Gemfields ruby auction raises $52.0m at $564.54 a carat
Montepuez Ruby Mining sold 92,153 of the 102,099 carats offered, about half February's weight. Gemfields says its Trade Select strategy now sells some grades separately; the next such sale is planned for December.
By Carat Capital
What changed
Fewer carats, same money. Gemfields' October mixed-quality ruby auction raised $52.0 million, close to February's $53.0 million, on about half the carats.
What it means
- If you buy Mozambican ruby: Gemfields says this sale was mostly higher-quality goods, so the per-carat figure is not a price move.
- If you hold Gemfields: Revenue held while volume halved.
- What this is not: A ruby price index. Averages follow the assortment.
Key figures
| Auction revenueFebruary: $53.0m | $52.0m |
|---|---|
| Average per caratlot mix differs from February | $564.54 |
| Carats soldof 102,099 offered | 92,153 ct |
| Lots sold46 bidding companies | 90 of 99 |
Source: Gemfields RNS, Auction Results: Mixed-Quality Rubies, London, 19 October 2026, for the auction held 5 to 16 October;, 80,875 bytes. Gemfields says results are not always directly comparable between auctions.
A smaller, richer sale
Twenty kilograms offered. The sale offered 102,099 carats, slightly over 20 kilograms, mostly higher-quality ruby. Gemfields calls it smaller than previous years' sales; by its own table, June 2025 offered fewer, 99,830 carats.
Nine lots unsold. Buyers took 90 of 99 lots, or 90% of the weight offered, in sealed bids after viewings in Bangkok.
Bidders held steady. Forty-six companies placed bids, the same number as in February.
| Auction | Carats sold | Lots sold | Revenue | Per carat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2024 | 216,600 | 94 of 97 | $68.7m | $316.95 |
| December 2024 | 143,613 | 97 of 102 | $46.2m | $321.94 |
| June 2025 | 68,705 | 78 of 90 | $31.7m | $461.48 |
| February 2026 | 189,620 | 121 of 135 | $53.0m | $279.39 |
| October 2026 | 92,153 | 90 of 99 | $52.0m | $564.54 |
Carat Capital's division against February: carats 92,153 / 189,620 = 0.486, 51.4% fewer; revenue 52.0 / 53.0 = 0.981, 1.9% lower; check 92,153 × 564.54 = $52.02m, matching the stated $52.0m. The per-carat ratio is not printed as a price change because the release says the mix differed.
Trade Select splits the grades
June changed the format. Gemfields introduced Trade Select in June, offering selected grades and categories in separate auctions. It says the lower volume reflects that change and the year's operational challenges.
December is next. The next Trade Select auction is planned for December. Proceeds go to Montepuez Ruby Mining, 75% owned by Gemfields, which pays Mozambique's royalties on the full sale prices.
What to watch
- December 2026The next Trade Select auction, the second test of the split format after July.
- Next mixed-quality saleWhether volume returns toward February's 189,620 carats or stays near 92,000.
The story so far
Go deeper
Corrections
Correction, 21 October 2026: this article as published carried, unqualified, Gemfields' statement that the October sale was smaller than those held in previous years. The table on this page shows June 2025 offered fewer carats, 99,830 against 102,099, and sold fewer, 68,705 against 92,153, so October was smaller than three of the four previous mixed-quality auctions listed. Both figures come from the five-auction table in Gemfields' RNS of 19 October 2026, re-read on 21 October from the 80,875 bytes saved on 20 October. What was right as published: every figure in the article, and the sentence was correctly attributed to Gemfields.
What would change this call
A December sale at sharply lower prices for comparable grades. Then October's average reflects a small, rich lot, not demand that holds across the range.
How a Gemfields ruby auction runs
Montepuez rough is graded into lots, viewed in person in Bangkok, then sold by sealed bid on an online platform in sequential mini-auctions. A mixed-quality sale spans many sizes and grades, so its average per carat moves with what is offered as much as with price.
Method
Gemfields Group, 'Auction Results: Mixed-Quality Rubies', RNS dated 'LONDON, 19 OCTOBER 2026', fetched 20 October 2026 on Investegate at https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/gemfields-group-limited--gem/auction-results-october-mixed-quality-rubies/9828182, 200, 80,875 bytes. Investegate prints a summary box above the RNS; every figure was read from the RNS text below it. Greps: '52.0' 3, '564.54' 3, '92,153' 3, '102,099' 3, '189,620' 1, '279.39' 1, '90 of the 99' 1, '20 kilograms' 1, 'predominantly higher-quality' 1, 'introduced in June' 1, 'Trade Select' 3, 'December' 1, '75% owned' 1, 'not always directly comparable' 1, '316.95' 1, '321.94' 1, '461.48' 1. ARCHIVE, by entity and period: Carat Capital's archive, '564.54' 0 rows; 'Trade Select' 1 row, sixty-six-dollars-a-carat (20 July), opened, which covers the first Trade Select sale ($66.30 a carat on 348,409 carats, a different grade mix); 'Montepuez' 3 rows covering H1 results and a writedown. Ours covers July's Trade Select sale; this covers the 5 to 16 October mixed-quality sale. NEW.
Sources
- Gemfields Group, Auction Results: Mixed-Quality Rubies, RNS 19 October 2026