Gemfields announces record emerald auction results

LONDON – Gemfields has announced the results of an emerald auction comprised of higher-quality rough emeralds held during the period 15 May – 1 June 2023.

Highlights: June 2023 Higher-Quality Emerald Auction

• Total auction revenues of USD 43.7 million, an all-time revenue record for any Kagem emerald auction
• 35 lots were offered for sale, of which 35 were sold (100%)
• Average realised price of USD 165.55 per carat, an all-time record for any Gemfields emerald auction
• All-time record for price-per-carat paid for a single auction lot
• The 45 auctions of Kagem gemstones held since July 2009 have generated USD 964 million in total revenue

Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ Managing Director of Product & Sales, commented: “Gemfields’ second auction of 2023 has yielded a positively surprising outcome. In our last auction of November 2022, we saw the market normalise appreciably when compared with the exuberance of the first half of 2022. We are delighted today to see the market rebound sharply once again, underpinning the step-change in market pricing which we reported in 2022. This is our 45th auction of Kagem emeralds since 2009 and to see no fewer than three

records fall (the highest-ever revenue, the highest-ever average price per carat for an emerald auction and the highest-ever price per carat paid for a single auction lot) certainly puts the proverbial smile on my dial.”

The auction lots were made available in Bangkok for private, in-person viewings by customers.

Following the viewings, the auctions took place via an online auction platform specifically adapted for Gemfields and which permitted customers from multiple jurisdictions to participate in a sealed-bid process.

The rough emeralds were extracted by Kagem (which is 75% owned by Gemfields and 25% by the Industrial Development Corporation of Zambia). The proceeds of this auction will be fully repatriated to Kagem in Zambia, with all royalties due to the Government of the Republic of Zambia being paid on the full sales price achieved at the auction.

The specific auction mix and the quality of the lots offered at each auction vary in characteristics such as size, colour and clarity on account of variations in mined production and market demand. Therefore the results of each auction are not always directly comparable.