Gemfields Sees Record Emerald Auction

RAPAPORT... Gemfields' May emerald sale fetched $22.4 million, as the miner noted an improvement in the market. The Singapore sale's top lot, purchased by Chatree Gems ofThailand, set a price-per-carat record for Zambian rough emeralds at aGemfields auction. The lot comprises two gems weighing a combined 65 carats, which werenamed Green and Ice in honor of the 1981 movie, Green Ice, starring Omar Sharif and RyanO'Neal, Gemfields said Monday. The miner sold 310,000 carats of rough emeralds at anaverage price of $72 per carat, the highest at any Gemfields emerald auction. Some 80% of lots found buyers, with 45companies placing bids. "As the results of this auction show, we continue to seeencouraging signs of recovery in the emerald sector," said Adrian Banks,Gemfields' managing director of product and sales. Image: Zambian emeralds from the Kagem mine. (Gemfields)