Gemfields Earns $25.4m From Year-End Emerald Auction as Market Demand Rebounds
Gemfields Closes 2025 With Strong Emerald Auction Performance Despite Earlier Kagem Disruptions
Gemfields has announced $25.4 million in revenue from its November–December auction of commercial-quality rough emeralds, ending the year with one of its strongest sales performances despite earlier operational challenges at the Kagem mine in Zambia.
The auction was conducted via private viewings in Jaipur, India, followed by an online sealed-bid process. Of the 46 lots offered, 45 lots—equal to 98%—were sold at an average price of $7.46 per carat. Nearly 3.66 million carats were made available, with about 3.41 million carats successfully sold.
Gemfields product and sales managing director Adrian Banks said the result capped a difficult year marked by a temporary suspension of mining operations at Kagem during the first half of 2025.
“These auction results bring a positive close to a challenging year for Kagem. Despite the early suspension of operations, the business has delivered a strong performance for 2025, helping the mine reach a total of $79 million in auction revenues this year,” he said.
Banks noted that firm pricing across all product categories suggested that pressures seen at the end of 2024 and early 2025 had eased. He added that strengthened market sentiment and steady demand since the third quarter continued to support sales.
Gemfields emphasised that auction results naturally vary, as the mix of emeralds offered changes depending on mined output and market requirements. For that reason, comparisons between auctions are not exact.
The company reported that Kagem’s 53 auctions since July 2009 have generated a combined $1.15 billion in revenue. Recent commercial-quality auction outcomes included $25.5 million in August–September 2023 at $7.51/ct, $17.1 million in March 2024 at $4.45/ct, $10.8 million in August–September 2024 at $4.47/ct, and $16.4 million in April 2025 at $6.87/ct.
