 15 to June 1, had an average realised price of $165.55 per carat, making it a record for price-per-carat paid for a single auction lot.
Gemfields has since July 2009 generated $964 million in revenue from 45 auctions of Kagem gemstones.
“In our last auction [in November 2022], we saw the market normalise appreciably when compared with the exuberance of the first half of 2022,” said company product and sales managing director Adrian Banks.
“We are delighted to see the market rebound sharply once again, underpinning the step-change in market pricing [that] we reported in 2022.”
The auction lots were made available in Bangkok for private, in-person viewings by customers, following which the auctions took place through an online auction platform specifically adapted for Gemfields.
The platform allows for permitted customers from multiple jurisdictions to participate in a sealed-bid process.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished