Gemfields launches jewellery collaboration featuring Kagem Zambian emeralds
LUFWANYAMA, ZAMBIA – Kagem’s parent company Gemfields has unveiled a new partnership with emerald specialist brand House of Meraki to showcase a jewellery collection that features emeralds sourced from the Lufwanyama-based mine.
The exquisite creations of Zambian emeralds from the collection, named J’aime, feature earrings, from dainty studs to stylish hoops – as well as rings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants, which pair delicate emeralds with 18k yellow gold, and occasionally diamond and pearls.
Kagem is believed to be the world’s single largest producing emerald mine; it is 75% owned by Gemfields, in a model partnership with the Zambian government’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).
J’aime translates as “I love” or “may God protect”, making it the ideal moniker for the collection – emeralds being widely associated with hope, growth, life, fertility and peace, and thought to possess healing properties. Far from just being decorative, each piece is intended to bring a powerful positive energy to its wearer. Emeralds, which were formed in the earth over 500 million years ago, are one of the ‘big three’ coloured gemstones – alongside rubies and sapphires – and have been beloved for thousands of years.
Zambian emeralds have long held a fascination for House of Meraki’s founder, Gargi Rathi, who would stare at them in wonder when shopping in the markets of Zambia with her mother as a child, marvelling at their perfect chemistry of colour and clarity.
Gargi, a trained gemmologist, describes Zambian emeralds as her first love, and in House of Meraki she has managed to recreate the mine-to-market authenticity of the emeralds that enthralled her younger self. She places due diligence on her supply chain, working only with responsibly sourced gems, which are strictly vetted and certified before being cut and polished.
Like all House of Meraki creations, the pieces in the J’aime collection have a European aesthetic and elegance to them and were designed to be worn anywhere from the ballroom to the boardroom. The J’aime collection, along with the rest of the House of Meraki range, is now available on both Farfetch (farfetch.com) and Net-a-Porter (net-a-porter.com), as well as on the House of Meraki’s own online platform (houseofmeraki.com).
Believed to be the largest emerald mine in the world, Kagem has been the source of some of the rarest and finest emeralds ever seen, including Chipembele, which holds the Guinness World Records™ title for the Largest uncut emerald, and recently the Kafubu Cluster which has been making local and international headlines. The mine currently supplies around one in three of the world’s emeralds.
