Gemfields has posted record revenue of $ 43.7 million from the sale of 35 high-quality rough emeralds produced at its 75%-owned Kagem mine, in Zambia.

It said the auction, which ran from May 15 to June 1, had an average realised price of $165.55 per carat, making it a record for price-per-carat paid for a single auction lot.

Gemfields has since July 2009 generated $964 million in revenue from 45 auctions of Kagem gemstones.

“In our last auction [in November 2022], we saw the market normalise appreciably when compared with the exuberance of the first half of 2022,” said company product and sales managing director Adrian Banks.

“We are delighted to see the market rebound sharply once again, underpinning the step-change in market pricing [that] we reported in 2022.”

The auction lots were made available in Bangkok for private, in-person viewings by customers, following which the auctions took place through an online auction platform specifically adapted for Gemfields.

The platform allows for permitted customers from multiple jurisdictions to participate in a sealed-bid process.