Gemfields emerald auction brings $26.8 million amid steady demand

Gemfields’ latest higher-quality emerald auction brought in $26.8 million, with 36 of 37 lots sold and 183,385 carats moving out of 185,135 offered. At an average realized price of $146.08 per carat, the result showed a market that is still willing to pay for quality, even as buyers became more selective.

That distinction matters for anyone tracking emerald values as May’s birthstone moves through retail cases and private collections. The average price was lower than Gemfields’ August-September 2025 higher-quality auction, which reached $160.78 per carat, and below May 2024’s $167.51 per carat. Yet the sell-through was stronger than many softer auctions in the past, and the near-total clearance by weight suggests that well-sorted rough still commands attention. Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ managing director of product and sales, said demand for higher-quality emeralds remains stable, but the market is exercising caution because of geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainty.

For investment-grade emeralds, that is the clearest signal in the numbers: the top tier remains tight. Banks said competition and pricing for those stones remained particularly strong, a reminder that exceptional color, saturation and transparency still separate the rare from the merely pretty. For commercial jewelry, the picture is more measured. Emeralds destined for rings, pendants and bracelets at more accessible price points may still sell well, but the pricing pressure is less dramatic there, and buyers are likely to remain disciplined rather than hurried.

The rough came from Kagem in Zambia, the 41-square-kilometre licence area in Copperbelt Province that is 75% owned and operated by Gemfields and 25% owned by the Government of the Republic of Zambia through the Industrial Development Corporation of Zambia. Gemfields ran the sale through its sealed-bid online auction platform after private viewings in Bangkok, a format that has become familiar to serious colored-stone buyers who want to inspect lots before bidding. The company said the auction proceeds will be fully repatriated to Kagem in Zambia, with royalties paid on the full sales prices.

The backdrop is one of constrained but improving supply. Mining at Kagem was suspended from January until May 2025, then restarted with focused open-pit operations, and Gemfields said premium emerald production has remained encouraging since the restart. Since July 2009, 52 Kagem gemstone auctions have generated $1.122 billion in revenue. For May-birthstone shoppers, the message is plain: the best emeralds are still scarce enough to hold their ground, while the broader market is stable enough to reward patience.