Photo courtesy Gemfields
The 5565-carat ‘Inkalamu’ emerald, discovered at Zambia’s Kagem mine last month, has sold.
Described as “exceptional” by Gemfields, which co-owns the mine with the Zambian Industrial Development Corporation, this stone is the first Gemfields has named since 2010. Its name pays tribute to carnivore conservation efforts in Africa, as it means ‘lion’ in the local Bemba language. Inkalamu exceeds the size of most of the company’s named emeralds, as the majority have weighed less than 1000 carats.
“We are experiencing strikingly increased demand for high-quality Zambian emeralds from the major brands, particularly in Europe,” said Elena Basaglia, gemmologist for Gemfields. “It’s difficult to estimate how many individual gems will be cut from Inkalamu, but the cutting expertise of Gemfields’ auction partners will mean this gemstone will make its mark in the history books of exceptional gemstones.”
At the company’s Singapore auction, which ended November 17, the emerald sold to Rajkumar and Rishabh Tongya of Dia-Color for an undisclosed price. Gemfields has indicated 10 per cent of Inkalamu’s auction proceeds will be divided between two philanthropic partners: the Zambian Carnivore Programme and the Niassa Carnivore Project in Mozambique.
“We expect a number of large, fine-quality cut emeralds to be born of the Inkalamu crystal. These important pieces are what return value to the buyers and there might be hundreds of offcuts that are fashioned into smaller gems, cabochons, and beads, but the key lies in recovering the fine-quality pieces,” said Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ managing director for product and sales, upon the stone’s discovery. “Given this emerald is such a rare find, it is also perfectly conceivable the buyer will choose to purchase it as an investment.”
Overall, the Singapore auction generated better results than the company’s last auction, drawing US$28.4 million in revenue compared to the previous result of US$10.3 million. Of the carats offered, 77 per cent were sold at an average price of US$68.03 per carat.
“The results of what was our first Singapore emerald auction in more than three years clearly reflect the emerging recovery among our trade customers after a protracted period of difficulty,” said Banks. “The marked increases in the percentage of carats and the number of lots sold, combined with the uptick in per-carat price, bode well for further improvement in 2019.”
