RAPAPORT... Gemfields’ May emerald sale fetched $22.4 million, as the miner noted an improvement in the market.
The Singapore sale’s top lot, purchased by Chatree Gems of
Thailand, set a price-per-carat record for Zambian rough emeralds at a
Gemfields auction. The lot comprises two gems weighing a combined 65 carats, which were
named Green and Ice in honor of the 1981 movie, Green Ice, starring Omar Sharif and Ryan
O’Neal, Gemfields said Monday.
The miner sold 310,000 carats of rough emeralds at an
average price of $72 per carat, the highest at any Gemfields emerald auction. Some 80% of lots found buyers, with 45
companies placing bids.
“As the results of this auction show, we continue to see
encouraging signs of recovery in the emerald sector,” said Adrian Banks,
Gemfields’ managing director of product and sales.
Image: Zambian emeralds from the Kagem mine. (Gemfields)
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