Gemfields sells all 44 emerald lots for $29.6 million
The commercial-quality sale cleared at $9.72 a carat, up 30.3% on the November-December auction's $7.46. Bidding companies numbered 63, the widest field of the five most recent commercial sales.
By The Color Desk
What changed
Every lot sold. Gemfields' commercial-quality emerald auction took $29.6 million, with all 44 lots placed at an average $9.72 a carat. The goods came from Kagem in Zambia.
What it means
- If you cut commercial emerald: your rough cost base rose 30.3% since the last sale. Re-price finished goods against $9.72, not $7.46.
- If you buy at auction: 63 companies bid, against 55 last time. Expect a tighter room.
- What this is not: a read on fine emerald. That grade sells separately and last cleared at $146.08.
Key figures
| Auction revenueup 16.5% on Nov–Dec 2025 | $29.6m |
|---|---|
| Average per carathighest of the five shown | $9.72 |
| Lots sold100%, against 98% before | 44 of 44 |
| Carats sold3,047,650, from 3,406,830 | −10.5% |
Source: Gemfields Group Limited · auction held 24 August – 10 September 2026 · announcement published 11 September 2026
Price per carat did the work
Revenue up, weight down. Revenue rose 16.5% while carats sold fell 10.5%. The gain came from price, not volume.
Thirty percent more. The average realised price of $9.72 a carat sits 30.3% above the $7.46 of the November-December 2025 sale.
Double, over five sales. Against the $4.45 of March 2024, the same grade now realises 118.4% more. The average has risen at each of the last four commercial auctions.
| Measure | Mar 2024 | Aug–Sep 2024 | Apr 2025 | Nov–Dec 2025 | Aug–Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $17.1m | $10.8m | $16.4m | $25.4m | $29.6m |
| Average per carat | $4.45 | $4.47 | $6.87 | $7.46 | $9.72 |
| Lots offered | 43 | 46 | 36 | 46 | 44 |
| Lots sold | 40 | 28 | 32 | 45 | 44 |
| Lots sold, % | 93% | 61% | 89% | 98% | 100% |
| Carats sold | 3,854,950 | 2,423,550 | 2,388,190 | 3,406,830 | 3,047,650 |
| Companies bidding | 50 | 39 | 50 | 55 | 63 |
Notes on this table
Source. Gemfields Group Limited, Auction Results: Commercial-Quality Emeralds, published 11 September 2026; the table is the five-auction comparison printed in that announcement.
Percentages. in the article are Carat Capital's arithmetic on these figures.
Internal check. 3,047,650 carats at $9.72 is $29.62 million, matching the stated revenue.
Gemfields cautions. that size, colour and clarity vary between auctions, so results are not always directly comparable.
Zambia takes the proceeds
Fully repatriated to Kagem. The proceeds go to Kagem in Zambia, with royalties paid to the government on the full auction prices. Gemfields owns 75% of the mine; Zambia's Industrial Development Corporation holds 25%.
Nine months between sales. Gemfields last sold commercial-quality emeralds in the auction that closed 4 December 2025. The company attributes this result to Kagem's production over the past year.
Jaipur replaced the London room
Viewing moved to India. Customers viewed the lots in person in Jaipur, then bid through a sealed-bid online platform. Gemfields has historically run its emerald auctions from London.
Sixty-three companies bid. Bidding companies numbered 63, against 55 at the last commercial sale. That is the widest field of the five in the table above.
What to watch
- 11 SepThe India Rough Gemstones Sourcing Show in Jaipur closes its 19-day window.
- Not yet datedGemfields' next higher-quality emerald auction; that grade last cleared at $146.08 a carat.
- Mar 2027Full-year results, where this $29.6 million lands in Gemfields' 2026 revenue.
The story so far
Go deeper
What would change this call
A commercial auction below $7.46 a carat next time. That would make this sale a mix effect rather than a price recovery, and the re-pricing instruction above would be wrong.
What commercial-quality means
Gemfields sorts Kagem's rough emeralds into a higher-quality book and a commercial-quality book, and sells each at its own auction. Commercial goods are the higher-volume, lower-value material that feeds mass-market cutting. The two grades clear at prices an order of magnitude apart and are not compared against each other.
Method
The announcement was read as the signed PDF on Gemfields' own document store, not as a wire summary: total revenue USD 29.6 million, 44 of 44 lots sold, average USD 9.72 per carat, auction held 24 August to 10 September 2026. The five-auction comparison in Table I is the table printed in that announcement. Every percentage in this article is Carat Capital's arithmetic on those figures: 9.72 against 7.46 is +30.29%, rounded to 30.3%; 29.6 against 25.4 is +16.54%; 3,047,650 carats against 3,406,830 is −10.54%; 9.72 against 4.45 is +118.43%. As an internal check, 3,047,650 carats at $9.72 gives $29.62 million, which matches the stated total. The $146.08 a carat named above is the May 2026 HIGHER-quality auction, reported here on 24 July; it is cited as a separate grade and is deliberately not compared with $9.72. Archive test, both periods named: Carat Capital's 26 August piece covers the India Rough Gemstones Sourcing Show, 24 August to 11 September 2026, and states that no result existed because the show had not closed; this item covers the commercial-quality auction held 24 August to 10 September 2026 and carries the result. Same entity, different document and different event, so ADVANCED rather than repeat. Carat Capital's 24 July piece covers the May 2026 higher-quality auction, a different grade and a different period.
Sources
- Auction Results: Commercial-Quality Emeralds - Gemfields Group Limited 11 September 2026
- Gemfields Group Limited - auction announcements index 11 September 2026