By Alanna Lawson
With movie star Mila Kunis at its helm and a recent acquisition of luxury jewelers Fabergé, things have never looked better for leading colored-gemstone supplier Gemfields. But it is the company’s first-ever ruby auction that has investors, buyers and suppliers in a clamor.
Gemfield’s CEO, Ian Harebottle, says the ruby auction in Singapore was not only an incredible success; it revealed a great demand for the stone.
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“At the auction we were hoping it would go well, but the results were way beyond our best expectations, says Harebottle.
“In that mine we’d invested almost £35 million to date, and we got £33 million back in the very first auction. From a pure numbers point of view we were very pleased.”
Harebottle explains the market was ‘desperate’ for supply and the mineral deposit in Northern Mozambique has the potential to be the greatest ruby deposit of all time.
Gemfields is resolute in its quest for sustainable mining and has publicly released its mine-to-market strategy, promising that all stones are traceable from extraction.
As the world’s largest producing emerald and amethyst merchant, Harebottle says Gemfields spends a lot of time studying the deposits and developing ethical methods to mine and grade the minerals.
“We are not only focused on colored gems but we are focused on bringing them out in a safe and a sustainable way into the future, says Harebottle.
Watch Mila Kunis visit the Kagem mine in Zambia and hear more about Gemfields in the video above.
